WE with great reverence have approached The Youngest who hath shone forth well-kindled in his dwelling,

With wondrous light between wide earth and heaven, wellworshipped, looking forth in all directions.

2 Through his great might o'ercoming all misfortunes, praised in the house is Agni Jâṭavedas.

May he protect us from disgrace and trouble, both us who laud him and our noble patrons.

30 Agni, thou art Varuņa and Mitra: Vasishthas with their holy hymns exalt thee.

With thee be most abundant gain of treasure. Ye Gods, preserve us evermore with blessings.

BRING Song and hymn to Agni, Asura-slayer, enlightener of
all and thought-bestower.

Like an oblation on the grass, to please him, I bring this to
Vaiṣvânara, hymn-inspirer.

2 Thou with thy flame, O Agni, brightly glowing, hast at thy birth filled full the earth and heaven.

Thou with thy might, Vaiṣvânara Jâtavedas, settest the Gods free from the curse that bound them.

3 Agni, when born, thou lookedst on all creatures, like a brisk herdsman moving round his cattle.

The path to prayer, Vaiṣvânara, thou foundest. Ye Gods, preserve us evermore with blessings.

WITH reverence and with offered gifts serve we the God whose flame is bright!

Let us bring Jatavedas fuel, and adore Agni when we invoke the Gods.

2 Agni, may we perform thy rites with fuel, and honour thee, O Holy One, with praises;

Honour thee, Priest of sacrifice! with butter, thee, God of blessed light! with our oblation.

1 The Youngest: Agni, most youthful of the Gods, as being continually reproduced.

2 The curse that bound them: the Gods seem to have been subject to the infirmities of old age until Indra, or, as is here said, Agui, freed them, See IV. 19. 2,

3 Come, Agni, with the Gods to our invoking, come, offerings sanctified with Vashat.

May we be his who pays thee, God, due honour. preserve us evermore with blessings.

HYMN XV.

pleased, to Ye Gods,

Agni.

OFFER oblations in his mouth, the bounteous God's whom we must serve,

His who is nearest kin to us:

2 Who for the Fivefold People's sake hath seated him in every home,

Wise, Youthful, Master of the house.

3 On all sides may that Agni guard our household folk and property;

May he deliver us from woe.

4 I have begotten this new hymn for Agni, Falcon of the sky: Will he not give us of his wealth?

5 Whose glories when he glows in front of sacrifice are fair

to see,

Like wealth of one with hero sons.

6 May he enjoy this hallowed gift, Agni accept our songs, who

bears

Oblations, best of worshippers.

7 Lord of the house, whom men must seek, we set thee down, O Worshipped One!

Bright, rich in heroes, Agni! God!

8 Shine forth at night and morn: through thee with fires are we provided well.

Thou, rich in heroes, art our Friend.

9 The men come near thee for their gain, the singers with their songs of praise :

Speech, thousandfold, comes near to thee.

10 Bright, Purifier, meet for praise, Immortal with refulgent glow,

Agni drives Rakshasas away.

11 As such, bring us abundant wealth, young Child of Strength,

for this thou canst :

May Bhaga give us what is choice.

3 Sanctified with Vashat: Vashat (may he bear it to the Gods) is the exclamation used at the moment of pouring the sacrificial oil or clarified butter on the fire.

9 Speech: akshard, the imperishable; here speech in the shape of praise and prayer.

12 Thou, Agni, givest hero fame: Bhaga and Savitar the God, And Diti give us what is good.

13 Agni, preserve us from distress: consume our enemies, O God, Eternal, with thy hottest flames.

14 And, irresistible, be thou a mighty iron fort to us,

With hundred walls for man's defence.

15 Do thou preserve us, eve and morn, from sorrow, from the wicked men,

Infallible by day and night.

WITH this my reverent hymn I call Agni for you, the Son of
Strength,

Dear, wisest envoy, served with noble sacrifice, immortal
messenger of all.

2 His two red horses, all-supporting, let him yoke: let him, well-worshipped, urge them fast.

Then hath the sacrifice good prayers and happy end, and heavenly gift of wealth to men.

3 The flame of him the Bountiful, the Much-invoked, hath mounted up,

And his red-coloured smoke-clouds reach and touch the sky: the men are kindling Agni well.

4 Thee, thee Most Glorious One we make our messenger. the Gods hither to the feast.

Bring

Give us, O Son of Strength, all food that feedeth man: give that for which we pray to thee.

5 Thou, Agni, art the homestead's Lord, our Herald at the sacrifice.

Lord of all boons, thou art the Cleanser and a Sage. Pay worship, and enjoy the good.

6 Give riches to the sacrificer, O Most Wise, for thou art he who granteth wealth.

Inspire with zeal each priest at this our solemn rite, all who are skilled in singing praise.

