The Secret of the Veda

The Twenty-Second Hymn to Agni

A Hymn of the Journey to the Perfect Joy

[Man, the eater of things, seeks a fulfilment of his desires in a final equality of delight. To this end he has to be purified by the divine Flame, the Seer-Will who holds in himself the conscious vision and the utter rapture. By increasing him in us we shall journey forward with our progressing sacrifice and the gods will utterly manifest themselves. We must entertain this divine Force as the master of our house, our physical and mental body, and give it all the objects of our enjoyment as its food.]

प्र विश्वसामन्नत्रिवदर्चा पावकशोचिषे ।
यो अध्वरेष्वीड्यो होता मन्द्रतमो विशि ॥१॥

1) Man who seekest thy equal fulfilment in all, sing as the enjoyer of things the word of illumination to him of the bright purifying flame, to the object of our adoration in the march of our sacrifices, to the priest of the offering most rapturous in the creature.

न्यग्निं जातवेदसं दधाता देवमृत्विजम् ।
प्र यज्ञ एत्वानुषगद्या देवव्यचस्तमः ॥२॥

2) Set within thee Will that knows all the births, the divine sacrificer in the seasons; today let thy sacrifice march forward unceasingly, thy sacrifice shall open to thee the whole epiphany of the godheads.

चिकित्विन्मनसं त्वा देवं मर्तास ऊतये ।
वरेण्यस्य तेऽवस इयानासो अमन्महि ॥३॥

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3) Mortals, we have set our mind on thee the divine, for thou hast the mind of conscious vision; we meditate on thee as we journey, that we may increase and for the increase too of thee, the supremely desirable.

अग्ने चिकिद्ध्यस्य न इदं वचः सहस्य ।
तं त्वा सुशिप्र दंपते स्तोमैर्वर्धन्त्यत्रयो गीर्भिः शुम्भन्त्यत्रयः ॥४॥

4) Awake then, O Will, to the vision of this within us; this is our word to thee, O Lord of Force. Strong-jawed enjoyer, master of our house, the eaters of things increase thee by their affirmations and by their words they make thee a thing of bright gladness.

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