Hymn to the Viśvedevas (All-Gods), with Agni
Rigveda X.35 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 hymn is a morning invocation that moves through Heaven and Earth, Dawn, the Sun, Savitar, the Aśvins, the Ādityas, and the Maruts in turn, with a refrain asking kindled Agni for well-being. It is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. Those fires, kindled together with Indra, have awakened, carrying light in the breakings of the dawns. Let great Heaven and Earth take notice; today we choose for ourselves the gods' favor.
2. We choose for ourselves the favor of Heaven and Earth, of the mother Rivers, of the mountains of Śaryaṇāvat. We ask Sūrya and Uṣas for freedom from guilt; may the Soma, pressed today, make good for us.
3. Today may Heaven and Earth, the two great sinless mothers, protect us for our well-being. May Dawn, shining forth, drive evil away. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
4. May this first radiant dawn, rich with the gods' bounty, shine forth abundant for those who seek gain. May we set the wrath of the malicious one far away. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
5. Those dawns who go forth with the rays of the sun, carrying light in the breakings of the dawns — may they shine auspiciously for us today, toward fame. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
6. May the dawns come to us free of sickness; may the fires rise up with their great light. May the two Aśvins yoke their swift-driving chariot. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
7. O Savitar, today impel toward us the best, most desirable portion, for you are the bestower of treasures. I call upon Dhiṣaṇā, the mother of riches. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
8. May that pronouncement of truth carry me through — the thought we, as mortals, have conceived for the gods. The sun rises as watcher over all the dawns. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
9. Free of hostility today, at the spreading of the sacred grass, at the joining of the pressing-stones, we ask for the success of our prayer. You stand astir in the shelter of the Ādityas. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
10. Here is our sacred grass, spread high at the shared feast in heaven; I praise the gods, and seat the seven priests. I call on Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, and Bhaga, for our gain. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
11. O Ādityas, come here for our complete well-being; united in will, favor our sacrifice for our increase. We call on Bṛhaspati, Pūṣan, the two Aśvins, and Bhaga. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
12. O gods, O Ādityas, grant us that shelter worthy of praise, easy to bear, guarding our people — for our cattle, our children, our offspring, for life. We ask kindled Agni for well-being.
13. Today may all the Maruts, with all their help, be with us; may all the kindled fires be with us. May all the gods come to us with their favor. May all wealth, all strength, belong to us.
14. He whom you gods help in the winning of strength, whom you protect, whom you carry safe across distress, who in your guardianship knows no fear — may we be such ones, eager for the gods' feast.
Translator's note: "śaryaṇāvataḥ" (v.2) names Śaryaṇāvat, a lake or region associated elsewhere in the Rigveda with Soma; rendered here as a place name rather than translated. "gopīthe" (v.14) literally evokes cow-herding/pasturing as a figure for divine guardianship; rendered simply as "guardianship."
Colophon
Rigveda X.35 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.35
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.
abudhram u tya indravanto agnayo jyotir bharanta uṣaso vyuṣṭiṣu |
mahī dyāvāpṛthivī cetatām apo 'dyā devānām ava ā vṛṇīmahe || 1 ||
divaspṛthivyor ava ā vṛṇīmahe mātṝn sindhūn parvatāñ charyaṇāvataḥ |
anāgāstvaṁ sūryam uṣāsam īmahe bhadraṁ somaḥ suvāno adyā kṛṇotu naḥ || 2 ||
dyāvā no adya pṛthivī anāgaso mahī trāyetāṁ suvitāya mātarā |
uṣā ucchanty apa bādhatām aghaṁ svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 3 ||
iyaṁ na usrā prathamā sudevyaṁ revat sanibhyo revatī vy ucchatu |
āre manyuṁ durvidatrasya dhīmahi svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 4 ||
pra yāḥ sisrate sūryasya raśmibhir jyotir bharantīr uṣaso vyuṣṭiṣu |
bhadrā no adya śravase vy ucchata svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 5 ||
anamīvā uṣasa ā carantu na ud agnayo jihatāṁ jyotiṣā bṛhat |
āyukṣātām aśvinā tūtujiṁ rathaṁ svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 6 ||
śreṣṭhaṁ no adya savitar vareṇyam bhāgam ā suva sa hi ratnadhā asi |
rāyo janitrīṁ dhiṣaṇām upa bruve svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 7 ||
pipartu mā tad ṛtasya pravācanaṁ devānāṁ yan manuṣyā3 amanmahi |
viśvā id usrāḥ spaḻ ud eti sūryaḥ svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 8 ||
adveṣo adya barhiṣaḥ starīmaṇi grāvṇāṁ yoge manmanaḥ sādha īmahe |
ādityānāṁ śarmaṇi sthā bhuraṇyasi svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 9 ||
ā no barhiḥ sadhamāde bṛhad divi devām̐ īḻe sādayā sapta hotṝn |
indram mitraṁ varuṇaṁ sātaye bhagaṁ svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 10 ||
ta ādityā ā gatā sarvatātaye vṛdhe no yajñam avatā sajoṣasaḥ |
bṛhaspatim pūṣaṇam aśvinā bhagaṁ svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 11 ||
tan no devā yacchata supravācanaṁ chardir ādityāḥ subharaṁ nṛpāyyam |
paśve tokāya tanayāya jīvase svasty a1gniṁ samidhānam īmahe || 12 ||
viśve adya maruto viśva ūtī viśve bhavantv agnayaḥ samiddhāḥ |
viśve no devā avasā gamantu viśvam astu draviṇaṁ vājo asme || 13 ||
yaṁ devāso 'vatha vājasātau yaṁ trāyadhve yam pipṛthāty aṁhaḥ |
yo vo gopīthe na bhayasya veda te syāma devavītaye turāsaḥ || 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).