Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.11 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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.
We praise thee, O Agni, lord of brightness, we sing thy glory, we celebrate thy might! Accept this hymn as we would offer unto thee the finest of our ghee, the richest of our soma, the most precious of all our possessions. For thou art worthy of all praise, thou art deserving of all honor.
Bestow upon us, O mighty one, the blessings we most earnestly desire! Grant unto us cattle that multiply beyond counting, herds that cover the hills, flocks that number more than the stars. Let our enemies tremble before us, let our allies gather to our banner, let our name be spoken with respect among all peoples.
Give unto us sons strong as bulls, daughters beautiful as the dawn. Let our women bear fruit in plenty, let our men father heroes who shall echo their deeds throughout the ages. Grant us health of body and clarity of mind, the strength to accomplish great deeds and the wisdom to know which deeds are worthy of our strength.
Increase our grain, O generous one! Let the rains fall when we have need of them, let the sun shine upon our fields at the proper season. Let no pestilence strike our crops, let no blight wither our gardens. May our storehouses overflow with bounty, may our treasuries fill with gold.
And grant unto us also the grace to understand thy ways, the humility to know that all our blessings flow from thee, the gratitude to remember thy gifts when times are prosperous and thy mercy when times are hard. Let us be worthy of thy favor, let us honor thee in our hearts and in our deeds. So do we pray, O Agni, and so shall we praise thee forever.
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 III.11
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.
agnir hotā purohito 'dhvarasya vicarṣaṇiḥ |
sa veda yajñam ānuṣak || 1 ||
sa havyavāḻ amartya uśig dūtaś canohitaḥ |
agnir dhiyā sam ṛṇvati || 2 ||
agnir dhiyā sa cetati ketur yajñasya pūrvyaḥ |
arthaṁ hy asya taraṇi || 3 ||
agniṁ sūnuṁ sanaśrutaṁ sahaso jātavedasam |
vahniṁ devā akṛṇvata || 4 ||
adābhyaḥ puraetā viśām agnir mānuṣīṇām |
tūrṇī rathaḥ sadā navaḥ || 5 ||
sāhvān viśvā abhiyujaḥ kratur devānām amṛktaḥ |
agnis tuviśravastamaḥ || 6 ||
abhi prayāṁsi vāhasā dāśvām̐ aśnoti martyaḥ |
kṣayam pāvakaśociṣaḥ || 7 ||
pari viśvāni sudhitāgner aśyāma manmabhiḥ |
viprāso jātavedasaḥ || 8 ||
agne viśvāni vāryā vājeṣu saniṣāmahe |
tve devāsa erire || 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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