Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.3 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, thou art the mouth of the gods. When we pour the ghee upon thy flames, it drippeth into thee and turneth into liquid prayer. The smoke that riseth carrieth our desire upward to the realm where the deathless ones dwell. Thou art the messenger, the herald, the divine intermediary who speaketh for mortals.
The clarified butter crackles upon thy surface. Smell the sweetness, O Agni! The gods in heaven shall smell it too. This is the language they comprehend — the scent of sacrifice, the evidence of devotion, the gift offered with open hands and grateful heart. Thy flames are their ears. Thy smoke is their pathway to our altars.
We have assembled here at the fire's edge, waiting. The wooden ladle burneth. The offerings sit ready. The priest standeth with hand raised, chanting the sacred words. All of this is but shadow until thou acceptest it, O Agni. Until thy flames envelop the offering, it remaineth mere matter. Through thee it becometh spirit.
Thy tongue is red and hungry. It doth not ask which man is rich and which is poor. The widow's gift and the king's gift are equal when they pass through thy flames. Thou art the great equalizer, the purifier, the one who transformeth all things according to thy will. In thy presence, distinctions crumble.
Rise higher, rise brighter, O divine messenger! Let thy smoke ascend like a pillar into the void. Let the gods take note of this ceremony, this gathering, this fervent reaching toward the immortal realm. Thou art the bridge between what is and what may yet be. Carry our hopes heavenward.
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.3
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 sa kṣeṣad ṛtapā ṛtejā uru jyotir naśate devayuṣ ṭe |
yaṁ tvam mitreṇa varuṇaḥ sajoṣā deva pāsi tyajasā martam aṁhaḥ || 1 ||
īje yajñebhiḥ śaśame śamībhir ṛdhadvārāyāgnaye dadāśa |
evā cana taṁ yaśasām ajuṣṭir nāṁho martaṁ naśate na pradṛptiḥ || 2 ||
sūro na yasya dṛśatir arepā bhīmā yad eti śucatas ta ā dhīḥ |
heṣasvataḥ śurudho nāyam aktoḥ kutrā cid raṇvo vasatir vanejāḥ || 3 ||
tigmaṁ cid ema mahi varpo asya bhasad aśvo na yamasāna āsā |
vijehamānaḥ paraśur na jihvāṁ dravir na drāvayati dāru dhakṣat || 4 ||
sa id asteva prati dhād asiṣyañ chiśīta tejo 'yaso na dhārām |
citradhrajatir aratir yo aktor ver na druṣadvā raghupatmajaṁhāḥ || 5 ||
sa īṁ rebho na prati vasta usrāḥ śociṣā rārapīti mitramahāḥ |
naktaṁ ya īm aruṣo yo divā nṝn amartyo aruṣo yo divā nṝn || 6 ||
divo na yasya vidhato navīnod vṛṣā rukṣa oṣadhīṣu nūnot |
ghṛṇā na yo dhrajasā patmanā yann ā rodasī vasunā daṁ supatnī || 7 ||
dhāyobhir vā yo yujyebhir arkair vidyun na davidyot svebhiḥ śuṣmaiḥ |
śardho vā yo marutāṁ tatakṣa ṛbhur na tveṣo rabhasāno adyaut || 8 ||
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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