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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 684 of 1027

Mandala 8: HYMN LXIV. Agni.

1.YOKE, Agni, as a charioteer, thy steeds who best invite the Gods: As ancient Herald seat thyself.

2.And, God, as skilfullest of all, call for us hitherward the Gods: Give all our wishes sure effect.

3.For thou, Most Youthful, Son of Strength, thou to whom sacrifice is paid, Art holy, faithful to the Law.

4.This Agni, Lord of wealth and spoil hundredfold, thousandfold, is head And chief of riches and a Sage.

5.As craftsmen bend the felly, so bend at our general call: come nigh, Aṅgiras, to the sacrifice.

6.Now, O Virūpa, rouse for him, Strong God who shines at early morn, Fair praise with voice that ceases not.

7.With missile of this Agni, his who looks afar, will we lay low The thief in combat for the kine.

8.Let not the Companies of Gods fail us, like Dawns that float away, Like cows who leave the niggardly.

9.Let not the sinful tyranny of any fiercely hating foe Smite us, as billows smite a ship.

10.O Agni, God, the people sing reverent praise to thee for strength: With terrors trouble thou the foe.

11.Wilt thou not, Agni, lend us aid in winning cattle, winning wealth? Maker of room, make room for us.

12.In this great battle cast us not aside as one who bears a load: Snatch up the wealth and win it all.

13.O Agni, let this plague pursue and fright another and not us: Make our impetuous strength more strong.

14.The reverent or unwearied man whose holy labour he accepts, Him Agni favours with success.

15.Abandoning the foeman’s host pass hither to this company: Assist the men with whom I stand.

16.As we have known thy gracious help, as of a Father, long ago, So now we pray to thee for bliss.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn keep asking Agni to bring the Gods and help in cattle-wins and battles?

The hymn treats Agni as the link between humans and the divine: lines like “call for us hitherward the Gods” and “seat thyself” make Agni the charioteer and Herald who summons the Gods to the sacrifice, so his presence makes ritual efficacy possible. The poem repeatedly asks Agni to secure wealth and cattle because sacrificial success and material prosperity are pictured as outcomes of proper ritual mediation—Agni’s favor turns offerings into tangible gains.

The text also frames Agni as protector and warrior: it asks him to “trouble thou the foe” and to lay low “the thief in combat for the kine,” tying sacrificial power to military and economic security. This practical theology matches themes in other Vedic hymns, and it echoes the emphasis in the Gṛhya and Srauta literature on Agni’s role in both ritual connecting and worldly safeguarding.

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