O Agni, knower of all paths, we called upon you to lead us along the way of goodness and prosperity. You, the divine guide, were asked to remove from us the crookedness of sin and error that we may have committed. With deep reverence, we offered you our most abundant words of homage. We prayed that you, Agni, would open a wide and clear passage for us, breaking through all obstacles and enemies that stand in our way. We wished for you to win riches for those who seek wealth, and, filled with joy, to conquer those who oppose us. Svāhā. Then, our thoughts turned to Viṣṇu, the wide-striding one. We entreated him to make ample room for our dwelling, to stride across the worlds for our sake. Born of ghee, we invited him to partake of the sacred offering, and to lead forth the lord of sacrifice. Svāhā. To Savitar, the divine inspirer, we offered Soma, asking him to protect it from harm. We recognized Soma as a god among gods, and with the company of men, we made our offering for the increase of wealth. Svāhā. In this sacred act, we felt ourselves released from all the bonds of Varuṇa. We honored Agni as the guardian of vows, wishing that his body of sacred resolve would dwell within us, and ours within him. As the lord of vows, we asked him to accept our offerings as they are, and prayed that the lord of consecration and the lord of austerity would accept our own consecration and austerity. Again, we invoked Viṣṇu: stride widely, make room for us, accept the ghee, and lead forth the sacrifice. Svāhā. We declared our steadfastness, affirming that we had sought no other, nor approached another, but found the divine presence nearer than the nearest, farther than the farthest. We chose the lord of the forest, the sacrificial post, for the divine sacrifice to Viṣṇu, praying that the gods would accept him and that the sacred plant would protect us. We asked the post to cause no harm. We implored the post to spare the sky and midspace, to unite with the earth, for it had been brought forth by the sharpened blade for our great fortune. We addressed the lord of the forest, wishing for him to grow with a hundred branches, and that we, too, might grow with a thousand. With the impulse of god Savitar, the strength of the Aśvins, and the guidance of Pūṣan, we placed the sacred post. As barley, it was invoked to drive away hatred and foes, to purify the worlds and the abodes of the ancestors, for it is their dwelling. The post was praised as the leader, the best of lifters, destined to bring forth wealth. We wished for Savitar to anoint it with honey, for it is among the most excellent plants. Its tip touches the sky, its middle reaches the midspace, and its top supports the earth. We recalled the abodes where many-horned cows graze, the highest step of Viṣṇu, and asked him to protect it. We surrounded the post for the strength of prayer, of rule, and for the increase of wealth, wishing for the establishment of prayer, rule, life, and offspring. We beheld the deeds of Viṣṇu, from whose actions the sacred laws become manifest, and recognized him as the fitting friend of Indra. The wise always gaze upon Viṣṇu’s highest step, shining like an all-seeing eye stretched across the sky. To the enclosing post, we wished that the divine hosts would surround it, as we surrounded the sacrificer with wealth. The post was called the son of heaven, its place on earth established, and the forest declared its cattle. We invoked the one who approaches, to come to the gods with the inspired ones, bearing fire. We prayed to Tvaṣṭṛ, the divine artisan, for wealth and that our offerings would be pleasing. We called on Bṛhaspati to rejoice in abundance and to hold the riches, releasing him to the truth with the noose of the gods’ offering, and asked that no man harm him. Again, by the impulse of Savitar, the arms of the Aśvins, and the hands of Pūṣan, and with the consecration of Agni and Soma, we placed the post. We prayed that the waters and plants, as well as mother, father, siblings, and companions, would accept it. We sprinkled it, consecrated by Agni and Soma. To the broad one of the waters, we offered the oblation, wishing that the divine waters would enjoy it. We prayed for the breath to unite with the wind, the limbs with the worshipful, and for the lord of sacrifice to join us with blessing. We asked that the sacrificial animals anointed with ghee be protected, and called for Revati to bring delight to the sacrificer and to enter the rite. From