Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The First Hymn to Agni
A Hymn of the Morning Sacrifice
[The Rishi hymns the awakening of Agni the Divine Force to conscious action in the coming of the Dawn. Agni rises towards the luminous Paradise, his goal, feeding on the works of the Discernment which distributes the gifts and activities of the sacrifice, becomes a pure energy leading our days and ascends to the Vastness and the Truth. By the Truth he fashions anew our two firmaments, the physical and mental consciousness. This is the golden Affirmation of him in our heavens.]
5.1.1
अबो॑ध्य॒ग्निः स॒मिधा॒ जना॑नां॒ प्रति॑ धे॒नुमि॑वाय॒तीमु॒षास॑म् ।
य॒ह्वा इ॑व॒ प्र व॒यामु॒ज्जिहा॑ना॒: प्र भा॒नवः॑ सिस्रते॒ नाक॒मच्छ॑ ॥१॥
abodhi agniḥ sam-idhā janānām prati dhenum-iva ā-yatīm uṣasam
yahvāḥ-iva pra vayām ut-jihānāḥ pra bhānavaḥ sisrate nākam accha
Strength is awake by kindling of the peoples and he fronts the Dawn that comes to him as the Cow that fosters; like mightinesses that rush upward to their expanding his lustres advancing mount towards the heavenly level.
5.1.2
अबो॑धि॒ होता॑ य॒जथा॑य दे॒वानू॒र्ध्वो अ॒ग्निः सु॒मना॑: प्रा॒तर॑स्थात् ।
समि॑द्धस्य॒ रुश॑ददर्शि॒ पाजो॑ म॒हान्दे॒वस्तम॑सो॒ निर॑मोचि ॥२॥
abodhi hotā yajathāya devān ūrdhvaḥ agniḥ su-manāḥ prātaḥ asthāt
sam-iddhasya ruśat adarśi pājaḥ mahān devaḥ tamasaḥ niḥ amoci
The Priest of our oblation has awakened for sacrifice to the gods; with right mentality in him Strength stands up exalted in our mornings; he is entirely kindled, red-flushing the mass of him is seen; a great godhead has been delivered out of the darkness.
5.1.3
यदीं॑ ग॒णस्य॑ रश॒नामजी॑ग॒: शुचि॑रङ्क्ते॒ शुचि॑भि॒र्गोभि॑र॒ग्निः ।
आद्दक्षि॑णा युज्यते वाज॒यन्त्यु॑त्ता॒नामू॒र्ध्वो अ॑धयज्जु॒हूभि॑: ॥३॥
yat īm gaṇasya raśanām ajīgariti śuciḥ aṅkte śucibhiḥ gobhiḥ agniḥ
āt dakṣiṇā yujyate vāja-yantī uttānām ūrdhvaḥ adhayat juhūbhiḥ
When he has uncoiled the long cord of his hosts, Strength shines pure by the pure herd of the radiances.1 For the goddess who discerns grows in plenitude and is yoked to her works; he exalted, she extended supine, he feeds on her with his flames of the offering.
5.1.4
अ॒ग्निमच्छा॑ देवय॒तां मनां॑सि॒ चक्षूं॑षीव॒ सूर्ये॒ सं च॑रन्ति ।
यदीं॒ सुवा॑ते उ॒षसा॒ विरू॑पे श्वे॒तो वा॒जी जा॑यते॒ अग्रे॒ अह्ना॑म् ॥४॥
agnim accha deva-yatām manāṃsi cakṣūṃṣī-iva sūrye sam caranti
yat īm suvāte uṣasā virūpe iti vi-rūpe śvetaḥ vājī jāyate agre ahnām
The minds of men who grow in the godhead move entirely towards the flame of Will even as all their seeings converge in the Sun that illumines.2 When two Dawns3 of opposite forms are delivered of him, he is born as the White Steed in front of the days.
