Hymn to Agni
Rigveda IV.6 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.
O radiant one! O shining god! Thou art the light that breaketh the darkness of the world. When thou art kindled, all shadows flee. The night becometh as the day. The blind man seeth. The lost man findeth his way. Thou art the lamp of the gods, the torch of righteousness, the beacon that guideth the righteous home.
Thy flames leap upward like golden serpents yearning toward the sky. Thy light is softer than the moon, yet fiercer than the sun. The smallest spark of thee can illuminate a vast chamber. A thousand men could gather round thy fire and all would be warmed. All would see. All would know that Agni is the radiant one, the glorious, the luminous beyond measure.
In the darkness of the womb, light! In the darkness of the tomb, light! In the darkness of the forest where tigers prowl, light! In the darkness of the human heart where fear dwelleth, light! Thou art the enemy of all darkness, O Agni. Thou burnest it away with thy relentless brightness.
The stars are thy cousins in the night sky. But they are distant, cold, and fixed. Thou art near, warm, and alive. Thou dost flicker and dance. Thou speakest with thy motion. Thou laughest in thy crackling. The stars are silent, but thou—thou art the living voice of light itself.
When the sacrificer kindleth thee upon the altar, the entire world knoweth that the fire hath been lit. The smoke reacheth to the highest heavens. The light spreadeth across the land. All creatures see and understand: A man hath called upon the gods. A prayer hath been made. O radiant Agni, be thou the lamp eternal! Illuminate the path of dharma! Make all things bright and clear and pure!
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.6
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.
ūrdhva ū ṣu ṇo adhvarasya hotar agne tiṣṭha devatātā yajīyān |
tvaṁ hi viśvam abhy asi manma pra vedhasaś cit tirasi manīṣām || 1 ||
amūro hotā ny asādi vikṣv a1gnir mandro vidatheṣu pracetāḥ |
ūrdhvam bhānuṁ savitevāśren meteva dhūmaṁ stabhāyad upa dyām || 2 ||
yatā sujūrṇī rātinī ghṛtācī pradakṣiṇid devatātim urāṇaḥ |
ud u svarur navajā nākraḥ paśvo anakti sudhitaḥ sumekaḥ || 3 ||
stīrṇe barhiṣi samidhāne agnā ūrdhvo adhvaryur jujuṣāṇo asthāt |
pary agniḥ paśupā na hotā triviṣṭy eti pradiva urāṇaḥ || 4 ||
pari tmanā mitadrur eti hotāgnir mandro madhuvacā ṛtāvā |
dravanty asya vājino na śokā bhayante viśvā bhuvanā yad abhrāṭ || 5 ||
bhadrā te agne svanīka saṁdṛg ghorasya sato viṣuṇasya cāruḥ |
na yat te śocis tamasā varanta na dhvasmānas tanvī3 repa ā dhuḥ || 6 ||
na yasya sātur janitor avāri na mātarāpitarā nū cid iṣṭau |
adhā mitro na sudhitaḥ pāvako3 'gnir dīdāya mānuṣīṣu vikṣu || 7 ||
dvir yam pañca jījanan saṁvasānāḥ svasāro agnim mānuṣīṣu vikṣu |
uṣarbudham atharyo3 na dantaṁ śukraṁ svāsam paraśuṁ na tigmam || 8 ||
tava tye agne harito ghṛtasnā rohitāsa ṛjvañcaḥ svañcaḥ |
aruṣāso vṛṣaṇa ṛjumuṣkā ā devatātim ahvanta dasmāḥ || 9 ||
ye ha tye te sahamānā ayāsas tveṣāso agne arcayaś caranti |
śyenāso na duvasanāso arthaṁ tuviṣvaṇaso mārutaṁ na śardhaḥ || 10 ||
akāri brahma samidhāna tubhyaṁ śaṁsāty ukthaṁ yajate vy ū dhāḥ |
hotāram agnim manuṣo ni ṣedur namasyanta uśijaḥ śaṁsam āyoḥ || 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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