Rig Veda 1.1

Rig Veda 1.1
Agni Sukta

 

Ṛṣi (sage/seer): madhucchandāḥ vaiśvāmitraḥ [madhucchandas vaiśvāmitra];
Devatā (deity/subject-matter): agniḥ ;
Chandas (meter): gāyatrī;
Svara (tone/note): Swar;

 

ग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् । 
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥
agnim īḻe purohitaṃ yajñasya devam ṛtvijam |
hotāraṃ ratnadhātamam ||

Rig Veda 1.1.1

 

“I glorify Agni, the high priest of the sacrifice, the divine, the ministrant, who presents the oblation (to the gods), and is the possessor of great wealth.”

 

अग्निः पूर्वेभिॠषिभिरीड्यो नूतनैरुत ।
स देवाँ एह वक्षति ॥
 agniḥ pūrvebhir ṛṣibhir īḍyo nūtanair uta |
sa devām̐ eha vakṣati ||   

Rig Veda 1.1.2

 

“May that Agni who is to be celebrated by both ancient and modern sages conduct the gods hither.”

 

 अग्निना रयिमश्नवत्पोषमेव दिवेदिवे ।
  यशसं वीरवत्तमम् ॥ 
agninā rayim aśnavat poṣam eva dive-dive |
 yaśasaṃ vīravattamam ||

Rig Veda 1.1.3

“Through Agni the worshipper obtains that affluence which increases day by day, which is the source of fame and multiplier of mankind.”

 

अग्ने यं यज्ञमध्वरं विश्वतः परिभूरसि ।
 स इद्देवेषु गच्छति ॥
agne yaṃ yajñam adhvaraṃ viśvataḥ paribhūr asi |
sa id deveṣu gacchati || 

Rig Veda 1.1.4

 

“Agni, the unobstructed sacrifice of which you are on every side the protector, assuredly reaches the gods.”

 

 अग्निर्होता कविक्रतुः सत्यश्चित्रश्रवस्तमः ।  
देवो देवेभिरा गमत् ॥
 agnir hotā kavikratuḥ satyaś citraśravastamaḥ |
devo devebhir ā gamat ||

Rig Veda 1.1.5

 

“May Agni, the presenter of oblations, the attainer of knowledge, he who is true, renowned, and divine, come hither with the gods.”

 

यदङ्ग दाशुषे त्वमग्ने भद्रं करिष्यसि ।
 तवेत्तत्सत्यमङ्गिरः ॥
yad aṅga dāśuṣe tvam agne bhadraṃ kariṣyasi |
tavet tat satyam aṅgiraḥ ||

Rig Veda 1.1.6

 

“Whatever good you may, Agni, bestow upon the giver (of the oblation), that verily, A?giras shall revert to you.”

 

उप त्वाग्ने दिवेदिवे दोषावस्तर्धिया वयम् । 
नमो भरन्त एमसि ॥
upa tvāgne dive-dive doṣāvastar dhiyā vayam |
namo bharanta emasi ||

Rig Veda 1.1.7

 

“We approach you, Agni, with reverential homage in our thoughts, daily, both morning and evening.”

 

 राजन्तमध्वराणां गोपामृतस्य दीदिविम् ।  
  वर्धमानं स्वे दमे ॥  
 rājantam adhvarāṇāṃ gopām ṛtasya dīdivim |
vardhamānaṃ sve dame ||

Rig Veda 1.1.8

 

“You, the radiant, the protector of sacrifice, the constant illuminator of truth, increasing in your own dwelling.”

 

स नः पितेव सूनवेऽग्ने सूपायनो भव ।
सचस्वा नः स्वस्तये ॥ 
sa naḥ piteva sūnave 'gne sūpāyano bhava | 
sacasvā naḥ svastaye ||

Rig Veda 1.1.9

 

“Agni, be to us easy of access, as is a father to his son; be ever present with us for our good.”

