Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.2 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.
Hidden within the wood thou hast dwelt since the world's beginning, O Agni. The timber knoweth not that it harboureth thee — yet in its heart thou sleepest, coiled and patient, waiting for the touch that shall awaken thee. The friction-sticks are turned, hard wood against softer wood, and lo — the heat gathereth.
A spark! A glimmer in the darkness! Smoke riseth pale and ghostly. The ancient mothers, the timber-kindlers, tend thee with reverence. Draw breath, young flame. Grow. Spread thy warmth. The first small flames are now visible — red tongues licking upward from the tinder. Agni is born anew.
From the wood thou drawest thy substance, yet thou art not mere wood burning. Thou art the hidden deity, the secret power dwelling in all growing things. The seed knoweth thee. The tree knoweth thee. The man who rubs the sticks knoweth thee. In this moment thou comest forth into the light.
Thy belly bloometh with color — yellow at the heart, red at the edges, pale gold where thou reachest upward. The smoke gathers into clouds, bearing the scent of burnt timber heavenward. Each flame is a tongue that speaketh without sound. Each spark is a prayer sent into the darkness.
We have found thee, Agni, hidden guest of the wood. We have called thee forth, and thou hast answered. Now thou art loose in the world, consuming all before thee with thy bright appetite. Feed, O Agni. Grow mightier. Thou art the transformer, the raiser of the low, the consumer of the decayed. Through thy hunger the worlds are renewed.
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.2
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 hi kṣaitavad yaśo 'gne mitro na patyase |
tvaṁ vicarṣaṇe śravo vaso puṣṭiṁ na puṣyasi || 1 ||
tvāṁ hi ṣmā carṣaṇayo yajñebhir gīrbhir īḻate |
tvāṁ vājī yāty avṛko rajastūr viśvacarṣaṇiḥ || 2 ||
sajoṣas tvā divo naro yajñasya ketum indhate |
yad dha sya mānuṣo janaḥ sumnāyur juhve adhvare || 3 ||
ṛdhad yas te sudānave dhiyā martaḥ śaśamate |
ūtī ṣa bṛhato divo dviṣo aṁho na tarati || 4 ||
samidhā yas ta āhutiṁ niśitim martyo naśat |
vayāvantaṁ sa puṣyati kṣayam agne śatāyuṣam || 5 ||
tveṣas te dhūma ṛṇvati divi ṣañ chukra ātataḥ |
sūro na hi dyutā tvaṁ kṛpā pāvaka rocase || 6 ||
adhā hi vikṣv īḍyo 'si priyo no atithiḥ |
raṇvaḥ purīva jūryaḥ sūnur na trayayāyyaḥ || 7 ||
kratvā hi droṇe ajyase 'gne vājī na kṛtvyaḥ |
parijmeva svadhā gayo 'tyo na hvāryaḥ śiśuḥ || 8 ||
tvaṁ tyā cid acyutāgne paśur na yavase |
dhāmā ha yat te ajara vanā vṛścanti śikvasaḥ || 9 ||
veṣi hy adhvarīyatām agne hotā dame viśām |
samṛdho viśpate kṛṇu juṣasva havyam aṅgiraḥ || 10 ||
acchā no mitramaho deva devān agne vocaḥ sumatiṁ rodasyoḥ |
vīhi svastiṁ sukṣitiṁ divo nṝn dviṣo aṁhāṁsi duritā tarema tā tarema tavāvasā tarema || 11 ||
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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