Hymn to Agni
Rigveda V.26 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 summoner of the divine assembly! When thou raisest thy voice in the form of sacred smoke, all the gods hear thy call and assemble in the heavens. Thou art their herald and their inviter to the great banquet of existence.
We mortal worshippers sit far below in our earthly places, and yet thy voice reacheth up to the celestial realms. The Adityas assemble when thou callest them. The Vasus come running. Indra himself, thunderous and proud, doth answer thy summons without reluctance. Such is thy authority among the gods, O fire-bearer.
Thou summonest them not as a servant summoneth his masters, but as an equal who hath earned the respect of his peers through ages of faithful service. They honor thee; they listen to thy words. When thou speakest, they give ear. When thou invites them to a sacrifice, they come swiftly and with joy.
Through thee, O Agni, the gods receive knowledge of what transpires upon the earth. Thou bringest them news of our prayers, our struggles, our triumphs, and our sorrows. Thou art the intermediary who translateth the language of mortals into the language of the immortals. Without thee, the gods would remain ignorant of our condition.
We, therefore, beseech thee to call the gods to our aid now! Summon Varuna for justice! Summon Mitra for friendship! Summon the Maruts for strength! Summon the Aśvins for healing! Summon Yama for protection against death! Gather them all round our altar, O Agni. Let them take notice of our sincerity and our need.
Thou art the master of ceremonies in the heavens, O sacred fire. Thy voice doth convene the cosmic council. Through thy summons, the immortals come down to bless our endeavors. We trust thee, O Agni, to represent our cause before the divine throne.
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.26
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 pāvaka rociṣā mandrayā deva jihvayā |
ā devān vakṣi yakṣi ca || 1 ||
taṁ tvā ghṛtasnav īmahe citrabhāno svardṛśam |
devām̐ ā vītaye vaha || 2 ||
vītihotraṁ tvā kave dyumantaṁ sam idhīmahi |
agne bṛhantam adhvare || 3 ||
agne viśvebhir ā gahi devebhir havyadātaye |
hotāraṁ tvā vṛṇīmahe || 4 ||
yajamānāya sunvata āgne suvīryaṁ vaha |
devair ā satsi barhiṣi || 5 ||
samidhānaḥ sahasrajid agne dharmāṇi puṣyasi |
devānāṁ dūta ukthyaḥ || 6 ||
ny a1gniṁ jātavedasaṁ hotravāhaṁ yaviṣṭhyam |
dadhātā devam ṛtvijam || 7 ||
pra yajña etv ānuṣag adyā devavyacastamaḥ |
stṛṇīta barhir āsade || 8 ||
edam maruto aśvinā mitraḥ sīdantu varuṇaḥ |
devāsaḥ sarvayā viśā || 9 ||
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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