Hymn to Agni
Rigveda IV.8 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 Agni, thou ancient friend! Since the first dawn of creation thou hast burned. Since the first man discovered fire by striking stone upon stone, thou hast answered the call. Thou art older than memory, yet forever young. Thou art the unchanging flame in a world of flux and decay.
The fathers of the fathers have kindled thee. Their fathers before them. And before them, the ṛṣis of old who first learned the sacred art of the sacrifice. Through countless ages thou hast burned in the altars. Through empires that have crumbled to dust, thou hast remained. Kings have passed to the grave; thou endureth. Civilizations have vanished; thy fire continueth.
O ancient one! Thou hast seen more sunrises than can be numbered. Thou hast witnessed the great wars, the rising and falling of heroes, the ages of the gods. Yet thou rememberest us! Thou dost not tire of us mortals and our small prayers. Each new generation, thou comest again when called. Each new man who striketh the sticks, thou leapest forth to greet him.
We are the children of thy children's children. We carry in our blood the knowledge that Agni burneth eternal. Our ancestors gathered round thee in the darkness. They sang thy praise. They made thee offerings. And now we come, like them, to kindle thee, to honour thee, to speak thy name. We are but a moment in thy vast existence, yet thou knowest us. Thou carest for us.
O faithful one! O eternal companion! Thou hast warmed our ancestors through the cruel winters. Thou hast cooked their food. Thou hast lit their ceremonies. Now warm us. Now feed us. Now hear our song. We are grateful for thy ancient kindness. We pledge to keep thy fire burning, as our ancestors did before us. Forever and ever, the flame shall not be extinguished.
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.8
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.
dūtaṁ vo viśvavedasaṁ havyavāham amartyam |
yajiṣṭham ṛñjase girā || 1 ||
sa hi vedā vasudhitim mahām̐ ārodhanaṁ divaḥ |
sa devām̐ eha vakṣati || 2 ||
sa veda deva ānamaṁ devām̐ ṛtāyate dame |
dāti priyāṇi cid vasu || 3 ||
sa hotā sed u dūtyaṁ cikitvām̐ antar īyate |
vidvām̐ ārodhanaṁ divaḥ || 4 ||
te syāma ye agnaye dadāśur havyadātibhiḥ |
ya īm puṣyanta indhate || 5 ||
te rāyā te suvīryaiḥ sasavāṁso vi śṛṇvire |
ye agnā dadhire duvaḥ || 6 ||
asme rāyo dive-dive saṁ carantu puruspṛhaḥ |
asme vājāsa īratām || 7 ||
sa vipraś carṣaṇīnāṁ śavasā mānuṣāṇām |
ati kṣipreva vidhyati || 8 ||
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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