Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.78 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, thou lord of vows and sacred rites! All that is ordained in the eternal law cometh under thy dominion. Every vow that mortals take, every oath sworn upon thy altar, every promise made before thy sacred presence—these are thy concern. Thou art the witness and the guarantor of all that is solemn and binding.
The man who maketh a vow before thy flames taketh on a terrible responsibility, O Fire. He hath pledged not merely to himself, but to thee. He hath invoked thy presence as a witness. He hath called upon thy power to enforce what he hath promised. To break such a vow is to invite thy wrath—to kindle against himself the very fire that he hath honored.
Therefore mortals speak truth before thee, O Agni. The liar and the deceiver dare not approach thy altar. The false oath-taker standeth in dread of thy judgment. Men of honor and integrity gather around thy flames with joy, knowing that thou wilt stand by their side, that thou wilt enforce their righteous vows, that thou wilt punish those who would break faith with them.
The sacred rites themselves are all conducted under thy auspices, O Lord! Whether it be the marriage ceremony where two souls bind themselves together for life, or the coronation of a king where he taketh upon himself the burden of rulership, or the initiation of a young man into adulthood—in all these momentous occasions, thou art present. Thou makest the rite sacred. Thou givest it power and meaning. Thou ensurest that what is promised shall come to pass.
We mortals are fragile creatures, prone to weakness and forgetfulness. Without the steadying presence of thy sacred fire, we would abandon our vows. Without thy role as witness and guarantor, we would dishonor our promises. But with thee at the center of our lives, we become strong. We honor our commitments. We walk the path of truth.
O Agni, thou lord of all that is binding and eternal! Grant us the strength to keep our vows! Make us worthy of thy trust!
Colophon
Rigveda I.78 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.78
abhi tvā gotamā girā jātavedo vicarṣaṇe |
dyumnair abhi pra ṇonumaḥ || 1 ||
tam u tvā gotamo girā rāyaskāmo duvasyati |
dyumnair abhi pra ṇonumaḥ || 2 ||
tam u tvā vājasātamam aṅgirasvad dhavāmahe |
dyumnair abhi pra ṇonumaḥ || 3 ||
tam u tvā vṛtrahantamaṁ yo dasyūm̐r avadhūnuṣe |
dyumnair abhi pra ṇonumaḥ || 4 ||
avocāma rahūgaṇā agnaye madhumad vacaḥ |
dyumnair abhi pra ṇonumaḥ || 5 ||
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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