Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.122 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.
Him of radiant might, like a Vasu, I shall hymn— the precious guest, gracious and worthy, not to be slighted.
He giveth forth riches that feed all,
Agni the Fire-Priest, the Lord of the House, and bringeth a host of valorous men in his train.
Take joy, O Agni, in my words;
thou knowest the ways of the rite, O mighty in deed.
Thou that art clad in ghee, lay forth the path of holy speech; by thy word the gods brought it forth.
Thou, the deathless one, goest about the seven realms; and doing the just work for the just, be thou generous to him that doeth well.
To the one who hath reached toward thee with the kindling stick, be thou well-pleased and nigh.
The flame of the rite, set first before all, is called upon in reverence by the seven who offer—
Agni, who heareth their cry, the bull who bears ghee on his back, the god who giveth wealth and brave sons to the giver.
Thou art the foremost herald, meet to be chosen.
Come, when thou art called, and be gladdened.
Thou didst anoint the Maruts in the house of the godly, and didst cause the Bhṛgus to shine with their song.
Thou drawest forth the milk of all-nourishing strength from the goodly cow for the one dear to the gods.
Thou circlest thrice about the truths, about the holy work, shining bright, thy back spread with ghee— therein is thy mighty worth well shown.
At the brightening of this dawn, to thee alone did the sons of Manu give sacrifice, making thee their herald.
Thou makest strong the gods, that they may be uplifted, anointed in butter at the rite, O Agni.
The Vasiṣṭhas have called thee down in their song, thou who winnest the prize, O Fire divine.
They that are wise in holy works sing thee.
Uphold among us the thriving of wealth,
and guard us ever in thy grace.
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.122
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.
vasuṁ na citramahasaṁ gṛṇīṣe vāmaṁ śevam atithim adviṣeṇyam |
sa rāsate śurudho viśvadhāyaso 'gnir hotā gṛhapatiḥ suvīryam || 1 ||
juṣāṇo agne prati harya me vaco viśvāni vidvān vayunāni sukrato |
ghṛtanirṇig brahmaṇe gātum eraya tava devā ajanayann anu vratam || 2 ||
sapta dhāmāni pariyann amartyo dāśad dāśuṣe sukṛte māmahasva |
suvīreṇa rayiṇāgne svābhuvā yas ta ānaṭ samidhā taṁ juṣasva || 3 ||
yajñasya ketum prathamam purohitaṁ haviṣmanta īḻate sapta vājinam |
śṛṇvantam agniṁ ghṛtapṛṣṭham ukṣaṇam pṛṇantaṁ devam pṛṇate suvīryam || 4 ||
tvaṁ dūtaḥ prathamo vareṇyaḥ sa hūyamāno amṛtāya matsva |
tvām marjayan maruto dāśuṣo gṛhe tvāṁ stomebhir bhṛgavo vi rurucuḥ || 5 ||
iṣaṁ duhan sudughāṁ viśvadhāyasaṁ yajñapriye yajamānāya sukrato |
agne ghṛtasnus trir ṛtāni dīdyad vartir yajñam pariyan sukratūyase || 6 ||
tvām id asyā uṣaso vyuṣṭiṣu dūtaṁ kṛṇvānā ayajanta mānuṣāḥ |
tvāṁ devā mahayāyyāya vāvṛdhur ājyam agne nimṛjanto adhvare || 7 ||
ni tvā vasiṣṭhā ahvanta vājinaṁ gṛṇanto agne vidatheṣu vedhasaḥ |
rāyas poṣaṁ yajamāneṣu dhāraya yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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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