Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.23 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, we call upon thee with a voice that speaketh the ancient words of the Kuśikas, the kindred of Viśvāmitra the great seer whose meditations pierced the veil betwixt worlds. Thou knowest us, O flame eternal, for our family hath honored thee since time immemorial. In our hearths thou hast dwelt. In our rituals thou hast been invoked. In our hearts thy essence hath kindled the aspirations of countless generations.
We are the heirs of Viśvāmitra, that mighty Ṛṣi whose vision encompassed the cosmos itself. He gazed upon thee, O Agni, and saw within thy flames the secret structure of all that existeth. He perceived that thou art not merely fire, but consciousness itself expressing through the medium of flame. He understood that in kindling thee upon the altar, he kindled also the sacred fire within his own inner nature.
This knowledge we inherit. This wisdom we now invoke. Let the fires of Viśvāmitra's lineage burn bright within us as we approach thy altar this day. Let the prayers of our ancestors rise forth with our own voices, creating a harmony that ascendeth through the heavens, reaching unto the ears of all the deities who hold dominion over this realm and realms beyond.
O Agni, thou who knowest the Kuśika name and the Viśvāmitra prayer—be thou favorable unto us. Recognize in us the descendants of that great seer. Let thy flames respond to our invocation with the same fervor and power with which they responded unto his. Grant unto us a portion of his spiritual vision, his steadfastness in righteousness, his willingness to transform himself through discipline and sacred practice.
We are the children of Viśvāmitra. We kindle thee now as he kindled thee in ages past. Let thy light illumine our path, even as it did his. Make us worthy of the gift that hath been passed down unto us through the generations of our line.
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.23
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.
nirmathitaḥ sudhita ā sadhasthe yuvā kavir adhvarasya praṇetā |
jūryatsv agnir ajaro vaneṣv atrā dadhe amṛtaṁ jātavedāḥ || 1 ||
amanthiṣṭām bhāratā revad agniṁ devaśravā devavātaḥ sudakṣam |
agne vi paśya bṛhatābhi rāyeṣāṁ no netā bhavatād anu dyūn || 2 ||
daśa kṣipaḥ pūrvyaṁ sīm ajījanan sujātam mātṛṣu priyam |
agniṁ stuhi daivavātaṁ devaśravo yo janānām asad vaśī || 3 ||
ni tvā dadhe vara ā pṛthivyā iḻāyās pade sudinatve ahnām |
dṛṣadvatyām mānuṣa āpayāyāṁ sarasvatyāṁ revad agne didīhi || 4 ||
iḻām agne purudaṁsaṁ saniṁ goḥ śaśvattamaṁ havamānāya sādha |
syān naḥ sūnus tanayo vijāvāgne sā te sumatir bhūtv asme || 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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