Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.39 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.
Agni, thou guest most divine, thou dweller in our home!
We welcome thee with lifted hands; we bid thee never roam.
Thy flames rise upward to the heavens, carrying our prayer on high,
A golden column reaching forth where gods and mortals both do lie.
O purifier of the world, thou cleanser of all sin!
Thy fire consumeth all the dross and burneth false things thin.
The smoke ascendeth from thy altar; the gods smell sweet the offered gift.
Thou art the messenger between the high and low, the bearer of our lift.
The oblation placed upon thy altar—butter, grain, and meat—
Doth travel through thy sacred flame to where the gods do meet.
Thou takest what the mortal brings and makest it divine,
And so we honor thee, O Agni, at this altar shine.
Come thou and rest within this home; be kindly here and warm.
Protect the dwelling from all harm; keep safe from every storm.
Let thieves and brigands flee afar; let enemies turn back their face.
Let all who dwell beneath this roof find shelter and find grace.
The waters thou dost penetrate; within the wood thou hidest still.
In every stone and every plant thy sacred presence dwell.
Yet here within our hearth thou shinest brightest, strongest, best—
O Agni, come and take thy seat; here shalt thou find thy rest.
Thou art the god that all men need; thou art the gift of heaven bright.
Without thee, mortals could not live, could not prepare the rite.
Thou hast been worshipped since the dawn of all the human race,
And ever shalt thou be adored in every dwelling place.
Come now and eat the offering that we have set for thee.
Take thou the butter that we pour; be pleased and joyful, see?
The singers raise their voices loud in hymns to thee so high.
The ritual is prepared with care; the smoke doth upward fly.
O Agni, many-formed god, thou who art known by many names!
Jātavedas, Vaiśvānara—all who know thy holy flames
Doth bless thy work and sing thy praise and offer unto thee
Their tributes and their offerings, in gratitude and glee.
Grant us the blessings that we ask—long life, prosperity, and might.
Let all our children grow up strong; let all our plans work right.
Protect our cattle in the field; protect our homes at night.
O Agni, great and glorious, fill all our world with light.
The family that honors thee shall never come to want.
The household where thy altar burns shall never see the gaunt.
So bless us all, O sacred flame; remain within our home.
We ask thee for thy steadfast care no matter where we roam.
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.39
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.
agnim astoṣy ṛgmiyam agnim īḻā yajadhyai |
agnir devām̐ anaktu na ubhe hi vidathe kavir antaś carati dūtya1ṁ nabhantām anyake same || 1 ||
ny agne navyasā vacas tanūṣu śaṁsam eṣām |
ny arātī rarāvṇāṁ viśvā aryo arātīr ito yucchantv āmuro nabhantām anyake same || 2 ||
agne manmāni tubhyaṁ kaṁ ghṛtaṁ na juhva āsani |
sa deveṣu pra cikiddhi tvaṁ hy asi pūrvyaḥ śivo dūto vivasvato nabhantām anyake same || 3 ||
tat-tad agnir vayo dadhe yathā-yathā kṛpaṇyati |
ūrjāhutir vasūnāṁ śaṁ ca yoś ca mayo dadhe viśvasyai devahūtyai nabhantām anyake same || 4 ||
sa ciketa sahīyasāgniś citreṇa karmaṇā |
sa hotā śaśvatīnāṁ dakṣiṇābhir abhīvṛta inoti ca pratīvya1ṁ nabhantām anyake same || 5 ||
agnir jātā devānām agnir veda martānām apīcyam |
agniḥ sa draviṇodā agnir dvārā vy ūrṇute svāhuto navīyasā nabhantām anyake same || 6 ||
agnir deveṣu saṁvasuḥ sa vikṣu yajñiyāsv ā |
sa mudā kāvyā puru viśvam bhūmeva puṣyati devo deveṣu yajñiyo nabhantām anyake same || 7 ||
yo agniḥ saptamānuṣaḥ śrito viśveṣu sindhuṣu |
tam āganma tripastyam mandhātur dasyuhantamam agniṁ yajñeṣu pūrvyaṁ nabhantām anyake same || 8 ||
agnis trīṇi tridhātūny ā kṣeti vidathā kaviḥ |
sa trīm̐r ekādaśām̐ iha yakṣac ca piprayac ca no vipro dūtaḥ pariṣkṛto nabhantām anyake same || 9 ||
tvaṁ no agna āyuṣu tvaṁ deveṣu pūrvya vasva eka irajyasi |
tvām āpaḥ parisrutaḥ pari yanti svasetavo nabhantām anyake same || 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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