Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.4 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.
I begin the holy work with thee in mind, and I send forth my thought toward thee, that thou mayest be the one praised when we call upon the gods.
Thou art as the first draught in a barren land, O Agni, for Pūru who seeks thee, O king from the first days.
Unto thee the tribes gather, as kine to a warm fold, thou who art ever young.
Messenger art thou, between the gods and men— a great one who walkest the shining path between both realms.
Like a swift colt held in joy, thy mother reareth thee, glad for the delight thou bringest.
Down from the high place thou rushest, eager, like a freed beast seeking its keep upon the slope.
We, being witless, know not thy full might— but thou, who art not witless, observest all.
Still lieth thy cloak of wood, yet thou movest within, licking it with thy flame.
Thou, chieftain of the hearth, lickest the fair-handled ladle again and again.
Wheresoever it be, thou art born afresh amid the elder wood.
Grey art thou, standing in timber, with a banner of smoke above.
Though thou canst not swim, thou pursuest the waters like a bull— led forth by men of one accord.
As thieves creep into woods at peril of their lives, so are thy limbs bound with tenfold cords— the two arms fasten thee, as though to harness thee.
Lo, Agni, a new word is kindled for thee here:
yoke it as a cart, with thy burning limbs for reins.
Words of rite, words of praise, and this our chant shall be as strength unto thee, O Jātavedas.
Keep watch o’er our children and the seed of our house, and ceaselessly guard our flesh, O Agni, thou watcher in flame.
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.4
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.
pra te yakṣi pra ta iyarmi manma bhuvo yathā vandyo no haveṣu |
dhanvann iva prapā asi tvam agna iyakṣave pūrave pratna rājan || 1 ||
yaṁ tvā janāso abhi saṁcaranti gāva uṣṇam iva vrajaṁ yaviṣṭha |
dūto devānām asi martyānām antar mahām̐ś carasi rocanena || 2 ||
śiśuṁ na tvā jenyaṁ vardhayantī mātā bibharti sacanasyamānā |
dhanor adhi pravatā yāsi haryañ jigīṣase paśur ivāvasṛṣṭaḥ || 3 ||
mūrā amūra na vayaṁ cikitvo mahitvam agne tvam aṅga vitse |
śaye vavriś carati jihvayādan rerihyate yuvatiṁ viśpatiḥ san || 4 ||
kūcij jāyate sanayāsu navyo vane tasthau palito dhūmaketuḥ |
asnātāpo vṛṣabho na pra veti sacetaso yam praṇayanta martāḥ || 5 ||
tanūtyajeva taskarā vanargū raśanābhir daśabhir abhy adhītām |
iyaṁ te agne navyasī manīṣā yukṣvā rathaṁ na śucayadbhir aṅgaiḥ || 6 ||
brahma ca te jātavedo namaś ceyaṁ ca gīḥ sadam id vardhanī bhūt |
rakṣā ṇo agne tanayāni tokā rakṣota nas tanvo3 aprayucchan || 7 ||
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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