The Secret of the Veda

The Twelfth Hymn to Agni

A Hymn of Man's Aspiration to the Truth

[The Rishi invokes this flame of the Divine Force, this vast Lord of the superconscient Truth, this Truth-conscious One, to accept thought and word into himself, become Truth-conscient in man and cleave out the many streams of the Truth. Not by mere force of effort nor under the law of the duality can the Truth be attained, but by the Truth itself. But there, are not only powers of this Force that battle with the falsehood and guard and conquer, there are others also who have helped so far in the march, but who would keep to the foundation of the falsehood because they cling to the present self-expression of man and refuse to advance beyond it; these in their self-will speak the word of crookedness to the Truth-seeker. By the sacrifice and by submission in the sacrifice man, the ever-advancing pilgrim, brings near to him his wide dwelling-place beyond, the seat and home of the Truth.]

प्राग्नये बृहते यज्ञियाय ऋतस्य वृष्णे असुराय मन्म ।
घृतं न यज्ञ आस्ये सुपूतं गिरं भरे वृषभाय प्रतीचीम् ॥१॥

1) To Will, master of sacrifice, the Mighty One, the vast lord and diffuser of the Truth I bring forward my thought as an offering and it is as the clarified butter of the sacrifice purified in the mouth of the flame; my word¹ I bring forward that goes to meet its lord.²

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ऋतं चिकित्व ऋतमिच्चिकिद्घ्यृतस्य धारा अनु तृन्धि पूर्वीः ।
नाहं यातुं सहसा न द्वयेन ऋतं सपाम्यरुषस्य वृष्णः ॥२॥

2) O conscious seer of the Truth, the Truth alone perceive in my consciousness; cleave out³ many flowing streams of the Truth.⁴ Not by force, nor by the duality can I achieve the journey nor attain to the Truth of the shining Worker, the fertilising Lord.

कया नो अग्न ऋतयत्रृतेन भुवो नवेदा उचथस्य नव्यः ।
वेदा मे देव ऋतुपा ऋतूनां नाहं पतिं सनितुरस्य रायः ॥३॥

3) By what thought in me, O Will, shalt thou seeking the Truth by the Truth become the impeller to knowledge of a new word? The godhead who guards the times and seasons⁵ of the Truth, knows all in me, but him I know not, the lord of that all-possessing felicity.

के ते अग्ने रिपवे बन्धनासः के पायवः सनिषन्त द्युमन्तः ।
के धासिमग्ने अनृतस्य पान्ति क आसतो वचसः सन्ति गोपाः ॥४॥

4) Who are they, O Will, that are thy binders of the Enemy? who are the shining ones, the guardians, the seekers after possession and conquest? Who, O Will, protect the foundations of the falsehood? who are the keepers of a present⁶ word?

सखायस्ते विषुणा अग्न एते शिवासः सन्तो अशिवा अभूवन् ।
अधूर्षत स्वयमेते वचोभिर्ऋजूयते वृजिनानि ब्रुवन्तः ॥५॥

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5) These are comrades of thine, O Will, who have gone astray from thee; benignant were they, they have become malignant. These do violence to themselves by their words speaking crooked things to the seeker after straightness.

यस्ते अग्ने नमसा यज्ञमीट्ट ऋतं स पात्यरुषस्य वृष्णः ।
तस्य क्षयः पृथुरा साधुरेतु प्रसर्स्राणस्य नहुषस्य शेषः ॥६॥

6) But he, O Will, who desires with submission thy sacrifice, guards the truth of the shining Worker, the Fertiliser.⁷ To him may there come that wide habitation⁸ in which all is perfected, even that which is left⁹ for man the pilgrim to accomplish in his forward journeying.

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