Canto 17Budha and Gavishthira · Sukta 1
Book 2. Part Two: Other Hymns to Agni
1. Fire is awake by the kindling of the peoples, he fronts the
dawn that comes to him like a fostering milch-cow; like
the mighty ones casting upward their branching his lustres
spread towards heaven.
52. The priest of the call is awake for sacrifice to the gods, Fire
with his right thinking has stood up high ablaze in the dawn.
He is kindled, the red-glowing mass of him is seen: a great
god has been delivered out of the darkness.
3. When he has put out the long cord of his troop, Fire in his
10purity reveals all by the pure herds of his rays; the goddess
of understanding grows in plenitude and is yoked to her
works; she supine, he standing high, he has drunk from her
breasts with his tongues of flame.
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4. The minds of men who seek the godhead converge towards
40the flame even as their seeings converge in the sun; when
two dawns of different forms give birth to this Fire the
white Horse is born in front of the days.
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5. He was born victorious in front of the days, established in
established things, ruddy-bright in the woodlands of our
65pleasure; in house and house founding the seven ecstasies
the Fire took up his session as a priest of the call strong for
sacrifice.
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906. Fire the priest of the call has taken his seat strong to sacrifice
in the lap of the Mother, in that rapturous other world, the
youth, the seer, manifold in his fixed knowledge, possessed
of the Truth, the upholder of the peoples; in between too is
he kindled.
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1157. Men pray with their prostrations of surrender that illumined
seer, who achieves perfection in the pilgrim-sacrifices, Fire,
the priest of the call, for he has extended earth and heaven
by the Truth, they rub bright with the Light the eternal
Horse of power.
120Other Hymns to Agni
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8. The purifier he is rubbed bright and pure, he who is pro-
claimed by the seers, one who is the dweller in his own
145house, and is our benignant guest; the bull of the thousand
horns because thou hast the strength of That, O Fire, thou
precedest in puissance all others.
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9. At once thou goest forward, O Fire, and overpassest all
others in whomsoever thou hast become manifest in all the
glory of thy beauty; adorable, great of body, wide of light
170thou art the beloved guest of human beings.
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10. To thee, O ever youthful Fire, all the worlds and their peo-
ples bring the offering from near and from far; awake to that
right-mindedness of man’s happiest state: vast and great and
happy is that peace of thee,1 O Fire.
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11. Today, O luminous one, mount the luminous wholeness of
220thy car with the lords of sacrifice; thou knowest the wide
mid-world with all its paths, bring here the gods to partake
of our sacrifice.
1 Or, is thy house of refuge,
Mandala Five
22512. To the seer, the understanding one, we have uttered the word
of our adoration, to the Bull, the male; the Steadfast in Light
has taken refuge in his laud as in a far-reaching mass of gold.
KUMARA ATREYA OR VRISHA JANA