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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 261 of 1027

Mandala 3: HYMN XXVII. Agni.

1.IN ladle dropping oil your food goes in oblation up to heaven, Goes to the Gods in search of bliss.

2.Agni I laud, the Sage inspired, crowner of sacrifice through song, Who listens and gives bounteous gifts.

3.O Agni, if we might obtain control of thee the potent God, Then should we overcome our foes.

4.Kindled at sacrifices he is Agni, hallower, meet for praise, With flame for hair: to him we seek.

5.Immortal Agni, shining far, enrobed with oil, well worshipped, bears The gifts of sacrifice away.

6.The priests with ladles lifted up, worshipping here with holy thought, Have brought this Agni for our aid.

7.Immortal, Sacrificer, God, with wondrous power he leads the way, Urging the great assembly on.

8.Strong, he is set on deeds ofstrength. In sacrifices led in front, As Singer he completes the rite.

9.Excellent, he was made by thought. The Germ of beings have I gained, Yea, and die Sire of active strength.

10.Thee have I stablished, Excellent, O strengthened by the sage’s prayer, Thee, Agni, longing, nobly bright.

11.Agni, the swift and active One, singers, at time of sacrifice, Eagerly kindle with their food.

12.Agni the Son of Strength who shines up to the heaven in solemn rites, The wise of heart, I glorify.

13.Meet to be lauded and adored, showing in beauty through the dark, Agni, the Strong, is kindled well.

14.Agni is kindled as a bull, like a horsebearer of the Gods: Men with oblations worship him.

15.Thee will we kindle as a bull, we who are Bulls ourselves, O Bull. Thee, Agni, shining mightily.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn keep calling Agni a bull and a singer?

The hymn calls Agni a bull to name his visible strength and generative force: “kindled as a bull” and “we who are Bulls ourselves” portray Agni as vigorous, dominant, and central to the sacrificial world. The bull-image links present power with communal identity—priests kindle Agni as carriers of the ritual’s vitality and rewards.

Calling Agni a singer (the “Singer” who “completes the rite”) emphasizes his role as mediator and revealer; through flame and sound he carries offerings “to the Gods in search of bliss.” This double role—force and voice—matches what Sayana and other commentators note about Vedic ritual: Agni is both the sacrificial engine and the living channel of speech that makes contact with the gods.

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