Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.27 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, bright lord of the sacrifice, thou whom we have praised and honored through the length of this ritual hour—we now bid thee farewell, yet know that our parting is not an ending but a new beginning.
Thou hast been with us in this sacred space, this boundary betwixt the mortal realm and the heavenly. Thou hast accepted our offerings and our praise. Thou hast carried our prayers upon the winds. The gods have heard our call through thy voice, and through thy fire they have granted us their attention and their blessing. Now as the moment of thy departure draweth near, we do not weep, for we know that thou dwellest eternal in all things.
Before we loose thee to return to the realm of spirit, we offer unto thee our final prayer. We thank thee for thy presence, thy constancy, thy willingness to serve as intermediary between ourselves and the powers beyond. We acknowledge thy great role in maintaining the cosmic order, in keeping the sun in its path, in ripening the grain, in burning away all that is false and corrupted.
Yet now the time hath come for other gods to be honored, other powers to be invoked. Indra awaiteth his turn, and the Maruts stir in their heaven, eager to hear the praises sung by mortal lips. So we do not restrain thee, O Agni, though we part with reluctance. Go forth in the radiance of thy glory. Return to the realm from whence thou came. Know that thou shalt be welcomed again when the sun next riseth and the fire next is kindled.
We go forward now into the next portion of this sacred ritual, carrying with us the warmth and light of thy presence. The memory of thy flames shall illumine our way. The echo of thy voice shall ring in our hearts. And when we return to kindle thee again, thou shalt respond with all thy ancient power, with all thy blessing, eternal and unchanged, a bridge forever betwixt earth and heaven, betwixt mortal and immortal.
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.27
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.
pra vo vājā abhidyavo haviṣmanto ghṛtācyā |
devāñ jigāti sumnayuḥ || 1 ||
īḻe agniṁ vipaścitaṁ girā yajñasya sādhanam |
śruṣṭīvānaṁ dhitāvānam || 2 ||
agne śakema te vayaṁ yamaṁ devasya vājinaḥ |
ati dveṣāṁsi tarema || 3 ||
samidhyamāno adhvare3 'gniḥ pāvaka īḍyaḥ |
śociṣkeśas tam īmahe || 4 ||
pṛthupājā amartyo ghṛtanirṇik svāhutaḥ |
agnir yajñasya havyavāṭ || 5 ||
taṁ sabādho yatasruca itthā dhiyā yajñavantaḥ |
ā cakrur agnim ūtaye || 6 ||
hotā devo amartyaḥ purastād eti māyayā |
vidathāni pracodayan || 7 ||
vājī vājeṣu dhīyate 'dhvareṣu pra ṇīyate |
vipro yajñasya sādhanaḥ || 8 ||
dhiyā cakre vareṇyo bhūtānāṁ garbham ā dadhe |
dakṣasya pitaraṁ tanā || 9 ||
ni tvā dadhe vareṇyaṁ dakṣasyeḻā sahaskṛta |
agne sudītim uśijam || 10 ||
agniṁ yanturam apturam ṛtasya yoge vanuṣaḥ |
viprā vājaiḥ sam indhate || 11 ||
ūrjo napātam adhvare dīdivāṁsam upa dyavi |
agnim īḻe kavikratum || 12 ||
īḻenyo namasyas tiras tamāṁsi darśataḥ |
sam agnir idhyate vṛṣā || 13 ||
vṛṣo agniḥ sam idhyate 'śvo na devavāhanaḥ |
taṁ haviṣmanta īḻate || 14 ||
vṛṣaṇaṁ tvā vayaṁ vṛṣan vṛṣaṇaḥ sam idhīmahi |
agne dīdyatam bṛhat || 15 ||
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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