Rig Veda Sukta 4
Mandala 3Sukta 411 Mantras

Sukta 4

Sukta 3.4

Rishi

Viśvāmitra Gāthina (traditional for RV 3.4)

Chandas

Triṣṭubh

RV 3.4 to hymn do Agniego, który ustanawia ogień jako Hotṛ, kapłański głos obrzędu, prosząc go, by budził się przy każdym rozpaleniu i przyprowadzał bogów do ofiary. Poeta tworzy scenerię oświetloną świtem i harmonijne wezwanie wielu bóstw, tak aby ofiara stała się jednym, dobrze uporządkowanym spotkaniem boskich mocy dla błogosławieństwa, prawej myśli i pomyślności.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 3.4

In this hymn

Addressed to

  • AgniMantras 1-5, 7, 10-11as Hotṛ and inviter of the gods

    Agni is the bright, purified fire kindled on fuel, the sacrificial priest who knows the ways of the gods and carries offerings to them while bringing them to the human rite.

  • UshasMantra 6Uṣas (dual), Mitra-Varuṇa, Indra with Maruts (a harmonized invocation of light, law, and force)
  • Bharati-Ilia-SarasvatiMantra 8Bhāratī-Iḷā-Sarasvatī (the triad of goddesses of inspired speech/illumination), with Agni as mediator
  • TvashtriMantra 9Tvaṣṭṛ (formative shaper), with the boon of producing a capable ‘vīra’

Mantras

Mantra 1

समित्समित्सुमना बोध्यस्मे शुचाशुचा सुमतिं रासि वस्वः । आ देव देवान्यजथाय वक्षि सखा सखीन्त्सुमना यक्ष्यग्ने ॥

Rozpal się przy każdym paliwie, przebudź w nas z radosnym umysłem; o czysty, daj nam dobrą myśl, o mieszkający w bogactwach. O boże, przywiedź bogów na ofiarę; jako przyjaciel przyjaciół, z radosnym umysłem, ofiaruj, o Agni.

Mantra 2

यं देवासस्त्रिरहन्नायजन्ते दिवेदिवे वरुणो मित्रो अग्निः । सेमं यज्ञं मधुमन्तं कृधी नस्तनूनपाद्घृतयोनिं विधन्तम् ॥

Tego, którego bogowie czczą trzy razy dziennie, Varuṇa, Mitra i Agni, uczyń tę naszą ofiarę pełną słodyczy; o Tanūnapāt, ustanów ją, obrzęd z łonem ghi, dobrze uporządkowany w swych działaniach.

Mantra 3

प्र दीधितिर्विश्ववारा जिगाति होतारमिळः प्रथमं यजध्यै । अच्छा नमोभिर्वृषभं वन्दध्यै स देवान्यक्षदिषितो यजीयान् ॥

Naprzód idzie promieniste natchnienie, bogate we wszystkie dary, do pierwszego z kapłanów, by wielbić. Z ukłonami zmierza chwalić Byka; on, pchnięty i najbardziej godny ofiary, złożył ofiarę bogom.

Mantra 4

ऊर्ध्वो वां गातुरध्वरे अकार्यूर्ध्वा शोचींषि प्रस्थिता रजांसि । दिवो वा नाभा न्यसादि होता स्तृणीमहि देवव्यचा वि बर्हिः ॥

Pionowa jest wasza ścieżka w ofierze; wzniesione są płomienie, przestrzenie ustawione na swoich kursach. Z pępka nieba Hotri zajął swoje miejsce; rozpościeramy szeroko świętą trawę, wszystko sięgające siedzenie dla bogów.

Mantra 5

सप्त होत्राणि मनसा वृणाना इन्वन्तो विश्वं प्रति यन्नृतेन । नृपेशसो विदथेषु प्र जाता अभीमं यज्ञं वि चरन्त पूर्वीः ॥

Siedem kapłańskich mocy, wybierających przez umysł, popycha wszystko ku Prawdzie, idąc zgodnie z rytą. Kształtując istotę ludzką, zrodzeni w zgromadzeniach, poruszają się na wiele sposobów wokół tej ofiary.

Mantra 6

आ भन्दमाने उषसा उपाके उत स्मयेते तन्वा विरूपे । यथा नो मित्रो वरुणो जुजोषदिन्द्रो मरुत्वाँ उत वा महोभिः ॥

Gdy dwie Jutrzenki się zbliżają, uśmiechając się w swoich różniących się formach, niech Mitra i Waruna znajdą w nas upodobanie; oraz Indra z Marutami również, przez swoje wielkie moce.

Mantra 7

दैव्या होतारा प्रथमा न्यृञ्जे सप्त पृक्षासः स्वधया मदन्ति । ऋतं शंसन्त ऋतमित्त आहुरनु व्रतं व्रतपा दीध्यानाः ॥

Boscy kapłani Hotri, pierwsi, zajmują swoje miejsca; siedmiu silnych raduje się w swoim własnym prawie bytu. Głosząc rytę, mówią rytę istotnie; strzegąc nakazów, płoną w aspiracji, podążając za ślubem.

Mantra 8

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

Niech Bharati przyjdzie tutaj z Bharatisami w jednej harmonii; niech Ila przyjdzie z bogami i z ludźmi przez Agni. Niech Saraswati przyjdzie blisko z Saraswatami; niech te trzy boginie zasiądą na tym świętym siedzeniu w nas.

