Hymn to Agni
Rigveda III.7 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.
Thou art the messenger, O Agni, the swift one who beareth word between two worlds! The gods sit in their celestial halls and mortals dwell below upon the earth, and thou dost bridge the chasm between them. No path is too steep for thy feet, no distance too great for thy swift passage. Thou runnest upon the wind and roarest like the thunder.
When we call upon thee with our hymns and offerings, thou dost hear. Thou takest our words and carriest them swiftly unto Indra and unto Varuṇa and unto all the deities assembled in the high places. And lo, the gods do hear our voice through thee! Thou art their ear that listeneth to mortal prayer.
And when the gods send down their blessings — the rain that falleth upon the fields, the strength that filleth the warrior's arm, the wisdom that guideth the priest — thou art the one through whom these blessings flow! The gods have entrusted thee with their greatest treasures, and thou dost bear them faithfully unto those who have honored thee.
Thou goest before the gods as their herald and their servant. When the great Indra rideth forth to battle, thou ridest at his side, consuming the enemies and clearing his path. When Varuṇa sitteth in judgment upon the deeds of mortals, thou art the witness, the one who knoweth all secrets. When Soma riseth from his altar, thou art the first to greet him.
Therefore, O Agni most swift, thou who art never weary, bear now these praises unto the gods on high! Tell them that we mortals remember them, that we honor them, that we offer to them with sincere hearts. And bring back unto us their blessings, their favor, their eternal blessing. Be thou our advocate, our messenger, our intermediary between the human and the divine.
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.7
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 ya āruḥ śitipṛṣṭhasya dhāser ā mātarā viviśuḥ sapta vāṇīḥ |
parikṣitā pitarā saṁ carete pra sarsrāte dīrgham āyuḥ prayakṣe || 1 ||
divakṣaso dhenavo vṛṣṇo aśvā devīr ā tasthau madhumad vahantīḥ |
ṛtasya tvā sadasi kṣemayantam pary ekā carati vartaniṁ gauḥ || 2 ||
ā sīm arohat suyamā bhavantīḥ patiś cikitvān rayivid rayīṇām |
pra nīlapṛṣṭho atasasya dhāses tā avāsayat purudhapratīkaḥ || 3 ||
mahi tvāṣṭram ūrjayantīr ajuryaṁ stabhūyamānaṁ vahato vahanti |
vy aṅgebhir didyutānaḥ sadhastha ekām iva rodasī ā viveśa || 4 ||
jānanti vṛṣṇo aruṣasya śevam uta bradhnasya śāsane raṇanti |
divorucaḥ suruco rocamānā iḻā yeṣāṁ gaṇyā māhinā gīḥ || 5 ||
uto pitṛbhyām pravidānu ghoṣam maho mahadbhyām anayanta śūṣam |
ukṣā ha yatra pari dhānam aktor anu svaṁ dhāma jaritur vavakṣa || 6 ||
adhvaryubhiḥ pañcabhiḥ sapta viprāḥ priyaṁ rakṣante nihitam padaṁ veḥ |
prāñco madanty ukṣaṇo ajuryā devā devānām anu hi vratā guḥ || 7 ||
daivyā hotārā prathamā ny ṛñje sapta pṛkṣāsaḥ svadhayā madanti |
ṛtaṁ śaṁsanta ṛtam it ta āhur anu vrataṁ vratapā dīdhyānāḥ || 8 ||
vṛṣāyante mahe atyāya pūrvīr vṛṣṇe citrāya raśmayaḥ suyāmāḥ |
deva hotar mandrataraś cikitvān maho devān rodasī eha vakṣi || 9 ||
pṛkṣaprayajo draviṇaḥ suvācaḥ suketava uṣaso revad ūṣuḥ |
uto cid agne mahinā pṛthivyāḥ kṛtaṁ cid enaḥ sam mahe daśasya || 10 ||
iḻām agne purudaṁsaṁ saniṁ goḥ śaśvattamaṁ havamānāya sādha |
syān naḥ sūnus tanayo vijāvāgne sā te sumatir bhūtv asme || 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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