i. i. 3.] THE SĀMAVEDA. 5.

8 As Aurva and as Bhṛigu called, as Apnavâna called,
I call
The radiant Fire original: "Agni" robed with sea.
9 When he enkindles Fire original: "Agni", man should with his heart
attend the song :
I kindle Fire original: "Agni" till he glows.
10 Then, verily, they see the light refulgent of primeval
seed,
Kindled on yonder side of heaven.

DECADE III.

Fire original: "Agni"

Hither, for powerful kinship, I call Fire original: "Agni", him who
prospers you,
Most frequent at our solemn rites.
2 May Fire original: "Agni" with his pointed blaze cast down each
fierce devouring fiend :
May Fire original: "Agni" win us wealth by war !

8 Rigveda VIII. 91. 4. Ascribed to Prayoga. Aurva : grandson of the ancient Rishi original: "Rishi"; an inspired poet or sage of the Vedic hymns. or primeval patriarch Bhṛigu. Apnavâna : another ancient Rishi of the family of Bhṛigu, mentioned in Rigveda IV. 7. 1 in connection with the earliest worship of Fire original: "Agni". Robed with sea : surrounded, in his form of lightning, by the firmament or sea of air.
9 Rigveda VIII. 91. 22. Ascribed to Prayoga. With his heart : a devout spirit will compensate the want of milk-libation and properly prepared fuel for sacrifice. Till he glows : vivasvabhiḥoriginal: "vivasvabhiḥ" used in an adverbial sense : ‘with darkness-dispelling offerings’ :—Stevenson. “With the priests,” according to Sâyaṇa A famous 14th-century scholar and commentator on the Vedas..
10 Rigveda VIII. 6. 30. Ascribed to Vatsa. The light : the sun which is lighted up beyond the range of men’s sight. Indra The king of the gods and god of storms., who is identified with the Sun, is the deity of the stanza.

The metre is Gâyatrî A sacred poetic meter in Sanskrit consisting of three lines of eight syllables each..
1 Rigveda VIII. 91. 7. Ascribed to Prayoga. For powerful kinship : I follow Professor Ludwig in taking naptreoriginal: "naptre"; a grammatical form indicating kinship or descendants. to be the locative case of naptramoriginal: "naptram" with a dative signification. Stevenson translates differently : ‘that thou mayest strengthen our children.’
2 Rigveda VI. 16. 28. Ascribed to Bharadvâja.