 

Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya

 

Agni = purohita, the priest who superintends family rites; or, he is one of the sacred fires in which oblations are first (pura) offered (hita); Deva: a god, the bright, shining, radiant; from div, to shine; or, one who abides in the sky or heaven (dyushāna); or, liberal, donor (in the sense of giving); Ṛtvij = a ministering priest, he is also the hotā (Aitareya Brāhmaṇa 3.14), the priest who presents the oblation or who invokes or summons the deities to the ceremony; from hu, to sacrifice; or, from hve, to call; Ratnadhātama: lit. holder of jewels; Ratna = wealth in genitive ral; figurately, reward of religious rites.

 

Pūrva and nūtana, former and recent are terms appled to ṛṣis or sages; former ṛṣis are: Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras; they are also termed prajāpatis (Viṣṇu Purāṇa)

 

Adhvaram yajñm, free from injury or interruption; 'on every side': fires at a sacrifice are lighted at four cardinal points: āhavanīya, mājālīya, gārhapatya and agnīdhrīya

 

Kavi-kratu: one by whom either knowledge or religious acts (kratu) are acquired or performed (krānta); a synonym of Agni.

 

Aṅgiras = aṅgāra, a live coal (Nirukta 3.17); 'the coals became the Aṅgirasas', ye aṅgārāḥ āsanste aṅgiraso abhavan (Aitareya Brāhmaṇa 3.34); the legend: (Mahābhārata, Vanaparvan, Vol. II) Mārkaṇḍeya tells Yudhiṣṭhira, when the latter asks, "How is it that while Agni, went too the forest and ceased his functions; yet, Aṅgiras became Agni to convey the oblations to gods? How is it that Agni, who is one, becomes many?" Agni, says Mārkaṇḍeya, engaged in penance and relinquished his duties; Muni Aṅgiras took upon himself the office of Agni. When he prevailed upon Agni to resume his office, the latter became his son; his descendants, the Aṅgirasas, therefore are also the descendants of Agni, or so many Agnis, or fires. The fires are enumerated at length, explained as person nification of light, of luminous bodies, of divisions of time, of celestial phenomena, and fires adapted to peculiar occasions (full-moon, changes in phases of moon or to particular rites, aśvamedha, rājasūya, pāka yajñas (sacrifices with food), obsequial and funeral fires, expiatory fires). A further legend is told: First Agni is called Saha, who hid himself in the ocean to avoid the approach of Niyata, the son of Bharata, the fire of the funeral pile. The text says, 'through fear'; Sāyaṇa adds: either through fear of being rendered impure by his contact, or being ashamed of his relationship, Niyata being his own grandson. When gods came looking for Agni, the latter designated as his substitute, Atharvan, also called Aṅgiras

 

Padapatha [Accents, Plain, Transliterated]:

 

अग्निम् । ईळे । पुरःहितम् । यज्ञस्य । देवम् । ऋत्विजम् । होतारम् । रत्नधातमम् ॥
   agnim | īḷe | puraḥ-hitam | yajñasya | devam | ṛtvijam | hotāram | ratna-dhātamam

 

अग्निः । पूर्वेभिः । ऋषिभिः । ईड्यः । नूतनैः । उत । सः । देवान् । आ । इह । वक्षति ॥
agniḥ | pūrvebhiḥ | ṛṣi-bhiḥ | īḍyaḥ | nūtanaiḥ | uta | saḥ | devān | ā | iha | vakṣati

 

अग्निना । रयिम् । अश्नवत् । पोषम् । एव । दिवेदिवे । यशसम् । वीरवत्तमम् ॥ 
 agninā | rayim | aśnavat | poṣam | eva | dive--dive | yaśasam | vīravat-tamam

 

अग्ने । यम् । यज्ञम् । अध्वरम् । विश्वतः । परिभूः । असि । सः । इत् । देवेषु । गच्छति ॥
 agne | yam | yajñam | adhvaram | viśvataḥ | pari-bhūḥ | asi | saḥ | it | deveṣu | gacchati

 