5.1.5
जनि॑ष्ट॒ हि जेन्यो॒ अग्रे॒ अह्नां॑ हि॒तो हि॒तेष्व॑रु॒षो वने॑षु ।
दमे॑दमे स॒प्त रत्ना॒ दधा॑नो॒ऽग्निर्होता॒ नि ष॑सादा॒ यजी॑यान् ॥५॥
janiṣṭa hi jenyaḥ agre ahnām hitaḥ hiteṣu aruṣaḥ vaneṣu
dame-dame sapta ratnā dadhānaḥ agniḥ hotā ni sasāda yajīyān
Yea, he is born victorious in the front of the days, a ruddy worker established in the established delights of things; upholding in house after house the seven ecstasies4 Strength has taken his seat as the Priest of the offering mighty for sacrifice.
5.1.6
अ॒ग्निर्होता॒ न्य॑सीद॒द्यजी॑यानु॒पस्थे॑ मा॒तुः सु॑र॒भा उ॑ लो॒के ।
युवा॑ क॒विः पु॑रुनि॒ष्ठ ऋ॒तावा॑ ध॒र्ता कृ॑ष्टी॒नामु॒त मध्य॑ इ॒द्धः ॥६॥
agniḥ hotā ni asīdat yajīyān upa-sthe mātuḥ surabhau ūm̐ iti loke
yuvā kaviḥ puruniḥ-ṣṭhaḥ ṛta-vā dhartā kṛṣṭīnām uta madhye iddhaḥ
Strength has taken his seat as the Priest of the offering mighty for sacrifice in the lap of the Mother and in that rapturous other world,5 young and a seer, standing out in his multitudes, possessed of the Truth, the upholder of those that do the work; and also in between he is kindled.
5.1.7
प्र णु त्यं विप्र॑मध्व॒रेषु॑ सा॒धुम॒ग्निं होता॑रमीळते॒ नमो॑भिः ।
आ यस्त॒तान॒ रोद॑सी ऋ॒तेन॒ नित्यं॑ मृजन्ति वा॒जिनं॑ घृ॒तेन॑ ॥७॥
pra nu tyam vipram adhvareṣu sādhum agnim hotāram īḷate namaḥbhiḥ
ā yaḥ tatāna rodasī iti ṛtena nityam mṛjanti vājinam ghṛtena
Men seek with their obeisances of submission this illumined Strength that achieves our perfection in the progressing sacrifices and is the priest of their oblation, because he shapes in the power of the Truth both firmaments of our being. Him they press into brightness by the clarity,6 the eternal steed of life’s plenitude.
5.1.8
मा॒र्जा॒ल्यो॑ मृज्यते॒ स्वे दमू॑नाः कविप्रश॒स्तो अति॑थिः शि॒वो नः॑ ।
स॒हस्र॑शृङ्गो वृष॒भस्तदो॑जा॒ विश्वाँ॑ अग्ने॒ सह॑सा॒ प्रास्य॒न्यान् ॥८॥
mārjālyaḥ mṛjyate sve damūnāḥ kavi-praśastaḥ atithiḥ śivaḥ naḥ
sahasra-śṛṅgaḥ vṛṣabhaḥ tat-ojāḥ viśvān agne sahasā pra asi anyān
Bright, he is rubbed bright, expressed by the seer, domiciled in his own home7 and our beneficent guest. The bull of the thousand horns, because thou hast that force,8 O Strength, thou precedest in thy puissance all others.
5.1.9
प्र स॒द्यो अ॑ग्ने॒ अत्ये॑ष्य॒न्याना॒विर्यस्मै॒ चारु॑तमो ब॒भूथ॑ ।
ई॒ळेन्यो॑ वपु॒ष्यो॑ वि॒भावा॑ प्रि॒यो वि॒शामति॑थि॒र्मानु॑षीणाम् ॥९॥
pra sadyaḥ agne ati eṣi anyān āviḥ yasmai cāru-tamaḥ babhūtha
īḷenyaḥ vapuṣyaḥ vibhā-vā priyaḥ viśām atithiḥ mānuṣīṇām
At once, O Strength, thou outstrippest all others, in whomsoever thou art manifested in all the glory of thy beauty, 
desirable, full of body, extended in light, the beloved guest of the human peoples.
