Rig Veda 8.44.30: Mandala 8, Sukta 44, Mantra 30
Sukta 8.44
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
पुराग्ने दुरितेभ्यः पुरा मृध्रेभ्यः कवे । प्र ण आयुर्वसो तिर ॥
purā́gne duritébhyaḥ purā́ mṛdhrébhyáḥ kave | prá ṇa ā́yur vaso iti tirá ||
Ó Agni, antes que o mal nos alcance — antes das potências hostis, ó Kavi, conduz nossa vida e nossa plenitude para além delas.
Word by Word
- पुरा
- formerly; beforeIndeclinableअव्यय (काल/पूर्वता-वाचक)Role Adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)Root पुरा (avyaya-prātipadika)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole (सम्बोधन) संबोधितःRoot अग्नि (prātipadika)
- दुरितेभ्यः
- from misfortunes/evilNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot दुरित (prātipadika)
- पुरा
- formerly; beforehandIndeclinableअव्यय (काल/पूर्वता-वाचक)Role Adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)Root पुरा (avyaya-prātipadika)
- मृध्रेभ्यः
- from hostile assailants/foesNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot मृध्र (prātipadika)
- कवे
- O sage/poet (Agni)Noun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole (सम्बोधन) संबोधितःRoot कवि (prātipadika)
- प्र
- forth; forwardIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गः (गत्यर्थ/प्रवृत्त्यर्थः)Role (क्रियाविशेषण)Root प्र (upasarga/avyaya)
- नः
- of us; ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole Sampradāna (हित/स्वाम्यर्थे) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (sarvanāman-prātipadika)
- आयुः
- life; lifespanNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot आयुस् (prātipadika)
- वसो
- O good one/wealth-giver (Agni)Noun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole (सम्बोधन) संबोधितःRoot वसु (prātipadika)
- तिर
- carry across; help (us) overVerbलोट्/आज्ञार्थ-प्रयोग (वैदिक), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्Role (मुख्यक्रिया)Root तॄ (धातु; ‘to cross/overcome’) → तिर (Vedic injunctive/imperative-like form)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: पुरा अग्ने दुरितेभ्यः | पुरा मृध्रेभ्यः कवे | प्र नः आयुः वसो तिर || 1) पुराग्ने = पुरा + अग्ने (स्वर-सन्धि/संहितायां संयोगः)
- 2) दुरि॒तेभ्य॑: = दुरितेभ्यः (विसर्गः पदान्ते)
- 3) मृ॒ध्रेभ्य॑: = मृध्रेभ्यः (विसर्गः पदान्ते)
- 4) प्र ण॒ = प्र + नः (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’ का नकार-आदेश/उच्चारण-परिवर्तन; संहितायां ‘ण’ लेखन/उच्चारण वैदिक)
- 5) आयु॑र्वसो = आयुः + वसो (विसर्गस्य ‘र्’-आदेशः स्वरवर्णे परे: आयुः→आयुर्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Agni to protect the worshippers in advance—before evils and hostile forces arrive—and to carry their life and wealth safely beyond those dangers.
Inner meaning
Agni, the awakened divine Will and priest of the inner sacrifice, is invoked to act pre-emptively: before lower impulses (durita) and inner aggressions (mṛdhra) rise and seize the consciousness, Agni is asked to lead the life-force (āyuḥ) and the soul’s true abundance (vasu) across the obstruction—i.e., beyond habitual reactions, fear, and hostile formations. The epithet kavi indicates Agni as the seer-will that knows the right movement and timing for transformation.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress is most secure when the luminous will is kindled early: a conscious, discerning inner fire can carry one’s life-energy and values beyond negativity before it crystallizes into harm.
Themes
protection, overcoming hostility, safe crossing, life-force preservation
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.44 (Agni hymn context)
Significance
The anonymity highlights a collective yogic insight: Agni is the universal inner priest. The seer-voice here is practical and protective—invoking a vigilant will that prevents the fall into lower movements before they manifest.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Kavi (seer), Purohita (inner priest, implied), Netā (leader, implied)
- Related deities
- Indra (illumined mind), Soma (bliss), Uṣas (illumination), Maruts (dynamic forces)
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine worlds; carrier of offerings; awakener of the gods (higher powers) in the being.
Inner power
Aspiring will, discernment, and transformative heat that anticipates and neutralizes adverse formations.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni protection and well-being invocation within soma/yajña sequences or daily fire offerings
पु॒राग्ने॑ दुरि॒तेभ्य॑: पु॒रा मृ॒ध्रेभ्य॑: कवे । प्र ण॒ आयु॑र्वसो तिर ॥
पु॒रा । अ॒ग्ने॒ । दुः॒ऽइ॒तेभ्यः॑ । पु॒रा । मृ॒ध्रेभ्यः॑ । क॒वे॒ । प्र । नः॒ । आयुः॑ । व॒सो॒ इति॑ । ति॒र॒ ॥
purā | agne | duḥ-itebhyaḥ | purā | mṛdhrebhyaḥ | kave | pra | naḥ | āyuḥ | vaso iti | tira
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables (triṣṭubh-type cadence)
Forward-driving, protective urgency; strong caesura supports the ‘before…before…carry across’ progression.
