Rig Veda Sukta 2
Mandala 7Sukta 211 Mantras

Sukta 2

Sukta 7.2

Rishi

Vasiṣṭha

Chandas

Triṣṭubh (probable)

Este himno de Vasiṣṭha enciende a Agni como el sacerdote radiante del sacrificio, pidiéndole que acepte el combustible, arda hacia lo alto y se expanda en armonía con los rayos de Sūrya. Entreteje todo el marco del yajña: el Alba y la Noche como potencias de apoyo, el asiento sagrado (barhis), la protección de Aditi y la llegada de Indra y de los dioses, para que la ofrenda traiga suvitā (buen paso), abundancia y regocijo divino.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 7.2

In this hymn

Addressed to

  • AgniMantras 1, 3-5, 7, 11with strong solar alignment to Sūrya’s rays

    Agni is the invoked fire, bright, worship-worthy, smoke-raising, tongue-flamed, who touches the luminous summit and spreads with the Sun’s rays, carrying prayers and offerings to the gods.

  • NarashamsaMantra 2Narāśaṃsa (ritual divinity closely allied with Agni) and the Devās as acceptors of havis
  • UshasMantra 6Uṣas and Naktā (Dawn & Night) as paired powers supportive of yajña
  • BharatiMantra 8Bhāratī
  • IliaMantra 8Iḷā
  • SarasvatiMantra 8Sarasvatī (the three goddesses)
  • TvashtriMantra 9Tvaṣṭṛ (with implied soma-pressing imagery)

Mantras

Mantra 1

जुषस्व नः समिधमग्ने अद्य शोचा बृहद्यजतं धूममृण्वन् । उप स्पृश दिव्यं सानु स्तूपैः सं रश्मिभिस्ततनः सूर्यस्य ॥

Acepta hoy nuestro encendido, oh Agni; arde vasto, digno de adoración, alzando tu humo. Toca la cumbre luminosa con tus lenguas de llama; despliega tu ser en armonía con los rayos del Sol.

Mantra 2

नराशंसस्य महिमानमेषामुप स्तोषाम यजतस्य यज्ञैः । ये सुक्रतवः शुचयो धियंधाः स्वदन्ति देवा उभयानि हव्या ॥

Con sacrificios alabaremos la grandeza de estos: de Narāśaṃsa, el adorable. Los dioses, de buen poder, puros, que sostienen el pensamiento, saborean y disfrutan las dos clases de haví (ofrendas): las externas y las internas.

Mantra 3

ईळेन्यं वो असुरं सुदक्षमन्तर्दूतं रोदसी सत्यवाचम् । मनुष्वदग्निं मनुना समिद्धं समध्वराय सदमिन्महेम ॥

Ensalzamos para vosotros a Agni, el adorable, el Asura, perfectamente diestro; el mensajero interior entre Cielo y Tierra, el que dice la Verdad. A la manera humana, encendido por Manu (la Mente), dispongámoslo siempre en armonía para el sacrificio, siempre para el sendero ascendente.

Mantra 4

सपर्यवो भरमाणा अभिज्ञु प्र वृञ्जते नमसा बर्हिरग्नौ । आजुह्वाना घृतपृष्ठं पृषद्वदध्वर्यवो हविषा मर्जयध्वम् ॥

Oh ministros de la ofrenda, que traéis las oblaciones con entendimiento, extended con reverencia para Agni el asiento sagrado, el barhis. Derramando, haced resplandecer con la ofrenda el altar de lomo brillante de ghee, jaspeado de rayos; con la oblación pulid y perfeccionad el sacrificio.

Mantra 5

स्वाध्यो वि दुरो देवयन्तोऽशिश्रयू रथयुर्देवताता । पूर्वी शिशुं न मातरा रिहाणे समग्रुवो न समनेष्वञ्जन् ॥

Dueños de sí, los que buscan a los dioses abren de par en par las puertas; se mantienen firmes, ansiosos de la venida divina. Como dos madres lamen al recién nacido, así los poderes antiguos lo crían; como cantores en sus asambleas, lo ungen y lo ponen en armonía.

