Sukta 73

Mantra 1

रयिर्न यः पितृवित्तो वयोधाः सुप्रणीतिश्चिकितुषो न शासुः । स्योनशीरतिथिर्न प्रीणानो होतेव सद्म विधतो वि तारीत् ॥

Like a plenitude that is ancestral and well-won, he upholds our growth; with a perfect leading he instructs the discerning. Like a welcome guest bringing ease, he satisfies; like a priest, he opens out the home of the one who offers.

Mantra 2

देवो न यः सविता सत्यमन्मा क्रत्वा निपाति वृजनानि विश्वा । पुरुप्रशस्तो अमतिर्न सत्य आत्मेव शेवो दिधिषाय्यो भूत् ॥

Like Savitṛ the god, whose thought is truth, by will he guards and sets right all the crookedness. Much-praised, he is not a false-mindedness but the true; like the inmost self he becomes the benignant one to be firmly held.

Mantra 3

देवो न यः पृथिवीं विश्वधाया उपक्षेति हितमित्रो न राजा । पुरःसदः शर्मसदो न वीरा अनवद्या पतिजुष्टेव नारी ॥

Like a god, he dwells upon the all-supporting Earth, a king with friendly alliances set in harmony. He is one who sits in the front, who sits in peace, like heroes; blameless, like a wife cherished by her lord.

Mantra 4

तं त्वा नरो दम आ नित्यमिद्धमग्ने सचन्त क्षितिषु ध्रुवासु । अधि द्युम्नं नि दधुर्भूर्यस्मिन्भवा विश्वायुर्धरुणो रयीणाम् ॥

You—whom men in the home approach always kindled, O Agni, in the firm habitations—on you they set abundant luminous power. Become for us the holder of all-life, the firm support of plenitudes.

Mantra 5

वि पृक्षो अग्ने मघवानो अश्युर्वि सूरयो ददतो विश्वमायुः । सनेम वाजं समिथेष्वर्यो भागं देवेषु श्रवसे दधानाः ॥

O Agni, may the generous ones and the seekers press forward—may the luminous seers widen (their giving) through the whole span of life. May we win the plenitude of force in the battles; may the noble aspiration hold its rightful share among the gods, establishing fame (as the soul’s hearing of Truth).

Mantra 6

ऋतस्य हि धेनवो वावशानाः स्मदूध्नीः पीपयन्त द्युभक्ताः । परावतः सुमतिं भिक्षमाणा वि सिन्धवः समया सस्रुरद्रिम् ॥

For the cows of Ṛta, lowing with delight, swell their udders for us—dispensing the luminous portions. From the far beyond, asking for the right-mindedness, the rivers flow apart and together, pressing through the rock of obstruction.

Mantra 7

त्वे अग्ने सुमतिं भिक्षमाणा दिवि श्रवो दधिरे यज्ञियासः । नक्ता च चक्रुरुषसा विरूपे कृष्णं च वर्णमरुणं च सं धुः ॥

In you, O Agni, seeking the right mind, the sacrificers establish in the heaven their true glory. Night and Dawn, the two of differing forms, have jointly set in place the black hue and the ruddy hue—darkness and illumination ordered in their turn.

Mantra 8

यान्राये मर्तान्त्सुषूदो अग्ने ते स्याम मघवानो वयं च । छायेव विश्वं भुवनं सिसक्ष्यापप्रिवान्रोदसी अन्तरिक्षम् ॥

Those mortals whom you impel toward the fullness (rāyī), O Agni the good-instigator—may we too be among those generous ones. Like a sheltering shade may you embrace the whole world of becoming, filling the two worlds and the midspace within us.

Mantra 9

अर्वद्भिरग्ने अर्वतो नृभिर्नॄन्वीरैर्वीरान्वनुयामा त्वोताः । ईशानासः पितृवित्तस्य रायो वि सूरयः शतहिमा नो अश्युः ॥

With our coursers, O Agni, with coursing energies; with men, with heroic powers—may we, protected by you, win heroes by heroes. Becoming masters of the wealth won by the fathers, may the luminous seers strive for us in hundredfold measures.

Mantra 10

एता ते अग्न उचथानि वेधो जुष्टानि सन्तु मनसे हृदे च । शकेम रायः सुधुरो यमं तेऽधि श्रवो देवभक्तं दधानाः ॥

These utterances to you, O Agni the knower, may they be welcome to the mind and the heart. May we be able to bear and drive your well-yoked governance of fullness; and may we establish above us the god-given glory, founded in the divine portion.