Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.1 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
At the fore of each morning he standeth upright, lifted on high.
From the veil of night he goeth forth, bearing the new day’s light.
With his shining beam, Agni—fair of form and limb— filleth every seat upon the hour of his birth.
At thy beginning, O Agni, thou art the seed of both heaven and earth, beloved, scattered among the green-growing herbs.
A radiant child thou art, circling ever the dusky veil of night, bursting from thy mothers with a cry that never ceaseth.
Even as Viṣṇu, who knoweth well his farthest stride, so at thy rising dost thou guard the loftiest place.
When they, with lips of song, have made their milk for thee, they lift their voice as one and chant to thee in this place.
Then do thy bearers of birth—the kindling woods— come unto thee with their giving hands, bearing meat and means.
Thou goest forth to meet them as they shift their shapes in fire; thou art the Hotar amid the line of Manu’s sons.
To thee they sing, thou charioteer of flame, thou beacon bright of every godly feast.
To Agni they sing, who with all gods doth share their greatness, and yet in beauty is the guest of mortal homes.
Agni, thou that clothest thyself in raiment and gold, resting upon earth’s navel— ruddy thou risest where refreshment treadeth.
O king, being set before all, offer here to the gods.
For thou hast stretched thyself wide through the bounds of heaven and earth, as a son stretcheth his arms to hold both father and mother.
Go forth to the longing ones, and bring the gods to this place, thou youngest and most mighty.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.1
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
agre bṛhann uṣasām ūrdhvo asthān nirjaganvān tamaso jyotiṣāgāt |
agnir bhānunā ruśatā svaṅga ā jāto viśvā sadmāny aprāḥ || 1 ||
sa jāto garbho asi rodasyor agne cārur vibhṛta oṣadhīṣu |
citraḥ śiśuḥ pari tamāṁsy aktūn pra mātṛbhyo adhi kanikradad gāḥ || 2 ||
viṣṇur itthā paramam asya vidvāñ jāto bṛhann abhi pāti tṛtīyam |
āsā yad asya payo akrata svaṁ sacetaso abhy arcanty atra || 3 ||
ata u tvā pitubhṛto janitrīr annāvṛdham prati caranty annaiḥ |
tā īm praty eṣi punar anyarūpā asi tvaṁ vikṣu mānuṣīṣu hotā || 4 ||
hotāraṁ citraratham adhvarasya yajñasya-yajñasya ketuṁ ruśantam |
pratyardhiṁ devasya-devasya mahnā śriyā tv a1gnim atithiṁ janānām || 5 ||
sa tu vastrāṇy adha peśanāni vasāno agnir nābhā pṛthivyāḥ |
aruṣo jātaḥ pada iḻāyāḥ purohito rājan yakṣīha devān || 6 ||
ā hi dyāvāpṛthivī agna ubhe sadā putro na mātarā tatantha |
pra yāhy acchośato yaviṣṭhāthā vaha sahasyeha devān || 7 ||
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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