Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.79 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 have beheld the greatness of him—the mighty one— the deathless midst the tribes of men.
His jaws, they open wide, then close again, ever craving, ever biting, ever fed.
He devoureth much and is not filled.
His head is laid in secret; his eyes are set apart.
Ever hungry, he eateth wood with his tongue.
With feet they gather his meat for him,
their hands stretched forth in holy awe amidst the folk.
Like a babe that seeketh the hidden breast of his mother, he slippeth through the broad-leaved green.
He was found, shining as grain when full-grown, licking within the bosom of the hill.
Hear me, ye twain that frame the world—I cry this truth:
Whilst he is born, he eateth his twin mothers.
Though I am flesh and see not the god, yet Agni seeth from afar, and seeth what is to come.
Whoso setteth dry fare before him, whoso poureth the offering of melted butter and ghee to feed him well, such a man thou lookest upon from afar, Agni, with thy thousand watchful eyes.
Thou turnest thy face to every quarter.
What wrong, by deed or by neglect, hast thou wrought before the gods?
This I ask of thee now, O Agni, for I know it not.
Whether in play or in rest, still must the tawny one feed— though toothless he be.
Thou hast hewn the wood bit by bit, as a knife divideth the ox at each joint.
Born within the wood, he hath yoked his own steeds, who look every way, held in check by reins drawn straight.
Our noble ally hath carved the meal with the good gods beside him.
He hath joined himself in fullness again, and waxed in might.
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.79
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.
apaśyam asya mahato mahitvam amartyasya martyāsu vikṣu |
nānā hanū vibhṛte sam bharete asinvatī bapsatī bhūry attaḥ || 1 ||
guhā śiro nihitam ṛdhag akṣī asinvann atti jihvayā vanāni |
atrāṇy asmai paḍbhiḥ sam bharanty uttānahastā namasādhi vikṣu || 2 ||
pra mātuḥ prataraṁ guhyam icchan kumāro na vīrudhaḥ sarpad urvīḥ |
sasaṁ na pakvam avidac chucantaṁ ririhvāṁsaṁ ripa upasthe antaḥ || 3 ||
tad vām ṛtaṁ rodasī pra bravīmi jāyamāno mātarā garbho atti |
nāhaṁ devasya martyaś ciketāgnir aṅga vicetāḥ sa pracetāḥ || 4 ||
yo asmā annaṁ tṛṣv ā3dadhāty ājyair ghṛtair juhoti puṣyati |
tasmai sahasram akṣabhir vi cakṣe 'gne viśvataḥ pratyaṅṅ asi tvam || 5 ||
kiṁ deveṣu tyaja enaś cakarthāgne pṛcchāmi nu tvām avidvān |
akrīḻan krīḻan harir attave 'dan vi parvaśaś cakarta gām ivāsiḥ || 6 ||
viṣūco aśvān yuyuje vanejā ṛjītibhī raśanābhir gṛbhītān |
cakṣade mitro vasubhiḥ sujātaḥ sam ānṛdhe parvabhir vāvṛdhānaḥ || 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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