Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.128 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.
Mine be the shining at the call of strife, O Agni.
May we wax strong in the flesh, even as we kindle thee in thine own flame.
Let the four quarters bow themselves unto me.
With thee as our watcher and guide, may we win the day in battle.
Mine be the gathering of all gods at the call of strife— the Storm-lords with Indra, Viṣṇu, and Agni.
Mine be the mid-air, wide and welcoming.
At my wish, let the wind make itself clean and arise.
Let the gods bring wealth unto me through the rite.
Let prayer dwell in me; let the gods' name be called forth in me.
The olden priests of fire served with fervor.
May we be whole of body and rich in noble sons.
Let the offerings be made for me, for they are mine.
Let the thought of my heart be brought to pass.
Let me not fall into trespass or wrong.
O gods, speak ye on our behalf!
Ye six wide-roaming goddesses, make room for us.
All ye gods, be bold in deed this day.
Let us not be barren, nor lose the flesh that is our own.
Let us not fall beneath the hand of the hater, O King Soma.
O Agni, turn aside the wrath of our foes.
Be to us as a shepherd none may beguile—guarding on every side.
Let them that charge us turn back again; their wrath shall melt in their homes when they rise from slumber.
I call upon Him who ordaineth the ordainers, the Lord of shaping—He, the god who delivers, who bringeth low all hate.
Let the Twin Horsemen and Br̥haspati uphold this rite; let the gods shield the giver from falling short.
The wild one of wide roam shall give us cover this day— he whom many name, who yieldeth herds in plenty.
Be kind to our young, ye of the dusky steeds.
Do us no hurt, nor hand us to the hand of harm.
Let our foes stand far off—whoe’er they be.
With Indra and Agni shall we cast them down.
The Vasus, the Rudras, and the Ādityas have made me high-reaching, one dreadful to behold, a king above kings.
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.128
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.
mamāgne varco vihaveṣv astu vayaṁ tvendhānās tanvam puṣema |
mahyaṁ namantām pradiśaś catasras tvayādhyakṣeṇa pṛtanā jayema || 1 ||
mama devā vihave santu sarva indravanto maruto viṣṇur agniḥ |
mamāntarikṣam urulokam astu mahyaṁ vātaḥ pavatāṁ kāme asmin || 2 ||
mayi devā draviṇam ā yajantām mayy āśīr astu mayi devahūtiḥ |
daivyā hotāro vanuṣanta pūrve 'riṣṭāḥ syāma tanvā suvīrāḥ || 3 ||
mahyaṁ yajantu mama yāni havyākūtiḥ satyā manaso me astu |
eno mā ni gāṁ katamac canāhaṁ viśve devāso adhi vocatā naḥ || 4 ||
devīḥ ṣaḻ urvīr uru naḥ kṛṇota viśve devāsa iha vīrayadhvam |
mā hāsmahi prajayā mā tanūbhir mā radhāma dviṣate soma rājan || 5 ||
agne manyum pratinudan pareṣām adabdho gopāḥ pari pāhi nas tvam |
pratyañco yantu nigutaḥ punas te3 'maiṣāṁ cittam prabudhāṁ vi neśat || 6 ||
dhātā dhātṝṇām bhuvanasya yas patir devaṁ trātāram abhimātiṣāham |
imaṁ yajñam aśvinobhā bṛhaspatir devāḥ pāntu yajamānaṁ nyarthāt || 7 ||
uruvyacā no mahiṣaḥ śarma yaṁsad asmin have puruhūtaḥ purukṣuḥ |
sa naḥ prajāyai haryaśva mṛḻayendra mā no rīriṣo mā parā dāḥ || 8 ||
ye naḥ sapatnā apa te bhavantv indrāgnibhyām ava bādhāmahe tān |
vasavo rudrā ādityā uparispṛśam mograṁ cettāram adhirājam akran || 9 ||
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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