Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VII.3 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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.
O Agni, thou purifier! Thy flames consume the impurity of the world. Everything that is corrupt, everything that is defiled, falleth before thy sacred fire. There is no stain so dark that thy light cannot penetrate it; there is no evil so great that thy flames cannot consume it.
We bring our sins to thee, O Agni. We cast them into thy fire. Watch as they burn away like dried leaves in autumn! The smoke riseth upward, carrying our confession to the heavens. The ashes fall to the earth, and we are made new.
The worshipper who approacheth thee with a pure heart receiveth thy blessing. His household becometh clean; his fields becometh fertile; his children becometh wise. But the wicked one who offendeth thee shall find no refuge. Thy flames shall pursue him; thy heat shall consume him. There is no escape from thy righteous anger.
We are afraid of thee, O Agni, with a holy fear. We do not approach thee carelessly; we do not speak in thy presence without thinking. We prepare ourselves; we cleanse ourselves; we come before thee with respect and reverence.
Thou art the guardian of the sacred law, O Agni! Thou art the keeper of the cosmic order. When chaos threateneth to overturn all things, when the demons attempt to destroy the world, thou standest firm. Thy flames do not waver; thy fire doth not fail. Thou holdest the boundaries between the realm of the gods and the realm of the demons.
Protect us, O mighty flame! Guard us from all that would harm us! Keep the demons at bay! Bind the serpents! Restrain the forces of chaos! Let us live in peace and security, knowing that thou art watching over us.
In the morning, we kindle thee and greet the rising sun. In the evening, we kindle thee and bid farewell to the setting sun. At night, thy flames are the only light in the darkness. Thou art always present; thou art never absent. Thou watchest over us while we sleep.
The animals fear thy flames; the birds avoid thy smoke; the insects flee from thy heat. Yet all creatures depend upon thee. The cow giveth milk because she is warmed by thy light; the plant groweth because the sun—thy brother—shineth upon it. All life, in the end, dependeth upon thee.
We make the offering to thee, O Agni—the butter, the grain, the soma. These are the gifts that mortals can give; these are the gifts that thou dost love. Take these offerings and be satisfied! Let thy stomach be filled; let thy thirst be quenched! In return, grant us thy protection!
The poor man brings his little portion; the rich man brings his great store. All are equal before thee, O Agni. Thou regardest not the size of the offering but the purity of the heart. If the gift is given with love, thou acceptest it. If the gift is given with greed, thou rejecteth it.
Thy arms are strong, O warrior god! Thou art not only the priest but also the fighter. When the gods go forth to battle, thou art in the vanguard. Thou dost burn the chariots of the enemies; thou dost set fire to their fortifications. The demons flee before thy flames like moths before the torch.
Yet even in war, thou remainest just. Thou dost not slay the innocent; thou dost not harm those who are without blame. Thy fire burneth only the guilty, only the corrupt, only those who have chosen to walk the path of evil.
O Agni, thou most worthy of praise! The ancient seers sang thy hymn; the ancestors called upon thee; the gods themselves revere thee. We, too, raise our voices in thy honor! Accept this hymn from the lips of the Vasiṣṭha singers!
Guard us from evil! Purify us from all corruption! Make us worthy of thy favor! Let thy flames illumine our path! Keep us safe from all danger! O Agni, most blessed and most mighty, receive our prayer!
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 VII.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.
agniṁ vo devam agnibhiḥ sajoṣā yajiṣṭhaṁ dūtam adhvare kṛṇudhvam |
yo martyeṣu nidhruvir ṛtāvā tapurmūrdhā ghṛtānnaḥ pāvakaḥ || 1 ||
prothad aśvo na yavase 'viṣyan yadā mahaḥ saṁvaraṇād vy asthāt |
ād asya vāto anu vāti śocir adha sma te vrajanaṁ kṛṣṇam asti || 2 ||
ud yasya te navajātasya vṛṣṇo 'gne caranty ajarā idhānāḥ |
acchā dyām aruṣo dhūma eti saṁ dūto agna īyase hi devān || 3 ||
vi yasya te pṛthivyām pājo aśret tṛṣu yad annā samavṛkta jambhaiḥ |
seneva sṛṣṭā prasitiṣ ṭa eti yavaṁ na dasma juhvā vivekṣi || 4 ||
tam id doṣā tam uṣasi yaviṣṭham agnim atyaṁ na marjayanta naraḥ |
niśiśānā atithim asya yonau dīdāya śocir āhutasya vṛṣṇaḥ || 5 ||
susaṁdṛk te svanīka pratīkaṁ vi yad rukmo na rocasa upāke |
divo na te tanyatur eti śuṣmaś citro na sūraḥ prati cakṣi bhānum || 6 ||
yathā vaḥ svāhāgnaye dāśema parīḻābhir ghṛtavadbhiś ca havyaiḥ |
tebhir no agne amitair mahobhiḥ śatam pūrbhir āyasībhir ni pāhi || 7 ||
yā vā te santi dāśuṣe adhṛṣṭā giro vā yābhir nṛvatīr uruṣyāḥ |
tābhir naḥ sūno sahaso ni pāhi smat sūrīñ jaritṝñ jātavedaḥ || 8 ||
nir yat pūteva svadhitiḥ śucir gāt svayā kṛpā tanvā3 rocamānaḥ |
ā yo mātror uśenyo janiṣṭa devayajyāya sukratuḥ pāvakaḥ || 9 ||
etā no agne saubhagā didīhy api kratuṁ sucetasaṁ vatema |
viśvā stotṛbhyo gṛṇate ca santu yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 10 ||
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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