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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 947 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN CX. Āprīs.

1.THOU in the house of man this day enkindled worshippest Gods as God, O Jātavedas. Observant, bright as Mitra, bring them hither: thou art a sapient and foreknowing envoy.

2.Tanūnapāt, fair-tongued, with sweet meath balming the paths and waysof Order, make them pleasant. Convey our sacrifice to heaven, exalting with holy thoughts our hymns of praise and worship.

3.Invoked, deserving prayer and adoration, O Agni, come accordant with the Vasus. Thou art, O Youthful Lord, the Gods’ Invoker, so, best of Sacrificers, bring them quickly.

4.By rule the Sacred Grass is scattered eastward, a robe to clothe this earth when dawns are breaking. Widely it spreads around and far-extended, fair for the Gods and bringing peace and freedom.

5.Let the expansive Doors be widely opened, like wives who deck their beauty for their husbands. Lofty, celestial, all-impelling Portals, admit the Gods and give them easy entrance.

6.Pouring sweet dews let holy Night and Morning, each close to each, he seated at their station, Lofty, celestial Dames with gold to deck them. assuming all their fair and radiant beauty.

7.Come the two first celestial sweet-voiced Hotars, arranging sacrifice for man to worship As singers who inspire us in assemblies, showing the eastward light with their direction.

8.Let Bhāratī come quickly to our worship, and Iḷā showing like a human being. So let Sarasvatī and both her fellows, deft Goddesses, on this fair grass be seated.

9.Hotar more skilled in sacrifice, bring hither with speed to-day God Tvaṣṭar, thou who knowest. Even him who formed these two, the Earth and Heaven the Parents, with their forms, and every creature.

10.Send to our offerings which thyself thou balmest the Companies of Gods in ordered season. Agni, Vanaspati the Immolator sweeten our offered gift with meath and butter.

11.Agni, as soon as he was born, made ready the sacrifice, and was the Gods’ preceder. May the Gods cat our offering consecrated according to this true Priest’s voice and guidance.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn keep calling Agni names like Jātavedas and Tanūnapāt?

The hymn names Agni as Jātavedas, Tanūnapāt, Hotar and other epithets to show different roles he plays: flame who knows men (Jātavedas), the youthful messenger who carries offerings (Tanūnapāt), and the sacrificer who invokes the gods (Hotar). Each name identifies a function in the ritual—conveyor of sacrifice, inspirer of hymns, and presider who leads the gods to the altar—so the worshipper addresses the particular power needed for the rite.

This pattern matches how the Rig Veda treats deities elsewhere, for example Indra’s many epithets in other hymns that single out his storm, protector, or breaker-of-forts qualities. The repeated naming focuses attention on action: ‘‘bring them hither,’’ ‘‘convey our sacrifice,’’ ‘‘bring them quickly’’—requests directed to those specific functions of Agni.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.