Inspirations
8 For when you grew angry you went away from me; the guardian of the laws told me this. Indra discovered you, for he knows; he taught me, and so I have come, Agni.
9 Agni shines forth with a high light; by his power he makes all things manifest. He overpowers the godless forces of evil magic; he sharpens his two horns to gore the demons.
10 Let Agni’s bellowings reach to heaven as piercing weapons to destroy the demons. His angry glare breaks forth in ecstasy of Soma. The obstacles of the godless cannot hold him back.
11 Inspired with poetry I have fashioned this hymn of praise for you whose very nature is power, as the skilled artist fashions a chariot. If you receive it with pleasure, Agni, let us win waters and sunlight with it.
12 ‘The bull with the powerful neck, increasing in size and strength, will drive together the possessions of the enemy without opposition.’ This is what the immortals said to Agni. Let him grant shelter to the man who spreads the sacred grass; let him grant shelter to the man who offers oblation.
The Child of the Waters (Apam Napat)
1 Striving for the victory prize, I have set free my eloquence; let the god of rivers gladly accept my songs. Surely the child of the waters, urging on his swift horses, will adorn my songs, for he enjoys them.
2 We would sing to him this prayer well fashioned from the heart; surely he will recognize it. With his divine energy, the child of the waters has created all noble creatures.
3 Some flow together, while others flow toward the sea, but the rivers fill the same hollow cavern. The pure waters surrounded this pure, radiant child of the waters.
4 The young women, the waters, flow around the young god, making him shine and gazing solemnly upon him. With his clear, strong flames he shines riches upon us, wearing his garment of butter, blazing without fuel in the waters.
5 Three women, goddesses, wish to give food to the god so that he will not weaken. He has stretched forth in the waters; he sucks the new milk of those who have given birth for the first time.
6 The birth of the horse is here and in the sun. Guard our patrons from falling prey to malice or injury. When far away in fortresses of unbaked bricks, hatred and falsehoods shall not reach him.
7 In his own house he keeps the cow who yields good milk; he makes his vital force swell as he eats the nourishing food. Gathering strength in the waters, the child of the waters shines forth to give riches to his worshipper.
8 True and inexhaustible, he shines forth in the waters with pure divinity. Other creatures and plants, his branches, are reborn with their progeny.
9 Clothed in lightning, the upright child of the waters has climbed into the lap of the waters as they lie down. The golden-hued young women flow around him, bearing with them his supreme energy.
10 Golden is his form, like gold to look upon; and gold in colour is this child of the waters. Seated away from his golden womb, the givers of gold give him food.
11 His face and the lovely secret name of the child of the waters grow when the young women kindle him thus. Golden-hued butter is his food.
12 To him, the closest friend among many, we would offer worship with sacrifices, obeisance and oblations. I rub his back; I bring him shavings; I give him food; I praise him with verses.
13 Being a bull, he engendered that embryo in the females; being a child, he sucks them, and they lick him. The child of the waters, whose colour never fades, seems to enter the body of another here.
14 He shines for ever, with undarkened flames, remaining in this highest place. The young waters, bringing butter as food to their child, themselves enfold him with robes.
15 O Agni, I have given a good dwelling-place to the people; I have given a good hymn to the generous patron. All this is blessed, that the gods love. Let us speak great words as men of power in the sacrificial gathering.
The Gods Coax Agni out of the Waters
1 [A god:] ‘Great was that membrane, and firm, which enveloped you when you entered the waters. One god, O Agni, knower of creatures, saw all your various bodies.’
2 [Agni:] ‘Who saw me? Who among the gods perceived my various bodies? O Mitra and Varua, where are all the fuel-sticks of Agni that lead to the gods?’
3 [Varua:] ‘We searched for you in various places, O Agni, knower of creatures, when you had entered into the waters and the plants. It was Yama who discovered you with your many-coloured light which shines beyond the distance of ten days’ journey.’
4 [Agni:] ‘I fled because I feared the role of oblation-giver, so that the gods would not harness me to it, O Varua. My bodies entered various places; I, Agni, have ceased to consider this task.’
5 [Varua:] ‘Come here. Man, who loves the gods, wishes to sacrifice. When you have completed the ritual, Agni, you dwell in darkness. Make smooth the paths which lead to the gods; carry the offerings with a good heart.’
6 [Agni:] ‘The brothers of Agni long ago ran back and forth on this task like a chariot-horse upon a road. Fearing this, Varua, I went far away. I fled like a buffalo before the bowstring of a hunter.’
7 [The gods:] ‘We will make your life-span free of old age, O Agni, knower of creatures, so that you will not be harmed when you have been harnessed. Then you will carry the portion of the offering to the gods with a willing heart, O well-born one.’
8 [Agni:] ‘Give me alone the pre-sacrifices and the post-sacrifices, the nourishing part of the offering; and the clarified butter out of the waters and the Man out of the plants. And let the lifespan of Agni be long, O gods.’