Rigveda 1.78

1.78.1

अ॒भि त्वा॒ गोत॑मा गि॒रा जात॑वेदो॒ विच॑र्षणे | द्यु॒म्नैर॒भि प्र णो॑नुमः ||

O JĀTAVEDAS, keen and swift, we Gotamas with sacred song exalt thee for thy glories' sake.

O keen-sighted Jātavedas, we Gotamas turn to you with sacred speech; with splendours we loudly exalt you.

Jātavedas—knower of all that is born—is addressed as vicarṣaṇa (keenly discerning). The Gotama gotra offers girā (mantra-speech) and the refrain dyumnair abhi pra ṇonumaḥ: praise aimed at increasing divine radiance (dyumna), a classic Vedic exchange of stuti for tejas.

Celebrate competence where it lives. Public recognition of discerning skill strengthens the very excellence a community needs.

1.78.2

तमु॑ त्वा॒ गोत॑मो गि॒रा रा॒यस्का॑मो दुवस्यति | द्यु॒म्नैर॒भि प्र णो॑नुमः ||

Thee, as thou art, desiring wealth Gotama worships with his song: We laud thee for thy glories' sake.

Him—you as you are—Gotama, desiring prosperity, serves with sacred speech; with splendours we loudly exalt you.

Rāyaskāma is not crude greed; Vedic rayi includes cattle, vitality, and spiritual store. Duvasyati marks devoted service. Honest aspiration for abundance is offered through girā to Agni, who transmutes desire into ṛta-aligned wealth.

Name your material needs without shame, then channel them through disciplined craft and ethical service—not through extraction without offering.

1.78.3

तमु॑ त्वा वाज॒सात॑ममङ्गिर॒स्वद्ध॑वामहे | द्यु॒म्नैर॒भि प्र णो॑नुमः ||

As such, like Aṅgiras we call on thee best winner of the spoil: We laud thee for thy glories' sake.

We call on you, supreme winner of contest-wealth, in the manner of the Aṅgirases; with splendours we loudly exalt you.

Vājasātama names Agni as foremost in securing vāja—winning vitality and prize. Calling aṅgirasvat invokes the fiery seer-lineage of the Aṅgirases, linking Gotama’s present stuti to that primordial fire-wisdom.

Study how masters before you approached hard problems. Method inherited from a living lineage often outperforms isolated cleverness.

1.78.4

तमु॑ त्वा वृत्र॒हन्त॑मं॒ यो दस्यूँ॑रवधूनु॒षे | द्यु॒म्नैर॒भि प्र णो॑नुमः ||

Thee, best of Vṛtra-slayers, thee who shakest off our Dasyu foes: We laud thee for thy glories' sake.

We praise you, foremost Vṛtra-slayer, who shake off the Dasyus; with splendours we loudly exalt you.

Agni shares Indra’s vṛtrahan force at the ritual level: burning obstruction (vṛtra) and casting off dasyu—forces of chaos, theft of light, and anti-yajña. Dyumna-praise fuels that clearing power within the sacrificial field.

Name and shake off systemic blockers—burnout, misinformation, extractive habits. Clarity-as-fire dissolves stagnation that no amount of busywork removes.

1.78.5

अवो॑चाम॒ रहू॑गणा अ॒ग्नये॒ मधु॑म॒द् वच॑: | द्यु॒म्नैर॒भि प्र णो॑नुमः ||

A pleasant song to Agni we, sons of Rahūgaṅa, have sung: We laud thee for thy glories' sake.

We, the Rahūgaṇas, have spoken honey-sweet speech to Agni; with splendours we loudly exalt you.

The hymn seals gotra identity: Rahūgaṇas offer madhumad vacaḥ—speech sweet as honey, aligned with Soma’s sweetness and sattva. Closing the Gayatri cycle, they renew the refrain of dyumna, completing a compact act of bhakti-stuti.

End communication with gratitude and sweetness when the work is sincere. Tone that nourishes relationships multiplies the impact of truthful content.