1 Decking the treasure-house of prayers, O flame, enkindled, pouring forth sweet-tasted butter, swift-moving, bearing curd, carry up what they love, in offering for the sake of God.

2 Balming the paths that lead to heaven with fatness, let the steed go, well-knowing, to his Lord. Courser, the quarters of the sky attend thee! May God bestow food upon this sacrificer.

3 Thou, steed, art meet for praise; swift, fit for sacrifice art thou, O courser. May God, the Omniscient, accept thee, with the angels, a contented bearer!

4 Pleased with much sacred grass which we have scattered wide, spread upon the earth, a pleasant carpet, may God's boundless grace, accordant, bestowing bliss, award it happy fortune.

5 May these your doors divine that wear all colours, auspicious, with uplifted leaves unfolding, lofty and closely fitted and sonorous, rich in adornment, offer easy passage.

6 Your two Dawns rich in gold and varied colour, travelling between heaven and earth, acquainted with the face of sacrifices, I settle here within the home of Order.

7 Your two chief priests have I pleased, bright coloured, borne on one car, angels who behold all creatures, those who prepare your rules and ordinances and make you see the light by their direction.

8 May sustaining wisdom, with the angels of light, love our worship! May eloquence, with the healers, be our helper, and devotion, in accord, invoked with the bright ones! O blessings, place our rite in the good pleasure of God.

9 God the Shaper produces; from God springs to life your fleet-footed courser. God gave being to this all about us. Priest, worship here the Achiever of the mighty work.

10 Let the steed seek his home, and balmed with butter go of himself to his Lord in season. May the Lord of the forest tree, well-knowing, bear our oblations which the fire has tasted, in God's name.

11 Thou, waxing by the Creator's strong ordinance, born quickly, guardest the sacrifice, O flame. With consecrated offering go, preceding, and let the angels receive our oblation.

12 What time, first springing into life, thou neighedst, proceeding from the sea or cloudy vapour, limbs of the deer hadst thou, and eagle pinions. O steed, thy birth is high and must be lauded.

13 This steed was bestowed by the Controller; Trita harnessed him, and a hero was the first to mount and ride him. A celestial being grasped his bridle. O ye bright ones, from out the sun ye fashioned forth the courser.

14 Controller art thou, O horse; thou art as the sun's ray; by secret operation thou art the third. With the moon thou art thoroughly united. They say there are three bonds in heaven that hold thee.

15 Three bonds, they say, thou hast in heaven to bind thee, three in the waters, three within the ocean. To me thou seemest mighty, O courser, there where they say is thy sublimest birthplace.

16 Here, courser, are the places where they groomed thee; here are the traces of thy hooves as winner. Here have I seen the auspicious reins that guide thee, which those who guard the holy Law keep safely.

17 Thyself from far I recognized in spirit, a bird that from below flew through the heaven. I saw thy head still soaring, striving upward by paths unsoiled by dust, pleasant to travel.

18 Here I beheld thy form matchless in beauty, eager to win thee food at the cow's station. Whene'er a man brings thee to thine enjoyment, thou swallowest the herbs, most greedy eater.

19 After thee, courser, come the car, the bridegroom, the kine come after, and the charm of maidens. Full companies have followed for thy friendship: the pattern of thy vigour the angels have admired.

20 His horns are golden and his feet are iron. Less fleet than he, though swift as thought, was the swiftest of the swift. The angels came only to the banquet of charity of him who first mounted the courser.

21 Symmetrical in flank, with rounded haunches, mettled like heroes, the celestial coursers put forth their strength like swans in lengthened order when they, the steeds, have reached the heavenly causeway.

22 A body formed for flight hast thou, O charger; swift as the wind in motion is thy spirit. Thy horns are spread abroad in all directions; they move with restless beat in wildernesses.

23 The strong steed hath come forward to the slaughter, pondering with a mind directed Godward. The goat who is his kin is led before him; the sages and the singers follow after.

24 The steed is come unto the noblest mansion, unto heaven and earth. This day shall he approach the mercy of God, most welcome; then good gifts are declared to him who worships.

25 Thou in the house of man, this day enkindled, art a witness of the worship of God, O flame. Wealthy in friends, observant, bring us near to it. Thou art a sapient envoy, full of wisdom.

26 O Pure One, fair-tongued, with sweet mead balming the paths and ways of Order, make them pleasant. Accept our sacrifice, exalting with holy thoughts our hymns of praise and worship.

27 With sacrifice in God's name we with laudations will honour the greatness of the Praised of men; the pure, most wise, the thought-inspirers, the angels who attend both sorts of our oblations.

28 Invoked, deserving praise, come, O flame, with the bright ones. Thou art the vigorous caller; best of offerers, bring the angels quickly.

29 By rule the sacred grass is scattered eastward, a robe to clothe the earth when dawns are breaking. Widely it spreads around and far extended, fair for the angels and bringing peace and freedom.

30 Let the expansive doors be widely opened. Lofty, celestial, all-impelling portals, admit the angels and give them easy access.

31 Pouring sweet dews, let holy Night and Morning, each close to each, keep their station, lofty, celestial, with gold to deck them, assuming all their fair and radiant beauty.

32 Come the two chief celestial sweet-voiced priests, arranging sacrifice for man to worship, as singers who inspire us in assemblies, showing the eastward light with their direction!

33 Let sustaining wisdom come quickly to our worship, and devotion shown in human lives. So let eloquence and both her fellows, the deft blessings, be present on this fair grass.

34 Priest more skilled in sacrifice, with speed today praise God the Shaper, thou who knowest, even Him who framed these two, the Earth and Heaven, with their forms, and every creature.

35 May the angels be present at our offerings in ordered season. May the flame, the Lord of the forest tree, the immolator, sweeten our offered gift with mead and butter.

36 The flame, as soon as it was kindled, made ready the sacrifice and went before. May our offering, consecrated according to the true priest's voice and guidance, be accepted by God.

37 Thou, O sun, a sign of God, making light where no light was, and form where form was not, art born together with the dawns.

38 The warrior's look is like a thunderous rain-cloud's when, armed with mail, he seeks the lap of battle. Be thou victorious with unwounded body: so let the thickness of thine armour save thee.

39 With the bow let us win kine, with the bow the battle, with the bow be victors in our hot encounters. The bow brings grief and sorrow to the foeman: armed with the bow may we subdue all regions.

40 Close to his ear, as fain to speak, she presses, holding her well-loved friend in her embraces. Strained on the bow, she whispers like a woman, this bowstring that preserves us in the combat.

41 These, meeting like a woman and her lover, bear, mother-like, their child upon their bosom. May the two bow-ends, starting swift asunder, scatter, in unison, the foes who hate us.

42 With many a son, father of many daughters, he clangs and clashes as he goes to battle. Slung on the back, pouring his brood, the quiver vanquishes all opposing bands and armies.

43 Upstanding in the car the skilful charioteer guides his strong horses whithersoever he will. See and admire the strength of those controlling reins which from behind declare the will of him who drives.

44 Horses whose hoofs rain dust are neighing loudly, yoked to the chariots, showing forth their vigour. With their forefeet descending on the foemen, they, never flinching, trample and destroy them.

45 Car-bearer is the name of his stand, whereon are laid his weapons and his armour. So let us here, each day that passes, be grateful for the helpful car with hearts exceeding joyful.

46 In sweet association lived the fathers who gave us life, profound and strong in trouble, unwearied, armed with shafts and wondrous weapons, free, real heroes, conquerors of armies.