The Secret of the Veda

The Twenty-Seventh Hymn to Agni

A Hymn of the Strength and Illumination

[The Rishi under the figure of the demigod, Traivrishna Tryaruna Trasadasyu, and the seer Ashwamedha, symbolises the fulfilment in the human mentality of the illumination of the God-Mind Indra, and the power of the God-Will, Agni in the vitality. The Mind-Soul, destroyer of the demons, awakened to knowledge as the human-born Indra, has given to the seer his two cows of light that draw his wain, his two shining horses that draw his chariot and the ten times twelve cows of the dawn of knowledge. He has assented to and confirmed the desire with which the Life-Soul has given the sacrifice of the Life-Horse to the gods. The Rishi prays that this Mind-Soul, lord of the triple dawn, may give to the journeying Life that seeks the truth, the mental intelligence and power of possession needed and may itself in return receive from Agni the peace and bliss. The LifeSoul on the other hand has given the hundred powers, the vital strength needed for the upward journey; the Rishi prays that this Life-Soul may attain to that vast strength which is the power of the Sun of Truth on the superconscient plane.]

1) O Will, O Universal Power,¹ the mighty One supreme in vision, master of his being, lord of his plenitudes has given me his two cows of the Light that draw his wain. He of the triple dawn, son of the triple Bull,² has awakened to knowledge with the ten thousands³ of his plenitude.

2) He gives to me the hundred and twenty⁴ of the cows of

Page 416

dawn; his two shining⁵ horses he gives, yoked to the car, that bear aright the yoke. O Will, O Universal Power, do thou rightly affirmed and increasing extend peace and bliss to the lord of the triple dawn.

3) For thus has he done desiring thy grace of mind, new-given for him new-manifested,—he, the disperser of the destroyers,⁶ the lord of the triple dawn who with attentive mind gives response to the many words of my many births.⁷

4) May he who answers to me with assent give to the illumined giver of the Horse-sacrifice,⁸ by the word of illumination possession of the goal of his journey; may he give power of intelligence to the seeker of the Truth.

5) A hundred strong bulls of the diffusion⁹ raise me up to joy; the gifts of the sacrificer of the steed are as outpourings of the wine of delight with their triple infusions.¹⁰

Page 417

6) May the God-Mind and the God-Will uphold in the sacrificer of the Horse and giver of his hundred a perfect energy and a vast force of battle even as in heaven the Sun of Light indestructible.¹¹

Page 418