Verses 1, 2
वह्निं॑ य॒शसं॑ वि॒दथ॑स्य के॒तुं सु॑प्रा॒व्यं॑ दू॒तं स॒द्योअ॑र्थं । द्वि॒जन्मा॑नं र॒यिमि॑व प्रश॒स्तं रा॒तिं भ॑र॒द्भृग॑वे मात॒रिश्वा॑ ॥
váhnim yaśásam vidáthasya ketúm suprāvyám dūtám sadyóartham ǀ dvijánmānam rayímiva praśastám rātím bharadbhṛ́gave mātaríśvā ǁ
अ॒स्य शासु॑रु॒भया॑सः सचंते ह॒विष्मं॑त उ॒शिजो॒ ये च॒ मर्ताः॑ । दि॒वश्चि॒त्पूर्वो॒ न्य॑सादि॒ होता॒पृच्छ्यो॑ वि॒श्पति॑र्वि॒क्षु वे॒धाः ॥
asyá śā́surubháyāsaḥ sacante havíṣmanta uśíjo yé ca mártāḥ ǀ diváścitpū́rvo nyásādi hótāpṛ́cchyo viśpátirvikṣú vedhā́ḥ ǁ
In these opening verses, the focus is placed upon the cosmic descent of Agni through the agency of Mātariśvan, who brings the divine flame to the ancient seer Bhṛgu. Agni is celebrated not merely as an earthly fire, but as a brilliant, dynamic messenger (dūta) of the sacrifice (vidatha), twice-born (dvijanman)—once in the heavens as lightning or the sun, and once on earth through the friction of the ritual sticks. He is the luminous beacon of humanity's highest aspirations, swiftly accomplishing his sacred mission. Moving into the second verse, we see the universal reach of Agni's authority. Both ordinary mortals and the eager, sacrificial offerers (uśijes) bow to his divine ordinance. He is more ancient than the sky itself, seated at the heart of every clan as the supreme Hotṛ priest and the master of the house (viśpati). He is the omniscient weaver of cosmic and social order, standing ever ready to answer the calls of the devoted.
Verse 1: Mātariśvan brought down to the house of Bhṛgu the brilliant, renowned messenger of the sacrifice, the swift-moving beacon, twice-born and radiant like a precious treasure.
Verse 2: All mortals and eager offerers follow his command. Older than the sky itself, he sits as the sacrificial priest, the supreme lord of the clans, wise and approachable by all.
Sāyaṇa interprets 'dvijanman' strictly through ritual mechanics—born from the two arānis (fire-sticks)—while esoteric commentators like Sri Aurobindo view the double birth as the divine light bridging the upper spiritual realms and the lower mortal consciousness.
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| वह्निः | vahnih | bearer, carrier, or one who conveys the oblation |
| द्विजन्मानम् | dvijanmānam | twice-born (born in heaven and on earth) |
| मातरिश्वा | mātariśvā | Mātariśvan (a divine being associated with wind who brought fire) |
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| शासुः | śāsuḥ | of the ruler or instructor |
| होता | hotā | the invoking priest |
| विश्पतिः | viśpatiḥ | lord of the settlement or clan |
Picture a streak of lightning leaping from the storm-clouds into the hands of an ancient sage like a divine messenger carrying a glowing letter of light.
Verses 3, 4, 5
तं नव्य॑सी हृ॒द आ जाय॑मानम॒स्मत्सु॑की॒र्तिर्मधु॑जिह्वमश्याः । यमृ॒त्विजो॑ वृ॒जने॒ मानु॑षासः॒ प्रय॑स्वंत आ॒यवो॒ जीज॑नंत ॥
tám návyasī hṛdá ā́ jā́yamānamasmátsukīrtírmádhujihvamaśyāḥ ǀ yámṛtvíjo vṛjáne mā́nuṣāsaḥ práyasvanta āyávo jī́jananta ǁ
उ॒शिक्पा॑व॒को वसु॒र्मानु॑षेषु॒ वरे॑ण्यो॒ होता॑धायि वि॒क्षु । दमू॑ना गृ॒हप॑ति॒र्दम॒ आँ अ॒ग्निर्भु॑वद्रयि॒पती॑ रयी॒णां ॥
uśíkpāvakó vásurmā́nuṣeṣu váreṇyo hótādhāyi vikṣú ǀ dámūnā gṛhápatirdáma ā́m̐ agnírbhuvadrayipátī rayīṇā́m ǁ
तं त्वा॑ व॒यं पति॑मग्ने रयी॒णां प्र शं॑सामो म॒तिभि॒र्गोत॑मासः । आ॒शुं न वा॑जंभ॒रं म॒र्जयं॑तः प्रा॒तर्म॒क्षू धि॒याव॑सुर्जगम्यात् ॥
tám tvā vayám pátimagne rayīṇā́m prá śaṃsāmo matíbhirgótamāsaḥ ǀ āśúm ná vājambharám marjáyantaḥ prātármakṣū́ dhiyā́vasurjagamyāt ǁ
The Ṛṣi Gotama describes the miraculous awakening of Agni from the human heart itself. As he is born anew with every ritual morning, the priests adorn him with honey-sweet tongues of flame, singing their newest praises. He becomes the purifier, the desirable guest residing within every human dwelling, anchoring the household as its supreme master and the lord of all material and spiritual wealth. In the final verse, the Gotamas lift their collective voice in vibrant praise. They invoke Agni as the swift carrier of offerings, praying that he who is rich in insight (dhiyāvasu) will hasten to them at the very break of dawn, bestowing abundant spiritual and temporal prosperity upon the household.
Verse 3: May our newest, beautiful hymn reach him as he is being born from the heart—the honey-tongued flame whom human ritualists and active worshippers have brought into being.
Verse 4: An eager, purifying, radiant treasure among humans, Agni has been established as the priest in the settlements. He is the master of the house, dwelling within the home, the lord of all riches.
Verse 5: To you, Agni, lord of riches, we the Gotamas address our praises with our thoughts. Like a swift horse bearing prizes, may he, rich in divine insight, come quickly to us at the break of dawn.
The translation of 'dhiyāvasu' balances the traditional commentary of wealth attained through rituals with the psychological interpretation of 'abundant in spiritual clarity and meditative insight' championed by modern mystic-scholars.
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| नव्यसी | navyasī | newest, freshest (referring to the hymn) |
| मधुजिह्वम् | madhu-jihvam | honey-tongued (describing Agni's capacity to taste the sweet oblations) |
| ऋत्विजः | ṛtvijaḥ | the seasonal priests or sacrificial performers |
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| पावकः | pāvakaḥ | the purifier |
| दमूनाः | damūnāḥ | familiar with the house, domestic, hearth-dweller |
| रयिपतिः | rayi-patiḥ | lord of wealth or abundance |
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| गोतमासः | gotamāsaḥ | the descendants of Gotama (the poet clan) |
| वाजम्भरम् | vājam-bharam | bearer of prizes or vital energy |
| धियावसुः | dhiyāvasuḥ | rich in thought, vision, or prayerful insight |
Imagine a warm, golden hearth fire burning brightly at dawn inside a cozy home, while the family gathers around offering quiet prayers of gratitude for a new day.