Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.43 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.
Hail, Agni! Lord of the sacred flame, first-born among all the gods!
Thou burnest in the household hearth; thou dwellest in the wood prepared for sacrifice.
Thy tongue doth lick the offering, thy strength doth carry prayers up to heaven.
O golden-tongued one, thy seven flames dance forth in radiance and might.
Thou art the guest within each home, the friend who warmeth those that gather near.
The smallest child knoweth thee; the eldest sage doth fear thy power and praise thy name.
Hidden within the wood thou liest coiled like a serpent waiting for the spark.
From stone thou leapest forth at last; from water hidden thou risest bright and fierce.
No man knoweth all thy hiding-places, nor where thou dwellest in the world of plants.
Thou art the lightning burning in the sky; thou art the sun that rideth each day's course.
The stars themselves are fed by thy great fire; without thee all the world would dwell in cold and shade.
Thy form is manifold; thy work is endless; thy glory filleth every corner of the earth.
Three-fold thou art: in heaven thou art born, on earth thou dwellest, and in waters too.
In the body of every creature burneth a spark of thy own divine flame.
We perceive thee not, yet ever thou dost labour, transforming all that cometh near thy heat.
O Agni, messenger between the gods and men, bear up our sacrifice to those on high!
We place upon thy altar gifts of grain and butter rendered from the cow.
Accept these tokens of our faith and carry them beyond the sky to dwell with gods immortal.
Thou grindest up the offerings with thy many teeth; thou consumest what we bring before thy face.
Yet thou art not cruel but kindly in thy work—a priest performing duties at the shrine.
The gods themselves did appoint thee as the first of priests, the eldest and the most revered.
Protect our houses from the thief and fiend; guard our cattle in the field and pen.
Let no disease come near those who do reverence to thee with proper rites.
Keep our enemies at bay; let their arrows fly past us like birds passing over water.
In thee we place our trust, O Agni, for thou art kin to every family and every clan.
From age to age thou burnest still, receiving worship at ten thousand altars.
Thy wisdom is beyond measure; thy might is without equal; thy mercy endureth unto all generations.
Grant us prosperity and strength; grant us sons and daughters; grant us cattle rich and fine.
Let our fields bring forth abundance; let our granaries overflow with grain.
And when at last we make our final journey into the dark, let thy light guide us on our way.
Hear now this hymn of praise we sing unto thee, O lord of the sacrificial flame!
Accept our words as thou dost accept the offerings we lay upon thy altar.
Blessed be thy name forever, Agni, thou that burnest bright eternal.
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.43
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.
ime viprasya vedhaso 'gner astṛtayajvanaḥ |
giraḥ stomāsa īrate || 1 ||
asmai te pratiharyate jātavedo vicarṣaṇe |
agne janāmi suṣṭutim || 2 ||
ārokā iva ghed aha tigmā agne tava tviṣaḥ |
dadbhir vanāni bapsati || 3 ||
harayo dhūmaketavo vātajūtā upa dyavi |
yatante vṛthag agnayaḥ || 4 ||
ete tye vṛthag agnaya iddhāsaḥ sam adṛkṣata |
uṣasām iva ketavaḥ || 5 ||
kṛṣṇā rajāṁsi patsutaḥ prayāṇe jātavedasaḥ |
agnir yad rodhati kṣami || 6 ||
dhāsiṁ kṛṇvāna oṣadhīr bapsad agnir na vāyati |
punar yan taruṇīr api || 7 ||
jihvābhir aha nannamad arciṣā jañjaṇābhavan |
agnir vaneṣu rocate || 8 ||
apsv agne sadhiṣ ṭava sauṣadhīr anu rudhyase |
garbhe sañ jāyase punaḥ || 9 ||
ud agne tava tad ghṛtād arcī rocata āhutam |
niṁsānaṁ juhvo3 mukhe || 10 ||
ukṣānnāya vaśānnāya somapṛṣṭhāya vedhase |
stomair vidhemāgnaye || 11 ||
uta tvā namasā vayaṁ hotar vareṇyakrato |
agne samidbhir īmahe || 12 ||
uta tvā bhṛguvac chuce manuṣvad agna āhuta |
aṅgirasvad dhavāmahe || 13 ||
tvaṁ hy agne agninā vipro vipreṇa san satā |
sakhā sakhyā samidhyase || 14 ||
sa tvaṁ viprāya dāśuṣe rayiṁ dehi sahasriṇam |
agne vīravatīm iṣam || 15 ||
agne bhrātaḥ sahaskṛta rohidaśva śucivrata |
imaṁ stomaṁ juṣasva me || 16 ||
uta tvāgne mama stuto vāśrāya pratiharyate |
goṣṭhaṁ gāva ivāśata || 17 ||
tubhyaṁ tā aṅgirastama viśvāḥ sukṣitayaḥ pṛthak |
agne kāmāya yemire || 18 ||
agniṁ dhībhir manīṣiṇo medhirāso vipaścitaḥ |
admasadyāya hinvire || 19 ||
taṁ tvām ajmeṣu vājinaṁ tanvānā agne adhvaram |
vahniṁ hotāram īḻate || 20 ||
purutrā hi sadṛṅṅ asi viśo viśvā anu prabhuḥ |
samatsu tvā havāmahe || 21 ||
tam īḻiṣva ya āhuto 'gnir vibhrājate ghṛtaiḥ |
imaṁ naḥ śṛṇavad dhavam || 22 ||
taṁ tvā vayaṁ havāmahe śṛṇvantaṁ jātavedasam |
agne ghnantam apa dviṣaḥ || 23 ||
viśāṁ rājānam adbhutam adhyakṣaṁ dharmaṇām imam |
agnim īḻe sa u śravat || 24 ||
agniṁ viśvāyuvepasam maryaṁ na vājinaṁ hitam |
saptiṁ na vājayāmasi || 25 ||
ghnan mṛdhrāṇy apa dviṣo dahan rakṣāṁsi viśvahā |
agne tigmena dīdihi || 26 ||
yaṁ tvā janāsa indhate manuṣvad aṅgirastama |
agne sa bodhi me vacaḥ || 27 ||
yad agne divijā asy apsujā vā sahaskṛta |
taṁ tvā gīrbhir havāmahe || 28 ||
tubhyaṁ ghet te janā ime viśvāḥ sukṣitayaḥ pṛthak |
dhāsiṁ hinvanty attave || 29 ||
te ghed agne svādhyo 'hā viśvā nṛcakṣasaḥ |
tarantaḥ syāma durgahā || 30 ||
agnim mandram purupriyaṁ śīram pāvakaśociṣam |
hṛdbhir mandrebhir īmahe || 31 ||
sa tvam agne vibhāvasuḥ sṛjan sūryo na raśmibhiḥ |
śardhan tamāṁsi jighnase || 32 ||
tat te sahasva īmahe dātraṁ yan nopadasyati |
tvad agne vāryaṁ vasu || 33 ||
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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