Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.31 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, fire most pure, by Hiraṇyastūpa's sacred voice.
Thou art the cosmic principle made manifest within this mortal realm.
In thee do dwell all the powers; through thee all wisdom floweth forth.
O radiant one, accept my prayer; let thy light shine ever bright.
Agni, thou art the source of all the warmth that liveth in the world.
Without thy heat, the sun would be but darkened orb within the night.
The stars themselves do shine because of thee; thy essence burns within them all.
Every living creature doth depend upon the warmth that thou dost give.
From thee did spring the life of all that groweth upon this earth.
The plants do reach toward thee; the animals do seek thy heat.
The ṛṣis understood thy nature; they worshipped thee with awe and reverence.
For thou art not mere fire—thou art the principle of transformation.
In the sacrifice thou transformest the offerings into spiritual essence.
The butter poured upon thy coals doth rise as smoke unto the gods.
The flesh of beasts doth nourish thee; the milk of cattle doth delight thee.
All that is offered in the fire is purified and made sublime.
O Agni, cosmic fire, thou art the link 'tween earth and heaven.
Within the human heart there burneth also thy divine spark.
The man who kindleth thee with care and feedeth thee with reverence
Doth partake of thy immortal essence; doth approach the gods themselves.
Thou art eternal, yet born anew each time a fire is lit.
Thou art unchanging, yet ever changing in thy infinite manifestations.
In every flame, in every light, in every spark that shineth bright—
There art thou, O sacred Agni, maintaining the cosmic order.
Colophon
Rigveda I.31 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.31
tvam agne prathamo aṅgirā ṛṣir devo devānām abhavaḥ śivaḥ sakhā |
tava vrate kavayo vidmanāpaso 'jāyanta maruto bhrājadṛṣṭayaḥ || 1 ||
tvam agne prathamo aṅgirastamaḥ kavir devānām pari bhūṣasi vratam |
vibhur viśvasmai bhuvanāya medhiro dvimātā śayuḥ katidhā cid āyave || 2 ||
tvam agne prathamo mātariśvana āvir bhava sukratūyā vivasvate |
arejetāṁ rodasī hotṛvūrye 'saghnor bhāram ayajo maho vaso || 3 ||
tvam agne manave dyām avāśayaḥ purūravase sukṛte sukṛttaraḥ |
śvātreṇa yat pitror mucyase pary ā tvā pūrvam anayann āparam punaḥ || 4 ||
tvam agne vṛṣabhaḥ puṣṭivardhana udyatasruce bhavasi śravāyyaḥ |
ya āhutim pari vedā vaṣaṭkṛtim ekāyur agre viśa āvivāsasi || 5 ||
tvam agne vṛjinavartaniṁ naraṁ sakman piparṣi vidathe vicarṣaṇe |
yaḥ śūrasātā paritakmye dhane dabhrebhiś cit samṛtā haṁsi bhūyasaḥ || 6 ||
tvaṁ tam agne amṛtatva uttame martaṁ dadhāsi śravase dive-dive |
yas tātṛṣāṇa ubhayāya janmane mayaḥ kṛṇoṣi praya ā ca sūraye || 7 ||
tvaṁ no agne sanaye dhanānāṁ yaśasaṁ kāruṁ kṛṇuhi stavānaḥ |
ṛdhyāma karmāpasā navena devair dyāvāpṛthivī prāvataṁ naḥ || 8 ||
tvaṁ no agne pitror upastha ā devo deveṣv anavadya jāgṛviḥ |
tanūkṛd bodhi pramatiś ca kārave tvaṁ kalyāṇa vasu viśvam opiṣe || 9 ||
tvam agne pramatis tvam pitāsi nas tvaṁ vayaskṛt tava jāmayo vayam |
saṁ tvā rāyaḥ śatinaḥ saṁ sahasriṇaḥ suvīraṁ yanti vratapām adābhya || 10 ||
tvām agne prathamam āyum āyave devā akṛṇvan nahuṣasya viśpatim |
iḻām akṛṇvan manuṣasya śāsanīm pitur yat putro mamakasya jāyate || 11 ||
tvaṁ no agne tava deva pāyubhir maghono rakṣa tanvaś ca vandya |
trātā tokasya tanaye gavām asy animeṣaṁ rakṣamāṇas tava vrate || 12 ||
tvam agne yajyave pāyur antaro 'niṣaṅgāya caturakṣa idhyase |
yo rātahavyo 'vṛkāya dhāyase kīreś cin mantram manasā vanoṣi tam || 13 ||
tvam agna uruśaṁsāya vāghate spārhaṁ yad rekṇaḥ paramaṁ vanoṣi tat |
ādhrasya cit pramatir ucyase pitā pra pākaṁ śāssi pra diśo viduṣṭaraḥ || 14 ||
tvam agne prayatadakṣiṇaṁ naraṁ varmeva syūtam pari pāsi viśvataḥ |
svādukṣadmā yo vasatau syonakṛj jīvayājaṁ yajate sopamā divaḥ || 15 ||
imām agne śaraṇim mīmṛṣo na imam adhvānaṁ yam agāma dūrāt |
āpiḥ pitā pramatiḥ somyānām bhṛmir asy ṛṣikṛn martyānām || 16 ||
manuṣvad agne aṅgirasvad aṅgiro yayātivat sadane pūrvavac chuce |
accha yāhy ā vahā daivyaṁ janam ā sādaya barhiṣi yakṣi ca priyam || 17 ||
etenāgne brahmaṇā vāvṛdhasva śaktī vā yat te cakṛmā vidā vā |
uta pra ṇeṣy abhi vasyo asmān saṁ naḥ sṛja sumatyā vājavatyā || 18 ||
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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