Mantra 9

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

To szybko popychające zwiększenie, o Życiodajny, stań się dla nas, o boski Twasztr, szeroko radujący. Z ciebie rodzi się bohater zdolny do dzieł, o dobrym rozeznaniu, z kamieniami zaprzężonymi, pragnący bogów.

Mantra 10

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

O Panie lasu, uwolnij i przybliż bogów; Agni, zręczny przygotowiciel, gotuje ofiarę. Wtedy zaiste Hotri, bardziej prawdziwy, wykonuje ofiarę, ponieważ zna narodziny bogów.

Mantra 11

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

Przyjdź, o Agni, rozpalony, zwracając się tutaj z Indrą i bogami w jednym rydwanie, z szybkimi mocami. Niech nasze święte siedzenie będzie ustanowione; niech Aditi, bogata w dobre potomstwo, będzie tutaj. Swaha, niech nieśmiertelni bogowie znajdą radość.

Inside Sukta 4

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Agni is urged to awaken with each kindling, to grant good thought and prosperity, and to summon the gods to the sacrifice (Hotṛ-function foregrounded).

  2. Development

    The hymn broadens from Agni’s ignition to a coordinated divine attendance—dawn imagery and the inclusion of Mitra–Varuṇa (order) and Indra–Maruts (force) create a complete sacrificial horizon.

  3. Climax

    Agni is called to come ‘hither’ kindled, together with Indra and the gods ‘in one chariot’, as the rite becomes a single united arrival of powers.

  4. Where it settles

    The ritual seat is established; Aditi is invoked for wholeness and good offspring; the svāhā seals the offering with the wish that the immortal gods rejoice.

The deity: Agni

  • Cosmic functionMediator between worlds: he conveys oblations upward, summons the deities to the altar, and establishes the yajña as a lawful, life-sustaining exchange.
  • Inner significanceThe awakened will and luminous intelligence in the practitioner—kindled repeatedly, it clarifies thought (sumati), gathers scattered powers, and makes inner offering possible.

The seer

  • Viśvāmitra GāthinaGāthin / Viśvāmitra lineage (Kauśika tradition in later accounts) · A royal-turned-seer celebrated for transforming power (tapas) into brahmanical insight, and for composing many hymns of the third Maṇḍala that shape the Vedic vision of Agni, Indra, and cosmic order.

Famous verses

samit-samit sumanā bodhi
Verse 3.4.1Sets the program of the whole sūkta: Agni’s repeated kindling, the gift of sumati (right thought), and his role as the inviter who brings the gods to the yajña.Read verse 3.4.1 →
आ भन्दमाने उषसा उपाके उत स्मयेते तन्वा विरूपे । यथा नो मित्रो वरुणो जुजोषदिन्द्रो मरुत्वाँ उत वा महोभिः ॥
Verse 3.4.6Places the rite in the dawn’s approach and explicitly harmonizes deities of order (Mitra–Varuṇa) and power (Indra with Maruts), showing the sūkta’s integrative character.Read verse 3.4.6 →
svāhā devā amṛtā mādayantām
Verse 3.4.11Concluding invocation and ritual sealing: Agni comes kindled with Indra and the gods; barhis and Aditi are established; svāhā marks the consummation of the offering.Read verse 3.4.11 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Hotṛ (ritual priest and reciter)
  • Dūta (messenger) between humans and gods
  • Śuci (pure, purifying)
  • Samidhāna (ever-kindled, awakened by fuel)
  • Sakhā (friend, ally) who unites companions
  • Inviter of the gods to the sacrifice

Also by this seer

  • Large portions of Rig Veda Maṇḍala 3 (numerous sūktas attributed to Viśvāmitra and his line)
  • Tradition associates the Gāyatrī mantra (RV 3.62.10) with Viśvāmitra
  • Hymns connected with Indra’s victories and the Bharata/Tr̥tsu milieu (as reflected across RV 3)

The rite, step by step

  • Prepare the vedi and spread the barhis (sacred grass seat).
  • Kindle Agni with samidh (fuel-sticks), invoking him to awaken ‘at every fuel’.
  • Invite Agni as Hotṛ to bring the gods to the yajña and to ‘offer as friend of friends’.
  • Invoke dawn and the harmonious order of Mitra–Varuṇa, alongside Indra with the Maruts, to secure favor and right alignment.
  • Make the oblation with svāhā, requesting the immortals to rejoice and the rite to be firmly established (āstām).

Offerings

  • Ghee (ājya) oblations
  • Samidh (fuel-sticks)
  • Optional soma/pressed offering contextually (as part of broader rite)
  • Barhis (grass seat) as ritual furnishing rather than a poured offering

Frequently Asked Questions

It establishes Agni as the active priest of the sacrifice (Hotṛ), asking him to awaken when kindled, bring the gods to the ritual, and grant clear, auspicious thought and well-being.

Agni is the one who gathers the gods to the offering. The hymn names dawn (Uṣas), cosmic order (Mitra–Varuṇa), and victorious force (Indra with the Maruts) to make the sacrifice complete and balanced.

“Svāhā” is the ritual exclamation that seals an oblation. Here it also expresses the wish that the immortal gods accept the offering and rejoice, confirming the rite’s success.

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