Hymn to Mitra
Rigveda III.59 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.
1. Mitra, when invoked, brings the peoples into order; Mitra has upheld the earth and the sky. Mitra watches over the tribes with an unblinking eye. Offer to Mitra the oblation mixed with ghee.
2. Let that mortal prosper with abundant offerings, O Mitra, who through his observance serves you, Āditya. Guarded by you, he is not struck down, not overcome; harm does not reach him, neither near nor far.
3. Free of sickness, rejoicing in nourishment, kneeling in the wide expanse of the earth, dwelling within the ordinance of the Āditya — may we stand in the good favor of Mitra.
4. This Mitra, worthy of homage, most kindly, has been born a king of good dominion, an ordainer. May we stand in the good favor of him who is worthy of worship, in his blessed good will.
5. Great is the Āditya, to be approached with homage, who brings the people into order, kindly to the one who praises him. To him, most admirable, offer this cherished oblation in the fire — to Mitra.
6. The help of Mitra, sustainer of the peoples, the god's help, is ever winning — splendor richest in wondrous fame.
7. Mitra, who by his greatness has spread wide over the sky, spreads also over the earth with his glories.
8. To Mitra the five peoples have bowed themselves, to him whose strength brings aid. He sustains all the gods.
9. Mitra, among the gods and among living men, has made the offerings fruitful — their rites duly performed — for the man who has strewn the sacred grass.
Translator's note: verse 6 (dyumnaṁ citraśravastamam) and verse 9 (iṣa iṣṭavratā akaḥ) are terse, elliptical formulas without an explicit verb or clear syntactic frame in places; the renderings above follow the most natural sense of the individual words but are offered conservatively.
Colophon
Rigveda III.59 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.59
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.
mitro janān yātayati bruvāṇo mitro dādhāra pṛthivīm uta dyām |
mitraḥ kṛṣṭīr animiṣābhi caṣṭe mitrāya havyaṁ ghṛtavaj juhota || 1 ||
pra sa mitra marto astu prayasvān yas ta āditya śikṣati vratena |
na hanyate na jīyate tvoto nainam aṁho aśnoty antito na dūrāt || 2 ||
anamīvāsa iḻayā madanto mitajñavo varimann ā pṛthivyāḥ |
ādityasya vratam upakṣiyanto vayam mitrasya sumatau syāma || 3 ||
ayam mitro namasyaḥ suśevo rājā sukṣatro ajaniṣṭa vedhāḥ |
tasya vayaṁ sumatau yajñiyasyāpi bhadre saumanase syāma || 4 ||
mahām̐ ādityo namasopasadyo yātayajjano gṛṇate suśevaḥ |
tasmā etat panyatamāya juṣṭam agnau mitrāya havir ā juhota || 5 ||
mitrasya carṣaṇīdhṛto 'vo devasya sānasi |
dyumnaṁ citraśravastamam || 6 ||
abhi yo mahinā divam mitro babhūva saprathāḥ |
abhi śravobhiḥ pṛthivīm || 7 ||
mitrāya pañca yemire janā abhiṣṭiśavase |
sa devān viśvān bibharti || 8 ||
mitro deveṣv āyuṣu janāya vṛktabarhiṣe |
iṣa iṣṭavratā akaḥ || 9 ||
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).