Hymn to Agni
Rigveda IV.1 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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, the mighty one, I kindle thee! Come forth, O blazing priest, from the wood's dark heart. Thou art the mouth of the gods, the ancient flame. Accept our offerings this day, thou divine hotṛ. Let thy golden tongue taste the oblations. Let thy smoke rise up, carrying our praise to the heavens.
O Agni, born from fire-wood struck in the night, thou art more radiant than the sun at dawn. Thy light breaks the darkness; thy warmth sustains all life. The mountains tremble before thee; the waters bow. Thou art the first priest, the eternal sacrificer. Before thee came no other. Thou standest at the threshold of the gods' high hall.
We have summoned thee with the sacred wood. We have breathed upon thy smouldering heart. Now blaze forth! Let thy flames reach up to pierce the belly of the sky. Let the Maruts hear our call. Let Indra see the smoke and know that mortals honour the ancient compact. Let Varuṇa witness that we keep the ṛta, the cosmic law.
Thou art the giver of wealth, O fire. Thou art the keeper of the house. In every hearth thou dwellest. In every altar thou risest. Father of the host! Grant us sons and cattle. Grant us long life and glory. Make our enemies flee before thee as frost melts before the morning sun.
We praise thee, O Agni. Thou art the first of all the gods, and thou shalt be the last. Thou art the boundary between the worlds. Thou art the bridge upon which the offering passes from earth to heaven. Accept our hymn. Accept our fire. Accept our hearts.
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 IV.1
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.
tvāṁ hy agne sadam it samanyavo devāso devam aratiṁ nyerira iti kratvā nyerire |
amartyaṁ yajata martyeṣv ā devam ādevaṁ janata pracetasaṁ viśvam ādevaṁ janata pracetasam || 1 ||
sa bhrātaraṁ varuṇam agna ā vavṛtsva devām̐ acchā sumatī yajñavanasaṁ jyeṣṭhaṁ yajñavanasam |
ṛtāvānam ādityaṁ carṣaṇīdhṛtaṁ rājānaṁ carṣaṇīdhṛtam || 2 ||
sakhe sakhāyam abhy ā vavṛtsvāśuṁ na cakraṁ rathyeva raṁhyāsmabhyaṁ dasma raṁhyā |
agne mṛḻīkaṁ varuṇe sacā vido marutsu viśvabhānuṣu |
tokāya tuje śuśucāna śaṁ kṛdhy asmabhyaṁ dasma śaṁ kṛdhi || 3 ||
tvaṁ no agne varuṇasya vidvān devasya heḻo 'va yāsisīṣṭhāḥ |
yajiṣṭho vahnitamaḥ śośucāno viśvā dveṣāṁsi pra mumugdhy asmat || 4 ||
sa tvaṁ no agne 'vamo bhavotī nediṣṭho asyā uṣaso vyuṣṭau |
ava yakṣva no varuṇaṁ rarāṇo vīhi mṛḻīkaṁ suhavo na edhi || 5 ||
asya śreṣṭhā subhagasya saṁdṛg devasya citratamā martyeṣu |
śuci ghṛtaṁ na taptam aghnyāyāḥ spārhā devasya maṁhaneva dhenoḥ || 6 ||
trir asya tā paramā santi satyā spārhā devasya janimāny agneḥ |
anante antaḥ parivīta āgāc chuciḥ śukro aryo rorucānaḥ || 7 ||
sa dūto viśved abhi vaṣṭi sadmā hotā hiraṇyaratho raṁsujihvaḥ |
rohidaśvo vapuṣyo vibhāvā sadā raṇvaḥ pitumatīva saṁsat || 8 ||
sa cetayan manuṣo yajñabandhuḥ pra tam mahyā raśanayā nayanti |
sa kṣety asya duryāsu sādhan devo martasya sadhanitvam āpa || 9 ||
sa tū no agnir nayatu prajānann acchā ratnaṁ devabhaktaṁ yad asya |
dhiyā yad viśve amṛtā akṛṇvan dyauṣ pitā janitā satyam ukṣan || 10 ||
sa jāyata prathamaḥ pastyāsu maho budhne rajaso asya yonau |
apād aśīrṣā guhamāno antāyoyuvāno vṛṣabhasya nīḻe || 11 ||
pra śardha ārta prathamaṁ vipanyām̐ ṛtasya yonā vṛṣabhasya nīḻe |
spārho yuvā vapuṣyo vibhāvā sapta priyāso 'janayanta vṛṣṇe || 12 ||
asmākam atra pitaro manuṣyā abhi pra sedur ṛtam āśuṣāṇāḥ |
aśmavrajāḥ sudughā vavre antar ud usrā ājann uṣaso huvānāḥ || 13 ||
te marmṛjata dadṛvāṁso adriṁ tad eṣām anye abhito vi vocan |
paśvayantrāso abhi kāram arcan vidanta jyotiś cakṛpanta dhībhiḥ || 14 ||
te gavyatā manasā dṛdhram ubdhaṁ gā yemānam pari ṣantam adrim |
dṛḻhaṁ naro vacasā daivyena vrajaṁ gomantam uśijo vi vavruḥ || 15 ||
te manvata prathamaṁ nāma dhenos triḥ sapta mātuḥ paramāṇi vindan |
taj jānatīr abhy anūṣata vrā āvir bhuvad aruṇīr yaśasā goḥ || 16 ||
neśat tamo dudhitaṁ rocata dyaur ud devyā uṣaso bhānur arta |
ā sūryo bṛhatas tiṣṭhad ajrām̐ ṛju marteṣu vṛjinā ca paśyan || 17 ||
ād it paścā bubudhānā vy akhyann ād id ratnaṁ dhārayanta dyubhaktam |
viśve viśvāsu duryāsu devā mitra dhiye varuṇa satyam astu || 18 ||
acchā voceya śuśucānam agniṁ hotāraṁ viśvabharasaṁ yajiṣṭham |
śucy ūdho atṛṇan na gavām andho na pūtam pariṣiktam aṁśoḥ || 19 ||
viśveṣām aditir yajñiyānāṁ viśveṣām atithir mānuṣāṇām |
agnir devānām ava āvṛṇānaḥ sumṛḻīko bhavatu jātavedāḥ || 20 ||
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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