5.1.10
तुभ्यं॑ भरन्ति क्षि॒तयो॑ यविष्ठ ब॒लिम॑ग्ने॒ अन्ति॑त॒ ओत दू॒रात् ।
आ भन्दि॑ष्ठस्य सुम॒तिं चि॑किद्धि बृ॒हत्ते॑ अग्ने॒ महि॒ शर्म॑ भ॒द्रम् ॥१०॥
tubhyam bharanti kṣitayaḥ yaviṣṭha balim agne antitaḥ ā uta dūrāt
ā bhandiṣṭhasya su-matim cikiddhi bṛhat te agne mahi śarma bhadram
To thee, O Strength, O youngest vigour, all the worlds and their peoples bring from near and bring from afar their offering. Awake in a man’s knowledge to that right-mindedness of his happiest state. A vastness, O Strength, is the great and blissful peace of thee.
5.1.11
आद्य रथं॑ भानुमो भानु॒मन्त॒मग्ने॒ तिष्ठ॑ यज॒तेभि॒: सम॑न्तम् ।
वि॒द्वान्प॑थी॒नामु॒र्व१́न्तरि॑क्ष॒मेह दे॒वान्ह॑वि॒रद्या॑य वक्षि ॥११॥
ā adya ratham bhānu-maḥ bhānu-mantam agne tiṣṭha yajatebhiḥ sam-antam
vidvān pathīnām uru antarikṣam ā iha devān haviḥ-adyāya vakṣi
Mount today with the lords of the sacrifice, O luminous Will, thy luminous complete car! Thou who knowest the wide middle world9 in all its paths, bring hither the gods to eat of our oblation.
5.1.12
अवो॑चाम क॒वये॒ मेध्या॑य॒ वचो॑ व॒न्दारु॑ वृष॒भाय॒ वृष्णे॑ ।
गवि॑ष्ठिरो॒ नम॑सा॒ स्तोम॑म॒ग्नौ दि॒वी॑व रु॒क्ममु॑रु॒व्यञ्च॑मश्रेत् ॥१२॥
avocāma kavaye medhyāya vacaḥ vandāru vṛṣabhāya vṛṣṇe
gaviṣṭhiraḥ namasā stomam agnau divi-iva rukmam uru-vyañcam aśret
To the Seer, to the Intelligence we have uttered today the word of our adoration, to the Bull that fertilises the herds; the Steadfast in the Light by his surrender rises in the flame of Will as in the heavens to a golden Affirmation manifesting a vastness.
1 The Cows of the Dawn. Dakshina, the goddess of divine discernment, is here a form of the Dawn herself.
2 That is to say, instead of the groping thoughts of other men, their mentality tends to convert itself into a luminous flame of Will that is knowledge and all their thoughts become a blaze of direct vision, the rays of the Sun of Truth.
3 Day and Night,– the latter the state of Ignorance that belongs to our material Nature, the former the state of illumined Knowledge that belongs to the divine Mind of which our mentality is a pale and dulled reflection.
4 To each principle of our nature there corresponds a certain divine ecstasy and on each plane, in each body or house, Agni establishes these ecstasies.
5 The mother is Earth, our physical being; the other world is the supramental existence; the vital and emotional being is the world in between. Agni manifests in all of these simultaneously.
6 The clarified butter, yield of the Cow of Light and symbol of the rich clarity that comes to the mind visited by the Light.
7 That is to say, having taken his place on the plane of the Truth which is his own proper home.
8 The force of the Truth, the perfect energy that belongs to this perfect knowledge.
9 The vital or nervous plane is just above our material earth; through it the gods come to commune with man, but it is a confused wideness and its paths are many but intricate and tangled.