Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda III.55 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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. Each verse of this hymn is a riddle-like image — dawn and night, cow and calf, the two-mothered fire — closing on the same refrain: great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
1. When the earliest dawns shone forth, the great imperishable word was born in the track of the cow. Let these attend now upon the ordinances of the gods — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
2. Let not the gods lead us astray here, nor the ancient fathers, O Agni, who know the way. Between the two ancient seats a banner of light stands — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
3. My desires fly out in many directions; I gaze toward the ancient rites for their accomplishment. When the fire is kindled, let us speak what is true — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
4. The same king is carried about in many places; he lies among the resting waters, driven on along the forest paths. Another bears the calf, while the mother stays at home — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
5. It has dwelt among the earlier ones; unhindered, the later one dwells within the young, born on the very same day. The pregnant ones give birth though they were never made pregnant — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
6. Lying beyond, having two mothers now, the one calf wanders unbound. These are the ordinances of Mitra and Varuṇa — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
7. The two-mothered priest, sovereign at the sacred gatherings, moves at the forefront and dwells at the foundation. Those of joyful speech bring forth delightful gifts — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
8. Like a hero fighting at close quarters, all that approaches is seen coming to face him. Thought moves within, toward the hidden treasure of the cow — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
9. The grey-haired messenger moves again and again among them; the great one travels within by his own light. Bearing many forms, he looks out over us — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
10. Viṣṇu the guardian watches over the highest domain, holding the dear immortal abodes. Agni knows all these worlds — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
11. The twin sisters have made their forms unlike each other: of the two, one shines bright, the other is dark — the dusky one and the ruddy one — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
12. Where the mother and the daughter, both milk-cows, come together and give suck as one — within the seat of the cosmic order I call upon them — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
13. Licking the calf of another, she lowed. By what nature does the milch-cow give down her udder? She, the earth, swells with the milk of the cosmic order — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
14. On foot she wears many-shaped forms; standing upright, she licks the yearling again and again. I, knowing this, roam through the seat of the cosmic order — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
15. As if two tracks were set within the wondrous place — of the two, one hidden, the other revealed. That path runs together and yet runs apart — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
16. Let the milch-cows, though calfless, low with abundance — milk-yielding, resting, yet undrawn — becoming ever-new again, like young women — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
17. When the bull bellows among the other cows, he deposits his seed in a different herd. He indeed is lord of the nights, he is Bhaga, he is the king — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
18. Let us now proclaim, O people, the hero's wealth of good horses — the gods know of it. Yoked six together, five and five, they draw the chariot — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
19. The god Tvaṣṭṛ, the all-form Savitṛ, has nourished creatures and brought them forth in many ways; all these worlds belong to him — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
20. The great one has set the two joined bowls in motion together; both are filled with his wealth. The hero is renowned, winning treasures — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
21. And over this our earth, the all-nourishing, he dwells close by, like a king with allies secured — like heroes seated at the fore, seated in shelter — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
22. Your plants and your waters bring their treasure to rest; the earth bears wealth for you, O Indra. May we be your friends, sharers of your bounty — great is the one sovereign power of the gods.
Translator's note: This hymn is a classical Vedic riddle-hymn (brahmodya); many verses (4–17 especially) speak in deliberately veiled images of dawn/night, cow/calf, and the two-mothered fire (Agni born of two fire-sticks) without naming their referents outright. Ambiguous words like "vana" (wood/water), "goḥ" (of the cow/of light), and "kṣapāvān" (lord of nights) are rendered conservatively, keeping the riddle's surface image rather than resolving it into a single interpretation.
Colophon
Rigveda III.55 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 III.55
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.
uṣasaḥ pūrvā adha yad vyūṣur mahad vi jajñe akṣaram pade goḥ |
vratā devānām upa nu prabhūṣan mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 1 ||
mo ṣū ṇo atra juhuranta devā mā pūrve agne pitaraḥ padajñāḥ |
purāṇyoḥ sadmanoḥ ketur antar mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 2 ||
vi me purutrā patayanti kāmāḥ śamy acchā dīdye pūrvyāṇi |
samiddhe agnāv ṛtam id vadema mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 3 ||
samāno rājā vibhṛtaḥ purutrā śaye śayāsu prayuto vanānu |
anyā vatsam bharati kṣeti mātā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 4 ||
ākṣit pūrvāsv aparā anūrut sadyo jātāsu taruṇīṣv antaḥ |
antarvatīḥ suvate apravītā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 5 ||
śayuḥ parastād adha nu dvimātābandhanaś carati vatsa ekaḥ |
mitrasya tā varuṇasya vratāni mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 6 ||
dvimātā hotā vidatheṣu samrāḻ anv agraṁ carati kṣeti budhnaḥ |
pra raṇyāni raṇyavāco bharante mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 7 ||
śūrasyeva yudhyato antamasya pratīcīnaṁ dadṛśe viśvam āyat |
antar matiś carati niṣṣidhaṁ gor mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 8 ||
ni veveti palito dūta āsv antar mahām̐ś carati rocanena |
vapūṁṣi bibhrad abhi no vi caṣṭe mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 9 ||
viṣṇur gopāḥ paramam pāti pāthaḥ priyā dhāmāny amṛtā dadhānaḥ |
agniṣ ṭā viśvā bhuvanāni veda mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 10 ||
nānā cakrāte yamyā3 vapūṁṣi tayor anyad rocate kṛṣṇam anyat |
śyāvī ca yad aruṣī ca svasārau mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 11 ||
mātā ca yatra duhitā ca dhenū sabardughe dhāpayete samīcī |
ṛtasya te sadasīḻe antar mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 12 ||
anyasyā vatsaṁ rihatī mimāya kayā bhuvā ni dadhe dhenur ūdhaḥ |
ṛtasya sā payasāpinvateḻā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 13 ||
padyā vaste pururūpā vapūṁṣy ūrdhvā tasthau tryaviṁ rerihāṇā |
ṛtasya sadma vi carāmi vidvān mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 14 ||
pade iva nihite dasme antas tayor anyad guhyam āvir anyat |
sadhrīcīnā pathyā3 sā viṣūcī mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 15 ||
ā dhenavo dhunayantām aśiśvīḥ sabardughāḥ śaśayā apradugdhāḥ |
navyā-navyā yuvatayo bhavantīr mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 16 ||
yad anyāsu vṛṣabho roravīti so anyasmin yūthe ni dadhāti retaḥ |
sa hi kṣapāvān sa bhagaḥ sa rājā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 17 ||
vīrasya nu svaśvyaṁ janāsaḥ pra nu vocāma vidur asya devāḥ |
ṣoḻhā yuktāḥ pañca-pañcā vahanti mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 18 ||
devas tvaṣṭā savitā viśvarūpaḥ pupoṣa prajāḥ purudhā jajāna |
imā ca viśvā bhuvanāny asya mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 19 ||
mahī sam airac camvā samīcī ubhe te asya vasunā nyṛṣṭe |
śṛṇve vīro vindamāno vasūni mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 20 ||
imāṁ ca naḥ pṛthivīṁ viśvadhāyā upa kṣeti hitamitro na rājā |
puraḥsadaḥ śarmasado na vīrā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 21 ||
niṣṣidhvarīs ta oṣadhīr utāpo rayiṁ ta indra pṛthivī bibharti |
sakhāyas te vāmabhājaḥ syāma mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 22 ||
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).