Elicits alertness and inner readiness; steadies prāṇa while invoking a decisive upward movement beyond disturbance.
- अग्नि (agni)
- Literal: fire. Symbolic: divine Will; inner flame of aspiration and discernment leading the sacrifice
- दुरित (durita)
- Literal: evil, misfortune, wrong-going. Symbolic: distorted movements of nature—error, sin, depression, inertia, chaotic impulses
- मृध्र (mṛdhra)
- Literal: hostile, injuring power. Symbolic: adverse forces/inner resistances that attack progress (doubt, revolt, hostile suggestions)
- कवि (kavi)
- Literal: seer, poet. Symbolic: illumined consciousness in the will; Agni as intuitive guide
- आयुः (āyuḥ)
- Literal: life, lifespan. Symbolic: life-force and continuity of conscious growth
- वसु (vasu)
- Literal: wealth, good, plenitude. Symbolic: inner riches—peace, force, clarity, joy, right capacity
- तिर (tira)
- Literal: across, beyond. Symbolic: crossing beyond obstruction/limitation into a freer consciousness
Protective/apotropaic close: invoked for guarding the sacrificer from durita and hostile forces; suitable in concluding or transitional rite-sections seeking safe passage and continuity (āyuḥ).
At the lighting/strengthening of the fire or as a protective prayer before main offerings
Kindling Agni; offering ghee with protective intention; mental ‘crossing beyond’ of obstacles
Use as a morning protective sankalpa: kindle aspiration before engaging the day; recite before challenging tasks or during anxiety to ‘carry life beyond’ reactive states.
durita: dus- ‘bad’ + ita (from √i ‘go’) → ‘bad-going’, wrong passage; hence trouble/evil. mṛdhra related to mṛdh ‘oppress, be hostile’ → obstructionist forces. āyu from √i ‘to go, live’ → life as ongoing movement. tira from √tṛ ‘to cross over’ → transcendence across difficulty; psychologically, passage beyond limiting formations.
Durita (wrong-going as inner disorder), Protection and safe passage, Āyu (life as conscious continuity), Transcendence (tira)
Agni leads the being along ṛta by preventing wrong-going (durita) from taking hold.
Protection of true life-direction (āyuḥ) and true plenitude (vasu) against falsifying forces.
The fire as first awakener that clears the way for higher manifestation in life.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent by inner sacrifice and transformation.
dawn or early morning (implied by ‘before’ and kindling)
Kindled fire = awakened will; ‘before evil’ = pre-emptive mindfulness; ‘across’ = transition from lower vital turbulence to clearer mental/psychic poise.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘crossing beyond evil’ under Agni’s guidance: Agni as ferryman-like protector who brings the sacrificer over hostile forces. Inner sense: the divine will leads the life-force beyond wrong movements (durita) and resistance (mṛdhra) into safer, wider being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- tira (√tṛ ‘cross’) belongs to a well-attested IE field of ‘crossing/overcoming’ (often compared with English through via Germanic *þurh, though exact cognate sets differ; the semantic complex is archaic). durita as a dus- compound parallels widespread IE use of *dus- ‘bad’ (Greek dys-, Latin dis- in some developments).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi entrusts Agni with guardianship of life and plenitude: the human asks for pre-emptive protection (‘purā’) and for active conveyance (‘tira’)—Agni is not only praised but appointed as the leader who secures the journey of the soul through adversities.
Kindle the inner fire that anticipates and dissolves negative formations before they spread.
Manipura (fire/will) with support from Anahata (psychic sincerity)
Steady equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) while mentally repeating ‘purā… purā… pra… tira’ to feel a forward crossing.
Alert calm (wakeful peace) with a subtle sense of being ‘carried’ upward.
Before entering difficult environments, pause, invoke Agni in the navel region, offer the day’s impulses into the fire, and affirm: ‘Carry my life and true abundance beyond disturbance.’
Notated svaras not provided; chant with standard Rigvedic three-tone contour, emphasizing the repeated ‘purā’ as a lifted, alert opening and ‘tira’ as a resolving cadence.
Stress semantic pivots: purā… purā… | kave | pra naḥ āyuḥ vaso | tira.
(purā): long ā, (duritebhyaḥ): articulate ‘bhyaḥ’ clearly, avoid ‘bya’ flattening, (mṛdhrebhyaḥ): conjunct ‘mṛ-dhre-’ with a light retroflex ṛ, (kave): short e, not ai, (tira): dental t, short i
Clear, steady, protective—firm without harshness.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple 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.
