Born, the Flame shines out slaying the Destroyers,2 yea, he smites the Darkness with the Light and he finds the shining Herds3 and those Waters and the luminous world.4Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The Fourteenth Hymn to Agni
A Hymn of the Finder of Light and Truth
[The Rishi declares Agni as the Priest of the sacrifice, the slayer of the powers of Darkness, the finder of the world of the Sun of Truth, of his radiant herds and of his luminous waters; he is the seer in us who is increased by the clarities of right thought and speech.]
5.14.1
अ॒ग्निं स्तोमे॑न बोधय समिधा॒नो अम॑र्त्यम् ।
ह॒व्या दे॒वेषु॑ नो दधत् ॥१॥
agnim stomena bodhaya sam-idhānaḥ amartyam
havyā deveṣu naḥ dadhat
Awaken the Flame by the word that affirms him, kindle high the Immortal; let him place our offerings in the godheads.
5.14.2
तम॑ध्व॒रेष्वी॑ळते दे॒वं मर्ता॒ अम॑र्त्यम् ।
यजि॑ष्ठं॒ मानु॑षे॒ जने॑ ॥२॥
tam adhvareṣu īḷate devam martāḥ amartyam
yajiṣṭham mānuṣe jane
Him in their pilgrim sacrifices mortal men desire and adore, the divine, the immortal, who is strongest for sacrifice in the human creature.
5.14.3
तं हि शश्व॑न्त॒ ईळ॑ते स्रु॒चा दे॒वं घृ॑त॒श्चुता॑ ।
अ॒ग्निं ह॒व्याय॒ वोळ्ह॑वे ॥३॥
tam hi śaśvantaḥ īḷate srucā devam ghṛta-ścutā
agnim havyāya voḷhave
Him, the godhead, man’s continuous generations adore with the ladle1 dripping with the clarities; the Will they adore that he may bear their offering.
5.14.4
अ॒ग्निर्जा॒तो अ॑रोचत॒ घ्नन्दस्यू॒ञ्ज्योति॑षा॒ तमः॑ ।
अवि॑न्द॒द्गा अ॒पः स्व॑: ॥४॥
agniḥ jātaḥ arocata ghnan dasyūn jyotiṣā tamaḥ
avindat gāḥ apaḥ svaḥ
Born, the Flame shines out slaying the Destroyers,2 yea, he smites the Darkness with the Light and he finds the shining Herds3 and those Waters and the luminous world.4
5.14.5
अ॒ग्निमी॒ळेन्यं॑ क॒विं घृ॒तपृ॑ष्ठं सपर्यत ।
वेतु॑ मे शृ॒णव॒द्धव॑म् ॥५॥
agnim īḷenyam kavim ghṛta-pṛṣṭham saparyata
vetu me śṛṇavat havam
The Will serve and seek, the object of our adoration, the Seer with his surface of the clarities; may he come, may he hearken to my call.
5.14.6
अ॒ग्निं घृ॒तेन॑ वावृधु॒: स्तोमे॑भिर्वि॒श्वच॑र्षणिम् ।
स्वा॒धीभि॑र्वच॒स्युभि॑: ॥६॥
agnim ghṛtena vavṛdhuḥ stomebhiḥ viśva-carṣaṇim
su-ādhībhiḥ vacasyubhiḥ
The Will men increase by the offering of their clarities, they increase the universal doer of their works by their hymns of affirmation which place aright the thought, which find the revealing word.
1 This ladle is the constantly lifted movement of man’s aspiration towards the Truth and the Godhead.
2 The Titans, dividers of our unity and completeness of being and sons of the Mother of Division, who are powers of the nether cave and the darkness.
3 The Herds and the Waters are the two principal images of the Veda; the former are the trooping Rays of the divine Sun, herds of the luminous Consciousness; the waters are the outpouring of the luminous movement and impulse of the divine or supramental existence.
4 Swar, the world of divine solar light to which we have to ascend and which is revealed by the release of the luminous herds from the nether cave and the consequent uprising of the divine Sun.