Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.26 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.
I praise Agni, the radiant fire, by Śunaḥśepa's voice upraised.
Thou art the bridge between the worlds, the messenger 'tween gods and men.
I light thee in my hearth today; receive my humble offering here.
O fire divine, accept my prayer; carry it up to heaven's throne.
From the days of old thou hast been cherished, O Agni bright and glorious.
The ancient ṛṣis lit thy flame; the gods themselves do tend thy sacred coals.
Thou burnest in the forest wild; thou dost consume the sacrificial wood.
Every flame that burns on earth doth speak thy praise in crackling tongue.
O Agni, thou art born anew each time the sacred fire is lit.
Thou art the child of heaven and earth, of Dyaus and Pṛthivī most vast.
The gods did kindle thee of old to serve as their eternal servant here.
Thou takest every offering we make and bearest it upon the wind.
In thee do dwell the powers of the sun; within thy depths burns cosmic heat.
Thou purifiest the sacrifice; thou makest holy all thou touchest.
The man who lights the fire at dawn and tends it with a faithful heart
Shall never know the touch of hunger; his house shall be secure and blessed.
O Agni, guard my dwelling place; protect my cattle from the wolf.
Chase away the sickness and the curse that threateneth my family.
Be thou a friend unto my house; receive each day my libation poured.
I call upon thee, golden one, as dawn breaks over the horizon.
Thou art the keeper of the home, the guest of every hearth and fire.
The woman who doth tend thee well shall bear strong sons of noble heart.
The man who giveth thee his praise shall conquer all his enemies.
Accept this offering, Agni, lord; be ever present in my life.
Colophon
Rigveda I.26 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.26
vasiṣvā hi miyedhya vastrāṇy ūrjām pate |
semaṁ no adhvaraṁ yaja || 1 ||
ni no hotā vareṇyaḥ sadā yaviṣṭha manmabhiḥ |
agne divitmatā vacaḥ || 2 ||
ā hi ṣmā sūnave pitāpir yajaty āpaye |
sakhā sakhye vareṇyaḥ || 3 ||
ā no barhī riśādaso varuṇo mitro aryamā |
sīdantu manuṣo yathā || 4 ||
pūrvya hotar asya no mandasva sakhyasya ca |
imā u ṣu śrudhī giraḥ || 5 ||
yac cid dhi śaśvatā tanā devaṁ-devaṁ yajāmahe |
tve id dhūyate haviḥ || 6 ||
priyo no astu viśpatir hotā mandro vareṇyaḥ |
priyāḥ svagnayo vayam || 7 ||
svagnayo hi vāryaṁ devāso dadhire ca naḥ |
svagnayo manāmahe || 8 ||
athā na ubhayeṣām amṛta martyānām |
mithaḥ santu praśastayaḥ || 9 ||
viśvebhir agne agnibhir imaṁ yajñam idaṁ vacaḥ |
cano dhāḥ sahaso yaho || 10 ||
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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