अग्निः । होता । कविक्रतुः । सत्यः । चित्रश्रवःतमः । देवः । देवेभिः । आ । गमत् ॥
  agniḥ | hotā | kavi-kratuḥ | satyaḥ | citraśravaḥ-tamaḥ | devaḥ | devebhiḥ | ā | gamat

 

यत् । अङ्ग । दाशुषे । त्वम् । अग्ने । भद्रम् । करिष्यसि । तव । इत् । तत् । सत्यम् । अङ्गिरः ॥
 yat | aṅga | dāśuṣe | tvam | agne | bhadram | kariṣyasi | tava | it | tat | satyam | aṅgiraḥ

 

उप । त्वा । अग्ने । दिवेदिवे । दोषावस्तः । धिया । वयम् । नमः । भरन्तः । आ । इमसि ॥  
upa | tvā | agne | dive--dive | doṣāvastaḥ | dhiyā | vayam | namaḥ | bharantaḥ | ā | imasi

 

राजन्तम् । अध्वराणाम् । गोपाम् । ऋतस्य । दीदिविम् । वर्धमानम् । स्वे । दमे ॥ 
 rājantam | adhvarāṇām | gopām | ṛtasya | dīdivim | vardhamānam | sve | dame

 

सः । नः । पिताइव । सूनवे । अग्ने । सुउपायनः । भव । सचस्व । नः । स्वस्तये ॥
 saḥ | naḥ | pitāiva | sūnave | agne | su-upāyanaḥ | bhava | sacasva | naḥ | svastaye

 

Multi-layer Annotation of the Ṛgveda

 

'gne < agne < agni 
agnim < agni
agniḥ < agni
agninā < agni
agne < agni
agnir < agni? < agni
[noun], vocative, singular, masculine. “fire; Agni; sacrificial fire; digestion; cautery; Plumbago zeylanica; fire; vahni; agni [word]; agnikarman; gold; three; jāraṇa; pyre; fireplace; heating.”

 

īḍe < īḍ
[verb], singular, Present indikative. "praise; invite; raise."

 

purohitaṃ < purohitam < purohita
[noun], accusative, singular, masculine. “Purohita; purohita [word].” 

 

yajñasya < yajña
[noun], genitive, singular, masculine. “yajña; religious ceremony; Vishnu; yajña [word]; Yajña; Shiva.”

 

devam < deva
[noun], accusative, singular, masculine. “Deva; Hindu deity; king; deity; Indra; deva [word]; God; Jina; Viśvedevās; mercury; natural phenomenon; gambling.” 

 

ṛtvijam < ?tvij
[noun], accusative, singular, masculine. “ṛtvij; ṛtvij [word].” 

 

hotāraṃ < hotāram < hotṛ
[noun], accusative, singular, masculine. “Hotṛ.” 

 

ratnadhātamam < ratna
[noun], neuter. “jewel; wealth; best; treasure; vajra; property; jewel; ruby; jewelry.” 

 

ratnadhātamam < dhātamam  < dhātama
[noun], accusative, singular, masculine. “giving.”

 

pūrvebhir< pūrvebhiḥ pūrva
[noun], instrumental, plural, masculine. “aforesaid(a); antecedent; previous(a); first; eastern; former(a); pūrva [word]; age-old; anterior; bygone; fore(a); predictive; firstborn; easterly; instrumental.” 

 

ṛṣibhir < ṛṣibhiḥ < ṛṣi
  [noun], instrumental, plural, masculine. “Ṛṣi; spiritual teacher; ascetic; Mantra.” 

 

īḍyo < īḍyaḥ  < īḍ
[verb noun], nominative, singular. “praise; invite; raise.” 

 

nūtanair< nūtanaiḥ < n?tana
[noun], instrumental, plural, masculine. "new; fresh; recent; contemporary; present(a); first."

 

uta
[adverb] "and; besides; uta [indecl.]; similarly; alike; even."

 

sa < tad
[noun], nominative, singular, masculine. "this; he,she,it (pers. pron.); respective(a); that; nominative; then; particular(a); genitive; instrumental; accusative; there; tad [word]; dative; once; same."