Agni, the radiant seer, is invoked as the vigilant guardian of the sacrifice. With his sharp vision and wisdom, he is called upon to protect the sacred rites and lead them forward for the welfare of all. Fiercely shining, Agni is asked to destroy demons and shield the sacrifice from the harm of sorcerers. His gaze is sought to search out the demon hidden among the people, and with his strength, to sever the foremost limbs of the fiend, to cut their backs, and to uproot the sorcerer entirely. Time and again, the sorcerer seeks to approach the holy path, using deceit to cause harm. Agni, as Jātavedas, is prayed to bind such a one with his flashing flames before the very eyes of those who might praise him. Any curse uttered this day, any words of rebellion, any arrow born of anger or malice—Agni is asked to turn these against the sorcerers, piercing their hearts with their own weapons. With his heat, Agni is urged to drive away the sorcerers; with his strength, to expel the demons; with his flame, to banish evil spirits; and with his shining brilliance, to send away the greedy and harmful ones. The gods themselves are called upon to drive out the wicked, to return curses upon their sender, to let words and arrows strike the evildoers at their vital spots, and to remove the sorcerer from every path. Those who defile themselves with human flesh, or with the flesh of horse or cattle, those who bring the milk of the cow for evil purposes—Agni is asked to cut off their heads with his might. The sorcerers are to be burdened with their own poison, the wicked to be cut off for the sake of Aditi, and the god Savitṛ is invoked to remove them so that the share of the sacred herbs may prevail elsewhere. The yearly milk of the tawny cow is to be protected, so that the flesh-eating fiend, the man-seer, does not consume it. Agni is entreated to strike down the glutton who desires the sweet essence, burning him at his vital spot with returning flame. Ever the destroyer of fiends, Agni has never been overcome by demons in battle; he is asked to burn up the flesh-eaters and their followers, so that the divine weapon may never fail him. Agni rises from below, guarding in all directions—behind, before, above, and beneath. His ageless, sharp flames are to burn up the evil-wisher and those who seek harm. He is called to guard his devotees as a friend to a friend, ageless among the aging, immortal among mortals, ever wise and protective. Agni is asked to set his vision in the bellowing cattle and the split-hoofed, so that he may see the lurking fiends. With the light of Atharvan and divine radiance, he is to cast down the false and the unknowing. Around Agni, the wise and mighty, the people place their protection, for day by day he is steadfast in strength, the slayer of breakers and destroyers. With poison for the breaker, Agni is to strike down the demons, burning them with his sharp, blazing flames and grasping tongues. He shines forth with vast light, making all things manifest and withstanding the evil devices of the wicked. With his horns, sharp and ageless, sanctified by prayer, Agni—called Jātavedas—strikes down the hostile, the devourer, and the fiend who approaches, casting them down with his returning flame. Agni, the immortal one, drives away the demons with his bright, pure, and radiant flames, ever worthy of praise. Turning now to Indra and Soma, they are invoked to scorch, drive away, and subdue the demon, to cast down the false one and freeze the devourer. They are asked to place hatred against the hater, the flesh-eater with dreadful eyes, the enemy of prayer, and to ensure the powerless fiend finds no foothold. Indra and Soma are called to hurl the evil-doers into the pit of darkness, never to rise again, letting their wrath prevail. They are asked to send down blows from heaven and earth against the evil-wisher, to draw forth the sunlit radiance from the mountains and destroy the swelling demon. With stones heated by Agni and sharp, ageless weapons, Indra and Soma are to strike down the devourer, sending them silently to destruction. The prayer of the people seeks to surround Indra and Soma on all sides, like a swift horse in a field, and the offering is presented to them as priests, that they may win wisdom for their devotees. The mighty ones are urged to remember, with victorious allies, to slay the deceivers, demons, and breakers, ensuring that the evil-doer finds no easy path and the foe never assails the righteous. Those who watch with evil mind and false words are to be swept away like one seized by rushing waters, lost among the false and silenced by Indra. Those who consort with the destroyer of ripeness or corrupt the good with their offerings are to be given over to the serpent or placed in the lap of destruction by Soma. Should anyone covet the essence of horses, cattle, or even the bodies of the devotees, Agni is asked to cause the enemy, thief, and stealer to wander lost, diminished in body and offspring, cast down to the lowest of the three earths, with all glory withering away. Soma protects the true and righteous, while striking down the false; he does not harm the innocent or the just ruler, but defeats the demon and the liar under Indra’s might. If any claim is made falsely—if the speaker is a false god or has invoked the gods in vain—Agni is asked to let the deceitful join with destruction. If the speaker is a sorcerer or has harmed another’s spirit, let him perish today; but should anyone falsely call another a sorcerer, let him be separated from his ten heroes. Whoever makes such a false claim, or boasts, "I am a demon," may Indra strike him down and cast him to the lowest place among all beings. The night-creeping demoness, hiding her harmful form like a mongoose, is to fall into a bottomless pit, crushed by stones. The Maruts are called to stand forth, scattering and crushing the demons—those who become birds and fly by night, or those enemies who have usurped a place among the gods at the sacrifice. From all directions—east, west, below, and above—Indra is asked to roll down the stone from heaven, striking the demons with the mountain. The flesh-eaters, who fly about seeking to harm Indra and attack the innocent, are to be struck by Shakra’s weapon, the thunderbolt falling upon the sorcerers. Indra becomes the destroyer of sorcerers, the expeller of those who steal the offering, breaking the demons as an axe splits wood or a vessel is shattered. He is called to strike down all manner of fiends: the owl-demon, the screech-owl demon, the flesh-eater, the cuckoo-demon, the eagle-demon, and the vulture-demon—crushing them all as with a stone. Thus, through the united might of Agni, Indra, Soma, and the gods, the forces of darkness and falsehood are driven away, and the path is cleared for truth, righteousness, and the prosperity of the sacred rites.