Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.48 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 kindled here at the coming of the dawn. The sunlight streameth through the sky; the world awakes anew.
O Savitṛ, golden-eyed, thou drivenest forth the night. Thy rays do touch the mountains high; thy light doth fill the earth.
The tongue of flame doth leap and dance; the heat riseth toward the heavens. The smoke doth coil in graceful rings, a messenger of prayer.
Thou art the guest in every home, the friend of all mankind. Without thy fire, no food is cooked; no sacrifice can be made.
O Agni, thou art the mouth of the gods. All prayers do pass through thee. Thou bearist them to Indra high, to Mitra and to all the rest.
The morning star doth pale and fade when Savitṛ doth arise. The cows are driven to the fields; the warriors arm themselves.
The butter burneth on thy coals; the offering riseth up. Thou drinkenest the soma now—accept this gift of ours.
From the beginning of the world, thou hast been burning bright. When all things else do pass away, thy fire shall still remain.
O radiant ones, O Agni and O Savitṛ the golden, grant us wealth and children dear. Grant us good pasture for our flocks and courage for our men.
This hymn we sing at break of dawn, as did our fathers long ago. Accept our praise, O mighty ones, and make us prosper evermore.
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.48
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.
yajñā-yajñā vo agnaye girā-girā ca dakṣase |
pra-pra vayam amṛtaṁ jātavedasam priyam mitraṁ na śaṁsiṣam || 1 ||
ūrjo napātaṁ sa hināyam asmayur dāśema havyadātaye |
bhuvad vājeṣv avitā bhuvad vṛdha uta trātā tanūnām || 2 ||
vṛṣā hy agne ajaro mahān vibhāsy arciṣā |
ajasreṇa śociṣā śośucac chuce sudītibhiḥ su dīdihi || 3 ||
maho devān yajasi yakṣy ānuṣak tava kratvota daṁsanā |
arvācaḥ sīṁ kṛṇuhy agne 'vase rāsva vājota vaṁsva || 4 ||
yam āpo adrayo vanā garbham ṛtasya piprati |
sahasā yo mathito jāyate nṛbhiḥ pṛthivyā adhi sānavi || 5 ||
ā yaḥ paprau bhānunā rodasī ubhe dhūmena dhāvate divi |
tiras tamo dadṛśa ūrmyāsv ā śyāvāsv aruṣo vṛṣā śyāvā aruṣo vṛṣā || 6 ||
bṛhadbhir agne arcibhiḥ śukreṇa deva śociṣā |
bharadvāje samidhāno yaviṣṭhya revan naḥ śukra dīdihi dyumat pāvaka dīdihi || 7 ||
viśvāsāṁ gṛhapatir viśām asi tvam agne mānuṣīṇām |
śatam pūrbhir yaviṣṭha pāhy aṁhasaḥ sameddhāraṁ śataṁ himāḥ stotṛbhyo ye ca dadati || 8 ||
tvaṁ naś citra ūtyā vaso rādhāṁsi codaya |
asya rāyas tvam agne rathīr asi vidā gādhaṁ tuce tu naḥ || 9 ||
parṣi tokaṁ tanayam partṛbhiṣ ṭvam adabdhair aprayutvabhiḥ |
agne heḻāṁsi daivyā yuyodhi no 'devāni hvarāṁsi ca || 10 ||
ā sakhāyaḥ sabardughāṁ dhenum ajadhvam upa navyasā vacaḥ |
sṛjadhvam anapasphurām || 11 ||
yā śardhāya mārutāya svabhānave śravo 'mṛtyu dhukṣata |
yā mṛḻīke marutāṁ turāṇāṁ yā sumnair evayāvarī || 12 ||
bharadvājāyāva dhukṣata dvitā |
dhenuṁ ca viśvadohasam iṣaṁ ca viśvabhojasam || 13 ||
taṁ va indraṁ na sukratuṁ varuṇam iva māyinam |
aryamaṇaṁ na mandraṁ sṛprabhojasaṁ viṣṇuṁ na stuṣa ādiśe || 14 ||
tveṣaṁ śardho na mārutaṁ tuviṣvaṇy anarvāṇam pūṣaṇaṁ saṁ yathā śatā |
saṁ sahasrā kāriṣac carṣaṇibhya ām̐ āvir gūḻhā vasū karat suvedā no vasū karat || 15 ||
ā mā pūṣann upa drava śaṁsiṣaṁ nu te apikarṇa āghṛṇe |
aghā aryo arātayaḥ || 16 ||
mā kākambīram ud vṛho vanaspatim aśastīr vi hi nīnaśaḥ |
mota sūro aha evā cana grīvā ādadhate veḥ || 17 ||
dṛter iva te 'vṛkam astu sakhyam |
acchidrasya dadhanvataḥ supūrṇasya dadhanvataḥ || 18 ||
paro hi martyair asi samo devair uta śriyā |
abhi khyaḥ pūṣan pṛtanāsu nas tvam avā nūnaṁ yathā purā || 19 ||
vāmī vāmasya dhūtayaḥ praṇītir astu sūnṛtā |
devasya vā maruto martyasya vejānasya prayajyavaḥ || 20 ||
sadyaś cid yasya carkṛtiḥ pari dyāṁ devo naiti sūryaḥ |
tveṣaṁ śavo dadhire nāma yajñiyam maruto vṛtrahaṁ śavo jyeṣṭhaṁ vṛtrahaṁ śavaḥ || 21 ||
sakṛd dha dyaur ajāyata sakṛd bhūmir ajāyata |
pṛśnyā dugdhaṁ sakṛt payas tad anyo nānu jāyate || 22 ||
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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