Rig Veda · 368 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN XIV. Agni.
1.ENKINDLING the Immortal, wake Agni with song of praise: may he bear our oblations to the Gods.
2.At high solemnities mortal men glorify him the Immortal, best At sacrifice among mankind.
3.That he may bear their gifts to heaven, all glorify him Agni, God, With ladle that distilleth oil.
4.Agni shone bright when born, with light killing the Dasyus and the dark: He found the Kine, the Floods, the Sun.
5.Serve Agni, God adorable, the Sage whose back is balmed with oil: Let him approach, and hear my call.
6.They have exalted Agni, God of all mankind, with oil and hymns Of praise, devout and eloquent.
Asked of Guide
Why does this hymn ask Agni to 'bear our oblations to the Gods'?
The hymn treats Agni as the divine messenger whose role is to carry offerings from worshippers up to the other deities; lines 1–3 call him “the Immortal” and ask that he “bear our oblations to the Gods.” Agni’s sacrificial function is literal and ritual: the sacrificial fire transforms gifts and conveys them heavenward through smoke and sacred action.
The poem also gives reasons for trusting him—his birth, brightness, and past deeds (line 4: “Agni shone bright when born”) make him competent and revered. This matches what later Vedic commentaries and the Brhad-aranyaka and Taittiriya traditions say about Agni as the priestly conduit who mediates between humans and gods.
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