Rig Veda · 381 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN XXVII. Agni.
1.THE Godlike hero, famousest of nobles, hath granted me two oxen with a wagon. Trvrsan’s son Tryaruna hath distinguished himself, Vaiśvānara Agni! with ten thousands.
2.Protect Tryaruna, as thou art waxing strong and art highly praised, Vaiśvānara Agni! Who granteth me a hundred kine and twenty, and two bay horses, good at draught, and harnessed.
3.So Trasadasyu served thee, God Most Youthful, craving thy favour for the ninth time, Agni; Tryaruya who with attentive spirit accepteth many a song from me the mighty.
4.He who declares his wish to me, to Asvamedha, to the Prince, Pays him who with his verse seeks gain, gives power to him who keeps the Law.
5.From whom a hundred oxen, all of speckled hue, delight my heart, The gifts of Asvamedha, like thrice-mingled draughts of Soma juice.
6.To Asvamedha who bestows a hundred gifts grant hero power, O Indra-Agni! lofty rule like the unwasting Sun in heaven.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn keep praising Agni as giver of cattle and horses?
The hymn praises Agni because in this chapter Agni functions as the ritual mediator who grants wealth and royal success; the poet lists concrete gifts—“a hundred kine and twenty, and two bay horses”—to show favors received and requested. Calling Agni “Vaiśvānara” and linking him with Asvamedha ties the fire to both household offerings and the great royal sacrifice that secures cattle, chieftainship, and “lofty rule.”
The repeated naming of donors and beneficiaries—Tryaruna, Trasadasyu—shows the hymn’s social logic: praise to Agni converts ritual speech into material reward and political power. This matches what Jan Gonda and Wendy Doniger note about Vedic hymns: ritual address to a deity functions as a transactional speech act that legitimizes wealth and kingship.
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