Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.94 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 art supreme among the gods, taking many forms and serving many purposes! Who can measure thy greatness? Who can comprehend thy true nature? Thou dost dwell in many places, yet art thou one and indivisible.
In the home thou dwellest as the hearth-fire, warming the family and cooking the food. In the wood thou dwellest hidden, waiting to be awakened. In the altar thou dwellest as the sacrificial flame, bearing our offerings unto the gods. In the sun thou shinest forth as golden light, driving away the darkness and giving life to all growing things. In the waters thou hidest, yet art present. In the hearts of all creatures thou burnest as vital force.
Agni is the intermediary between gods and mortals! When we kindle the sacred fire and pour the soma upon the flames, thou dost carry our prayers and offerings up to the realm of heaven. The smoke riseth up like a ladder joining earth to sky. The fragrance of the burning sacrifice doth please the nostrils of the gods. Through thee, O Agni, we do commune with the divine.
Thou art the purifier! Thou dost burn away the impurities of the world. Thou dost transform base things into sacred things. When a corpse is laid upon thy flames, thou dost free the soul from the body and alloweth it to ascend to the heavens.
O Agni, mighty and multi-form! Accept our humble offerings. Receive our sacrifices with favor. Carry our prayers to the gods above. Give us thy warmth and thy light. Purify our hearts. Cleanse our spirits. Make us worthy to dwell in thy presence. Let thy sacred fire burn eternal within us.
Colophon
Rigveda I.94 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.94
imaṁ stomam arhate jātavedase ratham iva sam mahemā manīṣayā |
bhadrā hi naḥ pramatir asya saṁsady agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 1 ||
yasmai tvam āyajase sa sādhaty anarvā kṣeti dadhate suvīryam |
sa tūtāva nainam aśnoty aṁhatir agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 2 ||
śakema tvā samidhaṁ sādhayā dhiyas tve devā havir adanty āhutam |
tvam ādityām̐ ā vaha tān hy u1śmasy agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 3 ||
bharāmedhmaṁ kṛṇavāmā havīṁṣi te citayantaḥ parvaṇā-parvaṇā vayam |
jīvātave prataraṁ sādhayā dhiyo 'gne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 4 ||
viśāṁ gopā asya caranti jantavo dvipac ca yad uta catuṣpad aktubhiḥ |
citraḥ praketa uṣaso mahām̐ asy agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 5 ||
tvam adhvaryur uta hotāsi pūrvyaḥ praśāstā potā januṣā purohitaḥ |
viśvā vidvām̐ ārtvijyā dhīra puṣyasy agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 6 ||
yo viśvataḥ supratīkaḥ sadṛṅṅ asi dūre cit san taḻid ivāti rocase |
rātryāś cid andho ati deva paśyasy agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 7 ||
pūrvo devā bhavatu sunvato ratho 'smākaṁ śaṁso abhy astu dūḍhyaḥ |
tad ā jānītota puṣyatā vaco 'gne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 8 ||
vadhair duḥśaṁsām̐ apa dūḍhyo jahi dūre vā ye anti vā ke cid atriṇaḥ |
athā yajñāya gṛṇate sugaṁ kṛdhy agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 9 ||
yad ayukthā aruṣā rohitā rathe vātajūtā vṛṣabhasyeva te ravaḥ |
ād invasi vanino dhūmaketunāgne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 10 ||
adha svanād uta bibhyuḥ patatriṇo drapsā yat te yavasādo vy asthiran |
sugaṁ tat te tāvakebhyo rathebhyo 'gne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 11 ||
ayam mitrasya varuṇasya dhāyase 'vayātām marutāṁ heḻo adbhutaḥ |
mṛḻā su no bhūtv eṣām manaḥ punar agne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 12 ||
devo devānām asi mitro adbhuto vasur vasūnām asi cārur adhvare |
śarman syāma tava saprathastame 'gne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 13 ||
tat te bhadraṁ yat samiddhaḥ sve dame somāhuto jarase mṛḻayattamaḥ |
dadhāsi ratnaṁ draviṇaṁ ca dāśuṣe 'gne sakhye mā riṣāmā vayaṁ tava || 14 ||
yasmai tvaṁ sudraviṇo dadāśo 'nāgāstvam adite sarvatātā |
yam bhadreṇa śavasā codayāsi prajāvatā rādhasā te syāma || 15 ||
sa tvam agne saubhagatvasya vidvān asmākam āyuḥ pra tireha deva |
tan no mitro varuṇo māmahantām aditiḥ sindhuḥ pṛthivī uta dyauḥ || 16 ||
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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