Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.29 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.
O Agni, born in waters yet undying, hidden in the deep places where no mortal eye doth penetrate, yet manifesting in visible flame when the proper art is applied—we marvel at thy mystery and thy paradox.
In the beginning, before the gods themselves brought order forth from chaos, thou didst dwell in the waters of the cosmic ocean. Thou art not a creation of wood or wood-friction, but rather thou art an eternal essence that taketh on the appearance of such things when revealed to mortal senses. The fire that dwelleth in the water, the essence that existeth in the grain even before the grain is grown, the hidden power that causeth all transformation and growth—this art thou.
The seer who knoweth the secret of thy dwelling in the deep waters doth possess knowledge most precious. He understandeth that thou existeth everywhere, in all things, waiting to be kindled. In the stone there is thy potential. In the plant there is thy hidden essence. In the heart of the mortal who seeketh truth, thou dwellest as a spark of divine consciousness.
We pour the water upon the ground and invoke thee. We strike the friction sticks and call upon thee. We lay down the butter and beseech thee to rise forth in visible manifestation. Yet we know that we do not create thee. We merely reveal that which hath always been. We summon forth that which cannot truly be absent, for it dwelleth in the very foundation of existence itself.
O Agni, invisible flame, thou who hidest in the deep and darknesseth of the cosmic waters, we bow before the mystery of thy nature. We honor the paradox that thou art both nothing and everything, both hidden and manifest, both destructible yet eternal. Emerge from thy watery cave. Let thy flames rise forth. Transform the mortal realm through thy sacred presence. Burn away our ignorance and illumine the truth that dwelleth within and without, above and below, forever hidden yet forever revealed.
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.29
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.
astīdam adhimanthanam asti prajananaṁ kṛtam |
etāṁ viśpatnīm ā bharāgnim manthāma pūrvathā || 1 ||
araṇyor nihito jātavedā garbha iva sudhito garbhiṇīṣu |
dive-diva īḍyo jāgṛvadbhir haviṣmadbhir manuṣyebhir agniḥ || 2 ||
uttānāyām ava bharā cikitvān sadyaḥ pravītā vṛṣaṇaṁ jajāna |
aruṣastūpo ruśad asya pāja iḻāyās putro vayune 'janiṣṭa || 3 ||
iḻāyās tvā pade vayaṁ nābhā pṛthivyā adhi |
jātavedo ni dhīmahy agne havyāya voḻhave || 4 ||
manthatā naraḥ kavim advayantam pracetasam amṛtaṁ supratīkam |
yajñasya ketum prathamam purastād agniṁ naro janayatā suśevam || 5 ||
yadī manthanti bāhubhir vi rocate 'śvo na vājy aruṣo vaneṣv ā |
citro na yāmann aśvinor anivṛtaḥ pari vṛṇakty aśmanas tṛṇā dahan || 6 ||
jāto agnī rocate cekitāno vājī vipraḥ kaviśastaḥ sudānuḥ |
yaṁ devāsa īḍyaṁ viśvavidaṁ havyavāham adadhur adhvareṣu || 7 ||
sīda hotaḥ sva u loke cikitvān sādayā yajñaṁ sukṛtasya yonau |
devāvīr devān haviṣā yajāsy agne bṛhad yajamāne vayo dhāḥ || 8 ||
kṛṇota dhūmaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ sakhāyo 'sredhanta itana vājam accha |
ayam agniḥ pṛtanāṣāṭ suvīro yena devāso asahanta dasyūn || 9 ||
ayaṁ te yonir ṛtviyo yato jāto arocathāḥ |
taṁ jānann agna ā sīdāthā no vardhayā giraḥ || 10 ||
tanūnapād ucyate garbha āsuro narāśaṁso bhavati yad vijāyate |
mātariśvā yad amimīta mātari vātasya sargo abhavat sarīmaṇi || 11 ||
sunirmathā nirmathitaḥ sunidhā nihitaḥ kaviḥ |
agne svadhvarā kṛṇu devān devayate yaja || 12 ||
ajījanann amṛtam martyāso 'sremāṇaṁ taraṇiṁ vīḻujambham |
daśa svasāro agruvaḥ samīcīḥ pumāṁsaṁ jātam abhi saṁ rabhante || 13 ||
pra saptahotā sanakād arocata mātur upasthe yad aśocad ūdhani |
na ni miṣati suraṇo dive-dive yad asurasya jaṭharād ajāyata || 14 ||
amitrāyudho marutām iva prayāḥ prathamajā brahmaṇo viśvam id viduḥ |
dyumnavad brahma kuśikāsa erira eka-eko dame agniṁ sam īdhire || 15 ||
yad adya tvā prayati yajñe asmin hotaś cikitvo 'vṛṇīmahīha |
dhruvam ayā dhruvam utāśamiṣṭhāḥ prajānan vidvām̐ upa yāhi somam || 16 ||
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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