Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.4 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.
Awake, O Agni! The dawn hath broken forth and the birds do cry their hymns to the new day. Rise up from thy rest and kindle thyself anew, for this is the hour of sacrifice, the moment when the gods do hunger for our offerings. Thou art the priest of morning, the herald of the sacred rite.
The worshippers have bathed themselves and made their hearts pure. They have gathered the wood, they have fetched the water, they have prepared the ghee and the sacred herbs. All waiteth for thee, O fire-god! Without thee, there is no sacrifice. Without thee, no prayer can reach the throne of heaven.
Thou standest at the altar, robed in brightness, thy tongue of flame reaching upward to caress the sky. The oblations rest before thee — accept them, O divine priest! Transform them with thy sacred touch and carry them up unto Indra and unto Varuṇa and unto all the devas who await their portion.
Speak thou for us unto the immortals! We mortals have no voice that reacheth their ears save through thy flame. Our words, our hopes, our cries for blessing — all these thou takest and utterest in the language of the gods. Be our spokesman, O Agni, be our advocate before the throne of heaven.
And when thou hast finished thy holy work, when the oblations are consumed and their essence hath ascended, then turn thy gaze upon us and grant us thy favor. Let no evil eye curse our cattle. Let no sickness enter our homes. Let our children be born strong, let our crops grow tall, let our warriors triumph in battle. All this we ask of thee through the medium of thy sacred flame.
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.4
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.
samit-samit sumanā bodhy asme śucā-śucā sumatiṁ rāsi vasvaḥ |
ā deva devān yajathāya vakṣi sakhā sakhīn sumanā yakṣy agne || 1 ||
yaṁ devāsas trir ahann āyajante dive-dive varuṇo mitro agniḥ |
semaṁ yajñam madhumantaṁ kṛdhī nas tanūnapād ghṛtayoniṁ vidhantam || 2 ||
pra dīdhitir viśvavārā jigāti hotāram iḻaḥ prathamaṁ yajadhyai |
acchā namobhir vṛṣabhaṁ vandadhyai sa devān yakṣad iṣito yajīyān || 3 ||
ūrdhvo vāṁ gātur adhvare akāry ūrdhvā śocīṁṣi prasthitā rajāṁsi |
divo vā nābhā ny asādi hotā stṛṇīmahi devavyacā vi barhiḥ || 4 ||
sapta hotrāṇi manasā vṛṇānā invanto viśvam prati yann ṛtena |
nṛpeśaso vidatheṣu pra jātā abhī3maṁ yajñaṁ vi caranta pūrvīḥ || 5 ||
ā bhandamāne uṣasā upāke uta smayete tanvā3 virūpe |
yathā no mitro varuṇo jujoṣad indro marutvām̐ uta vā mahobhiḥ || 6 ||
daivyā hotārā prathamā ny ṛñje sapta pṛkṣāsaḥ svadhayā madanti |
ṛtaṁ śaṁsanta ṛtam it ta āhur anu vrataṁ vratapā dīdhyānāḥ || 7 ||
ā bhāratī bhāratībhiḥ sajoṣā iḻā devair manuṣyebhir agniḥ |
sarasvatī sārasvatebhir arvāk tisro devīr barhir edaṁ sadantu || 8 ||
tan nas turīpam adha poṣayitnu deva tvaṣṭar vi rarāṇaḥ syasva |
yato vīraḥ karmaṇyaḥ sudakṣo yuktagrāvā jāyate devakāmaḥ || 9 ||
vanaspate 'va sṛjopa devān agnir haviḥ śamitā sūdayāti |
sed u hotā satyataro yajāti yathā devānāṁ janimāni veda || 10 ||
ā yāhy agne samidhāno arvāṅ indreṇa devaiḥ sarathaṁ turebhiḥ |
barhir na āstām aditiḥ suputrā svāhā devā amṛtā mādayantām || 11 ||
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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