Hymn to Agni
Rigveda V.24 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 watchful flame that burneth through the night! When darkness falleth upon the land and fear creepeth into the hearts of men, there art thou, burning steadfast and resolute. Thy light doth push back the shadows; thy heat doth warm the trembling body and the anxious soul.
We kindle thee at eventide, O guardian of the dark hours. We feed thee with wood and dung so that thou shalt not languish as the night deepeneth. We pour the butter and the offerings so that thy flames shall remain bright and strong until the first light of dawn appeareth upon the eastern horizon.
Thou art the sentinel of our homes. No thief, no wild beast, no malevolent spirit dareth approach where thy flames burn bright. Thy very presence is a ward against all that is hostile and dangerous. The robber seeth thy light from a great distance and turneth away, seeking prey elsewhere. The jackal giveth thy dwelling a wide berth.
We gather around thy warmth in the nighttime hours. The children huddle close, listening to the stories that the elders tell of gods and heroes, of ancient deeds and cosmic struggles. Thy flames dance as the storytellers speak, and it seemeth that the very events being described are enacted in the play of light and shadow upon the walls.
What would our nights be without thee, O Agni? Cold, dark, and terrible beyond measure. We would huddle in our huts like frightened animals, starting at every sound, seeing enemies in every shadow. But with thee, O watchful flame, the night becometh companionable. Fear loseth its grip upon us.
Guard us well, O sleepless fire. Stand sentinel through the darkness. Let thy flames not waver or diminish. Be thou our constant companion and our unfailing protector until the sun riseth once more and the world emergeth into light.
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.24
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.
agne tvaṁ no antama uta trātā śivo bhavā varūthyaḥ || 1 ||
vasur agnir vasuśravā acchā nakṣi dyumattamaṁ rayiṁ dāḥ || 2 ||
sa no bodhi śrudhī havam uruṣyā ṇo aghāyataḥ samasmāt || 3 ||
taṁ tvā śociṣṭha dīdivaḥ sumnāya nūnam īmahe sakhibhyaḥ || 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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