Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.26 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 messenger divine, thou carrier of prayers upon wings of smoke and flame, thou herald whose words do reach unto the farthest corners of the cosmic realm—we now entrust unto thee our deepest longings and our most fervent appeals.
Thou art the mediator betwixt the mortal and the immortal, betwixt the earthly and the heavenly. When we speak, our voice reacheth not beyond these earthly bounds. When we cry out, our tears fall upon the ground and soak into the earth. Yet when we place our words and our desires upon thy altar and kindle thee above them, thou dost take up that prayer and bear it aloft into the regions where the gods do dwell.
O Agni, carry forth our supplication unto Mitra the Just, that he might look upon us with favor and grant us harmony in all our dealings. Bear our gratitude unto Varuṇa the Vast, who seeth all that is hidden and knoweth all that shall come to pass. Convey our respect unto Indra the Mighty, that he might grant us strength and courage in the face of adversity. Tell the Maruts of our need, that they might ride upon the wind and bring relief and blessing.
Thy wings are swifter than the hawk. Thy path stretcheth upward beyond the sight of mortal eyes. Thou dost not rest until thou hast delivered thy message unto the very throne of Dyaus Pitṛ, the Father of Heaven. The gods hear thy approach and come forth to receive thy offerings and to hear the words of those mortals who approach thee with honest hearts.
O Agni, be thou merciful unto us. Let not our prayers go unheeded. Let not our offerings be spurned. Carry forth our voices, our love, our dedication, our very souls upon thy flame, and deliver us into the hands of those immortal powers who might aid us. Be thou the herald of our hope, the carrier of our love, the messenger of our faith in the justice and mercy of the cosmos.
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.26
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.
vaiśvānaram manasāgniṁ nicāyyā haviṣmanto anuṣatyaṁ svarvidam |
sudānuṁ devaṁ rathiraṁ vasūyavo gīrbhī raṇvaṁ kuśikāso havāmahe || 1 ||
taṁ śubhram agnim avase havāmahe vaiśvānaram mātariśvānam ukthyam |
bṛhaspatim manuṣo devatātaye vipraṁ śrotāram atithiṁ raghuṣyadam || 2 ||
aśvo na krandañ janibhiḥ sam idhyate vaiśvānaraḥ kuśikebhir yuge-yuge |
sa no agniḥ suvīryaṁ svaśvyaṁ dadhātu ratnam amṛteṣu jāgṛviḥ || 3 ||
pra yantu vājās taviṣībhir agnayaḥ śubhe sammiślāḥ pṛṣatīr ayukṣata |
bṛhadukṣo maruto viśvavedasaḥ pra vepayanti parvatām̐ adābhyāḥ || 4 ||
agniśriyo maruto viśvakṛṣṭaya ā tveṣam ugram ava īmahe vayam |
te svānino rudriyā varṣanirṇijaḥ siṁhā na heṣakratavaḥ sudānavaḥ || 5 ||
vrātaṁ-vrātaṁ gaṇaṁ-gaṇaṁ suśastibhir agner bhāmam marutām oja īmahe |
pṛṣadaśvāso anavabhrarādhaso gantāro yajñaṁ vidatheṣu dhīrāḥ || 6 ||
agnir asmi janmanā jātavedā ghṛtam me cakṣur amṛtam ma āsan |
arkas tridhātū rajaso vimāno 'jasro gharmo havir asmi nāma || 7 ||
tribhiḥ pavitrair apupod dhy a1rkaṁ hṛdā matiṁ jyotir anu prajānan |
varṣiṣṭhaṁ ratnam akṛta svadhābhir ād id dyāvāpṛthivī pary apaśyat || 8 ||
śatadhāram utsam akṣīyamāṇaṁ vipaścitam pitaraṁ vaktvānām |
meḻim madantam pitror upasthe taṁ rodasī pipṛtaṁ satyavācam || 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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