Hymn to Agni
Rigveda II.3 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.
This is the ritual litany of Agni — the Āprī hymn, wherein the sacrifice is made manifest in words and fire. The priest speaketh, and the cosmos doth answer.
Come hither, O Agni, summoned by the sacrifice! The honey-sweet butter floweth for thee; the barley is winnowed; the wood is split and ready. Thou art the priest of priests, the mouth through which all prayer ascendeth. Come thou first, O flame!
The Hotar calleth! The Adhvaryu prepareth the altar-mound! The Ādityas witness! The Maruts gather in the sky! The Vasus attend! The Rudras stand watchful! O sacred flame, gather unto thyself all the gods, and show them forth this offering.
Thou, O Agni, art the messenger between the mortal world and the halls of the immortals. When we pour ghee upon thee, it riseth as golden smoke. When we speak our prayers, thy tongue carryeth them heavenward. Thou art the only bridge that existeth between the earth below and the sky above.
The offering is made! The butter burneth! The smoke ascendeth in spirals of white and gray! The gods receive! The rite is performed! Through thee, O Agni, the sacrifice is made whole and perfect. Through thee, the devotion of men reacheth the throne of Indra.
Now grant us thy favor! Show the gods our devotion! Let them pour down upon us the blessings we crave — cattle and sons, wisdom and strength, victory in battle and long life in peace. Thou art the keeper of the sacrifice, O Agni. All things are made sacred through thy 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 II.3
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.
samiddho agnir nihitaḥ pṛthivyām pratyaṅ viśvāni bhuvanāny asthāt |
hotā pāvakaḥ pradivaḥ sumedhā devo devān yajatv agnir arhan || 1 ||
narāśaṁsaḥ prati dhāmāny añjan tisro divaḥ prati mahnā svarciḥ |
ghṛtapruṣā manasā havyam undan mūrdhan yajñasya sam anaktu devān || 2 ||
īḻito agne manasā no arhan devān yakṣi mānuṣāt pūrvo adya |
sa ā vaha marutāṁ śardho acyutam indraṁ naro barhiṣadaṁ yajadhvam || 3 ||
deva barhir vardhamānaṁ suvīraṁ stīrṇaṁ rāye subharaṁ vedy asyām |
ghṛtenāktaṁ vasavaḥ sīdatedaṁ viśve devā ādityā yajñiyāsaḥ || 4 ||
vi śrayantām urviyā hūyamānā dvāro devīḥ suprāyaṇā namobhiḥ |
vyacasvatīr vi prathantām ajuryā varṇam punānā yaśasaṁ suvīram || 5 ||
sādhv apāṁsi sanatā na ukṣite uṣāsānaktā vayyeva raṇvite |
tantuṁ tataṁ saṁvayantī samīcī yajñasya peśaḥ sudughe payasvatī || 6 ||
daivyā hotārā prathamā viduṣṭara ṛju yakṣataḥ sam ṛcā vapuṣṭarā |
devān yajantāv ṛtuthā sam añjato nābhā pṛthivyā adhi sānuṣu triṣu || 7 ||
sarasvatī sādhayantī dhiyaṁ na iḻā devī bhāratī viśvatūrtiḥ |
tisro devīḥ svadhayā barhir edam acchidram pāntu śaraṇaṁ niṣadya || 8 ||
piśaṅgarūpaḥ subharo vayodhāḥ śruṣṭī vīro jāyate devakāmaḥ |
prajāṁ tvaṣṭā vi ṣyatu nābhim asme athā devānām apy etu pāthaḥ || 9 ||
vanaspatir avasṛjann upa sthād agnir haviḥ sūdayāti pra dhībhiḥ |
tridhā samaktaṁ nayatu prajānan devebhyo daivyaḥ śamitopa havyam || 10 ||
ghṛtam mimikṣe ghṛtam asya yonir ghṛte śrito ghṛtam v asya dhāma |
anuṣvadham ā vaha mādayasva svāhākṛtaṁ vṛṣabha vakṣi havyam || 11 ||
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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