the midspace, with the divine wind, we offered the oblation with its own essence, praying for wholeness and abundant rain in the sacrifice, and for the establishment of the lord of sacrifice. Svāhā to the gods. We urged that no harm be done to the earth, and to approach all who have come with reverence, following the streams of ghee along the righteous path. We invoked the divine waters, pure and well-filtered among the gods, to carry away impurity, so that we too may become pure. We purified every aspect of being: speech, breath, sight, hearing, navel, generative organ, anus, and conduct. We wished for fullness in mind, speech, breath, sight, hearing, and for all that is harsh or settled in us to be filled, released, and purified. We prayed for peace to the days, for the herb to protect, and for sacred power to do no harm. We declared the portion of the Rakṣasas cast away, standing unafraid and driving them into the lowest darkness. With ghee, we wished for heaven and earth to be covered, for Agni to know the clarified butter, and for the offering to go to the upward-moving wind. We called upon the waters to carry away all faults and impurities, all deceit, falsehood, or curses uttered in fearlessness, and asked to be freed from sin by the purifier. We prayed for unity: mind with mind, breath with breath. We invited Agni’s fire to accept us, for the waters to join us, the wind to grant firmness, and Pūṣan to strengthen us. We wished for hatred to be far away. We offered the ghee to its purifiers, the fat to its purifiers, and made oblations to all directions—cardinal, intermediate, further, special, and upward—invoking svāhā to each. We wished for the Indra-breath and Indra-upward-breath to shine and be established in every limb. We prayed to Tvaṣṭṛ for abundance and splendor in all forms, for companions to come to aid, and for mother and father to rejoice. We sent offerings to the ocean, the midspace, god Savitṛ, Mitra and Varuṇa, day and night, the meters, heaven and earth, the sacrifice, Soma, the divine sky, and Agni Vaiśvānara, praying for our mind to be placed in our heart, for smoke to rise to heaven, light to reach the sun, and the earth to be filled with ashes. Svāhā. We prayed not to harm the waters or plants, and asked king Varuṇa to release us from every abode. If we had spoken wrongly or invoked Varuṇa in an oath, we sought release from that, wishing for waters and plants to be friendly to us and unfriendly to those who hate us or whom we hate. We invoked the waters, rich in oblation, to be invoked with oblation. We wished for the god at sacrifice and the sun to be rich in oblation. We seated the offering in the house of Agni, the serpent, at the sacrificial seat, sharing the portion of Indra and Agni, of Mitra and Varuṇa, and of all the gods. We wished for those with the sun to support our sacrifice. To the heart, to the mind, to the sky, to the sun, we offered the sacrifice, asking that it be raised upward to the gods in heaven. We called on king Soma to ascend to all people, and all people to ascend to him. We prayed that Agni, the waters, the divine goddesses of the altar, the stones, the wise, and god Savitṛ would hear our invocation. Svāhā. We invoked the divine waters, their offspring, and the wave full of oblation and exhilaration, to give their offering to the gods, the divine, and those who drink the bright. Svāhā. We led forth the ploughman with the imperishability of the ocean, wishing for waters to unite with waters, and plants with plants. We prayed to Agni to protect those he favors in battle and contests for wealth, that they may become possessors of enduring riches. Svāhā. With the impulse of Savitar, the arms of the Aśvins, and the hands of Pūṣan, we placed the offering, wishing for it to roar deeply and please Indra. With the highest strength of the purifier, powerful, sweet, and nourishing, we asked for satisfaction and fulfillment. We wished for satisfaction in mind, speech, breath, sight, hearing, self, offspring, cattle, and groups, and not to be left unsatisfied among them. We invoked for Indra, for the wealthy, for those possessing Rudra, for Indra again, for those possessing the Ādityas, for Indra the destroyer of foes, for the eagle, for the Soma-bearer, for Agni, and for the increaser of wealth. Thus, with reverence, purity, and heartfelt invocation, we honored the gods, the elements, and all beings, seeking abundance, protection, unity, and the fulfillment of the sacrifice.