Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.1 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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.
Agni, whom the Bhāradvājas kindle here, we call upon thee — lord of the rite, priest of the altar, mouth of the gods. Come thou to our fire, bearing the gods before thee like a king bearing courtiers. The wood hath split beneath thy hidden flame; the smoke riseth upward as incense. Thou art the hotṛ, the divine priest, who speakest our prayers to the immortals.
The friction-sticks turn, and thou art born again — eternal as the years, ever young, ever burning. Hear us, Agni! We have kindled thee with intention. The butter melts upon thy tongue. The oblations await thy hunger. Through thee the gods shall know our need.
Let Indra come swift as the arrow. Let Mitra and Varuṇa sit in the circle of thy light. Let the Aśvins, twin physicians, attend this sacrifice. Let Soma pour his ecstasy through thy flames. All the powers of heaven shall gather here where thou burnest, O Agni.
Thou art the friend of man, the giver of increase, the keeper of the hearth and home. In winter thy warmth driveth back the darkness. In summer thy presence doth give vigor. Accept these offerings, O Agni. Draw near. Let thy flames leap higher. The gods await beyond the veil of smoke.
We have lit thee as our father, our kinsman, our trusted counselor. Carry our words upward. Make straight the path between earth and heaven. Thou art the bridge, the mediator, the sacred intermediary. Hear us, Agni. Hear us and come.
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 VI.1
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.
tvaṁ hy agne prathamo manotāsyā dhiyo abhavo dasma hotā |
tvaṁ sīṁ vṛṣann akṛṇor duṣṭarītu saho viśvasmai sahase sahadhyai || 1 ||
adhā hotā ny asīdo yajīyān iḻas pada iṣayann īḍyaḥ san |
taṁ tvā naraḥ prathamaṁ devayanto maho rāye citayanto anu gman || 2 ||
vṛteva yantam bahubhir vasavyai3s tve rayiṁ jāgṛvāṁso anu gman |
ruśantam agniṁ darśatam bṛhantaṁ vapāvantaṁ viśvahā dīdivāṁsam || 3 ||
padaṁ devasya namasā vyantaḥ śravasyavaḥ śrava āpann amṛktam |
nāmāni cid dadhire yajñiyāni bhadrāyāṁ te raṇayanta saṁdṛṣṭau || 4 ||
tvāṁ vardhanti kṣitayaḥ pṛthivyāṁ tvāṁ rāya ubhayāso janānām |
tvaṁ trātā taraṇe cetyo bhūḥ pitā mātā sadam in mānuṣāṇām || 5 ||
saparyeṇyaḥ sa priyo vikṣv a1gnir hotā mandro ni ṣasādā yajīyān |
taṁ tvā vayaṁ dama ā dīdivāṁsam upa jñubādho namasā sadema || 6 ||
taṁ tvā vayaṁ sudhyo3 navyam agne sumnāyava īmahe devayantaḥ |
tvaṁ viśo anayo dīdyāno divo agne bṛhatā rocanena || 7 ||
viśāṁ kaviṁ viśpatiṁ śaśvatīnāṁ nitośanaṁ vṛṣabhaṁ carṣaṇīnām |
pretīṣaṇim iṣayantam pāvakaṁ rājantam agniṁ yajataṁ rayīṇām || 8 ||
so agna īje śaśame ca marto yas ta ānaṭ samidhā havyadātim |
ya āhutim pari vedā namobhir viśvet sa vāmā dadhate tvotaḥ || 9 ||
asmā u te mahi mahe vidhema namobhir agne samidhota havyaiḥ |
vedī sūno sahaso gīrbhir ukthair ā te bhadrāyāṁ sumatau yatema || 10 ||
ā yas tatantha rodasī vi bhāsā śravobhiś ca śravasya1s tarutraḥ |
bṛhadbhir vājaiḥ sthavirebhir asme revadbhir agne vitaraṁ vi bhāhi || 11 ||
nṛvad vaso sadam id dhehy asme bhūri tokāya tanayāya paśvaḥ |
pūrvīr iṣo bṛhatīr āre-aghā asme bhadrā sauśravasāni santu || 12 ||
purūṇy agne purudhā tvāyā vasūni rājan vasutā te aśyām |
purūṇi hi tve puruvāra santy agne vasu vidhate rājani tve || 13 ||
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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