Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.44 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.
O Agni, thou the first priest at the altar of the gods, the eldest and most wise!
Before all other priests did gods appoint thee as their messenger and herald.
Thou art the bridge between the world of men and that high realm where gods immortal dwell.
The flames that thou dost kindle are like horses swift and spirited, that leap and wheel about.
They race forth toward the heavens, bearing on their backs the precious gifts we lift to thee.
The very smoke that riseth from thy fire doth climb toward the seat of the gods on high.
We light thee in the morning with the dawn; we feed thee through the day with offerings fit.
At night we still do tend thy flame, and thou dost keep us safe while we do sleep.
Thou art the faithful guardian of each house, never departing, ever at thy post.
The wood we gather for thee is like the fodder given to a horse before a journey long.
With ghee we anoint thy head as a king is anointed when he taketh up his crown.
The grain and milk and honey that we pour are tributes to thy honour and thy glory.
O Agni, hear the hymn of every household! Every family doth call upon thy name.
The merchant praiseth thee when he doth kindle thee before his voyage's start.
The warrior honoureth thee when he seeketh thy blessing ere he taketh up the bow.
The mother praiseth thee when she doth bear a child and layeth it beside thy warmth.
The priesthood praiseth thee, for thou art he who maketh prayers heard by gods immortal.
All classes call upon thy name: the noble and the low, the learned and the simple folk.
In thy teeth the offering is crushed to powder, transformed and purified by sacred fire.
What mortals eat is filled with age and death; what thou dost touch is rendered deathless and bright.
Thus art thou the great transformer, Agni, turning the corrupt into the pure and clean.
Where two men meet, if Agni's flame doth flicker between them, there is trust and peace.
The contract sworn before thy altar standeth fast and cannot be unmade or broken.
Thou art the witness to all vows and oaths; thy fire seals the bond that bindeth man to man.
The gods did walk the earth in ancient times before they ascended to their throne on high.
And Agni was their foothold when they climbed; he was their strength and he their surest guide.
So too art thou for us in this dark age, a pillar of stability and hope within the night.
I sing to thee, O Agni, first of priests, and ask thy blessing on this hymn I bring.
Accept the words as thou dost accept the smoke that riseth from the sacred altar-fire.
Keep us forever in thy warmth and light, till we depart from this world to the realm beyond.
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.44
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.
samidhāgniṁ duvasyata ghṛtair bodhayatātithim |
āsmin havyā juhotana || 1 ||
agne stomaṁ juṣasva me vardhasvānena manmanā |
prati sūktāni harya naḥ || 2 ||
agniṁ dūtam puro dadhe havyavāham upa bruve |
devām̐ ā sādayād iha || 3 ||
ut te bṛhanto arcayaḥ samidhānasya dīdivaḥ |
agne śukrāsa īrate || 4 ||
upa tvā juhvo3 mama ghṛtācīr yantu haryata |
agne havyā juṣasva naḥ || 5 ||
mandraṁ hotāram ṛtvijaṁ citrabhānuṁ vibhāvasum |
agnim īḻe sa u śravat || 6 ||
pratnaṁ hotāram īḍyaṁ juṣṭam agniṁ kavikratum |
adhvarāṇām abhiśriyam || 7 ||
juṣāṇo aṅgirastamemā havyāny ānuṣak |
agne yajñaṁ naya ṛtuthā || 8 ||
samidhāna u santya śukraśoca ihā vaha |
cikitvān daivyaṁ janam || 9 ||
vipraṁ hotāram adruhaṁ dhūmaketuṁ vibhāvasum |
yajñānāṁ ketum īmahe || 10 ||
agne ni pāhi nas tvam prati ṣma deva rīṣataḥ |
bhindhi dveṣaḥ sahaskṛta || 11 ||
agniḥ pratnena manmanā śumbhānas tanva1ṁ svām |
kavir vipreṇa vāvṛdhe || 12 ||
ūrjo napātam ā huve 'gnim pāvakaśociṣam |
asmin yajñe svadhvare || 13 ||
sa no mitramahas tvam agne śukreṇa śociṣā |
devair ā satsi barhiṣi || 14 ||
yo agniṁ tanvo3 dame devam martaḥ saparyati |
tasmā id dīdayad vasu || 15 ||
agnir mūrdhā divaḥ kakut patiḥ pṛthivyā ayam |
apāṁ retāṁsi jinvati || 16 ||
ud agne śucayas tava śukrā bhrājanta īrate |
tava jyotīṁṣy arcayaḥ || 17 ||
īśiṣe vāryasya hi dātrasyāgne svarpatiḥ |
stotā syāṁ tava śarmaṇi || 18 ||
tvām agne manīṣiṇas tvāṁ hinvanti cittibhiḥ |
tvāṁ vardhantu no giraḥ || 19 ||
adabdhasya svadhāvato dūtasya rebhataḥ sadā |
agneḥ sakhyaṁ vṛṇīmahe || 20 ||
agniḥ śucivratatamaḥ śucir vipraḥ śuciḥ kaviḥ |
śucī rocata āhutaḥ || 21 ||
uta tvā dhītayo mama giro vardhantu viśvahā |
agne sakhyasya bodhi naḥ || 22 ||
yad agne syām ahaṁ tvaṁ tvaṁ vā ghā syā aham |
syuṣ ṭe satyā ihāśiṣaḥ || 23 ||
vasur vasupatir hi kam asy agne vibhāvasuḥ |
syāma te sumatāv api || 24 ||
agne dhṛtavratāya te samudrāyeva sindhavaḥ |
giro vāśrāsa īrate || 25 ||
yuvānaṁ viśpatiṁ kaviṁ viśvādam puruvepasam |
agniṁ śumbhāmi manmabhiḥ || 26 ||
yajñānāṁ rathye vayaṁ tigmajambhāya vīḻave |
stomair iṣemāgnaye || 27 ||
ayam agne tve api jaritā bhūtu santya |
tasmai pāvaka mṛḻaya || 28 ||
dhīro hy asy admasad vipro na jāgṛviḥ sadā |
agne dīdayasi dyavi || 29 ||
purāgne duritebhyaḥ purā mṛdhrebhyaḥ kave |
pra ṇa āyur vaso tira || 30 ||
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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