Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.21 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.
As though with songs each bearing its own winding, we choose thee, Agni, to be our Hotar, for this our offering where the sacred grass is laid.
Thou art keen of flame and pure.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
They adorn thee, Agni, those near at hand who reap their gifts in steeds.
The ladle’s pour pursueth thee, and the offering, steadfast in its course, follows after.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
Those who rest upon thee, made firm by thy flame, sit close and pour with their tongues as women do with ladles.
Thou puttest on both black and silver shapes, and every form of beauty.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
Whatsoever wealth thou holdest dear, O Agni— thou mighty, deathless one— bring it hither to us, that we may win the prize, the fair reward laid here at the rite.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
New-born, thou didst uncover every poet’s art, aided by Atharvan the sage.
Thou becamest the herald of Vivasvant, belov’d and longed-for by Yama himself.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
At the rite they call upon thee, O Agni, while the holy work doth go forth.
To the godly man thou givest all he might wish.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
They have made thee priest and dear to all at the feast, O Agni, ghee-bright and blazing, for Manu’s sake, ever watchful with thine eyes.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
With thy flame, O Agni, thou stretchest thyself far and high.
With a roar thou playest the bull, and settest the seed within thy kindred— the green-growing ones of the earth.
In the height of my gladness, I would lift my voice in praise of you, O gods.
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.21
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.
āgniṁ na svavṛktibhir hotāraṁ tvā vṛṇīmahe |
yajñāya stīrṇabarhiṣe vi vo made śīram pāvakaśociṣaṁ vivakṣase || 1 ||
tvām u te svābhuvaḥ śumbhanty aśvarādhasaḥ |
veti tvām upasecanī vi vo mada ṛjītir agna āhutir vivakṣase || 2 ||
tve dharmāṇa āsate juhūbhiḥ siñcatīr iva |
kṛṣṇā rūpāṇy arjunā vi vo made viśvā adhi śriyo dhiṣe vivakṣase || 3 ||
yam agne manyase rayiṁ sahasāvann amartya |
tam ā no vājasātaye vi vo made yajñeṣu citram ā bharā vivakṣase || 4 ||
agnir jāto atharvaṇā vidad viśvāni kāvyā |
bhuvad dūto vivasvato vi vo made priyo yamasya kāmyo vivakṣase || 5 ||
tvāṁ yajñeṣv īḻate 'gne prayaty adhvare |
tvaṁ vasūni kāmyā vi vo made viśvā dadhāsi dāśuṣe vivakṣase || 6 ||
tvāṁ yajñeṣv ṛtvijaṁ cārum agne ni ṣedire |
ghṛtapratīkam manuṣo vi vo made śukraṁ cetiṣṭham akṣabhir vivakṣase || 7 ||
agne śukreṇa śociṣoru prathayase bṛhat |
abhikrandan vṛṣāyase vi vo made garbhaṁ dadhāsi jāmiṣu vivakṣase || 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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