Widely spread thyself,3 softly, thickly covering; towards thee lighten the voices of our illumination. Be white and bright in us that we may conquer.Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The Fifth Hymn to Agni
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A Hymn of the Summoning of the Gods
[The hymn calls to the sacrifice by the summons of the divine Flame the principal godheads. Each is described or invoked in that capacity and functioning in which he is needed and helpful to the perfection of the soul and its divine growth and attaining.]
5.5.1
सुस॑मिद्धाय शो॒चिषे॑ घृ॒तं ती॒व्रं जु॑होतन ।
अ॒ग्नये॑ जा॒तवे॑दसे ॥१॥
su-samiddhāya śociṣe ghṛtam tīvram juhotana
agnaye jāta-vedase
To the Will that knoweth all the births, to the Flame highly kindled, purely luminous offer a poignant clarity.
5.5.2
नरा॒शंसः॑ सुषूदती॒मं य॒ज्ञमदा॑भ्यः ।
क॒विर्हि मधु॑हस्त्यः ॥२॥
narāśaṃsaḥ susūdati imam yajñam adābhyaḥ
kaviḥ hi madhu-hastyaḥ
This is he that expresses the powers of the gods, the untameable who speeds on its way this our sacrifice, this is the seer who comes with the wine of sweetness in his hands.
5.5.3
ई॒ळि॒तो अ॑ग्न॒ आ व॒हेन्द्रं॑ चि॒त्रमि॒ह प्रि॒यम् ।
सु॒खै रथे॑भिरू॒तये॑ ॥३॥
īḷitaḥ agne ā vaha indram citram iha priyam
su-khaiḥ rathebhiḥ ūtaye
O Strength, we have sought thee with our adoration, bring hither the God-Mind1 bright and dear in his happy chariots2 for our increasing.
5.5.4
ऊर्ण॑म्रदा॒ वि प्र॑थस्वा॒भ्य१́र्का अ॑नूषत ।
भवा॑ नः शुभ्र सा॒तये॑ ॥४॥
ūrṇa-mradāḥ vi prathasva abhi arkāḥ anūṣata
bhava naḥ śubhra sātaye
Widely spread thyself,3 softly, thickly covering; towards thee lighten the voices of our illumination. Be white and bright in us that we may conquer.
5.5.5
देवी॑र्द्वारो॒ वि श्र॑यध्वं सुप्राय॒णा न॑ ऊ॒तये॑ ।
प्रप्र॑ य॒ज्ञं पृ॑णीतन ॥५॥
devīḥ dvāraḥ vi śrayadhvam supra-ayanāḥ naḥ ūtaye
pra-pra yajñam pṛṇītana
Swing open, O ye Doors divine,4 and give us easy passage for our expanding; farther, farther lead and fill full
our sacrifice.
5.5.6
सु॒प्रती॑के वयो॒वृधा॑ य॒ह्वी ऋ॒तस्य॑ मा॒तरा॑ ।
दो॒षामु॒षास॑मीमहे ॥६॥
supratīke iti su-pratīke vayaḥ-vṛdhā yahvī ṛtasya mātarā
doṣām uṣasam īmahe
Darkness and Dawn6 we desire, two mighty Mothers of the Truth, fairly fronting us, increasers of our spacious being.
5.5.7
वात॑स्य॒ पत्म॑न्नीळि॒ता दैव्या॒ होता॑रा॒ मनु॑षः ।
इ॒मं नो॑ य॒ज्ञमा ग॑तम् ॥७॥
vātasya patman īḷitā daivyā hotārā manuṣaḥ
imam naḥ yajñam ā gatam
And O ye divine Priests of our humanity, O worshipped Twain, approach on the paths of the Life-breath to this our sacrifice.
5.5.8
इळा॒ सर॑स्वती म॒ही ति॒स्रो दे॒वीर्म॑यो॒भुवः॑ ।
ब॒र्हिः सी॑दन्त्व॒स्रिधः॑ ॥८॥
iḷā sarasvatī mahī tisraḥ devīḥ mayaḥ-bhuvaḥ
barhiḥ sīdantu asridhaḥ
She of the vision of knowledge, she of its flowing inspiration, she of its vastness, three goddesses7 who give birth to the Bliss, they who stumble not,8 may they take their seats at the altar strewn of the sacrifice.
5.5.9
शि॒वस्त्व॑ष्टरि॒हा ग॑हि वि॒भुः पोष॑ उ॒त त्मना॑ ।
य॒ज्ञेय॑ज्ञे न॒ उद॑व ॥९॥
śivaḥ tvaṣṭaḥ iha ā gahi vi-bhuḥ poṣe uta tmanā
yajñe-yajñe naḥ ut ava
O Fashioner of things,9 beneficent hither come to us; pervader of all in thy being, in thy nourishing of all and with thyself,10 in sacrifice after sacrifice foster our ascension.
5.5.10
यत्र॒ वेत्थ॑ वनस्पते दे॒वानां॒ गुह्या॒ नामा॑नि ।
तत्र॑ ह॒व्यानि॑ गामय ॥१०॥
yatra vettha vanaspate devānām guhyā nāmāni
tatra havyāni gamaya
O Master of Delight,11 to that goal12 where thou knowest the secret Names of the gods, thither lead our offerings.
5.5.11
स्वाहा॒ग्नये॒ वरु॑णाय॒ स्वाहेन्द्रा॑य म॒रुद्भ्य॑: ।
स्वाहा॑ दे॒वेभ्यो॑ ह॒विः ॥११॥
svāhā agnaye varuṇāya svāhā indrāya marut-bhyaḥ
svāhā devebhyaḥ haviḥ
Swaha to the Will and to the Lord of Wideness,13 Swaha to the God-Mind and to the Thought-Powers
,15 Swaha to the godheads be the food of our oblation.16
1 Indra.
2 The plural is used to indicate the manifold movement of the Divine Mind in its completeness.
3 This verse is addressed to Indra, the Power of divine Mind, through whom comes the illumination of the supramental Truth; by the advancing chariots of this giver of Light we conquer our divine possessions.
4 Man’s sacrifice is his labour and aspiration Godwards and is represented as travelling through the opening doors of the concealed heavenly realms, kingdoms conquered in succession by the expanding soul.
5 SABCL, volume 10: fill
“fill full” in original text in Arya, vol. 2, No 5, p.287.
6 Night and Day, symbols of the alternation of the divine and human consciousness in us. The Night of our ordinary consciousness holds and prepares all that the Dawn brings out into conscious being.
7 Ila, Saraswati, Mahi; their names are translated in order to give the idea of their functions.
8 Or, who are not assailed, cannot be attacked by the ignorance and darkness, cause of our suffering.
9 Twashtri.
10 The Divine as the Fashioner of things pervades all that He fashions both with His immutable self-existence and with that mutable becoming of Himself in things by which the soul seems to grow and increase and take on new forms. By the former He is the indwelling Lord and Maker, by the latter He is the material of his own works.
11 Soma.
12 The Ananda, the state of divine Beatitude in which all the powers of our being are revealed in their perfect godhead, here secret and hidden from us.
13 Varuna.
14 SABCL, volume 10: Thought-Power
“Thought-Powers” in original text in Arya, vol. 2, No 5, p.288.
15 The Maruts, nervous or vital forces of our being which attain to conscious expression in the thought, singers of the hymn to Indra, the God-Mind.
16 That is, let all in us that we offer to the divine Life be turned into the self-light and self-force of the divine Nature.