Hymn to the Fathers (Pitṛs)
Rigveda X.15 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. Let them rise up — the nearer ones, the farther ones, and those in between — the fathers worthy of soma. Those who have gone to the life beyond, clear of the wolf, who know the truth — let those fathers favor us at our calls.
2. Let this homage be to the fathers today — those who went before, and those who came after — those seated now in the earthly realm, or those among the well-ordered clans.
3. I have found the fathers, gracious and easy to find, and the grandson, and the wide stride of Viṣṇu. Those seated on the sacred grass who share by their own will in the pressed drink — they are the most welcome to come here.
4. Fathers seated on the sacred grass, come near with your help; we have made these offerings for you — enjoy them! Come with your most kindly strength, and grant us well-being and health, free of hurt.
5. Invoked, the fathers worthy of soma, in their dear resting-places on the sacred grass — let them come, let them listen here, let them speak forth, let them favor us.
6. Bending the knee, seated to the south, approve this rite, all of you. Do us no harm, O fathers, for whatever offense we, being merely human, may commit against you.
7. Seated in the lap of the ruddy dawns, grant wealth to the mortal who has offered. To the sons, O fathers, give freely of that wealth — bestow strength here.
8. Our ancient fathers, the Vasiṣṭhas, worthy of soma, who followed after the soma-drink — with them may Yama, rejoicing together, eat the oblations, willing among the willing, as he desires.
9. Those who thirsted, straining toward the gods, knowing the priestly office, shaped by praise-songs and hymns — O Agni, come here bringing the fathers, easy to find, the true seers who sit at the gharma-drink.
10. Those who are true, eaters of the oblation, drinkers of the oblation, riding in one chariot with Indra and the gods — O Agni, come with the thousand fathers praised by the gods, the far-off and the near, who sit at the gharma-drink.
11. O fathers purified by fire, come here; sit each in your own place, you who guide us well. Eat the oblations set out on the sacred grass, and then grant us wealth rich in able sons.
12. You, Agni, invoked, O Jātavedas, have carried the oblations, making them fragrant. You gave them to the fathers; by their own will they have eaten. Now you yourself, O god, eat the oblations set forth.
13. The fathers who are here, and those who are not here, those we know and those we do not know — you know how many there are, O Jātavedas. By their own will, take pleasure in this well-made sacrifice.
14. Those burned by fire, and those not burned by fire, who rejoice by their own will in the midst of heaven — with them, self-ruling one, go on this leading of the life-breath; shape your own form as you wish.
Translator's note: "svadhā" (their own will/nature) is the ritual term for the independent power by which the ancestors partake of offerings; it is left as "by their own will" throughout rather than transliterated. "Gharma" (v. 9–10) refers to the hot milk oblation of the Pravargya rite; it is kept as "gharma-drink." "Svarāḍ" (v. 14, "self-ruling one") addresses Agni in his role guiding the departed.
Colophon
Rigveda X.15 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.15
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
ud īratām avara ut parāsa un madhyamāḥ pitaraḥ somyāsaḥ |
asuṁ ya īyur avṛkā ṛtajñās te no 'vantu pitaro haveṣu || 1 ||
idam pitṛbhyo namo astv adya ye pūrvāso ya uparāsa īyuḥ |
ye pārthive rajasy ā niṣattā ye vā nūnaṁ suvṛjanāsu vikṣu || 2 ||
āham pitṝn suvidatrām̐ avitsi napātaṁ ca vikramaṇaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ |
barhiṣado ye svadhayā sutasya bhajanta pitvas ta ihāgamiṣṭhāḥ || 3 ||
barhiṣadaḥ pitara ūty a1rvāg imā vo havyā cakṛmā juṣadhvam |
ta ā gatāvasā śaṁtamenāthā naḥ śaṁ yor arapo dadhāta || 4 ||
upahūtāḥ pitaraḥ somyāso barhiṣyeṣu nidhiṣu priyeṣu |
ta ā gamantu ta iha śruvantv adhi bruvantu te 'vantv asmān || 5 ||
ācyā jānu dakṣiṇato niṣadyemaṁ yajñam abhi gṛṇīta viśve |
mā hiṁsiṣṭa pitaraḥ kena cin no yad va āgaḥ puruṣatā karāma || 6 ||
āsīnāso aruṇīnām upasthe rayiṁ dhatta dāśuṣe martyāya |
putrebhyaḥ pitaras tasya vasvaḥ pra yacchata ta ihorjaṁ dadhāta || 7 ||
ye naḥ pūrve pitaraḥ somyāso 'nūhire somapīthaṁ vasiṣṭhāḥ |
tebhir yamaḥ saṁrarāṇo havīṁṣy uśann uśadbhiḥ pratikāmam attu || 8 ||
ye tātṛṣur devatrā jehamānā hotrāvidaḥ stomataṣṭāso arkaiḥ |
āgne yāhi suvidatrebhir arvāṅ satyaiḥ kavyaiḥ pitṛbhir gharmasadbhiḥ || 9 ||
ye satyāso havirado haviṣpā indreṇa devaiḥ sarathaṁ dadhānāḥ |
āgne yāhi sahasraṁ devavandaiḥ paraiḥ pūrvaiḥ pitṛbhir gharmasadbhiḥ || 10 ||
agniṣvāttāḥ pitara eha gacchata sadaḥ-sadaḥ sadata supraṇītayaḥ |
attā havīṁṣi prayatāni barhiṣy athā rayiṁ sarvavīraṁ dadhātana || 11 ||
tvam agna īḻito jātavedo 'vāḍ ḍhavyāni surabhīṇi kṛtvī |
prādāḥ pitṛbhyaḥ svadhayā te akṣann addhi tvaṁ deva prayatā havīṁṣi || 12 ||
ye ceha pitaro ye ca neha yām̐ś ca vidma yām̐ u ca na pravidma |
tvaṁ vettha yati te jātavedaḥ svadhābhir yajñaṁ sukṛtaṁ juṣasva || 13 ||
ye agnidagdhā ye anagnidagdhā madhye divaḥ svadhayā mādayante |
tebhiḥ svarāḻ asunītim etāṁ yathāvaśaṁ tanvaṁ kalpayasva || 14 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).