Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.73 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, protector against the darkness and all evil spirits! When the night falleth upon the land and the shadows creep forth from every corner, we kindle thy sacred flame and find courage. The demons shriek in terror at thy radiance. The evil spirits flee before thy light. The darkness itself receding, unwilling to face thy burning gaze.
Thou art the guardian of all creatures, O Fire! The household that hath kindled thee upon the hearth needeth not fear any evil thing. The protection of thy flames surroundeth them as a fortress. No sorcery can penetrate thy sacred boundaries. No curse can breach thy shining wall. The family that honoreth thee sleepeth peacefully, knowing that thou art ever vigilant, ever watchful.
The demons and the Rākṣasas—those horrible creatures that lurk in the twilight—they know thy power well. They fear thee more than they fear Indra himself. For they are creatures of darkness, and thy light is their undoing. They writhe in agony when thy flames draw near. They shriek and moan and vanish into the nether realms.
The sorcerers and the practitioners of black magic—those evil mortals who would harm the innocent—their spells are rendered powerless in thy presence, O Agni. Their incantations ring hollow. Their charms turn to dust. Their malice is reflected back upon them tenfold. Thou art the great avenger of the innocent, the protector of the righteous.
We who are defenseless call upon thee! We who are weak and vulnerable beg for thy sacred protection! Let thy flames surround us always. Let thy light disperse all the darkness that would seek to swallow us. Guard our children in the night. Guard our animals in the forest. Guard our homes from every evil that would seek to enter.
O Agni, thou art more than fire—thou art the very principle of light and truth, of clarity and illumination! Everywhere thou shinest, the evil must flee! Stand guard eternal at the gates of our worlds!
Colophon
Rigveda I.73 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.73
rayir na yaḥ pitṛvitto vayodhāḥ supraṇītiś cikituṣo na śāsuḥ |
syonaśīr atithir na prīṇāno hoteva sadma vidhato vi tārīt || 1 ||
devo na yaḥ savitā satyamanmā kratvā nipāti vṛjanāni viśvā |
purupraśasto amatir na satya ātmeva śevo didhiṣāyyo bhūt || 2 ||
devo na yaḥ pṛthivīṁ viśvadhāyā upakṣeti hitamitro na rājā |
puraḥsadaḥ śarmasado na vīrā anavadyā patijuṣṭeva nārī || 3 ||
taṁ tvā naro dama ā nityam iddham agne sacanta kṣitiṣu dhruvāsu |
adhi dyumnaṁ ni dadhur bhūry asmin bhavā viśvāyur dharuṇo rayīṇām || 4 ||
vi pṛkṣo agne maghavāno aśyur vi sūrayo dadato viśvam āyuḥ |
sanema vājaṁ samitheṣv aryo bhāgaṁ deveṣu śravase dadhānāḥ || 5 ||
ṛtasya hi dhenavo vāvaśānāḥ smadūdhnīḥ pīpayanta dyubhaktāḥ |
parāvataḥ sumatim bhikṣamāṇā vi sindhavaḥ samayā sasrur adrim || 6 ||
tve agne sumatim bhikṣamāṇā divi śravo dadhire yajñiyāsaḥ |
naktā ca cakrur uṣasā virūpe kṛṣṇaṁ ca varṇam aruṇaṁ ca saṁ dhuḥ || 7 ||
yān rāye martān suṣūdo agne te syāma maghavāno vayaṁ ca |
chāyeva viśvam bhuvanaṁ sisakṣy āpaprivān rodasī antarikṣam || 8 ||
arvadbhir agne arvato nṛbhir nṝn vīrair vīrān vanuyāmā tvotāḥ |
īśānāsaḥ pitṛvittasya rāyo vi sūrayaḥ śatahimā no aśyuḥ || 9 ||
etā te agna ucathāni vedho juṣṭāni santu manase hṛde ca |
śakema rāyaḥ sudhuro yamaṁ te 'dhi śravo devabhaktaṁ dadhānāḥ || 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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