Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VI.7 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.
Thou art not merely the flame in the hearth, O Agni Vaiśvānara — universal fire, fire belonging to all peoples. Look upward! The sun itself burneth with thy essence. Every point of light in the heavens speaketh thy name. The stars are thy children, scattered across the void, burning eternally in the cosmic dark.
When lightning teareth the clouds asunder, it is thy fury made visible. When thunder roareth and shaketh the earth, it is thy voice calling from the sky. Every storm that bringeth rain, every flash that spliteth the tree — this is thee, O Agni, showing thy terrible majesty to those mortals below who tremble at thy power.
But thou art not confined to the heavens. Descend! Burrow deep into the earth. The heat that dwelleth in the belly of the world — that is thee as well. The warm springs that rise from the deep places, the fire that runneth within the stone, the warmth that giveth life to growing things — all of these are expressions of thy universal nature.
Thou burnest in the belly of every creature. The heat that warmeth the blood, the fire of digestion, the spark of life itself — this is thy presence within us, O Agni. When a man acteth with courage, when a woman speaketh truth, when any creature riseth to fullness of being — this is thee, burning bright within.
Vaiśvānara! Universal fire! Fire of all peoples, fire of earth and sky and water and the spaces between! Thou art not bound by nation or tribe or family. Every human heart that burneth with noble intent knoweth thee. Every creature that liveth and groweth and shineth with the light of consciousness harboureth thy spark. In thee, O Agni, all the worlds are made one.
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.7
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.
mūrdhānaṁ divo aratim pṛthivyā vaiśvānaram ṛta ā jātam agnim |
kaviṁ samrājam atithiṁ janānām āsann ā pātraṁ janayanta devāḥ || 1 ||
nābhiṁ yajñānāṁ sadanaṁ rayīṇām mahām āhāvam abhi saṁ navanta |
vaiśvānaraṁ rathyam adhvarāṇāṁ yajñasya ketuṁ janayanta devāḥ || 2 ||
tvad vipro jāyate vājy agne tvad vīrāso abhimātiṣāhaḥ |
vaiśvānara tvam asmāsu dhehi vasūni rājan spṛhayāyyāṇi || 3 ||
tvāṁ viśve amṛta jāyamānaṁ śiśuṁ na devā abhi saṁ navante |
tava kratubhir amṛtatvam āyan vaiśvānara yat pitror adīdeḥ || 4 ||
vaiśvānara tava tāni vratāni mahāny agne nakir ā dadharṣa |
yaj jāyamānaḥ pitror upasthe 'vindaḥ ketuṁ vayuneṣv ahnām || 5 ||
vaiśvānarasya vimitāni cakṣasā sānūni divo amṛtasya ketunā |
tasyed u viśvā bhuvanādhi mūrdhani vayā iva ruruhuḥ sapta visruhaḥ || 6 ||
vi yo rajāṁsy amimīta sukratur vaiśvānaro vi divo rocanā kaviḥ |
pari yo viśvā bhuvanāni paprathe 'dabdho gopā amṛtasya rakṣitā || 7 ||
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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