Mantra 6

उत योषणे दिव्ये मही न उषासानक्ता सुदुघेव धेनुः । बर्हिषदा पुरुहूते मघोनी आ यज्ञिये सुविताय श्रयेताम् ॥

Y que las dos doncellas divinas, Uṣas y Naktā, Aurora y Noche, sean para nosotros vastas como una vaca de abundante ordeño. Que se sienten sobre el Barhis, oh muy invocadas, dadoras de riqueza; que se inclinen hacia la obra del sacrificio, para un feliz avanzar y una amplia dicha.

Mantra 7

विप्रा यज्ञेषु मानुषेषु कारू मन्ये वां जातवेदसा यजध्यै । ऊर्ध्वं नो अध्वरं कृतं हवेषु ता देवेषु वनथो वार्याणि ॥

Somos videntes en los sacrificios humanos; como cantor os tengo, oh Jātavedas, por dignos de culto. Erguida está nuestra obra sacrificial en las invocaciones; por ella ganáis entre los dioses los bienes deseables: riquezas anheladas y plenitudes para nosotros.

Mantra 8

आ भारती भारतीभिः सजोषा इळा देवैर्मनुष्येभिरग्निः । सरस्वती सारस्वतेभिरर्वाक्तिस्रो देवीर्बर्हिरेदं सदन्तु ॥

Que venga Bhāratī con las Bhāratī en un mismo acuerdo; que venga Iḷā con los dioses y con los hombres, y Agni con ellos. Que venga Sarasvatī con los Sarasvata, volviéndose hacia aquí; que las tres diosas se sienten sobre este Barhis.

Mantra 9

तन्नस्तुरीपमध पोषयित्नु देव त्वष्टर्वि रराणः स्यस्व । यतो वीरः कर्मण्यः सुदक्षो युक्तग्रावा जायते देवकामः ॥

Sea para nosotros ese incremento que avanza veloz, oh Tvaṣṭṛ, dios nutridor; resplandece en tu alegre dádiva. De ti nace el héroe, apto para las obras, plenamente capaz, con las piedras de prensar unidas al yugo, deseoso de lo divino.

Mantra 10

वनस्पतेऽव सृजोप देवानग्निर्हविः शमिता सूदयाति । सेदु होता सत्यतरो यजाति यथा देवानां जनिमानि वेद ॥

Oh Señor del leño, suelta: que los dioses se acerquen. Agni, el ordenador de la ofrenda, encamina la oblación por su curso recto. Entonces el Hotṛ, más veraz en la verdad, sacrifica, pues conoce los nacimientos y devenires de los dioses.

Mantra 11

आ याह्यग्ने समिधानो अर्वाङिन्द्रेण देवैः सरथं तुरेभिः । बर्हिर्न आस्तामदितिः सुपुत्रा स्वाहा देवा अमृता मादयन्ताम् ॥

Ven, oh Agni, plenamente encendido, vuelto hacia aquí, con Indra y los dioses en un solo carro, con los poderes veloces. Que el Barhis sea dispuesto para nosotros; que Aditi, rica en nobles hijos, esté aquí. Svāhā: que los dioses inmortales se alegren y se embriaguen en la ofrenda.

Inside Sukta 2

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Agni is asked to accept the kindling and blaze, lifting smoke and reaching the luminous heights in solar accord.

  2. Development

    The hymn broadens from Agni’s ignition to the full sacrificial ecology: divine timing (Dawn–Night), the prepared seat, and the gathering of beneficent powers for prosperity and safe passage.

  3. Climax

    Agni is summoned to come fully kindled with Indra and the gods in a single chariot—an image of unified divine arrival and empowered rite.

