Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.15 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.
All that passes through thee is made pure, O Agni! The wood that is impure becomes ash—the dross is burned away, and only the essence remains. The offering that is imperfect in intention becomes sanctified when committed to thy flames. The sins of the offerer are consumed in thy heat. Thou art the great alchemist of purification, the transformer of the corrupt into the sacred.
This is thy greatest miracle, Agni—that through thee, all things may be renewed. What was broken becomes whole in thy fire. What was defiled is restored to cleanliness. What was dead is burned away so that new life may spring forth. Thou art not merely the destroyer; thou art the agent of transformation, the cosmic renewal.
The man burdened with guilt comes before thy altar. He knows that his hands are soiled, his heart heavy with the weight of transgression. But as he makes his offering and speaks his prayer, thy flames rise and consume the essence of his sin. Not the man himself—never would we suggest that!—but the karmic weight he carries is lightened. The debt is paid in fire. The scales are balanced through thy purification.
The woman who has suffered loss, who has been marked by tragedy, comes to kindle thee. In thy flames, she offers the sorrow. Thy heat draws it out, transforms it, and returns it to the cosmos in a form that wounds no longer. Her tears dry in the warmth of thy presence. Her grief is not erased—but it is purified, integrated, made meaningful.
O Agni, thou purifier! Thou who makest all things clean! We come to thee stained and imperfect. We ask not that we be made unchanged—we ask that we be transformed. Let thy sacred fire burn away what binds us to our lesser selves. Let thy flames renew us. Through thee, let all things be made whole.
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.15
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.
imam ū ṣu vo atithim uṣarbudhaṁ viśvāsāṁ viśām patim ṛñjase girā |
vetīd divo januṣā kac cid ā śucir jyok cid atti garbho yad acyutam || 1 ||
mitraṁ na yaṁ sudhitam bhṛgavo dadhur vanaspatāv īḍyam ūrdhvaśociṣam |
sa tvaṁ suprīto vītahavye adbhuta praśastibhir mahayase dive-dive || 2 ||
sa tvaṁ dakṣasyāvṛko vṛdho bhūr aryaḥ parasyāntarasya taruṣaḥ |
rāyaḥ sūno sahaso martyeṣv ā chardir yaccha vītahavyāya sapratho bharadvājāya saprathaḥ || 3 ||
dyutānaṁ vo atithiṁ svarṇaram agniṁ hotāram manuṣaḥ svadhvaram |
vipraṁ na dyukṣavacasaṁ suvṛktibhir havyavāham aratiṁ devam ṛñjase || 4 ||
pāvakayā yaś citayantyā kṛpā kṣāman ruruca uṣaso na bhānunā |
tūrvan na yāmann etaśasya nū raṇa ā yo ghṛṇe na tatṛṣāṇo ajaraḥ || 5 ||
agnim-agniṁ vaḥ samidhā duvasyata priyam-priyaṁ vo atithiṁ gṛṇīṣaṇi |
upa vo gīrbhir amṛtaṁ vivāsata devo deveṣu vanate hi vāryaṁ devo deveṣu vanate hi no duvaḥ || 6 ||
samiddham agniṁ samidhā girā gṛṇe śucim pāvakam puro adhvare dhruvam |
vipraṁ hotāram puruvāram adruhaṁ kaviṁ sumnair īmahe jātavedasam || 7 ||
tvāṁ dūtam agne amṛtaṁ yuge-yuge havyavāhaṁ dadhire pāyum īḍyam |
devāsaś ca martāsaś ca jāgṛviṁ vibhuṁ viśpatiṁ namasā ni ṣedire || 8 ||
vibhūṣann agna ubhayām̐ anu vratā dūto devānāṁ rajasī sam īyase |
yat te dhītiṁ sumatim āvṛṇīmahe 'dha smā nas trivarūthaḥ śivo bhava || 9 ||
taṁ supratīkaṁ sudṛśaṁ svañcam avidvāṁso viduṣṭaraṁ sapema |
sa yakṣad viśvā vayunāni vidvān pra havyam agnir amṛteṣu vocat || 10 ||
tam agne pāsy uta tam piparṣi yas ta ānaṭ kavaye śūra dhītim |
yajñasya vā niśitiṁ voditiṁ vā tam it pṛṇakṣi śavasota rāyā || 11 ||
tvam agne vanuṣyato ni pāhi tvam u naḥ sahasāvann avadyāt |
saṁ tvā dhvasmanvad abhy etu pāthaḥ saṁ rayiḥ spṛhayāyyaḥ sahasrī || 12 ||
agnir hotā gṛhapatiḥ sa rājā viśvā veda janimā jātavedāḥ |
devānām uta yo martyānāṁ yajiṣṭhaḥ sa pra yajatām ṛtāvā || 13 ||
agne yad adya viśo adhvarasya hotaḥ pāvakaśoce veṣ ṭvaṁ hi yajvā |
ṛtā yajāsi mahinā vi yad bhūr havyā vaha yaviṣṭha yā te adya || 14 ||
abhi prayāṁsi sudhitāni hi khyo ni tvā dadhīta rodasī yajadhyai |
avā no maghavan vājasātāv agne viśvāni duritā tarema tā tarema tavāvasā tarema || 15 ||
agne viśvebhiḥ svanīka devair ūrṇāvantam prathamaḥ sīda yonim |
kulāyinaṁ ghṛtavantaṁ savitre yajñaṁ naya yajamānāya sādhu || 16 ||
imam u tyam atharvavad agnim manthanti vedhasaḥ |
yam aṅkūyantam ānayann amūraṁ śyāvyābhyaḥ || 17 ||
janiṣvā devavītaye sarvatātā svastaye |
ā devān vakṣy amṛtām̐ ṛtāvṛdho yajñaṁ deveṣu pispṛśaḥ || 18 ||
vayam u tvā gṛhapate janānām agne akarma samidhā bṛhantam |
asthūri no gārhapatyāni santu tigmena nas tejasā saṁ śiśādhi || 19 ||
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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