7 0 Agni who art worshipped well, dear let our princes be tɔ thee, Our wealthy patrons who are governors of men, who part, as gifts, their stalls of kine.

12 Diti: generally regarded as the opposite of Aditi, which may have been the word used by the poet, changed by later reciters, who considered the metre irregular, into Diti. See Vedic Hymns, I. p. 256.

5 Herald: Hotar, or invoking priest. Cleanser: Potar, or purifier, another of the officiating priests. Agni performs the duties of all human priests,

8 They in whose home, her hand bearing the sacred oil, Ilâ sits down well-satisfied

Guard them, Victorious God, from slander and from harm: give us a refuge famed afar,

9 Do thou, a Priest with pleasant tongue, most wise, and very near to us,

Agni, bring riches hither to our liberal chiefs, and speed the offering of our gifts.

10 They who bestow as bounty plenteous wealth of steeds, moved by desire of great renown

Do thou with saving help preserve them from distress, Most Youthful with a hundred forts.

11 The God who gives your wealth demands a full libation poured to him.

Pour ye it forth, then fill the vessel full again: then doth the God pay heed to you.

12 Him have the Gods appointed Priest of sacrifice, oblationbearer, passing wise.

Agni gives wealth and valour to the worshipper, to folk who offer up their gifts,

AGNI, be kindled well with proper fuel, and let the grass be scattered wide about thee.

2 Let the impatient Portals be thrown open: bring thou the Gods impatient to come hither.

3 Taste, Agni: serve the Gods with our oblation. Offer good sacrifices, Jâtavedas!

4 Let Jâtavedas pay fair sacrifices, worship and gratify the Gods Immortal.

5 Wise God, win for us things that are all-goodly, and let the prayers we pray to-day be fruitful.

6 Thee, even thee, the Son of Strength, O Agni, those Gods have made the bearer of oblations.

7 To thee the God may we perform our worship: do thou, besought, grant us abundant riches.

8 la: the Goddess who is regarded as the sacrificial food or ablation personified: annarûpâ havirlakshand devî. —Sâyaņa.

2 The impatient Portals: the doors of the sacrificial chamber which long to bear their part in the holy ceremony.

6 Those Gods: the famous Gods.

ALL is with thee, O Indra, all the treasures which erst our fathers won who sang thy praises.

With thee are milch-kine good to milk, and horses: best winner thou of riches for the pious.

2 For like a King among his wives thou dwellest: with glories, as a Sage, surround and help us.

Make us, thy servants, strong for wealth, and honour our songs with kine and steeds and decoration.

3 Here these our holy hymns with joy and gladness in pious emulation have approached thee.

Hitherward come thy path that leads to riches: may we find shelter in thy favour, Indra.

4 Vasishtha hath poured forth his prayers, desiring to milk thee like a cow in goodly pasture.

All these my people call thee Lord of cattle: may Indra come unto the prayer we offer.

5 What though the floods spread widely, Indra made them shallow and easy for Sudâs to traverse.

He, worthy of our praises, caused the Simyu, foe of our hymn, to curse the rivers' fury.

6 Eager for spoil was Turvasa Puroḍâs, fain to win wealth, like fishes urged by hunger.

The Bhrigus and the Druhyus quickly listened: friend rescued friend mid the two distant peoples.

The hymn glorifies Indra as the protector of Sudâs, the King of the Tritsus, and praises the liberality of that prince. See Vedic India (Story of the Nations Series), pp. 319-332.

4 Vasishtha: the Rishi of the hymn, and the chief priest who had accompanied the warlike expedition of Sudâs. To milk thee: to obtain riches through thy favour by means of my hymn, as men milk the cow at sacrifice for the milk which is required for libations.

5 The poet begins to recount the events of Sudâs's victorious expedition. These are not always intelligible partly on account of the obscure phraseology employed, and partly on account of our ignorance of details which are vaguely alluded to. In this stanza Sudâs, king or chief of the Tritsu tribe, has, with the aid of Indra, crossed a deep river (the Parushņi which is now called the Râvi), and put the Simyus to flight, some of the fugitives being drowned in its waters. The Simyus are mentioned together with the Dasyus, in I. 190. 18, as hostile barbarians slain by Indra. The second half of the stanza is difficult, the meaning of two of the words being uncertain.

6 Turvașa Purodis: Turvașa appears here as one of the enemies of Sudas. I follow, with much hesitatiou, Ludwig in taking Purodas as an appellative of Turvasa: Turvasa, who was preceding (at solemn rites).'-Wilson. The Bhrigus and the Druhyus: here, apparently, allies of Turvașa. Fishes: according to others, Matsyas, a people.