Notes on Rig (M-1.1)-Salutation to the Purohit Agni

The Rig Veda Samhita’s (First Mandala-1) first Sukta features the visualisation of the Rishi (र्ऋषि) Madhuchhanda of Vaisvamitra gotra (clan), and she dedicated the Shukta to Agni Devata (देव) through Gayatri Chhanda (गायत्री छंद). The deity of Agni symbolizes fire (physical) and the priest (पुरोहित) of the divine offering. These hymns praise Agni’s significance in sacrificial rituals, presenting him as the mediator between human and the divine realms. The text venerates Agni’s role as the bestower of wealth and power, portraying him as the righteous and glorious guardian of cosmic order. The verses request Agni’s guidance and blessings for the successful execution of the sacred offerings. He is the अ॒ग्नि (Who stand first) र्होता॑ (the offerer) क॒वि (creator) क्र॑तुः (offering).

Tanmoy Bhattacharyya (Adv)

Rig Veda Samhita ( First Mandala)

1

मधुच्छन्दा वैश्वामित्रः । अग्निः। गायत्री।

अ॒ग्निमी॑ळे पु॒रोहि॑तं य॒ज्ञस्य॑ दे॒वमृ॒त्विज॑म्। होता॑रं रत्न॒धात॑मम्॥१॥
अ॒ग्निः पूर्वे॑भि॒र्ऋषि॑भि॒रीड्यो॒ नूत॑नैरु॒त। स दे॒वाँ एह व॑क्षति॥२॥
अ॒ग्निना॑ र॒यिम॑श्नव॒त् पोष॑मे॒व दि॒वेदि॑वे। य॒शसं॑ वी॒रव॑त्तमम्॥३॥
अग्ने॒ यं य॒ज्ञम॑ध्व॒रं वि॒श्वत॑: परि॒भूरसि॑। स इद् दे॒वेषु॑ गच्छति॥४॥
अ॒ग्निर्होता॑ क॒विक्र॑तुः स॒त्यश्चि॒त्रश्र॑वस्तमः। दे॒वो दे॒वेभि॒रा ग॑मत्॥५॥
यद॒ङ्ग दा॒शुषे॒ त्वमग्ने॑ भ॒द्रं क॑रि॒ष्यसि॑। तवेत् तत् स॒त्यम॑ङ्गिरः॥६॥
उप॑ त्वाग्ने दि॒वेदि॑वे॒ दोषा॑वस्तर्धि॒या व॒यम्। नमो॒ भर॑न्त॒ एम॑सि॥७॥
राज॑न्तमध्व॒राणां॑ गो॒पामृ॒तस्य॒ दीदि॑विम्। वर्ध॑मानं॒ स्वे दमे॑॥८॥
स न॑: पि॒तेव॑ सू॒नवे ऽग्ने॑ सूपाय॒नो भ॑व। सच॑स्वा नः स्व॒स्तये॑॥९॥ (Agni is like a father to the son)