Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.65 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.
O Agni, most wondrous of all gods! Thou art born in darkness, yet thou art light itself. From the two wooden pieces struck together dost thou emerge—a flame most terrible and most beautiful. In thy birth lies the mystery of creation, the secret of life itself made manifest in flame.
Whence comest thou, O Fire? Art thou the child of heaven and earth? Art thou the son of the waters? Art thou born of the great cosmic ocean that sustains all being? Thy origins are hidden from mortal sight, veiled in the mists of time eternal. Yet thou appearest always—in the hearth, in the altar, in the wildfire racing across the plains.
Thou art not merely flame, O Agni! Nay, thou art the cosmic principle itself—the transforming power that turns all things from one state into another. The food becomes flesh within the belly of the eater. The wood becomes ash and smoke and heat. The darkness becomes light at thy presence. All change, all becoming, all transformation—these are thy work!
The gods themselves depend upon thee, for without thy heat there would be no sacrifice. The soma would not warm the hearts of the immortals. The offerings would rise to heaven unheeded. Thou art the priest among the gods, the mediator between the mortal and the divine.
Yet thou art gentle too, O Fire! In the household hearth thou givest warmth and safety. Thou cookest the food that sustains our bodies. Thou lightest the darkness that would otherwise swallow us. When we kindle thee with reverence, thou protectest us from all harm.
Come to us now, O Agni the Wonder-Worker! Reveal thy mysteries. Grant us understanding of thy nature. Make us worthy to kindle thy sacred flame, and let our offerings rise to the gods in smoke and blessing!
Colophon
Rigveda I.65 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.65
paśvā na tāyuṁ guhā catantaṁ namo yujānaṁ namo vahantam || 1 ||
sajoṣā dhīrāḥ padair anu gmann upa tvā sīdan viśve yajatrāḥ || 2 ||
ṛtasya devā anu vratā gur bhuvat pariṣṭir dyaur na bhūma || 3 ||
vardhantīm āpaḥ panvā suśiśvim ṛtasya yonā garbhe sujātam || 4 ||
puṣṭir na raṇvā kṣitir na pṛthvī girir na bhujma kṣodo na śambhu || 5 ||
atyo nājman sargaprataktaḥ sindhur na kṣodaḥ ka īṁ varāte || 6 ||
jāmiḥ sindhūnām bhrāteva svasrām ibhyān na rājā vanāny atti || 7 ||
yad vātajūto vanā vy asthād agnir ha dāti romā pṛthivyāḥ || 8 ||
śvasity apsu haṁso na sīdan kratvā cetiṣṭho viśām uṣarbhut || 9 ||
somo na vedhā ṛtaprajātaḥ paśur na śiśvā vibhur dūrebhāḥ || 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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