Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.17 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.
Agni, thou radiant lord whose flames ascend the vault of heaven, whose brightness streaketh forth like gold unmelted—hear us now as the day declineth into twilight's tender grip. Thou art the threshold keeper, the warden of the hearth, the consumer of all that is offered unto thee with pious hand.
We kindle thee anew, bright fire, as generations before us have kindled thy immortal blaze. From wood and from the friction-stick thou art born, yet thy essence dwelleth in waters untouched, in the secret chambers where the gods do hide their ancient strength. Thy seven tongues lick upward, seeking ever the realm on high, bearing our prayers like the hawk doth carry messages betwixt the earth and heaven's door.
Accept, O Agni, the oblations we lay upon thy altar. Let them rise as fragrant smoke into the presence of Varuṇa the Immense, of Mitra the Fair, of all the immortal powers who feast upon the sacred butter. Thou art the bond between the human and the divine, the interpreter of mortal will before the celestial throne.
Guard us from malice and from sorrow's arrow. Scatter our enemies as the flame scattereth the dark. Let no curse cling to our offerings, no poison taint the milk we pour upon thy fires. Thou burnest true, consuming only what is righteous, rejecting all that is false and full of guile.
In thy light we see the path ahead. In thy warmth we know the blessing of the gods. Accept us, Agni, as we accept thee—eternal, all-consuming, eternally born anew with each sunrise, each ritual fire, each mortal prayer spoken into thy golden 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 III.17
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.
samidhyamānaḥ prathamānu dharmā sam aktubhir ajyate viśvavāraḥ |
śociṣkeśo ghṛtanirṇik pāvakaḥ suyajño agnir yajathāya devān || 1 ||
yathāyajo hotram agne pṛthivyā yathā divo jātavedaś cikitvān |
evānena haviṣā yakṣi devān manuṣvad yajñam pra tiremam adya || 2 ||
trīṇy āyūṁṣi tava jātavedas tisra ājānīr uṣasas te agne |
tābhir devānām avo yakṣi vidvān athā bhava yajamānāya śaṁ yoḥ || 3 ||
agniṁ sudītiṁ sudṛśaṁ gṛṇanto namasyāmas tveḍyaṁ jātavedaḥ |
tvāṁ dūtam aratiṁ havyavāhaṁ devā akṛṇvann amṛtasya nābhim || 4 ||
yas tvad dhotā pūrvo agne yajīyān dvitā ca sattā svadhayā ca śambhuḥ |
tasyānu dharma pra yajā cikitvo 'thā no dhā adhvaraṁ devavītau || 5 ||
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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