Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.69 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, friend of all mortals! Thou art the gentle one, the kind one, the protector of all creatures. When we kindle thee with trembling hands and uncertain hearts, thou dost not reject us. Thou dost not turn away from the poor and the lowly. No—thou receivest all alike, rich and poor, strong and weak, wise and ignorant.
In the household thou dwellest as a friend. The woman who tends thy flame is not serving a master—she is caring for a companion. The child who watches thy dancing light learns kindness and courage from thy presence. The old man who gathers wood for thy pyre doth this as an act of love, not of fear.
Thou knowest the secrets of all creatures, O Agni! The birds confide in thee their thoughts. The beasts trust thee with their young. The plants offer thee their very substance—wood and leaf and flower—that thou mayest transform them. Even the stones rest peacefully in thy presence, warmed by thy gentle heat.
When sorrow comes to mortals, we kindle thee and find comfort. When fear takes hold of our hearts, we see thee burning bright and know that we are not alone. When the night groweth dark and cold, thy warmth sustaineth us. Thou art there at every moment, never failing, never turning away.
Yet thou art not weak, O Fire! Thy gentleness doth not mean that thou lackest strength. When evil cometh nigh, thy fury is terrible to behold. Thou dost protect the innocent with a violence that is righteous and pure. Thou art friend to the good and enemy to the wicked.
Therefore do we love thee, O Agni! Not from fear alone, but from genuine affection. Come to our hearths and our altars. Dwell with us always. Be thou our companion through all the days of our lives, from birth unto death and beyond!
Colophon
Rigveda I.69 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.69
śukraḥ śuśukvām̐ uṣo na jāraḥ paprā samīcī divo na jyotiḥ || 1 ||
pari prajātaḥ kratvā babhūtha bhuvo devānām pitā putraḥ san || 2 ||
vedhā adṛpto agnir vijānann ūdhar na gonāṁ svādmā pitūnām || 3 ||
jane na śeva āhūryaḥ san madhye niṣatto raṇvo duroṇe || 4 ||
putro na jāto raṇvo duroṇe vājī na prīto viśo vi tārīt || 5 ||
viśo yad ahve nṛbhiḥ sanīḻā agnir devatvā viśvāny aśyāḥ || 6 ||
nakiṣ ṭa etā vratā minanti nṛbhyo yad ebhyaḥ śruṣṭiṁ cakartha || 7 ||
tat tu te daṁso yad ahan samānair nṛbhir yad yukto vive rapāṁsi || 8 ||
uṣo na jāro vibhāvosraḥ saṁjñātarūpaś ciketad asmai || 9 ||
tmanā vahanto duro vy ṛṇvan navanta viśve sva1r dṛśīke || 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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