Hymn to Agni
Rigveda V.42 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.
Hear us, O gods assembled! We cry out for your protection in this world fraught with perils. The evil spirits wander the darkness, seeking those whom they might devour. The demons plot in hidden places. The forces of chaos ever press against the boundaries of order.
Stand ye as a shield before us, O Viśvedevas! Let your combined might form a wall that no evil can breach. O Indra, turn back the demons with thy thunderbolt! O Agni, burn away the malevolent with thy sacred flame! O Varuṇa, bind fast the wrongdoers with thy cosmic cords!
Grant us thy blessings upon our homes and hearths! Let the divine presence dwell within these walls. Let our children be born healthy and true. Let our cattle multiply; let our fields be fertile. Deliver us from sickness, from want, from the despair that cometh from losing all hope.
O Maruts, ye wild wind-gods, scatter our enemies as the gale scattereth the clouds! O Mitra, watch over those who honor the sacred oath. O Aśvins, bring the blessings of the dawn to those who suffer in darkness. O Ribhus, fashion for us the wisdom we need to walk rightly upon this earth.
We pour the soma in gratitude for thy care! We sing the hymn with voices full of reverence. We acknowledge that all good things come from you and that without your protection we are as leaves blown by an uncaring wind. Accept our worship, O assembled gods, and let your favor rest upon us evermore. Guard us today, guard us tomorrow, guard us all our days and all the days of our descendants.
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.42
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 śaṁtamā varuṇaṁ dīdhitī gīr mitram bhagam aditiṁ nūnam aśyāḥ |
pṛṣadyoniḥ pañcahotā śṛṇotv atūrtapanthā asuro mayobhuḥ || 1 ||
prati me stomam aditir jagṛbhyāt sūnuṁ na mātā hṛdyaṁ suśevam |
brahma priyaṁ devahitaṁ yad asty aham mitre varuṇe yan mayobhu || 2 ||
ud īraya kavitamaṁ kavīnām unattainam abhi madhvā ghṛtena |
sa no vasūni prayatā hitāni candrāṇi devaḥ savitā suvāti || 3 ||
sam indra ṇo manasā neṣi gobhiḥ saṁ sūribhir harivaḥ saṁ svasti |
sam brahmaṇā devahitaṁ yad asti saṁ devānāṁ sumatyā yajñiyānām || 4 ||
devo bhagaḥ savitā rāyo aṁśa indro vṛtrasya saṁjito dhanānām |
ṛbhukṣā vāja uta vā puraṁdhir avantu no amṛtāsas turāsaḥ || 5 ||
marutvato apratītasya jiṣṇor ajūryataḥ pra bravāmā kṛtāni |
na te pūrve maghavan nāparāso na vīrya1ṁ nūtanaḥ kaś canāpa || 6 ||
upa stuhi prathamaṁ ratnadheyam bṛhaspatiṁ sanitāraṁ dhanānām |
yaḥ śaṁsate stuvate śambhaviṣṭhaḥ purūvasur āgamaj johuvānam || 7 ||
tavotibhiḥ sacamānā ariṣṭā bṛhaspate maghavānaḥ suvīrāḥ |
ye aśvadā uta vā santi godā ye vastradāḥ subhagās teṣu rāyaḥ || 8 ||
visarmāṇaṁ kṛṇuhi vittam eṣāṁ ye bhuñjate apṛṇanto na ukthaiḥ |
apavratān prasave vāvṛdhānān brahmadviṣaḥ sūryād yāvayasva || 9 ||
ya ohate rakṣaso devavītāv acakrebhis tam maruto ni yāta |
yo vaḥ śamīṁ śaśamānasya nindāt tucchyān kāmān karate siṣvidānaḥ || 10 ||
tam u ṣṭuhi yaḥ sviṣuḥ sudhanvā yo viśvasya kṣayati bheṣajasya |
yakṣvā mahe saumanasāya rudraṁ namobhir devam asuraṁ duvasya || 11 ||
damūnaso apaso ye suhastā vṛṣṇaḥ patnīr nadyo vibhvataṣṭāḥ |
sarasvatī bṛhaddivota rākā daśasyantīr varivasyantu śubhrāḥ || 12 ||
pra sū mahe suśaraṇāya medhāṁ giram bhare navyasīṁ jāyamānām |
ya āhanā duhitur vakṣaṇāsu rūpā mināno akṛṇod idaṁ naḥ || 13 ||
pra suṣṭutiḥ stanayantaṁ ruvantam iḻas patiṁ jaritar nūnam aśyāḥ |
yo abdimām̐ udanimām̐ iyarti pra vidyutā rodasī ukṣamāṇaḥ || 14 ||
eṣa stomo mārutaṁ śardho acchā rudrasya sūnūm̐r yuvanyūm̐r ud aśyāḥ |
kāmo rāye havate mā svasty upa stuhi pṛṣadaśvām̐ ayāsaḥ || 15 ||
praiṣa stomaḥ pṛthivīm antarikṣaṁ vanaspatīm̐r oṣadhī rāye aśyāḥ |
devo-devaḥ suhavo bhūtu mahyam mā no mātā pṛthivī durmatau dhāt || 16 ||
urau devā anibādhe syāma || 17 ||
sam aśvinor avasā nūtanena mayobhuvā supraṇītī gamema |
ā no rayiṁ vahatam ota vīrān ā viśvāny amṛtā saubhagāni || 18 ||
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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