Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.4 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.
Through thy flames, O Agni, we summon the host of heaven. Thou art the inviter, the one who knocketh upon their doors and calleth them to the feast. What god shall not attend when the fire burneth bright with intention?
Come, Indra! Come swift as the arrow, fierce as the bull! Drink the Soma, grow mightier, shake the heavens with thy roar! Come at the call of Agni's flames. Come and strengthen us, O king of gods.
Come, Mitra and Varuṇa! Come, guardians of the cosmic order! Come, sharers of ṛta — the truth that holdeth all things in their place. Come witness this sacrifice. Come grant thy blessings upon our gathered assembly.
Come, Maruts! Come, storm-winds with thy terrible voices! Come riding thy chariots across the sky! Come fierce and bright and terrible. Come carrying the rain that maketh the field fertile. Agni calleth thee upward.
Come, Aśvins! Come, twin physicians of dawn! Come with thy healing balms and thy knowledge of remedies. Come riding thy golden chariot. Come bless this household with health and long life.
Come, Soma! Come, glorious plant of ecstasy and vision! Thou who growest upon the mountains, thou whom we press with stone and filter through wool — come down into thy portion of the offering. Come and mingle with the butter. Come and bind us to the immortal realm.
All ye gods who dwell in heaven and earth and the waters between — Agni calleth thee. Hear his voice in the crackle of the flames. See his presence in the rising smoke. Come and accept what we offer. Come and dwell among us, if only for this moment of sacred communion.
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.4
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.
yathā hotar manuṣo devatātā yajñebhiḥ sūno sahaso yajāsi |
evā no adya samanā samānān uśann agna uśato yakṣi devān || 1 ||
sa no vibhāvā cakṣaṇir na vastor agnir vandāru vedyaś cano dhāt |
viśvāyur yo amṛto martyeṣūṣarbhud bhūd atithir jātavedāḥ || 2 ||
dyāvo na yasya panayanty abhvam bhāsāṁsi vaste sūryo na śukraḥ |
vi ya inoty ajaraḥ pāvako 'śnasya cic chiśnathat pūrvyāṇi || 3 ||
vadmā hi sūno asy admasadvā cakre agnir januṣājmānnam |
sa tvaṁ na ūrjasana ūrjaṁ dhā rājeva jer avṛke kṣeṣy antaḥ || 4 ||
nitikti yo vāraṇam annam atti vāyur na rāṣṭry aty ety aktūn |
turyāma yas ta ādiśām arātīr atyo na hrutaḥ patataḥ parihrut || 5 ||
ā sūryo na bhānumadbhir arkair agne tatantha rodasī vi bhāsā |
citro nayat pari tamāṁsy aktaḥ śociṣā patmann auśijo na dīyan || 6 ||
tvāṁ hi mandratamam arkaśokair vavṛmahe mahi naḥ śroṣy agne |
indraṁ na tvā śavasā devatā vāyum pṛṇanti rādhasā nṛtamāḥ || 7 ||
nū no agne 'vṛkebhiḥ svasti veṣi rāyaḥ pathibhiḥ parṣy aṁhaḥ |
tā sūribhyo gṛṇate rāsi sumnam madema śatahimāḥ suvīrāḥ || 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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