Hymn to Agni
Rigveda V.22 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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 art the all-knower! Thy flames pierce through every veil. What is hidden from mortal eyes, thou seest clearly. What is concealed in the deepest caverns of the heart, thy gaze doth penetrate.
There are secrets that men speak in darkness, thinking no one shall hear. But thou hearest them, O Agni. There are deeds that men commit in hidden places, believing that none shall ever know. But thou seest them, O fire-god, and thy flames burn with the knowledge of their guilt or their righteousness.
The Dasyu believeth that he can deceive thee. He hideeth his treachery beneath fair words and false oaths. But thou art not deceived, O Agni! Thy light exposes the falsehood. Thy heat driveth out the lie. The guilty man cannot stand long in thy presence; the truth will out of his mouth like vomit.
The righteous man, by contrast, feareth not thy gaze. He standeth tall before thy flames and uttereth the truth without hesitation. His words are clear and unmixed with lies. His deeds are consistent with his speech. Therefore doth he flourish in thy presence, O Agni. Thy flames bless him and make him strong.
Thou knowest what is to come, as well as what hath passed. Thou seest the destinies of men before they are born. The thread of fate is written in letters of fire that only thou canst read. Thou guidest the course of the world according to purposes that mortals cannot fathom.
We stand before thee, O all-seeing fire, and ask thy blessing. If we have spoken falsely, reveal it to us, that we might make amends. If we have acted wrongly, illuminate our error, that we might turn from our wicked ways. If we have been true and faithful, let thy flames grow bright in our behalf. Be thou, O Agni, the guardian of all truth and all justice.
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 V.22
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 viśvasāmann atrivad arcā pāvakaśociṣe |
yo adhvareṣv īḍyo hotā mandratamo viśi || 1 ||
ny a1gniṁ jātavedasaṁ dadhātā devam ṛtvijam |
pra yajña etv ānuṣag adyā devavyacastamaḥ || 2 ||
cikitvinmanasaṁ tvā devam martāsa ūtaye |
vareṇyasya te 'vasa iyānāso amanmahi || 3 ||
agne cikiddhy a1sya na idaṁ vacaḥ sahasya |
taṁ tvā suśipra dampate stomair vardhanty atrayo gīrbhiḥ śumbhanty atrayaḥ || 4 ||
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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