Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.102 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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.
Come thou, O Agni, bright devourer, lord of the flame that linketh heaven and earth!
In thy manifold forms thou dost appear to the gods and the mortals alike—swift as the darting thought, strong as the mighty bull.
From the friction of the wood thou leapt forth, newborn and terrible, stretching thy tongues of light to the very heavens.
Behold him now in his fullness—the divine priest, the household guardian, the cosmic fire that sustaineth all life.
Agni, thou wanderest through all the worlds as messenger betwixt the mortal and the divine.
When the offering is kindled upon the altar, thy smoke doth rise like prayer itself, bearing our words to the gods.
Through thee doth Indra grow in strength; through thee the Ādityas are fed; through thee all creatures draw their vital breath.
The cattle cry out to thee at eventide; the merchant calleth upon thee ere he take to the road.
In the hearth thou keepest the home safe from darkness; in the forest thou showest the hidden path.
Thou burnest the impure, the crooked, the false thing, and makest all things clean and bright.
O gentle Agni, friend of the household, why dost thou rest not?
Continually dost thou spring forth anew, ever young, ever eager, never weary of thy labour.
When the wood hath been consumed, thou risest again; thy form cannot be vanquished, thy strength cannot be spent.
In a thousand shapes thou appearest—as the lightning in the cloud, as the gleam in the eye, as the warmth upon the breast.
Thou art the breath of the cosmos, the pulse of all being, the flame that bindeth all things together.
Receive our offering, O Agni, and carry it aloft to the gods on high.
Let thy flames rise pure and untainted, bearing our supplications to Indra, to the Maruts, to the dawn-maiden Uṣas.
Be thou our guide through the perils of the night, our companion upon every journey.
May thy fire burn bright within our hearts, kindling wisdom, courage, and the love of righteousness.
Grant us strength to overcome our foes, health to bear us through our days, and at last a peaceful passing when our time cometh.
O Agni, thou sacred and eternal flame, receive our worship, and shine upon us always with thy unfailing light.
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 VIII.102
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.
tvam agne bṛhad vayo dadhāsi deva dāśuṣe |
kavir gṛhapatir yuvā || 1 ||
sa na īḻānayā saha devām̐ agne duvasyuvā |
cikid vibhānav ā vaha || 2 ||
tvayā ha svid yujā vayaṁ codiṣṭhena yaviṣṭhya |
abhi ṣmo vājasātaye || 3 ||
aurvabhṛguvac chucim apnavānavad ā huve |
agniṁ samudravāsasam || 4 ||
huve vātasvanaṁ kavim parjanyakrandyaṁ sahaḥ |
agniṁ samudravāsasam || 5 ||
ā savaṁ savitur yathā bhagasyeva bhujiṁ huve |
agniṁ samudravāsasam || 6 ||
agniṁ vo vṛdhantam adhvarāṇām purūtamam |
acchā naptre sahasvate || 7 ||
ayaṁ yathā na ābhuvat tvaṣṭā rūpeva takṣyā |
asya kratvā yaśasvataḥ || 8 ||
ayaṁ viśvā abhi śriyo 'gnir deveṣu patyate |
ā vājair upa no gamat || 9 ||
viśveṣām iha stuhi hotṝṇāṁ yaśastamam |
agniṁ yajñeṣu pūrvyam || 10 ||
śīram pāvakaśociṣaṁ jyeṣṭho yo dameṣv ā |
dīdāya dīrghaśruttamaḥ || 11 ||
tam arvantaṁ na sānasiṁ gṛṇīhi vipra śuṣmiṇam |
mitraṁ na yātayajjanam || 12 ||
upa tvā jāmayo giro dediśatīr haviṣkṛtaḥ |
vāyor anīke asthiran || 13 ||
yasya tridhātv avṛtam barhis tasthāv asaṁdinam |
āpaś cin ni dadhā padam || 14 ||
padaṁ devasya mīḻhuṣo 'nādhṛṣṭābhir ūtibhiḥ |
bhadrā sūrya ivopadṛk || 15 ||
agne ghṛtasya dhītibhis tepāno deva śociṣā |
ā devān vakṣi yakṣi ca || 16 ||
taṁ tvājananta mātaraḥ kaviṁ devāso aṅgiraḥ |
havyavāham amartyam || 17 ||
pracetasaṁ tvā kave 'gne dūtaṁ vareṇyam |
havyavāhaṁ ni ṣedire || 18 ||
nahi me asty aghnyā na svadhitir vananvati |
athaitādṛg bharāmi te || 19 ||
yad agne kāni kāni cid ā te dārūṇi dadhmasi |
tā juṣasva yaviṣṭhya || 20 ||
yad atty upajihvikā yad vamro atisarpati |
sarvaṁ tad astu te ghṛtam || 21 ||
agnim indhāno manasā dhiyaṁ saceta martyaḥ |
agnim īdhe vivasvabhiḥ || 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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