clear their seat of sacrifice, find in the dwelling-places1 of the soul thee, the priest of sacrifice, the beloved, and they reach in them their many objects of desire.Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The Twenty-Third Hymn to Agni
A Hymn of the Rich and Conquering Soul
[The Rishi desires through Agni that opulence of the divine Light against which the armies of darkness cannot stand; for it overpowers them by its plenitude and force. This it does on all the successive planes of the soul’s labour and in each of them man gets, by this divine Force that is the true and transcendent Being, all the objects of his desire that they contain.]
5.23.1
अग्ने॒ सह॑न्त॒मा भ॑र द्यु॒म्नस्य॑ प्रा॒सहा॑ र॒यिम् ।
विश्वा॒ यश्च॑र्ष॒णीर॒भ्या॒३́सा वाजे॑षु सा॒सह॑त् ॥१॥
agne sahantam ā bhara dyumnasya pra-sahā rayim
viśvāḥ yaḥ carṣaṇīḥ abhi āsā vājeṣu sasahat
Bring to us, O Strength most forcefully prevailing, that forceful opulence of the Light which in all the fields of our labour shall by force prevail with thy mouth of flame to enter into the plenitudes.
5.23.2
तम॑ग्ने पृतना॒षहं॑ र॒यिं स॑हस्व॒ आ भ॑र ।
त्वं हि स॒त्यो अद्भु॑तो दा॒ता वाज॑स्य॒ गोम॑तः ॥२॥
tam agne pṛtanā-saham rayim sahasvaḥ ā bhara
tvam hi satyaḥ adbhutaḥ dātā vājasya go-mataḥ
O Flame, O Might, that rich felicity bring which shall violently overpower the armies that are embattled against us; for thou art the true in being, the transcendent and wonderful, who gives to man the luminous plenitude.
5.23.3
विश्वे॒ हि त्वा॑ स॒जोष॑सो॒ जना॑सो वृ॒क्तब॑र्हिषः ।
होता॑रं॒ सद्म॑सु प्रि॒यं व्यन्ति॒ वार्या॑ पु॒रु ॥३॥
viśve hi tvā sa-joṣasaḥ janāsaḥ vṛkta-barhiṣaḥ
hotāram sadma-su priyam vyanti vāryā puru
All these peoples who with one heart of love have made clear their seat of sacrifice, find in the dwelling-places1 of the soul thee, the priest of sacrifice, the beloved, and they reach in them their many objects of desire.
5.23.4
स हि ष्मा॑ वि॒श्वच॑र्षणिर॒भिमा॑ति॒ सहो॑ द॒धे ।
अग्न॑ ए॒षु क्षये॒ष्वा रे॒वन्न॑: शुक्र दीदिहि द्यु॒मत्पा॑वक दीदिहि ॥४॥
saḥ hi sma viśva-carṣaṇiḥ abhi-māti sahaḥ dadhe
agne eṣu kṣayeṣu ā revat naḥ śukra dīdihi dyu-mat pāvaka dīdihi
This is the labourer in all man’s works and he holds in himself an all-besieging force. O pure-brilliant Flame, shine out full of joy and opulence in these our habitations, shine out full of light, O our purifier.
1 The “seats” or homes of the soul, which progresses from plane to plane and makes of each a habitation. They are sometimes called the cities. There are seven such planes each with its seven provinces and one additional above. Usually we hear of a hundred cities, the double number perhaps representing the downward gaze in each of the Soul upon Nature and the upward aspiration of Nature to the Soul.