Agni Devotion & Surrender Vedic Mantra
The first verse of the Rigveda, a praise of Agni, the sacred fire. Sanskrit text, transliteration and meaning in simple English.
Sanskrit
अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् ।
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥
The Rigveda is traditionally chanted with pitch marks on the syllables. The text here is given without those marks, so that it is easy to read.
Transliteration (IAST)
agnim īḻe purohitaṃ yajñasya devam ṛtvijam |
hotāraṃ ratnadhātamam ||
Meaning
I praise Agni, the priest placed in front, the divine minister of the sacrifice, the one who calls the gods and gives the best of treasures.
Source / Textual Reference
Rigveda 1.1.1 (Mandala 1, Sukta 1, verse 1)
Text compared with Sanskrit Wikisource (accented text, accents removed here) and Wisdomlib. The seer, deity and metre are as listed there.
Traditional Significance
This is the very first verse of the Rigveda, and its first word is “Agni”, the sacred fire. In the Vedic fire ritual (yajña), Agni carries the offerings to the gods, which is why he is called the priest and the one who calls the gods (hotṛ).
In the traditional record the seer of this hymn is Madhucchandas Vaishvamitra, the deity is Agni and the metre is Gayatri.
Traditional Practice
The verse is chanted in the traditional manner, with its pitch marks, which is learned by ear from a teacher. Many people simply read it for its meaning. No fixed time or number of repetitions is prescribed.
Related Content
- Gayatri Mantra, another verse of the Rigveda
- Ekam Sad Vipra Bahudha Vadanti, another well-known Rigveda verse
- Aa No Bhadrah Kratavo Yantu Vishvatah, a Rigveda prayer for good thoughts