Salutations are offered to all serpents, wherever they dwell—those who move upon the earth, those who inhabit the atmosphere, and those who soar in the sky. To every serpent, known and unknown, these salutations are extended. Reverence is also given to the arrows of the demons, to those serpents living among the trees and lying hidden in hollows; to all such serpents, salutations are offered. Further, homage is paid to those serpents who reside in the radiant realms of the sky, who travel in the rays of the sun, and whose abodes are established within the waters. To all such serpents, again, salutations. A path is to be made, broad and sure as the earth itself—a way to proceed like a king riding a mighty elephant. Let this course be followed swiftly and firmly; stand resolute, and with the fiercest weapons, strike down the demons. Agni, the fire, is invoked: let your sparks fly swiftly and touch all with boldness, burning with fierce intensity. Unleash your fiery tongues, Agni, and release your flames in every direction; scatter your embers without hesitation. Let your rays, Agni, be swift and unstoppable. Be the unassailable protector of your people. Whether harm comes from afar or near, let none who wish us ill be able to overcome or afflict us. Rise up, Agni, and extend your force; let your sharpness scatter our enemies. Whoever kindles hostility against us, burn them away as dry wood is consumed in fire. Stand upright, Agni, and turn back all harm from us. Reveal the divine powers, and break the firm bonds of sorcerers; destroy the lineage of the unborn, annihilate our enemies. With your brilliance, Agni, may I subdue them. Agni stands as the crown of heaven and the lord of earth; he invigorates the seeds within the waters. By Indra’s strength, may all adversaries be subdued. You, Agni, are the leader of sacrifice and the realm, joined with auspicious companions. Your head is placed in heaven, your tongue in the sun; you have made yourself the carrier of sacred offerings. You are firm, established by the Maker of all. May neither the ocean nor the swift-winged bird harm you; strengthen the earth, and let it remain unshaken. May Prajapati subdue you upon the back of the waters, in the midst of the ocean. Spread out, expand, and shine forth, for you are the earth itself. You are Bhū, the earth, you are Aditi, the universal supporter and bearer of all worlds. Hold the earth steady, strengthen it, and do not injure it. For all breath—whether inhalation, exhalation, upward movement, foundation, or motion—may Agni protect you for my well-being, with a shield of peace and the divine power of Angiras. Be seated firmly. To the sacred Durva grass, which sprouts endlessly from every joint and rough part, a blessing is invoked: may you, with a hundred and a thousand shoots, spread forth abundantly for us. To you, O divine brick, who stretch out in a hundred ways and grow in a thousand, we offer worship with oblation. O Agni, those rays of yours in the sun that reach up to the sky—by all these lights, let us shine among people today. O gods, your lights in the sun, among cows and horses—Indra and Agni, with all these lights, and Brihaspati, grant us radiance. The sovereign established the light, the self-ruler set it in place. May Prajapati seat you, radiant, upon the earth’s surface; grant all light to our breath, to expiration, to circulation. Agni, you are the lord—by that divinity, O Angiras, sit firm. The spring seasons, Madhu and Madhava, are joined within Agni; may heaven and earth be prepared, as well as the waters, plants, and fires—each with their own vow—for supremacy. Let these fires, united in mind, between heaven and earth, approach like the gods approach Indra; by that divinity, O Angiras, sit firm. You are Ashadha, enduring and victorious, conquering enemies and those who lead armies; you possess a thousandfold strength—may I be victorious with you. Sweetness is invoked: sweet are the night and dawn, sweet is the earthly realm; may the sky, our father, be sweet for us. May the forest trees be sweet for us, may the sun be sweet, and may our cows be filled with sweetness. Settle deep within the waters; may the sun not scorch you, nor Agni Vaiśvānara. Let your offspring remain unbroken, and may the celestial rain accompany you. The lord of waters, the bull among bricks, flowed together through three oceans and the heavens, clothed in excrement, in the world of good deeds—go there, where the ancestors have gone before. May the great heaven and earth measure out this sacrifice for us, and may they nourish us with abundance. Behold the deeds of Vishnu, from whom the sacred laws are revealed—he is the fitting friend of Indra. You, O Jātavedas, are firm, the support, born first from these origins; may he, knowing, carry the offering to the gods with the Gāyatrī, Triṣṭubh, and Anuṣṭubh meters. Delight in nourishment, wealth, strength, glory, vigor, and offspring; you are the sovereign, the self-ruler. May Sarasvatī and the two rivers grant you abundance. Agni, yoke your virtuous horses, O god, that swiftly carry the offering. Yoke, indeed, O Agni, those horses called by the gods, as charioteers do; let the ancient Hotar take his seat. The rivers flow together like cows, purified in heart and mind; I behold streams of ghee and golden reeds in the midst of Agni. For the hymn, for radiance, brilliance, and light, you have arisen as the steed of the world, of Agni and of Vaiśvānara. Agni, radiant with light, resplendent with gold, endowed with brilliance, you are the thousand-giver; you are for the thousand. Mix the essence with the embryo of the sun, the image of a thousand forms; expand with vigor, do not falter, and let him grow to a hundred years. The movement of the wind, the navel of Varuṇa, the horse born in the body, the child of the rivers, the tawny one rooted in the mountain—Agni, do not harm him in the highest heaven. I praise Agni, the ceaseless, red, shining one, ancient in wisdom, with reverence; as he arranges himself seasonally with the mountains, may he not harm the earth, Aditi, or the shining one. The covering of Tvaṣṭṛ, the navel of Varuṇa, the sheep born from the highest realm, the great thousandfold magic of the Asura—Agni, do not harm her in the highest heaven. He who is Agni, born from Agni, from the heat of the earth or from the sky, by whom the creator fashioned the offspring—Agni, may your favor encompass him. The wondrous face of the gods has arisen—the eye of Mitra, Varuṇa, and Agni; it fills the heavens, earth, and space. Sūrya is the soul of all that moves and stands.