Mantra 12
Agni as the sacrificial forerunner who opens the rite, framed by cosmic illumination and Indra’s paradigm of releasing prosperity
अग्निरस्मि जन्मना जातवेदा घृतं मे चक्षुरमृतं म आसन् त्रिधातुरर्को रजसो विमानो ऽजस्रं ज्योतिर्हविरस्मि सर्वम्
agnirasmi janmanā jātavedā ghṛtaṃ me cakṣuramṛtaṃ ma āsan tridhāturarko rajaso vimāno 'jasraṃ jyotirhavirasmi sarvam
agnir asmi janmanā jātavedā ghr̥taṃ me cakṣur amr̥taṃ ma āsan tridhātur arko rajaso vimāno 'jasraṃ jyotir havir asmi sarvam
我以生而为阿耆尼（Agni），即“知一切所生者”贾塔韦达斯（Jātavedas）；酥油（ghṛta）为我之眼；不死（amṛta）为我之座。三重（tridhātu）为我之体性；我为炽焰之光，为穹苍（rajas）之度量者；不息之明；我即供献（havis），我即一切。
agniḥ | asmi | janmanā | jātavedāḥ | ghṛtam | me | cakṣuḥ | amṛtam | me | āsan | tri-dhātuḥ | arkaḥ | rajasaḥ | vimānaḥ | ajasram | jyotiḥ | haviḥ | asmi | sarvam
Rathantara (generic assignment; exact gāna requires Sāmavedic gāna-pāṭha)
{ "prastava": "Soft stobha prelude establishing ‘fire-glow’ (e.g., ‘hā i hā’)", "udgitha": "Identity and attributes through ‘…amṛtaṃ me āsan…’", "pratihara": "Responsive stabilization on ‘tridhātuḥ arkaḥ’", "upadrava": "Elaboration on ‘rajaso vimānaḥ… ajasraṃ jyotiḥ’ with longer sustains", "nidhana": "Collective settling on ‘haviḥ asmi sarvam’", "structure_notes": "Treat key identity phrases as melodic pillars; avoid rushing compounds—clarity is part of the ‘ghṛta-cakṣus’ effect.", "singer_assignments": "Udgātṛ sustains the ‘I am’ declarations; Pratihartṛ reinforces the threefold/cosmic measurer lines; all unify on ‘sarvam’." }
{ "gloss_summary": "Agni’s self-praise: born as Jātavedas; fed by ghee as brilliance (‘ghṛta-cakṣus’); seated in immortality; threefold in nature; radiant, measuring the midspace; unceasing light; identical with oblation and totality.", "ritual_interpretation": "Affirms Agni’s centrality as the sacrificial medium and the very substance of offering; strengthens the rite’s core fire-principle.", "theological_insight": "Agni is both immanent (havis) and cosmic (vimāna of rajas); the mantra hints at yajña-nonduality (fire = offering = whole).", "etymology_highlights": "Jātavedas as ‘knower of births’; ‘vimāna’ as measurer/ordering principle; ‘tridhātu’ as triple-constituted (three fires/realms/functions)." }