Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.16 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.
Burn him not through, O Agni; scorch him not, nor sear his flesh nor frame.
When thou hast brought him to ripeness, O Jātavedas, then speed him forth to the fathers who came before.
And when thou hast made him ready, well-roasted by thy craft, then give him over to the ancient kin.
When he doth set upon the road that leadeth unto the next life, let him be led by the gods' own will.
Let thine eye go unto the sun, thy breath unto the wind.
Go thou to heaven and earth as is meet.
Or go unto the waters, if thy lot was cast therein.
Take root again among the herbs, thy limbs therein made whole.
The goat is thy share, O Flame. With thy heat, make it hot.
Let thy burning beam sear it well.
With thy kindly limbs, O Jātavedas, carry him hence to the realm of the righteous doers of rites.
Loose him again to the fathers, O Agni—he who was thine by offering, who passeth on by his own strength.
Let him be clothed in life anew. Let him seek out what is left of him; let him join with his flesh again, O Jātavedas.
What the black-winged omen-bird hath pecked, or the creeping ant, the slithering snake, or beast with dog's-foot— let all be cleansed, O all-devouring Fire, and Soma too, who dwelleth in the holy men.
Make thyself a guard against the flame, wrapped in the kine’s own fat and grease.
Clothe thyself with these, lest that fierce one, bristling with blaze, cling to thy frame and seek to burn thee wholly to ash.
Touch not this cup, O Agni—overturn it not.
It is loved of the gods and the fathers who drink the soma.
This draught the gods delight in—within it they find their gladness.
The flesh-eating Agni, I send far off. Let him bear away the taint, and let him go to the realm where Yama reigns.
Let this one remain—this gentler Jātavedas—he shall bear the offering, he who seeth all things that come.
The devourer who entered thy house, who saw this other, the true bearer of flame— that god I take for the rite unto the sires.
He shall send the gharmadrink unto the highest seat.
That fire who beareth the meat unto the fathers, made strong through truth, he shall cry aloud the offerings to the gods and sires alike.
With gladness we would seat thee, with gladness light thee, O Fire.
Gladly bring hither the glad forefathers to partake of their gift.
Whom thou hast wholly consumed, O Flame, that one make whole again.
Let the kiyāmbu plant spring forth, and pākadūrvā too, and the green vyalkaśā renew the field.
O lady cool with cooling grace, O chilly dame of chill, come join with the frog-lady fair— and stir this fire to wakefulness.
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.16
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.
mainam agne vi daho mābhi śoco māsya tvacaṁ cikṣipo mā śarīram |
yadā śṛtaṁ kṛṇavo jātavedo 'them enam pra hiṇutāt pitṛbhyaḥ || 1 ||
śṛtaṁ yadā karasi jātavedo 'them enam pari dattāt pitṛbhyaḥ |
yadā gacchāty asunītim etām athā devānāṁ vaśanīr bhavāti || 2 ||
sūryaṁ cakṣur gacchatu vātam ātmā dyāṁ ca gaccha pṛthivīṁ ca dharmaṇā |
apo vā gaccha yadi tatra te hitam oṣadhīṣu prati tiṣṭhā śarīraiḥ || 3 ||
ajo bhāgas tapasā taṁ tapasva taṁ te śocis tapatu taṁ te arciḥ |
yās te śivās tanvo jātavedas tābhir vahainaṁ sukṛtām u lokam || 4 ||
ava sṛja punar agne pitṛbhyo yas ta āhutaś carati svadhābhiḥ |
āyur vasāna upa vetu śeṣaḥ saṁ gacchatāṁ tanvā jātavedaḥ || 5 ||
yat te kṛṣṇaḥ śakuna ātutoda pipīlaḥ sarpa uta vā śvāpadaḥ |
agniṣ ṭad viśvād agadaṁ kṛṇotu somaś ca yo brāhmaṇām̐ āviveśa || 6 ||
agner varma pari gobhir vyayasva sam prorṇuṣva pīvasā medasā ca |
net tvā dhṛṣṇur harasā jarhṛṣāṇo dadhṛg vidhakṣyan paryaṅkhayāte || 7 ||
imam agne camasam mā vi jihvaraḥ priyo devānām uta somyānām |
eṣa yaś camaso devapānas tasmin devā amṛtā mādayante || 8 ||
kravyādam agnim pra hiṇomi dūraṁ yamarājño gacchatu ripravāhaḥ |
ihaivāyam itaro jātavedā devebhyo havyaṁ vahatu prajānan || 9 ||
yo agniḥ kravyāt praviveśa vo gṛham imam paśyann itaraṁ jātavedasam |
taṁ harāmi pitṛyajñāya devaṁ sa gharmam invāt parame sadhasthe || 10 ||
yo agniḥ kravyavāhanaḥ pitṝn yakṣad ṛtāvṛdhaḥ |
pred u havyāni vocati devebhyaś ca pitṛbhya ā || 11 ||
uśantas tvā ni dhīmahy uśantaḥ sam idhīmahi |
uśann uśata ā vaha pitṝn haviṣe attave || 12 ||
yaṁ tvam agne samadahas tam u nir vāpayā punaḥ |
kiyāmbv atra rohatu pākadūrvā vyalkaśā || 13 ||
śītike śītikāvati hlādike hlādikāvati |
maṇḍūkyā3 su saṁ gama imaṁ sv a1gniṁ harṣaya || 14 ||
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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