Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.186 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Come forth, O Viśvedevas! All-Gods, assembly of the divine! Come to our altar, as ye have come since ages past. We call upon you not singly, but together — the great congregation of heaven.
What is thy number, O All-Gods? Who can count the deities that dwell in sky and earth and the waters between? There is Indra the mighty, who doth shatter the mountains. There is Agni, keeper of the sacred flame. There are the Maruts, the storm-wind riders, whose chariot shaketh the earth. There are the Aśvins, swift healers of the dawn. There are the Viśvedevas themselves, whose names we cannot fully speak, whose nature we can scarcely comprehend.
Yet thou art one, O assembly divine. Though many art thy faces, one is thy purpose — to uphold the ṛta, the cosmic order. To maintain the laws that govern heaven and earth. To protect the righteous and to strike down the wicked. To grant blessings to those who worship thee with sincere hearts.
Come to us now, O All-Gods! Leave thy dwellings in the distant heights. Cross the vast spaces between heaven and earth. Come to our humble altar, where we have prepared the soma and kindled the sacred fire. Come not in wrath, but in mercy. Come not to punish, but to bless. Come as friends to those who honor thee.
We offer you our praise, our worship, our complete devotion. We ask not for riches or power, but only for thy protection and thy blessing. Grant us thy grace, O Viśvedevas! Guide us upon the righteous path. Guard us from harm and from evil. And let thy blessing settle upon us like the gentle rain upon the parched earth!
Colophon
Rigveda I.186 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Agni, the divine fire, messenger between mortals and gods, the eternal priest of the sacred rite. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.186
ā na iḻābhir vidathe suśasti viśvānaraḥ savitā deva etu |
api yathā yuvāno matsathā no viśvaṁ jagad abhipitve manīṣā || 1 ||
ā no viśva āskrā gamantu devā mitro aryamā varuṇaḥ sajoṣāḥ |
bhuvan yathā no viśve vṛdhāsaḥ karan suṣāhā vithuraṁ na śavaḥ || 2 ||
preṣṭhaṁ vo atithiṁ gṛṇīṣe 'gniṁ śastibhis turvaṇiḥ sajoṣāḥ |
asad yathā no varuṇaḥ sukīrtir iṣaś ca parṣad arigūrtaḥ sūriḥ || 3 ||
upa va eṣe namasā jigīṣoṣāsānaktā sudugheva dhenuḥ |
samāne ahan vimimāno arkaṁ viṣurūpe payasi sasminn ūdhan || 4 ||
uta no 'hir budhnyo3 mayas kaḥ śiśuṁ na pipyuṣīva veti sindhuḥ |
yena napātam apāṁ junāma manojuvo vṛṣaṇo yaṁ vahanti || 5 ||
uta na īṁ tvaṣṭā gantv acchā smat sūribhir abhipitve sajoṣāḥ |
ā vṛtrahendraś carṣaṇiprās tuviṣṭamo narāṁ na iha gamyāḥ || 6 ||
uta na īm matayo 'śvayogāḥ śiśuṁ na gāvas taruṇaṁ rihanti |
tam īṁ giro janayo na patnīḥ surabhiṣṭamaṁ narāṁ nasanta || 7 ||
uta na īm maruto vṛddhasenāḥ smad rodasī samanasaḥ sadantu |
pṛṣadaśvāso 'vanayo na rathā riśādaso mitrayujo na devāḥ || 8 ||
pra nu yad eṣām mahinā cikitre pra yuñjate prayujas te suvṛkti |
adha yad eṣāṁ sudine na śarur viśvam eriṇam pruṣāyanta senāḥ || 9 ||
pro aśvināv avase kṛṇudhvam pra pūṣaṇaṁ svatavaso hi santi |
adveṣo viṣṇur vāta ṛbhukṣā acchā sumnāya vavṛtīya devān || 10 ||
iyaṁ sā vo asme dīdhitir yajatrā apiprāṇī ca sadanī ca bhūyāḥ |
ni yā deveṣu yatate vasūyur vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 11 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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