O Flame supremely desirable, so by our supreme thinking, by our brightest perfected mentality, by its utter cleaving away
of all evil let thy light give unto us the bliss.Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The Twenty-Fifth Hymn to Agni
□ Hide link-numbers of differed places
A Hymn to the Lord of Light and Creator of Godhead
[The Rishi hymns Agni as the Seer-Will whose whole being is the light and the truth and the lavishing of the substance of divinity. He is the son born to the thought of the seers and he gives himself as the godhead born in man who is the son of our works opulent with the divine Truth and the divine Power and as the conquering steed of the journey and the battle. The whole movement of the Seer-Will is upward to the light and vastness of the superconscient; his voice is as if the thunder-chant of those heavens. He shall carry us by his perfect working beyond the siege of darkness and limitation.]
5.25.1
अच्छा॑ वो अ॒ग्निमव॑से दे॒वं गा॑सि॒ स नो॒ वसु॑: ।
रास॑त्पु॒त्र ऋ॑षू॒णामृ॒तावा॑ पर्षति द्वि॒षः ॥१॥
accha vaḥ agnim avase devam gāsi saḥ naḥ vasuḥ
rāsat putraḥ ṛṣūṇām ṛta-vā parṣati dviṣaḥ
Raise thy song towards the Will, towards the divine for thy increasing, for he is our lord of substance and he lavishes; he is the son of the seekers of knowledge; he is the keeper of the Truth who ferries us beyond the surge of our destroyers.
5.25.2
स हि स॒त्यो यं पूर्वे॑ चिद्दे॒वास॑श्चि॒द्यमी॑धि॒रे ।
होता॑रं म॒न्द्रजि॑ह्व॒मित्सु॑दी॒तिभि॑र्वि॒भाव॑सुम् ॥२॥
saḥ hi satyaḥ yam pūrve cit devāsaḥ cit yam īdhire
hotāram mandra-jihvam it sudītibhiḥ vibhā-vasum
This is the true in his being whom the seers of old kindled, yea, the gods too kindled him with perfect outshinings into his wide substance of the light, the priest of the oblation with his tongue of ecstasy.
5.25.3
स नो॑ धी॒ती वरि॑ष्ठया॒ श्रेष्ठ॑या च सुम॒त्या ।
अग्ने॑ रा॒यो दि॑दीहि नः सुवृ॒क्तिभि॑र्वरेण्य ॥३॥
saḥ naḥ dhītī variṣṭhayā śreṣṭhayā ca su-matyā
agne rāyaḥ didīhi naḥ suvṛktibhiḥ vareṇya
O Flame supremely desirable, so by our supreme thinking, by our brightest perfected mentality, by its utter cleaving away of all evil let thy light give unto us the bliss.
5.25.4
अ॒ग्निर्दे॒वेषु॑ राजत्य॒ग्निर्मर्ते॑ष्वावि॒शन् ।
अ॒ग्निर्नो॑ हव्य॒वाह॑नो॒ऽग्निं धी॒भिः स॑पर्यत ॥४॥
agniḥ deveṣu rājati agniḥ marteṣu ā-viśan
agniḥ naḥ havya-vāhanaḥ agnim dhībhiḥ saparyata
The Will is that which shines out in the gods, the Will is that which enters with its light into mortals, the Will is the carrier of our oblation; the Will seek and serve in all your thoughts.
5.25.5
अ॒ग्निस्तु॒विश्र॑वस्तमं तु॒विब्र॑ह्माणमुत्त॒मम् ।
अ॒तूर्तं॑ श्राव॒यत्प॑तिं पु॒त्रं द॑दाति दा॒शुषे॑ ॥५॥
agniḥ tuviśravaḥ-tamam tuvi-brahmāṇam ut-tamam
atūrtam śravayat-patim putran dadāti dāśuṣe
The Will gives to the giver of sacrifice the Son2 born of his works who teems with the many inspirations and the many voices of the soul, the highest, the unassailable, the Master of things who opens our ears to the knowledge.
5.25.6
अ॒ग्निर्द॑दाति॒ सत्प॑तिं सा॒साह॒ यो यु॒धा नृभि॑: ।
अ॒ग्निरत्यं॑ रघु॒ष्यदं॒ जेता॑र॒मप॑राजितम् ॥६॥
agniḥ dadāti sat-patim sasāha yaḥ yudhā nṛbhiḥ
agniḥ atyam raghu-syadam jetāram aparā-jitam
Yea, ‘tis the Will gives to us the Lord of existences who conquers in the battle
by his souls of power; Will gives to us our swift-galloping steed of battle ever conquering, never conquered.
5.25.7
यद्वाहि॑ष्ठं॒ तद॒ग्नये॑ बृ॒हद॑र्च विभावसो ।
महि॑षीव॒ त्वद्र॒यिस्त्वद्वाजा॒ उदी॑रते ॥७॥
yat vāhiṣṭham tat agnaye bṛhat arca vibhāvaso iti vibhā-vaso
mahiṣī-iva tvat rayiḥ tvat vājāḥ ut īrate
That which is strongest in us to upbear, we give it to the Will. Sing out the Vast, O thou whose wide substance is its light. Thy opulence is as if the largeness of the Goddess4 herself; upward is the rush of thy plenitudes.
5.25.8
तव॑ द्यु॒मन्तो॑ अ॒र्चयो॒ ग्रावे॑वोच्यते बृ॒हत् ।
उ॒तो ते॑ तन्य॒तुर्य॑था स्वा॒नो अ॑र्त॒ त्मना॑ दि॒वः ॥८॥
tava dyu-mantaḥ arcayaḥ grāvā-iva ucyate bṛhat
uto iti te tanyatuḥ yathā svānaḥ arta tmanā divaḥ
Luminous are thy flaming radiances; there rises from thee a vast utterance like the voice of the pressing-stone of delight; yea, thy cry of itself rises up like a thunder-chant from the heavens.
5.25.9
ए॒वाँ अ॒ग्निं व॑सू॒यवः॑ सहसा॒नं व॑वन्दिम ।
स नो॒ विश्वा॒ अति॒ द्विष॒: पर्ष॑न्ना॒वेव॑ सु॒क्रतु॑: ॥९॥
eva agnim vasu-yavaḥ sahasānam vavandima
saḥ naḥ viśvā ati dviṣaḥ parṣat nāvā-iva su-kratuḥ
Thus, desiring substance, we adore the Will who is forceful to conquer. May he who has the perfect power of his workings, carry us beyond all the forces that seek to destroy us, like a ship over the waters.
1 `Arya, vol. 2, No 11; SABCL, volume 10: way
2 The Son of the sacrifice is a constant image in the Veda. Here it is the godhead himself, Agni who gives himself as a son to man, a Son who delivers his father. Agni is also the War-Horse and the steed of the journey, the White Horse, the mystic galloping Dadhikravan who carries us through the battle to the goal of our voyaging.
3 SABCL, volume 10: battles
“battle” in original text in Arya, vol. 2, No 11, p.673.
4 Aditi, the vast Mother.