Hymn to Agni
Rigveda I.97 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.
Hear us, O Agni! Thou art the healer! Thou dost burn away disease and suffering! When sickness doth come upon the body, thy sacred flame doth purify and restore. The heat that would destroy an enemy doth bring health to a friend.
In thy presence, the fever doth break. The wound doth cease to fester. The poisons are burned away. The body regains its strength. Those who lie upon their death-beds do rise up and walk again. The blind do see. The lame do move with freedom. All manner of infirmity doth flee before thee.
The smoke of thy sacred fire doth carry healing unto all who breathe it. When we do kindle the herbs and spices and call upon thy name, thy power doth flow through the air like an invisible river. It entereth the nostrils of the sick and doth bring comfort and relief.
Thou art the destroyer of demons that dwell within the body! The evil spirits that do cause sickness and pain do tremble and flee at thy approach. The malevolent forces that doth whisper madness and despair do lose their power when thy sacred flame doth burn.
O healing fire, O Agni the purifier! We call upon thee in our time of need. Our beloved ones lie sick and we do fear for their lives. Come swiftly with thy healing touch. Thou hast cured countless souls since time immemorial. Thou knowest the nature of disease. Thou knowest how to restore the body to wholeness. Accept our offerings of ghee and herbs. Hear our prayers of supplication. Turn thy merciful gaze toward the suffering. Let thy healing fire burn away all sickness and pain.
Colophon
Rigveda I.97 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.97
apa naḥ śośucad agham agne śuśugdhy ā rayim |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 1 ||
sukṣetriyā sugātuyā vasūyā ca yajāmahe |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 2 ||
pra yad bhandiṣṭha eṣām prāsmākāsaś ca sūrayaḥ |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 3 ||
pra yat te agne sūrayo jāyemahi pra te vayam |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 4 ||
pra yad agneḥ sahasvato viśvato yanti bhānavaḥ |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 5 ||
tvaṁ hi viśvatomukha viśvataḥ paribhūr asi |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 6 ||
dviṣo no viśvatomukhāti nāveva pāraya |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 7 ||
sa naḥ sindhum iva nāvayāti parṣā svastaye |
apa naḥ śośucad agham || 8 ||
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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