Hymn to Agni
Rigveda X.8 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.
With his high flame shining, Agni driveth forth— the great bull belloweth to the twin realms above and below.
He reacheth unto the utmost heights of heaven; like a water-borne buffalo, he waxeth strong in the bosom of the floods.
He exulteth as a babe in the womb, a humped bull in his might.
No failing is found in him—the youngling crieth out with force.
He lifteth the offerings up to the gods’ great gathering and goeth before all others into his rightful seats.
He who hath laid hold on the heads of his twain parents, they have set him at the rite as the streaming light of the sun.
At his uprising, the ruddy maidens delight in their own fair forms, riding the fire-horse within the womb of truth.
Thou goest before each dawning day, O noble flame, and so hast thou become the far-shining one betwixt the twin-born.
For the sake of truth, thou hast set thy sevenfold tread— and thus thou begettest the bond of kinship for thine own self.
Thou art become the eye and watchman of mighty truth; in thy just work thou becomest even Varuṇa.
Child of the Waters, O Jātavedas, thou takest joy in the rites of him whose oblation thou bearest aloft.
Thou art the forerunner of the rite and the lord of the breathful space, drawn onward by thy goodly steeds.
In the heavens thou hast planted thy head, which winneth the sun, and thy tongue thou hast made the bearer of offering, O Agni.
Trita, with steadfast mind, within the secret place, seeketh the far-seen wisdom of his elder forebear.
Craving fellowship in the hollow of his kin, he speaketh forth the weapons of his house and seeketh his path.
That one, the Āptya, well knowing the weapons of his line, driven by Indra, rose up in might and struck.
He shattered the three-headed, seven-reined beast, and loosed the kine—even those born of Tvaṣṭar’s child.
Indra, lord of the folk, smote off the heads of him who reached too far after power, who deemed himself as great.
He seized the cattle of Viśvarūpa, and with wrathful hand, he twisted off his triple crown.
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.8
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 ketunā bṛhatā yāty agnir ā rodasī vṛṣabho roravīti |
divaś cid antām̐ upamām̐ ud ānaḻ apām upasthe mahiṣo vavardha || 1 ||
mumoda garbho vṛṣabhaḥ kakudmān asremā vatsaḥ śimīvām̐ arāvīt |
sa devatāty udyatāni kṛṇvan sveṣu kṣayeṣu prathamo jigāti || 2 ||
ā yo mūrdhānam pitror arabdha ny adhvare dadhire sūro arṇaḥ |
asya patmann aruṣīr aśvabudhnā ṛtasya yonau tanvo juṣanta || 3 ||
uṣa-uṣo hi vaso agram eṣi tvaṁ yamayor abhavo vibhāvā |
ṛtāya sapta dadhiṣe padāni janayan mitraṁ tanve3 svāyai || 4 ||
bhuvaś cakṣur maha ṛtasya gopā bhuvo varuṇo yad ṛtāya veṣi |
bhuvo apāṁ napāj jātavedo bhuvo dūto yasya havyaṁ jujoṣaḥ || 5 ||
bhuvo yajñasya rajasaś ca netā yatrā niyudbhiḥ sacase śivābhiḥ |
divi mūrdhānaṁ dadhiṣe svarṣāṁ jihvām agne cakṛṣe havyavāham || 6 ||
asya tritaḥ kratunā vavre antar icchan dhītim pitur evaiḥ parasya |
sacasyamānaḥ pitror upasthe jāmi bruvāṇa āyudhāni veti || 7 ||
sa pitryāṇy āyudhāni vidvān indreṣita āptyo abhy ayudhyat |
triśīrṣāṇaṁ saptaraśmiṁ jaghanvān tvāṣṭrasya cin niḥ sasṛje trito gāḥ || 8 ||
bhūrīd indra udinakṣantam ojo 'vābhinat satpatir manyamānam |
tvāṣṭrasya cid viśvarūpasya gonām ācakrāṇas trīṇi śīrṣā parā vark || 9 ||
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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