Sukta 19
Sukta 5.19
Atri (Ātreya) (traditional attribution for much of Mandala 5; exact verse-level attribution may vary by recension)
Agni (esoteric birth of Agni in the Mother; common Vedic theme: Agni born in waters/wood/earth)
Tristubh (probable)
This short Agni-hymn contemplates the hidden birth of the Fire within the Mother—concealed in coverings and then revealed in distinct form. It praises Agni’s luminous, quickening power that increases communities and prosperity, and it evokes his dynamic play as ray/flame moving with wind and ash, sharpening his forces for action.
Mantras
Mantra 1
अभ्यवस्थाः प्र जायन्ते प्र वव्रेर्वव्रिश्चिकेत । उपस्थे मातुर्वि चष्टे ॥
The enveloping states are born forth; from the covering the hidden one becomes conscious; in the lap of the Mother he is seen in his distinct form.
Mantra 2
जुहुरे वि चितयन्तोऽनिमिषं नृम्णं पान्ति । आ दृळ्हां पुरं विविशुः ॥
They offer and discern; they guard the unblinking power of heroic force; they have entered into the firm stronghold.
Mantra 3
आ श्वैत्रेयस्य जन्तवो द्युमद्वर्धन्त कृष्टयः । निष्कग्रीवो बृहदुक्थ एना मध्वा न वाजयुः ॥
Toward Śvaitreya the peoples and the cultivating races increase in luminous strength; the gold-collared one, of the vast utterance—by this he moves like honey, a seeker of plenitude.
Mantra 4
प्रियं दुग्धं न काम्यमजामि जाम्योः सचा । घर्मो न वाजजठरोऽदब्धः शश्वतो दभः ॥
Like cherished milk, desirable, he is born in the intimacy of kindred powers; like the Gharma he is a belly of plenitude—unbetrayed, unfailing in the everlasting.
Mantra 5
क्रीळन्नो रश्म आ भुवः सं भस्मना वायुना वेविदानः । ता अस्य सन्धृषजो न तिग्माः सुसंशिता वक्ष्यो वक्षणेस्थाः ॥
Playing, O ray, you have come—mingled with ash, with the wind, fully knowing; his forces, like keen-edged assailants, are well-sharpened, poised in the bearing-place.
Frequently Asked Questions
It describes Agni as a hidden power that awakens from coverings and becomes visible, and it asks that this revealed light strengthen life, work, and prosperity.
The “Mother” can be the kindling source that holds Agni—such as wood, the waters, or the earth—and also a symbolic image for the womb of manifestation where hidden light becomes known.
Because the living fire is experienced as moving with breath/wind and surrounded by ash; the verse uses this to show Agni’s intelligent, dynamic energy as it ignites and becomes powerful in the ritual.