VIRUPA ANGIRASA

sukta 43

1. Him pray our words, even these lauds of Fire, the illumined seer, the creator, invincible in his sacrifice.

2. Such art thou for whom I bring to birth perfect laud and glad is thy response, O seeing Fire, O knower of all things born!

3. Oh, like jets of light thy keen energies of flame devour with their teeth the woods.

4. Bright, with smoke for their flag against heaven, urged by the winds, labour separate thy fires.

Page – 342

5. These are those separate fires of thine that kindled are seen like rays of the Dawns.

6. Black is the dust under his feet in the march of the knower of all things born when Fire sprouts upon the earth.

7. Making his foundation, consuming the herbs Fire wearies not but goes even to the young shoots.

8. Oh, laying all low with his tongues of flame, flashing out with his ray Fire shines in the woodlands.

9. In the waters, O Fire, is thy seat,^¹ thou besiegest the plants; thou becomest a child in the womb and art born again.

10. O Fire, that ray of thine fed with the oblation rises up shining from the offering of light,^² licking the mouth of the ladle.

^¹ Or, goal, ² Or, clarified butter,

Page – 343

11. May we ordain sacrifice with the lauds to Fire, the ordainer of things. Fire who makes the ox and the cow his food and he bears on his back the Soma-wine.

12. O Fire, we come to thee with prostration and with the fuel, O Priest of the call, O supreme will!

13. O pure Flame, fed with offerings we call thee as did Bhrigu, as did Manu, as did Angiras.

14. For thou art kindled, O Fire, by the fire, thou who art the illumined seer art kindled by one who is illumined, as a comrade thou art kindled by thy comrade.

15. So do thou to the illumined who gives to thee give the thousandfold wealth and the hero-force.

16. O Fire, my brother, created by my force, drawn by thy red horses, pure in the law of thy workings, take pleasure in this laud of mine.

Page – 344

17. My lauds reach thee, O Fire, as to the calf lowing in glad response the cows reach their stall.

18. For thee, O most luminous Angiras, all those worlds of happy dwelling, each in its separate power, labour for thy desire, O Flame.

19. In thinkers the wise, the illumined seers urged by their thoughts the Fire to dwell in their house.

20. So thee as the horse in its gallopings performing the pilgrim-sacrifice, O Fire, they desire as the carrier of the offering and the Priest of the call.

21. Thou art the lord who looks with equal eyes on all the peoples in many lands; we call to thee in our battles.

22. Pray the Fire who fed with the pouring of the clarities blazed wide; may he hear this our call.

Page – 345

23. Such art thou whom we call, Fire, the knower of all things born who hears our cry and smites away from us the foe.

24. I pray this Fire, the marvellous king of the peoples who presides over the laws of their action, may he hear.

25. Fire who illumines the universal life like a male horse urged to its gallop, we speed like a racer to the goal.

26. Smiting away the foes and things that hurt, burning the Rakshasas, on every side, O Fire, shine out with thy keen flame.

27. Thou whom men kindle as the human thinker,^¹ O most luminous Angiras, O Fire, become aware of my word.

28. Because, O Fire, created by our force thou art the flame born in heaven, or the flame born in the waters, as such we call thee with our words.

^¹ Or, like Manu,

Page – 346

29. To thee, verily, these beings born and these worlds of a happy dwelling each separately in its place, lay a foundation where thou canst devour thy food.^¹

30. O Fire, may we be those who have the right thought and the divine vision, and through all the days, pass safe beyond the danger.

31. We seek with rapturous hearts Fire, the rapturous, in whom are many things that are dear to us, — Fire with his intense and purifying light.

32. O Fire, shining with thy light, loosing forth thy lustre like the sun with its rays, thou puttest forth thy force and slayest the darknesses.

33. We seek from thee, O forceful Fire, that gift of thine, — the desirable wealth which never fails.

sukta 44

^¹ Or, cast nourishment for thy eating.

Page – 347

1. Set to his action by the fuel, awaken the guest by the offerings of the clarities; cast in him the offerings.

2. O Fire, take pleasure in my laud, grow by this thought; let thy joy respond to our utterances.

3. I set in front Fire, the messenger, and speak to the carrier of the offerings; may he bring to their session here the gods.

4. O luminous Fire, vast and bright thy rays upwards ascend as thou art kindled high.

5. O joyful Flame, to thee may my ladles go bright with the clarities; O Fire, take pleasure in our offerings.

6. I pray the Fire, the rapturous Priest of the call, the sacrificant, shining with his light, rich in his lustres, may he hear.

7. The ancient Priest of the call, desirable and accepted. Fire the seer-will, joiner of the pilgrim-rites.

Page – 348

8. O most luminous Angiras, taking pleasure in these offerings lead the sacrifice uninterruptedly in the way of the Truth,^¹ O Fire.

9. High-kindled, O Right and True, O brilliant light, awakened to knowledge bring here the divine people.

10. The illumined seer and Priest of the call, free from harms, shining with light, carrying his banner of smoke, him we seek, the ray of intuition of the sacrifices.

11. O Fire, made by our force, protect us against the doers of harm, pierce the hostile power.

12. Fire by the ancient thought making beautiful his own body, a seer, grows by each illumined sage.

13. I call to me the Child of Energy, Fire of the purifying light in this sacrifice which is perfect rite of the path.

^¹ Or, according to the rule of the rites,

Page – 349

14. So do thou, O Fire, O friendly light, with thy brilliant flame sit with the gods on the sacred grass.

15. The mortal who serves the divine Fire in the house of the body, to him he gives the Riches.

16. Fire is the head and peak of heaven and lord of earth and he sets moving the waters.

17. O Fire, upward dart blazing thy pure and brilliant tongues; make to shine out thy lights.

18. Thou art the lord of the Sun-world, O Fire, and hast power for the gifts desirable; may I who laud thee abide in thy peace.

19. Thee, O Fire, the thinkers urge on thy road, thee by their perceivings of knowledge; may our words increase thee.

Page – 350

20. We choose the comradeship of the Fire inviolate in the law of his nature, the ever-chanting messenger.

21. Most pure in his workings is the Fire, he is the pure illumined sage, the pure seer of Truth; pure he shines out fed by our offerings.

22. So thee may my thinkings and my words increase always; O Fire, awake to the comradeship between us.

23. O Fire, if I wert thou and thou wert I, then would thy longings here become true.

24. O Fire, thou art the shining one, shining with thy lustres, lord of the shining riches; may we abide in thy right thinking.^¹

25. O Fire, to thee holding firmly the law of thy workings, move my words like lowing cattle, as rivers move towards the sea.

^¹ Or, thy grace.

Page – 351

26. Fire the youth, the lord of the peoples, the seer, the all-consuming, Fire of the many illuminations I glorify with my thoughts.

27. May we strive towards the Fire by our lauds, the charioteer of the sacrifices. Fire with his solid strength, his sharp tusks of flame.

28. May this thy worshipper, O Fire, abide in thee; on him have grace, O Right and True, O purifying Flame.

29. For thou art the wise thinker seated in the house, like an illumined sage ever awake; O Fire, thou shinest out in heaven.

30. Before the stumblings come, O Fire, before the spoilers arrive, O seer, carry forward our life, O Shining One.

Page – 352