Salutations are offered to all forms and presences of the Divine, to the sandy expanses and the flowing waters, to the stony ground and to what is decaying. Reverence is shown to the One with matted hair, the descendant of Pulastya, to the vast desert and to the broad, open path. Homage is paid to the Lord who abides in the pasture and the cattle pen, who dwells on the mat and within the house, who resides in the heart and in every dwelling, who is found in the ditch and in the deep cavern. The Divine is present in all that is dry and all that is green, in the dusty and the misty, in ploughed and tilled fields, upon the earth and in the sunlit spaces. Salutations are given to the leafy and the leaf-bearer, to the one who uproots and the one who strikes, to the one who shakes and the one who makes tremble. Homage is offered to the makers of arrows and the makers of bows, to the scatterers, to the hearts of the gods, to the searchers, the destroyers, and to the invincible. A gentle plea is made to the mighty Rudra, the destroyer, the lord of food, who is blue and red-hued and sometimes impoverished: “Do not harm these beings, these cattle; do not strike, do not injure us in any way.” Thoughts are offered to Rudra, the powerful, the matted-haired, the one who destroys the brave, so that peace may prevail among bipeds and quadrupeds, and all in the village may be nourished and free from distress. The prayer continues: “O Rudra, by your auspicious and beneficent form, healer of the universe, remedy of all suffering, grant us happiness and life. May your missile turn away from us; may your fierce wrath and evil intention pass us by. O gracious one, protect the generous, shield our children and descendants, and grant us mercy.” The supplication grows more fervent: “Most generous, most auspicious, be kindly disposed toward us. Place your weapon upon the highest tree, clad in a hide, and come near, bearing your bow Pinaka. Scatterer, red-hued Lord, may your thousand missiles fall elsewhere, away from us. You hold thousands upon thousands of missiles in your arms; be their master and turn their faces away from us.” It is acknowledged that countless thousands of Rudras are upon the earth; may their bows be laid down at a thousand leagues’ distance. In the vast ocean and in the atmosphere, the Divine dwells; may the bows be laid down far away. To the blue-necked, white-throated Rudras who have ascended to heaven, and to those Sharvas who move upon the earth below, may their weapons rest at a thousand leagues’ distance. To those among the trees, tawny, blue-necked, red-hued; to the lords of beings, arrow-bearers, matted-haired; to those who guard the paths and lead travelers, wielding weapons of life; to those who roam the fords, holding clubs and quivers; to those who strike people eating and drinking—may all their bows be laid down far from us. To all the Rudras, as many as exist and more, spread in every direction, may their bows be laid down at a thousand leagues’ distance. Homage is offered to the Rudras who are in heaven, whose arrows are rain—ten in the east, ten in the south, ten in the west, ten in the north, ten above—may they protect us and show us mercy. Whomever we hate, and whoever hates us, we consign into their jaws. Salutations are also given to the Rudras in the atmosphere, whose arrows are the winds—ten in each direction and above—asking for their protection and mercy, consigning enmity into their jaws. The same homage is offered to the Rudras on earth, whose arrows are food, seeking their protection and consigning hatred into their jaws. Attention turns to strength and nourishment, which rest on the stone and the mountain, gathered from waters, plants, and trees. May the Maruts, striving together, grant us that strength and nourishment. The stone is their hunger—may that strength be within us, and may their thunderbolt strike only those we hate. A prayer is made for abundance: “May these bricks of mine, O Agni, become cows—one, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, a hundred million, a billion, a hundred billion, a trillion, as vast as the ocean, in the middle, at the end, at the highest. May these bricks of mine, O Agni, be cows in this world and the next.” The sacred fire is praised: “You are of the seasons, strengthened by the seasons, standing in the seasons. Flowing with ghee and honey, radiant, wish-fulfilling, inexhaustible. With the foam of the ocean, O Agni, we encircle you—be pure and auspicious for us. With the membrane of frost, O Agni, we encircle you—be pure and auspicious for us. Come near as to the reed, cross over as in the rivers. Agni, you are the bile among waters. Frog, come with them; make this sacrifice bright and auspicious.” The descent of waters is invoked, the resting place of the ocean. “May your flames burn others, not us. Be pure and auspicious for us.” Agni, the pure one, with shining light and a delightful divine tongue, is called to bring the gods and offer to them. “O pure Agni, bring the gods here. Bring our sacrifice and offerings.” By the pure, discerning, and compassionate Agni, the earth was illuminated, just as the dawn is brightened by its rays—swift as a horse, moving like the wind, ever youthful, thirsting for praise. Salutations are offered to Agni’s flame, to the burning, to the radiance—may those flames burn others, not us. Be pure and auspicious for us. Agni is acknowledged as the lord among men, among waters, among grasses, among trees, among lights. The gods among the gods, worthy of sacrifice, who sit by the portion of the year, may they drink the honey and ghee themselves in this sacrifice, even uninvited. Those gods who attained divinity, who are priests of Brahman—without them, nothing is purified, not in heaven, not on earth, not in the waters. The givers of breath, exhalation, circulation, radiance, and space are invoked: “May your flames burn others, not us. Be pure and auspicious for us.” Finally, the prayer is: “Agni, with your sharp flame, burn away all impurity. Agni brings us wealth.