Hymn to Agni
Rigveda II.1 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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.
Agni, first thou art born of the waters! The immortal within the sacrifice, the bright priest whom no man may approach with guile. Thou art called forth by the damp wood; thou dwellest in the heart of stone; thou ridest upon the wind like a swift steed. Vaiśvānara, thou art the fire of all fires — the household hearth, the altar flame, the lightning that cleaves the night sky.
The gods chose thee as their mouth. The Ādityas know thy majesty; the Maruts flee before thy breath. When the mortal poureth ghee upon thy altar, thou art the bridge that carrieth his prayer upward to the halls of heaven. No offering reacheth the gods save through thy gleaming tongue.
Agni, thou art the keeper of cosmic order — ṛta flows through thy flame. When dawn breaketh, thou art reborn; when darkness gathereth, still thou burnest. The birds flee before thy heat; the waters shrink from thy touch; the mountains themselves were forged in thy ancient fire.
We call upon thee, O flame! Thou slayer of demons, thou purifier of the unworthy, thou drinker of the soma-offering! Guard us from the rākṣasas that prowl in darkness. Lead our sacrifice unto the immortal gods. Accept our praise, O Agni — thou whom no man may resist, thou whose splendor filleth the three worlds.
Come near us, O radiant one! Sit thou at our hearth. Accept the ghee we pour. Make us wealthy; grant us sons; bestow upon us the victory of warriors. Through thee, O Agni, shall we attain immortality. Through thee shall we see the face of Indra himself.
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 II.1
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.
tvam agne dyubhis tvam āśuśukṣaṇis tvam adbhyas tvam aśmanas pari |
tvaṁ vanebhyas tvam oṣadhībhyas tvaṁ nṛṇāṁ nṛpate jāyase śuciḥ || 1 ||
tavāgne hotraṁ tava potram ṛtviyaṁ tava neṣṭraṁ tvam agnid ṛtāyataḥ |
tava praśāstraṁ tvam adhvarīyasi brahmā cāsi gṛhapatiś ca no dame || 2 ||
tvam agna indro vṛṣabhaḥ satām asi tvaṁ viṣṇur urugāyo namasyaḥ |
tvam brahmā rayivid brahmaṇas pate tvaṁ vidhartaḥ sacase puraṁdhyā || 3 ||
tvam agne rājā varuṇo dhṛtavratas tvam mitro bhavasi dasma īḍyaḥ |
tvam aryamā satpatir yasya sambhujaṁ tvam aṁśo vidathe deva bhājayuḥ || 4 ||
tvam agne tvaṣṭā vidhate suvīryaṁ tava gnāvo mitramahaḥ sajātyam |
tvam āśuhemā rariṣe svaśvyaṁ tvaṁ narāṁ śardho asi purūvasuḥ || 5 ||
tvam agne rudro asuro maho divas tvaṁ śardho mārutam pṛkṣa īśiṣe |
tvaṁ vātair aruṇair yāsi śaṁgayas tvam pūṣā vidhataḥ pāsi nu tmanā || 6 ||
tvam agne draviṇodā araṁkṛte tvaṁ devaḥ savitā ratnadhā asi |
tvam bhago nṛpate vasva īśiṣe tvam pāyur dame yas te 'vidhat || 7 ||
tvām agne dama ā viśpatiṁ viśas tvāṁ rājānaṁ suvidatram ṛñjate |
tvaṁ viśvāni svanīka patyase tvaṁ sahasrāṇi śatā daśa prati || 8 ||
tvām agne pitaram iṣṭibhir naras tvām bhrātrāya śamyā tanūrucam |
tvam putro bhavasi yas te 'vidhat tvaṁ sakhā suśevaḥ pāsy ādhṛṣaḥ || 9 ||
tvam agna ṛbhur āke namasya1s tvaṁ vājasya kṣumato rāya īśiṣe |
tvaṁ vi bhāsy anu dakṣi dāvane tvaṁ viśikṣur asi yajñam ātaniḥ || 10 ||
tvam agne aditir deva dāśuṣe tvaṁ hotrā bhāratī vardhase girā |
tvam iḻā śatahimāsi dakṣase tvaṁ vṛtrahā vasupate sarasvatī || 11 ||
tvam agne subhṛta uttamaṁ vayas tava spārhe varṇa ā saṁdṛśi śriyaḥ |
tvaṁ vājaḥ prataraṇo bṛhann asi tvaṁ rayir bahulo viśvatas pṛthuḥ || 12 ||
tvām agna ādityāsa āsya1ṁ tvāṁ jihvāṁ śucayaś cakrire kave |
tvāṁ rātiṣāco adhvareṣu saścire tve devā havir adanty āhutam || 13 ||
tve agne viśve amṛtāso adruha āsā devā havir adanty āhutam |
tvayā martāsaḥ svadanta āsutiṁ tvaṁ garbho vīrudhāṁ jajñiṣe śuciḥ || 14 ||
tvaṁ tān saṁ ca prati cāsi majmanāgne sujāta pra ca deva ricyase |
pṛkṣo yad atra mahinā vi te bhuvad anu dyāvāpṛthivī rodasī ubhe || 15 ||
ye stotṛbhyo goagrām aśvapeśasam agne rātim upasṛjanti sūrayaḥ |
asmāñ ca tām̐ś ca pra hi neṣi vasya ā bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 16 ||
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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