iv. 7.13.
a. Agni I yoke with glory, with ghee,
The bird divine mighty in strength;
Therewith may we fly to the expanse of the ruddy one,
Mounting the heaven above the highest vault.
b. These are wings unaging of thee, the winged,
Wherewith thou dost smite away the Raksases, O Agni;
With these may we fly to the world of good men,
Where are the seers, the first-born, those of yore.
c. Thou art piling, born of the ocean, the drop,
The skilled one, the eagle, the righteous,
The golden-winged busy bird, mighty,
That hath sat down firmly in its place [1].
d. Homage be to thee; harm me not,
Thou dost stand resting on the head of all;
Within the ocean is thy heart, thy life;
Sky and earth are placed on the worlds.
e. Give of the water, cleave the holder of the water; from the sky, from Parjanya, from the atmosphere, from the earth, thence do ye help us with rain; thou art the head of the sky, the navel of earth, the strength of waters and plants, protection of all life, extending; homage to the way!
f. With that devotion wherewith the seers performed the session of sacrifice [2],
Kindling Agni, bearing aloft the heaven,
I set on this vault that Agni
Whom men call him for whom the spread is strewed.
g. Him with our wives let us pursue, O gods,
With our sons, our brothers, or by gold,
Seizing the vault in the world of good action,
Above the third firmament, in the light of the sky.
h. To the middle of speech hath the busy one arisen,
Agni here, lord of the good, the wise;
Established on the back of the earth, the radiant one,
He casteth beneath his feet [3] the combatants.
i. Let Agni here, the most manly, strength-bestowing,
Of a thousand shapes, shine unwearying,
Radiant in the midst of the ocean;
Do ye approach the abodes divine.
k. Move ye forward, go ye long together;
Make ye the paths gods travelled, O Agni;
In this highest abode
O All-gods, sit ye with the sacrificer.
l. That by which thou bearest a thousand,
Thou, O Agni, all wealth,
With that highest (path) for the gods to travel,
Do thou bear this sacrifice for us.
m. Awake, O Agni; be roused for him;
With this one do thou create sacrifice and donation;
Making thee, his father, young again
He hath stretched over thee this covering.
n. This is thy due place of birth,
Whence born thou didst shine,
Mount it, O Agni, knowing it,
And make our wealth increase.
iv. 7. 14.
a. May radiance be mine, O Agni, in rival invocations,
May we, kindling thee, make ourselves to prosper;
To me let the four quarters bow;
With thee as overseer may we conquer the fighters.
b. Let all the gods be at my invocation,
The Maruts with Indra, Visnu, Agni;
May the broad atmosphere be my guardian;
May the wind blow for me unto this desire.
c. May the gods bestow wealth upon me through sacrifice;
May blessing be mine, and mine divine invocation;
The divine sacrificers of old shall win for us [1];
Unharmed may we be in ourselves, rich in heroes.
d. For me let them sacrifice whatever sacrifices are mine
Fulfilled be the intent of my mind;
No sin whatever may I commit;
May the All-gods befriend me.
e. O ye six spaces divine, for us make broad room;
O ye All-gods, here show your prowess;
May we not lose offspring nor ourselves;
May we not fall victims to our foe, O king Soma.
f. Agni, driving away wrath in front [2],
As guardian unfailing, do thou guard us on all sides;
Let thy foes turn away again
And be their plotting at home ruined through thy foresight.
g. The creator of creators, lord of the world,
The god Savitr overcoming enmity,
This sacrifice may the two Açvins and Brhaspati,
The gods (guard) and protect the sacrificer from misfortune.
h. May the bull, wide extending, afford us protection rich in food,
He much invoked in this invocation;
O thou of the bay steeds, be gracious unto our progeny;
Harm us not [3], abandon not us.
i. May our rivals depart;
With Indra and Agni we overthrow them;
The Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas have made me
A dread corrector and overlord, sky reaching.
k. Hitherward do we summon Indra from thence,
Him who is winner of cows, of booty, and winner too of horses;
Do thou accept this sacrifice at our invocation;
Ally of it we make thee, O lord of the bays.
The Horse Sacrifice
iv. 7. 15.
a. Of Agni first I reckon, the wise ones,
Him of the five folk whom many kindle;
Him who hath entered into every concourse do we implore,
May he relieve us from tribulation.
b. Him whose is that which breatheth, which winketh, which moveth,
Whose alone is that which has been born and is being born,
Agni I praise; I invoke seeking aid,
May he relieve us from tribulation.
c. Of Indra first I reckon, the wise one;
Praise of the slayer of Vrtra hath come to me,
He who cometh at the call of the generous doer of good deeds [1],
May he relieve us from tribulation.
d. Him who in might leadeth forth the host for battle,
Who commingleth the three possessions;
Indra I praise; I invoke seeking aid,
May he relieve us from tribulation.
e. Of you, O Mitra and Varuna, I reckon
Take heed of him, O ye of true strength, strong ones, whom ye afflict;
Ye who go in might against the king in his chariot,
May ye relieve us from sin.
f. You whose chariot with straight reins, of true path,
Approacheth to spoil him who acteth falsely,
Mitra and Varuna I praise [2]; I invoke seeking aid,
May ye relieve us from sin.
g. We venerate the ordinances of Vayu and of Savitr,
Who support that which hath life and guard it,
Who surround all things;
May ye relieve us from sin.
h. The best blessings have come to us
In the realm of the two gods;
I praise Vayu and Savitr; I invoke seeking aid,
May ye relieve us from sin.
i. Best charioteers of carmen, I hail for aid,
That go most smoothly with well-guided steeds;
Ye [3] whose might among the gods, O gods, is unextinguished,
May ye relieve us from sin.
k. What time ye came to the wedding of Surya,
Choosing a seat together on the three-wheeled (chariot),
I praise you, Açvins, gods, invoke seeking aid,
May ye relieve us from sin.
l. Of the Maruts I reckon; may they aid us;
May they all help this every prayer (of ours);
The swift, easily controlled (ones) I call to help,
May they relieve us from evil.
m. The sharp weapon, strong and mighty,
The divine host [4] keen in the battles,
I praise the gods, the Maruts; I invoke seeking aid,
May they relieve us from evil.
n. Of the gods I reckon; may they aid us;
May they all help this every prayer;
The swift, easily controlled (ones) I call to help,
That they may relieve us from evil.
o. That which now consumeth me
From deed of men or gods,
I praise the All-gods; I invoke seeking aid,
May they free us from evil.
p. Us to-day Anumati.
q. O Anumati, thou [5].
r. Vaiçvanara for aid to us.
s. Present in sky.
t. Those that expanded with unmeasured might,
Those that became the supports of wealth,
I praise sky and earth; I invoke seeking aid,
May ye relieve us from tribulation.
u. O ye broad firmaments, make room for us;
O rulers of the field, aid us;
I praise sky and earth; I invoke seeking aid,
May ye relieve us from tribulation.
v. Whatever sin we commit against thee,
As men are wont in ignorance, O most young [6],
Make us blameless before Aditi,
Remove our evil deeds on all sides, O Agni.
w. Even as ye did set free, O bright ones,
O ye that are worthy of offering, the buffalo cow bound by the foot,
So do thou remove from us tribulation;
Be our life prolonged further, O Agni.
