Hymn to the Ādityas
Rigveda II.27 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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. With my tongue I pour out these songs, dripping with ghee, as an offering to the Ādityas, the ancient kings. May Mitra, Aryaman, and Bhaga hear us, and Varuṇa of mighty birth, and Dakṣa, and Aṃśa.
2. May Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuṇa, of one purpose, delight today in this praise-song of mine — the Ādityas, pure, purified as by a flowing stream, without crookedness, blameless, unharmed.
3. Those Ādityas are wide, deep, undeceived, watchful against those who would deceive them, many-eyed. Within themselves they see both the crooked and the straight; everything lies near the kings, even what is farthest away.
4. The Ādityas, gods, uphold what moves and what stands still; they are the guardians of the whole world. Far-seeing in thought, protecting their divine dominion, possessing truth and order, they take note of every debt and fault.
5. May I know this help of yours, O Ādityas — that of yours, O Aryaman, which brings comfort even in fear. Under the guidance of you, Mitra and Varuṇa, may I steer clear of misfortunes as one steers clear of a pit.
6. For your path, O Aryaman, Mitra, Varuṇa, is easy to travel, without thorns, straight and good. By that path, O Ādityas, speak well of us; grant us a shelter hard to break through.
7. May Aditi, mother of royal sons, carry us across all hostility; may Aryaman carry us across by easy paths. May we come to rest under the vast shelter of Mitra and Varuṇa, rich in strong sons, unharmed.
8. Upholding the three earths and the three heavens, with three ordinances at work among them, in the gathering — great is your greatness, O Ādityas, through truth and order; that, Aryaman, Varuṇa, Mitra, is a lovely thing.
9. Upholding the three luminous realms of heaven, golden, pure, purified as by a flowing stream — never sleeping, unwinking, undeceived, widely praised — a boon for the honest mortal.
10. You, Varuṇa, are king of all — of the gods and of mortals alike. Grant us a hundred autumns to see clearly by; may we reach lifetimes as well-established as those of our forefathers.
11. I cannot tell right from left, nor before from behind, O Ādityas. Whether simply or by careful thought, led by you, O Vasus, may I reach the fearless light.
12. He who gives to the kings who uphold truth, whom lasting abundance keeps making flourish — he travels wealthy, foremost, by chariot, a giver of riches, praised in the gatherings.
13. Pure, with waters and good pastures, undeceived, he dwells there, grown old in years, rich in strong sons. No one strikes him down, neither from near nor from far, who stands under the guidance of the Ādityas.
14. O Aditi, Mitra, and Varuṇa, be gracious for whatever offense we have committed against you. May I reach the wide, fearless light, O Indra; let no long darkness come over us.
15. Both realms, joined together, pour abundance out for him, nourishing the rain of heaven, for he is called fortunate. Conquering, he travels between both dwellings in battle; both halves of the world are kind to him.
16. Whatever snares of yours, O worshipful Ādityas, are spread out for the deceitful one, for the enemy — may we pass beyond them by chariot, as riders pass on horses, unharmed; may we come to rest in your wide shelter.
17. May I, Varuṇa, never know the emptiness of losing a generous, beloved, richly-giving kinsman. May I not fall away, O king, from wealth well held. May we speak boldly in the gathering, rich in strong sons.
Translator's note: verse 11's "right, left, before, behind" is an idiom of confusion or disorientation — the speaker admits to not being able to find their bearings without the Ādityas' guidance. Verse 15's "both realms" and "both dwellings" most likely refer to heaven and earth. Verse 17's "wealth well held" (suyamāt) renders a term for wealth that is properly controlled or well-managed.
Colophon
Rigveda II.27 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 II.27
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.
imā gira ādityebhyo ghṛtasnūḥ sanād rājabhyo juhvā juhomi |
śṛṇotu mitro aryamā bhago nas tuvijāto varuṇo dakṣo aṁśaḥ || 1 ||
imaṁ stomaṁ sakratavo me adya mitro aryamā varuṇo juṣanta |
ādityāsaḥ śucayo dhārapūtā avṛjinā anavadyā ariṣṭāḥ || 2 ||
ta ādityāsa uravo gabhīrā adabdhāso dipsanto bhūryakṣāḥ |
antaḥ paśyanti vṛjinota sādhu sarvaṁ rājabhyaḥ paramā cid anti || 3 ||
dhārayanta ādityāso jagat sthā devā viśvasya bhuvanasya gopāḥ |
dīrghādhiyo rakṣamāṇā asuryam ṛtāvānaś cayamānā ṛṇāni || 4 ||
vidyām ādityā avaso vo asya yad aryaman bhaya ā cin mayobhu |
yuṣmākam mitrāvaruṇā praṇītau pari śvabhreva duritāni vṛjyām || 5 ||
sugo hi vo aryaman mitra panthā anṛkṣaro varuṇa sādhur asti |
tenādityā adhi vocatā no yacchatā no duṣparihantu śarma || 6 ||
pipartu no aditī rājaputrāti dveṣāṁsy aryamā sugebhiḥ |
bṛhan mitrasya varuṇasya śarmopa syāma puruvīrā ariṣṭāḥ || 7 ||
tisro bhūmīr dhārayan trīm̐r uta dyūn trīṇi vratā vidathe antar eṣām |
ṛtenādityā mahi vo mahitvaṁ tad aryaman varuṇa mitra cāru || 8 ||
trī rocanā divyā dhārayanta hiraṇyayāḥ śucayo dhārapūtāḥ |
asvapnajo animiṣā adabdhā uruśaṁsā ṛjave martyāya || 9 ||
tvaṁ viśveṣāṁ varuṇāsi rājā ye ca devā asura ye ca martāḥ |
śataṁ no rāsva śarado vicakṣe 'śyāmāyūṁṣi sudhitāni pūrvā || 10 ||
na dakṣiṇā vi cikite na savyā na prācīnam ādityā nota paścā |
pākyā cid vasavo dhīryā cid yuṣmānīto abhayaṁ jyotir aśyām || 11 ||
yo rājabhya ṛtanibhyo dadāśa yaṁ vardhayanti puṣṭayaś ca nityāḥ |
sa revān yāti prathamo rathena vasudāvā vidatheṣu praśastaḥ || 12 ||
śucir apaḥ sūyavasā adabdha upa kṣeti vṛddhavayāḥ suvīraḥ |
nakiṣ ṭaṁ ghnanty antito na dūrād ya ādityānām bhavati praṇītau || 13 ||
adite mitra varuṇota mṛḻa yad vo vayaṁ cakṛmā kac cid āgaḥ |
urv aśyām abhayaṁ jyotir indra mā no dīrghā abhi naśan tamisrāḥ || 14 ||
ubhe asmai pīpayataḥ samīcī divo vṛṣṭiṁ subhago nāma puṣyan |
ubhā kṣayāv ājayan yāti pṛtsūbhāv ardhau bhavataḥ sādhū asmai || 15 ||
yā vo māyā abhidruhe yajatrāḥ pāśā ādityā ripave vicṛttāḥ |
aśvīva tām̐ ati yeṣaṁ rathenāriṣṭā urāv ā śarman syāma || 16 ||
māham maghono varuṇa priyasya bhūridāvna ā vidaṁ śūnam āpeḥ |
mā rāyo rājan suyamād ava sthām bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 17 ||
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).