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a The name that first, O
alI-knower,
My father and my mother bestowed upon me aforetime,
Do thou bear it until I return;
O Agni, may I bear thy name.
b My name and thine, O all-knower,
Which like men changing garments we bear,
Let us exchange again,
Thou for life, and we to live.
c Homage to Agni, the unpierced,
Homage to the unapproachable, homage to the king!
Irresistible is Agni [1], the very vigorous, all-conquering,
Powerful, the best, the Gandharva.
d O Agni, the gods have thee for father,
Offer to thee oblations, and have thee as an umpire
With life, with lordship of cattle (endow) me
And bestow on me good fortune.
e Agni here is of all the best,
He is most adorable,
Must ready to win (us) a thousand;
To him be all good strength.
f Mind, light, rejoice in the oblation
May he unite the scattered sacrifice;
The offerings at dawn and evening
I unite with oblation and ghee.
g Rich in milk are the plants [2],
The milk of the shoot is rich in milk,
With the milk of the milk of the waters,
O Indra, do thou unite me.
h O Agni, lord of vows, I shall perform this vow; may I accomplish it; may it
be successful for me.
i Agni, the priest, I summon hither;
The gods worthy of sacrifice whom we invoke,
Let these gods come in kindly mind;
Let the gods enjoy this oblation of me.
k Who yoketh thee? Let him yoke thee.
l The potsherds for the cauldron [3],
Which wise men collect,
These are in Pusan's guardianship;
Indra and Vayu set them free.
m Unbroken is the cauldron, sprinkling abundantly,
It hath returned to that whence it came;
The kindling-wood, the Vedi, and all the enclosing-sticks
Attend the life of the sacrifice.
n The three and thirty threads that stretch,
That maintain in security the sacrifice,
Of these the broken one I restore; hail!
Let the cauldron go to the gods.
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