May Our Sins Wither in Lament
I now return to agni, referred to by the ṛṣi kutsa āngirasa as “śucikā”, the purifier, in this hymn comprising eight verses (ṛgveda 1.97.1 -1.97.8).
As I have written earlier, the crude conception of sin, as a consequence of evil acts, did not have a place in the thoughts of the vedic thinkers. What they perceived however, was a force of Ignorance –manifesting itself, either as non-perception of Right and Truth in our mind or as non-seizing of Right and Truth in our will or simply as an inability of our life-instinct to follow after it or sheer inefficiency of the physical being to rise to the greatness of the Divine. To the vedic seer, sin was a violation of the divine Right and Truth.
The remedy for the removal of sin is to allow the forces of Truth to permeate every nook and corner of our bodies – physical (anna maya), vital (prāna maya) and mental (mano maya). In the ṛgveda, the prayers for the removal of sin are addressed to varuna as referred to earlier. In this sequence of eight verses, the prayer for the removal of sin is addressed to agni.
अप नः शोशुचदघमग्ने शुशुग्ध्या रयिम् ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
सुक्षेत्रिया सुगातुया वसूया च यजामहे ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
प्रयद्भन्दिष्ठ एषां प्रास्माकासश्च सूरयः ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
प्र यत्ते अग्ने सूरयो जायेमहि प्रते वयम् ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
प्र यदग्नेः सहस्वतो विश्वातो यन्ति भानवः ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
त्वं हि विश्वतोमुख विश्वतः परिभुरसि ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
द्विषो नो विश्वतोमुख अति नावेव पारय ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
स नः सिन्धुमिव नावया अति पर्षा स्वस्तये ।
अप नः शोशुचदघम् ॥
apa naḥ śośucadaghamagne śuśugdhyā rayim
apa naḥ śośucadagham
sukṣetriyā sugātuyā vasūyā ca yajāmahe
apa naḥ śośucadagham
prayadbhandiṣṭhā eṣāṁ prāsmākāsaśca sūrayaḥ
apa naḥ śośucadagham
pra yatte agne sūrayo jāyemahi prate vayam
apa naḥ śośucadagham
pra yadagneḥ sahasvato viśvāto yanti bhānavaḥ
apa naḥ śośucadagham
tvaṁ hi viśvatomukha viśvataḥ paribhurasi
apa naḥ śośucadagham
dviṣo no viśvatomukha ati nāveva pāraya
apa naḥ śośucadagham
sa naḥ sindhumiva nāvayā ati parṣā svastaye
apa naḥ śośucadagham
O agni, may our sins wither in lament as you shine your divine riches [light and force] on us
May our sins wither in lament
For happy fields [physical (anna maya), vital (prāna maya) and mental (mano maya) for safe paths [the path of yajña, safe from foes] and for divine wealth we worship you
May our sins wither in lament
Most happy among those who praise [you] is kutsa [āngirasa], most happy are our wise ones
May our sins wither in lament
As your worshippers become wise, may we, your devotees, so become
May our sins wither in lament
As the conquering lustres of agni go everywhere [in our bodies] forcefully
May our sins wither in lament
With your face turned on everyside, you are our guardian everywhere
May our sins wither in lament
With your face turned on everyside carry us beyond our foes like a ship [takes people across a river]
May our sins wither in lament
[O agni], like a ship across the ocean, lead us beyond the foes [to the supreme station] for our welfare
May our sins wither in lament
agni is present in the course of our adhvara, the journey, right from its commencement through its entire course, before he finally leads us to his own home of Beatitude. Disinterested, sleepless and invincible, the divine will force agni works in the world as a universal soul of power housed in all beings. agni vaiśvānara, the greatest, most powerful, most brilliant and most impersonal of all cosmic deities – he claims no primacy, he seeks no separate end, merely content to be a worker for man, indeed he is man’s greatest helper, our most beloved friend.
Peace
S