Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.140 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.
O Agni, thine are renown and life; thy beams shine out full greatly, thou bearer of radiant treasure.
Thou of high-shining glory, with might thou ordainest a worthy reward for the devout, O wise and godly singer.
Of spotless sheen, of gleaming fire, of light that faileth not, thou risest in brightness.
As a son who goeth between two mothers, so comest thou kindly to them; thou fillest both the upper and the lower world.
O Child of Sustenance, O Jātavedas, rejoice in the goodly songs, when thou art stirred by the sight of holy verse.
In thee the helpers of shining strength have laid their well-born offerings, rich and of many forms.
O Agni, with thy bridling hand, be spread abroad by the sons of men. In us be treasure, O deathless flame.
Thou rulest o’er a wonder, fair to behold; thou bringest to pass thy will, which yieldeth good reward.
Thou art the fashioner of the feast, foresighted and lord of great blessing; thee they have set in the fore-place— thou ordainest the fair-measured gift of worth: great meat and wealth that prospereth.
Thou art the true one, the bull that all delight to see; Agni, the tribes have set thee in the fore for thy goodwill— thou of far-hearing ears, thou wide-ranging god; the seed of man hath placed thee forward with their song.
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.140
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.
agne tava śravo vayo mahi bhrājante arcayo vibhāvaso |
bṛhadbhāno śavasā vājam ukthya1ṁ dadhāsi dāśuṣe kave || 1 ||
pāvakavarcāḥ śukravarcā anūnavarcā ud iyarṣi bhānunā |
putro mātarā vicarann upāvasi pṛṇakṣi rodasī ubhe || 2 ||
ūrjo napāj jātavedaḥ suśastibhir mandasva dhītibhir hitaḥ |
tve iṣaḥ saṁ dadhur bhūrivarpasaś citrotayo vāmajātāḥ || 3 ||
irajyann agne prathayasva jantubhir asme rāyo amartya |
sa darśatasya vapuṣo vi rājasi pṛṇakṣi sānasiṁ kratum || 4 ||
iṣkartāram adhvarasya pracetasaṁ kṣayantaṁ rādhaso mahaḥ |
rātiṁ vāmasya subhagām mahīm iṣaṁ dadhāsi sānasiṁ rayim || 5 ||
ṛtāvānam mahiṣaṁ viśvadarśatam agniṁ sumnāya dadhire puro janāḥ |
śrutkarṇaṁ saprathastamaṁ tvā girā daivyam mānuṣā yugā || 6 ||
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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