  4. Where it settles

    The barhis is established, Aditi is invoked for protection and good progeny, and the hymn seals the rite with svāhā, asking the immortals to delight in the offering.

The deity: Agni

  • Cosmic functionMediator between earth and heaven: he conveys oblations, summons the devas to the rite, and establishes luminous order by linking the terrestrial fire to the solar/celestial radiance.
  • Inner significanceAwakened will and discerning intelligence (tejas): the inner flame that lifts aspiration upward, purifies intent, and unites human effort with a higher, solar clarity.

The seer

  • VasiṣṭhaVasiṣṭha-gotra (one of the Saptaṛṣi lineages) · Foremost seer-priest of the Rig Veda’s seventh maṇḍala, celebrated for hymns of Agni and Varuṇa and for articulating ṛta (cosmic order) through a priestly, ritual mastery.

Famous verses

saṃ raśmibhis tatanaḥ sūryasya
Verse 7.2.1Sets the hymn’s signature vision: Agni’s flame and smoke rising to the ‘luminous summit’ while he expands ‘with the rays of the Sun,’ defining the sukta’s solar Agni alignment.Read verse 7.2.1 →
उत योषणे दिव्ये मही न उषासानक्ता सुदुघेव धेनुः । बर्हिषदा पुरुहूते मघोनी आ यज्ञिये सुविताय श्रयेताम् ॥
Verse 7.2.6Introduces the supportive pair Uṣas–Naktā as cosmic ‘two maidens’ who sit on the ritual seat and grant suvitā, showing the hymn’s concern for right timing and auspicious passage.Read verse 7.2.6 →
svāhā devā amṛtā mādayantām
Verse 7.2.11Liturgical culmination: Agni is called to arrive with Indra and the gods; barhis and Aditi are established; the concluding svāhā frames the hymn as a complete invitation-and-offering sequence.Read verse 7.2.11 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Hotṛ (priest) and messenger of the gods
  • Kindled by samidh (fuel) and strengthened by ghee
  • Radiant, expansive, and upward-striving
  • Solarly aligned (raśmibhiḥ sūryasya)
  • Purifier and protector of the rite
  • Summoner of Indra and the Viśve Devāḥ

Also by this seer

  • Principal author of Rig Veda Maṇḍala 7 (many hymns attributed to the Vasiṣṭha family)
  • Noted for Varuṇa hymns emphasizing ṛta, moral order, and release from bonds (e.g., RV 7.86–7.89)
  • Major Agni hymns in Maṇḍala 7 that shape the liturgical voice of the Vasiṣṭhas

The rite, step by step

  • Prepare and lay the barhis (sacred grass seat) and the altar space
  • Kindle Agni with samidh (fuel sticks), inviting him to blaze vast and worship-worthy
  • Offer ghee into the fire while reciting the hymn to ‘raise the smoke’ as the signal to the gods
  • Invoke supporting cosmic powers (Uṣas–Naktā) to ‘sit on the seat’ and favor the rite’s right timing
  • Invite Indra and the Viśve Devāḥ to come ‘in one chariot’ with Agni as convoy and messenger
  • Establish Aditi’s presence for protection, rightness, and noble increase
  • Conclude with svāhā, requesting the immortals to rejoice in the oblation

Offerings

  • Samidh (kindling/fuel sticks)
  • Ghṛta (clarified butter)
  • Optional soma/oblations appropriate to the rite (as contextually paired with Indra and the gods)

Frequently Asked Questions

It is a fire-kindling hymn that invites Agni to blaze powerfully and carry the offering, while aligning his radiance with the Sun’s rays and calling the gods to the sacrifice.

They represent the right cosmic timing and rhythm for worship. By asking them to “sit on the seat,” the hymn seeks an auspicious flow (suvitā) for the ritual and for life’s journey.

Aditi is invoked as a wide, protective power linked with well-being and noble increase. Her presence marks the rite as safeguarded, rightly ordered, and fruitful for the worshippers.

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