a Agni I yoke with glory, with ghee,
The bird divine mighty in strength;
Therewith may we fly to the expanse of the ruddy one,
Mounting the heaven above the highest vault.
b These are wings unaging of thee, the winged,
Wherewith thou dost smite away the Raksases, O Agni;
With these may we fly to the world of good men,
Where are the seers, the first-born, those of yore.
c Thou art piling, born of the ocean, the drop,
The skilled one, the eagle, the righteous,
The golden-winged busy bird, mighty,
That hath sat down firmly in its place [1].
d Homage be to thee; harm me not,
Thou dost stand resting on the head of all;
Within the ocean is thy heart, thy life;
Sky and earth are placed on the worlds.
e Give of the water, cleave the holder of the water; from the sky, from
Parjanya, from the atmosphere, from the earth, thence do ye help us with rain;
thou art the head of the sky, the navel of earth, the strength of waters and
plants, protection of all life, extending; homage to the way!
f With that devotion wherewith the seers performed the session of sacrifice
[2],
Kindling Agni, bearing aloft the heaven,
I set on this vault that Agni
Whom men call him for whom the spread is strewed.
g Him with our wives let us pursue, O gods,
With our sons, our brothers, or by gold,
Seizing the vault in the world of good action,
Above the third firmament, in the light of the sky.
h To the middle of speech hath the busy one arisen,
Agni here, lord of the good, the wise;
Established on the back of the earth, the radiant one,
He casteth beneath his feet [3] the combatants.
i Let Agni here, the most manly, strength-bestowing,
Of a thousand shapes, shine unwearying,
Radiant in the midst of the ocean;
Do ye approach the abodes divine.
k Move ye forward, go ye long together;
Make ye the paths gods travelled, O Agni;
In this highest abode
O All-gods, sit ye with the sacrificer.
l That by which thou bearest a thousand,
Thou, O Agni, all wealth,
With that highest (path) for the gods to travel,
Do thou bear this sacrifice for us.
m Awake, O Agni; be roused for him;
With this one do thou create sacrifice and donation;
Making thee, his father, young again
He hath stretched over thee this covering.
n This is thy due place of birth,
Whence born thou didst shine,
Mount it, O Agni, knowing it,
And make our wealth increase.
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