In a time of invocation and sacred purpose, the seeker turns to Agni, the radiant fire, asking that his own brilliance be present whenever he calls upon the divine. As the flames are kindled, he prays for vigor and flourishing in body, wishing that the four directions bow before him and, with Agni’s guidance, that victory might be won in every battle. He entreats Agni to drive away the anger of others, to be a steadfast protector, guarding him on all sides. Let those who are hostile depart, let the evil-minded be subdued, and let their awakened thoughts be scattered and powerless. The seeker calls for all the gods to be present at his summons: Indra, the Maruts, Vishnu, and Agni himself. He wishes for the vast atmosphere and the broad earth to be his, and for the wind to blow according to his desire. He prays that the gods sacrifice for him, that his deepest wishes be fulfilled, and that his mind remain true. May no sin come upon him in any way, and may all the gods protect him where he stands. He asks the gods to offer him wealth, blessings, and the power of divine invocation. He wishes for the divine priests to sit for him, and for himself and his people to be unharmed and strong in body. He invokes the six divine guardians to make his people heroic, calling all the gods to rejoice in their presence. He prays that oppression or evil never befall them, and that hateful wrongdoing never touch them. He turns to three goddesses, asking for their great protection—for his offspring and his body, for abundance. May he never be deprived of children or bodily strength, and may Soma, the king, ensure that he never falls short before the hostile. He asks the mighty one, invoked by many, to grant wide-reaching protection in this offering. He calls upon Indra, delighting in horses, to be gracious to their offspring, to not harm or take them away. He invokes Savitar, the establisher, ordainer, and lord of beings, conqueror of hostility, and asks that the Ādityas, Rudras, and the two Aśvins protect the sacrificer from misfortune. He wishes that rivals be turned away, and with Indra and Agni, that they be driven off. The Ādityas, Rudras, and those who dwell above have made the fierce, discerning king for them. He calls upon Indra, victorious in cows, wealth, and horses, to hear their sacrifice and invocation, and to be their leader, delighting in horses. Turning to the healing plants, he invokes Kuṣṭha, born on the mountain, strongest among plants, destroyer of fever, to drive away fever from their midst. Kuṣṭha, offspring of the eagle, beyond the Himalaya, comes hearing their call, knowing the destruction of fever. He recalls how the aśvattha tree, the divine abode, stands in the third heaven, where the gods found the essence of immortality—the Kuṣṭha plant. A golden ship, with golden bindings, moved in the sky, and there the gods found the flower of immortality, the Kuṣṭha plant. Golden were the paths, golden the oars, and golden the ships by which they brought forth Kuṣṭha. He asks the Kuṣṭha plant to carry away his affliction, to remove it, and to become a remedy for him. Born among the gods, friend of Soma, set apart, Kuṣṭha is asked to be gracious to the afflicted one—for his breath, his life, his sight. Kuṣṭha, born north of the Himalaya, is led to the eastern people, where its highest names are distributed. The highest is the name of Kuṣṭha, the highest is the name of its father; may it destroy all disease and render fever powerless. Kuṣṭha strikes down diseases of the head, fluids of the eyes and body, removing all affliction, with divine and virile power. He then turns to Silācī, whose mother is Night, whose father is the sky, whose grandfather is Aryaman; she is the sister of the gods. Whoever drinks her lives, for she protects and nourishes people. She grows from tree to tree, flourishing like a maiden, victorious and firm, called the touch-healer. Whatever harm has been done by staff, arrows, or force, she is the remedy, releasing the afflicted from guilt. From the auspicious fig tree, sacred fig, acacia, banyan, and leaf, Arundhati comes forth. Golden-hued, fortunate, sun-colored, most beautiful, Silācī proceeds with truth, known by the name Remedy. Golden-hued, powerful, with shaggy hair and sharp glance, she is the sister of waters or of lac, and the wind has become her soul. Silācī is her name, Kāninī; Ajababhru is her father; the dark horse of Yama, whose bridle she has yoked. The bridle, having fallen, clings to the trees; becoming a flowing, winged one, Arundhati comes forth. The seeker reflects on the origins of creation: Brahman was born first, in the beginning, before all. With radiance, Vena spread forth, and the deep foundations are his models. From the existent and the non-existent, he brought forth offspring. Those who were unattainable, who performed the first deeds, are prayed not to harm their heroes; this was established before. With a thousand streams, they sounded together in the sky, in heaven, with honeyed tongues. Their spies never close their eyes, ever watchful, at every step, binding the path. He calls for strength, to break through obstacles, invoking the thirteenth month, the house of Indra, for victory. With this invocation, he prays to drive away the hostile ones—calling upon Soma and the Rudras, sharp-weaponed, sharp-pointed, gracious, to grant happiness. He repeats this prayer, asking again and again for Soma and Rudras to remove the hostile ones and grant happiness. He asks to be released from evil and blame, for the gods to accept his sacrifice, and to place immortality among them. He prays that the missiles of the eye, mind, speech, and austerity—those intentions and thoughts of others who wish to harm them—be turned back. Finally, he asks Agni to turn back those intentions and thoughts of any who, with eye, mind, thought, or intention, seek to harm them—so that peace, protection, and divine favor may prevail.