Hymn to Agni
Rigveda VIII.75 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! Thy flames reach up toward heaven with mighty strength,
They climb and climb without ceasing, never faltering, ever bright.
The smoke of thy burning riseth like a pillar to the sky,
A bridge between the earth and the seats of gods on high.
Along this path the prayers do travel; along this path the gifts ascend.
Swift art thou, O Holy Messenger! The swiftest of all the gods,
Thy wings do bear thee swift as thought from realm to realm.
In the blink of an eye thou passest from one world unto the other.
The feast of the gods is prepared—the nectar floweth free,
But lo, they turn their eyes away until thou comest there.
Without thee, no gathering of Immortals can proceed; thou art the life of every feast.
Therefore, O Fire, we call upon thee with voices raised in song,
Come swift, O Swift One; come now, O Most Swift One!
Summon the Maruts, the lords of the wind; summon Indra the King of the gods.
Let Mitra come and Varuna, the Ashvins in their golden car,
Let Soma come, and Pushan with his herds of cattle vast.
Let all the gods assemble here at thy swift summons, O Holy One.
We have prepared the sacred ground; we have kindled thy bright flame,
The gifts are waiting at thy feet; the soma juice is poured in bowls.
Come, O Agni, and call thy brethren; gather them all unto this feast.
O Bridge of the Worlds, O Swift Messenger, O Keeper of the Sacrifice—
Accept this hymn we sing to thee; accept this gift we lay before thee.
Carry our love unto the gods; carry our longing unto heaven.
By thy power we stand; by thy strength we prosper; by thy grace we shall endure,
Therefore we sing thy praises every day, at every turn of the year.
Praise be unto thee, O Agni! Praise be unto thy sacred flame!
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.75
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.
yukṣvā hi devahūtamām̐ aśvām̐ agne rathīr iva |
ni hotā pūrvyaḥ sadaḥ || 1 ||
uta no deva devām̐ acchā voco viduṣṭaraḥ |
śrad viśvā vāryā kṛdhi || 2 ||
tvaṁ ha yad yaviṣṭhya sahasaḥ sūnav āhuta |
ṛtāvā yajñiyo bhuvaḥ || 3 ||
ayam agniḥ sahasriṇo vājasya śatinas patiḥ |
mūrdhā kavī rayīṇām || 4 ||
taṁ nemim ṛbhavo yathā namasva sahūtibhiḥ |
nedīyo yajñam aṅgiraḥ || 5 ||
tasmai nūnam abhidyave vācā virūpa nityayā |
vṛṣṇe codasva suṣṭutim || 6 ||
kam u ṣvid asya senayāgner apākacakṣasaḥ |
paṇiṁ goṣu starāmahe || 7 ||
mā no devānāṁ viśaḥ prasnātīr ivosrāḥ |
kṛśaṁ na hāsur aghnyāḥ || 8 ||
mā naḥ samasya dūḍhya1ḥ paridveṣaso aṁhatiḥ |
ūrmir na nāvam ā vadhīt || 9 ||
namas te agna ojase gṛṇanti deva kṛṣṭayaḥ |
amair amitram ardaya || 10 ||
kuvit su no gaviṣṭaye 'gne saṁveṣiṣo rayim |
urukṛd uru ṇas kṛdhi || 11 ||
mā no asmin mahādhane parā varg bhārabhṛd yathā |
saṁvargaṁ saṁ rayiṁ jaya || 12 ||
anyam asmad bhiyā iyam agne siṣaktu ducchunā |
vardhā no amavac chavaḥ || 13 ||
yasyājuṣan namasvinaḥ śamīm adurmakhasya vā |
taṁ ghed agnir vṛdhāvati || 14 ||
parasyā adhi saṁvato 'varām̐ abhy ā tara |
yatrāham asmi tām̐ ava || 15 ||
vidmā hi te purā vayam agne pitur yathāvasaḥ |
adhā te sumnam īmahe || 16 ||
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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