In the ancient days, Agni, the sacred fire, stood as the mighty one whose vows were vast and powerful. By his strength, he stretched out the two worlds, earth and heaven, and at his very birth he became the messenger, the leader and strong protector of the peoples. The prayers called upon him, the tawny-haired, to harness his well-yoked, ghee-anointed red steeds of truth. As Jātavedas, the knower of all births, he was asked to bring all the gods, making the ritual well-ordered and complete. From the sky, Agni’s lights shone forth, following the ancient dawns as they brightened. When the gods delighted in the offerings, they carried the oblations into the woods of the sacrificial fire. Whether the gods rejoiced in the wide atmosphere or dwelled in the shining realm of heaven, or were gracious, worshipful ones who had come, Agni’s chariot-horses were called to bring them all here. With his many horses and chariots, Agni was summoned to bring the thirty-three gods and their wives, each according to the ritual, and to rejoice in their presence. He was the priest for whom even the two worlds were broad, praised for every sacrifice. At the ritual, the two, right-ordered and true-born, stood facing east in the truth of the rite. The prayers asked Agni to grant abundant, lasting wealth of cattle, the best sustenance for the one who invokes him. May the son and his offspring be victorious, and may Agni’s good favor always be with them. In the mysteries of the sacrifice, the seven voices entered the mother, mounting the back of the spotted bull. The two fathers, well-guarded, moved together, flowing forth and manifesting long life. The cows of heaven, strong horses, and goddesses stood, bearing sweetness. In the seat of truth, the cow moved alone, seeking well-being. The divine ones ascended, becoming well-yoked, and the wise lord of the givers knew their ways. The many-formed one, with a dark back, settled them, the one of many shapes. The great, nourishing, straight-moving offspring of Tvaṣṭṛ, being supported, carried the one who is to be carried. Shining with their forms, they entered the seat as if the two worlds were one. They knew the blessing of the strong, ruddy one, and roared at the command of the spotted one. The lights of heaven, shining brightly, whose songs are counted among the great, belonged to Iḷā. With the two fathers, they brought forth a mighty sound from the great ones. Where the bull circled the enclosure of the milker, there the singer declared his own abode. With five priests, the seven sages guarded the beloved, established track of the bull. The forward-yoked, unwearied ones rejoiced, and the gods indeed followed the vows of the gods. The divine priests, the first, sat down; the seven pure ones rejoiced in their own nature. Proclaiming truth, they called the friend of truth; the keepers of vows, shining, followed the vow. The strong ones were yoked for the great journey, the bright, well-yoked rays for the strong one. The divine priest, most delightful and wise, was asked to bring the great gods and the two worlds. Those who were yoked to the pure, eloquent, and well-guided called forth the radiant dawns. Even if, by the greatness of earth, some offense had been committed, Agni was asked to forgive it for their great good. Again, Agni was entreated to grant abundant, lasting wealth of cattle, the best sustenance for the one who invokes him. May the son and his offspring be victorious, and may Agni’s good favor be with them. At the sacrifice, they anointed Agni, the Lord of the Forest, with celestial honey, whether he stood upright above or rested in the lap of his mother. He was asked to grant wealth, and the worshippers took shelter before the kindled one, composing hymns and striving for the undying, noble one. Agni was called to drive far from them hostile thought and rise up for great good fortune. He was asked to rise up upon the surface of the earth, measuring out good counsel and establishing his radiance for carrying the sacrifice. Young, well-clad, wrapped around, he came, better as he was born. The wise and poets raised him up, self-ruled, worshipping with their minds. Born again in the brightness of days, growing strong in the assembly, the wise purified the offerings with thought, and the inspired priest raised the hymn with devotion. Whatever men and worshippers had fashioned for Agni, or whatever the carver had shaped, those gods, standing with their own sound, were asked to grant the treasure with offspring. Those who were cut and set upon the earth, fashioned with straight edges, were called to grant abundant gifts, divine and bringing success in the field. The Ādityas, Rudras, Vasus, guides of the good path, Heaven and Earth, the broad earth and midspace, all the gods together were invoked to protect the sacrifice and raise high the sign of the ritual. Like swans in a line, harnessed and shining, clothed in white, the singers came. Raised up by poets at the front, the gods went on the path of the gods. Like the horns of horned ones, the singers with their drinking vessels were seen upon the earth; whether with words or in the call, hearing, they were asked to protect in the contests for victory. Agni, the Lord of the Forest, hundred-branched, was called to grow forth, and thousand-branched, may the worshippers grow forth. He whom the carver, sharpening, had brought forth for great good fortune was praised. As friends, the people chose Agni, god and mortal, for help—the offspring of the waters, fortunate, shining, of good guidance, of excellent praise, sinless. When Agni moved among the woods, among his mothers, among the waters, there was no turning back for him, whether far or near. He had surpassed the thirsty, and thus was gracious; some went forth, others sat around—those in whose friendship Agni had taken refuge. He moved swiftly, never failing, always accompanying; those who were long-enduring and not harmful found him, as if a lion dwelling in the waters. Hidden, Agni sent himself forth, and Mātariśvan brought him here from afar, churned out from the gods. Mortals took hold of Agni as the carrier of offerings for the gods; he oversaw all sacrifices for men by his will, youngest one. His good fortune, his tongue, even for ripening, covered; when Agni was kindled, the cattle gathered around him, even in the darkness. The pure, well-ordered, brilliant flame, swift messenger, tireless, ancient, worthy of praise, was offered up to honor the divine one who hears. Three hundred, three thousand, and thirty-nine gods honored Agni; they anointed him with ghee, spread the sacred grass for him, and seated him as the officiant. Agni was established by the wise as the sovereign of peoples; mortals invoked him, the god, at the sacrifice. In the rituals, they called Agni as the officiant and priest; he shone forth as the guardian of truth in his own house.