Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.14 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.
Since the beginning of time, O Agni, thou hast burned! Before the mountains were raised up, before the rivers began their flowing, before the sky was stretched above the earth, thy flame was already kindled. Thou art ancient beyond measure, eternal beyond reckoning, the first and the last of all creation.
When Matarisvan did bring thee down from the heavenly realm, the Bhṛgus received thee and guarded thee with zealous care. They passed thee down through the ages, each generation receiving the eternal flame from the hands of their fathers. And now, in this present age, we too are thy keepers, the inheritors of that ancient trust.
How many sacrifices hath thy flame consumed? How many millions of offerings hast thou lifted unto the gods? How many countless mortals hast thou warmed and guided and blessed? Yet thou art not diminished, not wearied, not dimmed by all this work. Thy brightness is eternal, thy strength unabated, thy purpose undiminished through the turning of the ages.
The gods themselves do age and change, but thou remainest constant. Indra may wax and wane in his power, Soma may be hidden and then found again, but Agni burneth ever on. Thou art the consistency in a world of change, the permanence in a realm of flux, the eternal principle that doth underlie all the shifting shows of time.
O ancient one, O first-kindled flame, we are grateful for thy persistence! We marvel at thy endless energy, thy undying vigilance. Grant unto us, O ancient fire, a portion of thy constancy. Let our devotion to thee be as unwavering as thy flame, let our commitment to righteousness burn as brightly, let our faith shine forth as thy light shineth through all the ages. So shall we be worthy of thee, O eternal one.
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.14
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.
ā hotā mandro vidathāny asthāt satyo yajvā kavitamaḥ sa vedhāḥ |
vidyudrathaḥ sahasas putro agniḥ śociṣkeśaḥ pṛthivyām pājo aśret || 1 ||
ayāmi te namaüktiṁ juṣasva ṛtāvas tubhyaṁ cetate sahasvaḥ |
vidvām̐ ā vakṣi viduṣo ni ṣatsi madhya ā barhir ūtaye yajatra || 2 ||
dravatāṁ ta uṣasā vājayantī agne vātasya pathyābhir accha |
yat sīm añjanti pūrvyaṁ havirbhir ā vandhureva tasthatur duroṇe || 3 ||
mitraś ca tubhyaṁ varuṇaḥ sahasvo 'gne viśve marutaḥ sumnam arcan |
yac chociṣā sahasas putra tiṣṭhā abhi kṣitīḥ prathayan sūryo nṝn || 4 ||
vayaṁ te adya rarimā hi kāmam uttānahastā namasopasadya |
yajiṣṭhena manasā yakṣi devān asredhatā manmanā vipro agne || 5 ||
tvad dhi putra sahaso vi pūrvīr devasya yanty ūtayo vi vājāḥ |
tvaṁ dehi sahasriṇaṁ rayiṁ no 'drogheṇa vacasā satyam agne || 6 ||
tubhyaṁ dakṣa kavikrato yānīmā deva martāso adhvare akarma |
tvaṁ viśvasya surathasya bodhi sarvaṁ tad agne amṛta svadeha || 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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