Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.18 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 Lord of the Household, Gṛhapati most ancient, who dwellest in the hearth-stone as the father dwelleth at the center of his kindred—we praise thee with upraised voices. Thou art the invisible guest at every feast, the first to be summoned when the butter flows and the flames are made ready.
In thee the father findeth strength to protect his household. In thee the mother seeth the warmth that nourisheth her children through the dark and bitter winter. Thou art the keeper of the wealth that dwelleth within these walls—not wealth of gold alone, but abundance of livestock, grain in the storehouse, health in the body, peace in the dwelling place.
The thief fleeth from thy light. The demon shrieketh at thy approach and hideth in the shadows beyond thy reach. Thou drivest forth all manner of ill will and malevolent sorcery. No curse can touch those who honor thee with proper rite and clear conscience. Thy flames are as a rampart about the house, a protection more sure than any wall of wood or stone.
Be thou favorable unto us, O Gṛhapati, as thou wast favorable unto the ancient seers who first kindled thy sacred fire. Grant that our household endureth through the changing seasons. Let our cattle prosper, our fields yield bountifully, and our children grow strong in limb and wise in heart.
Thou who art eternal, who burnest in ten thousand hearths from the mountains to the sea, from the rising of the sun unto the setting thereof—be thou honored here, in this humble place where mortals gather round thy warmth and call upon thy name with reverence and love.
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.18
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.
bhavā no agne sumanā upetau sakheva sakhye pitareva sādhuḥ |
purudruho hi kṣitayo janānām prati pratīcīr dahatād arātīḥ || 1 ||
tapo ṣv agne antarām̐ amitrān tapā śaṁsam araruṣaḥ parasya |
tapo vaso cikitāno acittān vi te tiṣṭhantām ajarā ayāsaḥ || 2 ||
idhmenāgna icchamāno ghṛtena juhomi havyaṁ tarase balāya |
yāvad īśe brahmaṇā vandamāna imāṁ dhiyaṁ śataseyāya devīm || 3 ||
uc chociṣā sahasas putra stuto bṛhad vayaḥ śaśamāneṣu dhehi |
revad agne viśvāmitreṣu śaṁ yor marmṛjmā te tanva1m bhūri kṛtvaḥ || 4 ||
kṛdhi ratnaṁ susanitar dhanānāṁ sa ghed agne bhavasi yat samiddhaḥ |
stotur duroṇe subhagasya revat sṛprā karasnā dadhiṣe vapūṁṣi || 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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