Sukta 9
Sukta 5.9
Vasiṣṭha (probable for 5.9)
Agni (Jātavedas)
Gāyatrī/Anuṣṭubh-like short meter (uncertain from single verse; requires scan of full hymn 5.9)
This hymn invokes Agni as Jātavedas, the all-knowing Fire who receives offerings and carries them along the human ritual path to the gods. It praises Agni’s beneficent guidance and wealth-giving power while acknowledging his hard-to-master, potentially consuming force when unrestrained. The prayer culminates in a request for victorious prosperity, growth, and protection in conflicts.
Mantras
Mantra 1
त्वामग्ने हविष्मन्तो देवं मर्तास ईळते । मन्ये त्वा जातवेदसं स हव्या वक्ष्यानुषक् ॥
O Agni, mortals who bear the offering aspire to you, the God. I hold you to be Jātavedas; therefore carry our oblations continually, following the human path again and again.
Mantra 2
अग्निर्होता दास्वतः क्षयस्य वृक्तबर्हिषः । सं यज्ञासश्चरन्ति यं सं वाजासः श्रवस्यवः ॥
Agni is the Hotṛ of the giver’s dwelling, where the sacred seat is well-prepared. To him the movements of sacrifice converge, and to him converge the plenitudes of force sought for fame—powers that build the soul’s worthy hearing.
Mantra 3
उत स्म यं शिशुं यथा नवं जनिष्टारणी । धर्तारं मानुषीणां विशामग्निं स्वध्वरम् ॥
And indeed, him whom the two araṇīs beget like a newborn child—Agni, the upholder of the human communities—him, the one of good sacrifice, they establish for the right rite.
Mantra 4
उत स्म दुर्गृभीयसे पुत्रो न ह्वार्याणाम् । पुरू यो दग्धासि वनाग्ने पशुर्न यवसे ॥
And yet you are hard to seize, like a son among the wayward; you burn many forests, O Agni, like a beast set loose for pasture. Thus the power that must be mastered can also become a devouring force when not rightly held.
Mantra 5
अध स्म यस्यार्चयः सम्यक्संयन्ति धूमिनः । यदीमह त्रितो दिव्युप ध्मातेव धमति शिशीते ध्मातरी यथा ॥
Then indeed, when his smoke-laden flames gather themselves into right order, as we seek him—Trita in the heaven blows upon him like a blower; he sharpens and brightens, as one polishes in the act of blowing. Thus the inner fire is intensified by a higher impulsion.
Mantra 6
तवाहमग्न ऊतिभिर्मित्रस्य च प्रशस्तिभिः । द्वेषोयुतो न दुरिता तुर्याम मर्त्यानाम् ॥
O Agni, upheld by thy powers of help and by Mitra’s harmonizing affirmations, may I, freed from the yoke of hostility, overpass the difficult crossings that beset mortal nature.
Mantra 7
तं नो अग्ने अभी नरो रयिं सहस्व आ भर । स क्षेपयत्स पोषयद्भुवद्वाजस्य सातय उतैधि पृत्सु नो वृधे ॥
That wealth of being bring to us, O Agni, for our human kind; bring it with victorious force. May it cast down the adverse, may it foster our increase; may it become for us the winning of plenitude of power, and be our growth in the battles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Agni, especially as Jātavedas—the fire-god who knows all origins and carries human offerings to the gods.
It points to Agni’s double nature: when tended with discipline he protects and blesses, but when uncontrolled he becomes a consuming force like wildfire.
It asks for rayi (substantial well-being/wealth), poṣa (growth and increase), the defeat of obstacles, and strength for success in conflicts.
Ask anything about Sukta 9 of the Rig Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.