Hymn to the Ṛbhus

Rigveda IV.33 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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. I send forth speech to the Ṛbhus, like a messenger, for the offering-spread; I praise the white milk-cow — they who, driven by the wind, with swift courses, at once became workers around heaven.

2. When the Ṛbhus, through service and toil, by their wondrous skills, made things fit for their parents — then indeed they came into friendship with the gods; the wise ones brought abundance for devotion.

3. They who made their parents young again — aged, lying like a worn sacrificial post — may Vāja, Vibhvan, and Ṛbhu, together with Indra, sweet of aspect, favor our sacrifice.

4. For a year the Ṛbhus guarded the cow; for a year the Ṛbhus did not cut it; for a year they carried its hide — by these labors they won immortality.

5. The eldest said, "Let him make two cups"; the middle one said, "Let us make three"; the youngest said, "Let him make four" — Tvaṣṭṛ, O Ṛbhus, admired that speech of yours.

6. They spoke truly, for the men indeed did so; the Ṛbhus followed their own inborn power. Tvaṣṭṛ, seeing the four shining cups, gazed at them with longing.

7. Twelve days, as guests of Agohya, the Ṛbhus rejoiced, sleeping. They made the fields good, they led the rivers forth; plants stood on the dry ground, and the waters sank into the depths.

8. They who made the well-running chariot on which the hero stands, who made the cow that quickens all things, of every form — may these Ṛbhus, of good help, good work, skillful hands, fashion wealth for us.

9. The gods indeed took pleasure in their works, pondering them with insight and mind. Vāja, of good work, became one of the gods; Ṛbhukṣan belongs to Indra, Vibhvan to Varuṇa.

10. They who, rejoicing in hymns with skill, made for Indra the two bay horses, the well-yoked steeds — may they, the Ṛbhus, grant us increase of wealth and riches, guarding us like a friend at peace.

11. They gave you the draft and the exhilaration of this day; not without the toiler's friendship, O gods, comes this. Now, O Ṛbhus, bestow on us treasures in this third libation.

Translator's note: verse 4's "bhāsaḥ" (the cow's "hide" or "brightness") and verse 7's "Agohya" (an epithet, likely of the sun, "the unconcealable one") are terse and somewhat obscure; both are rendered conservatively. Verse 9's "Vāja," "Ṛbhukṣan," and "Vibhvan" are the three Ṛbhu brothers themselves, here distributed among Indra, Varuṇa, and the gods generally.

Colophon

Rigveda IV.33 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 IV.33

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.

pra ṛbhubhyo dūtam iva vācam iṣya upastire śvaitarīṁ dhenum īḻe |
ye vātajūtās taraṇibhir evaiḥ pari dyāṁ sadyo apaso babhūvuḥ || 1 ||

yadāram akrann ṛbhavaḥ pitṛbhyām pariviṣṭī veṣaṇā daṁsanābhiḥ |
ād id devānām upa sakhyam āyan dhīrāsaḥ puṣṭim avahan manāyai || 2 ||

punar ye cakruḥ pitarā yuvānā sanā yūpeva jaraṇā śayānā |
te vājo vibhvām̐ ṛbhur indravanto madhupsaraso no 'vantu yajñam || 3 ||

yat saṁvatsam ṛbhavo gām arakṣan yat saṁvatsam ṛbhavo mā apiṁśan |
yat saṁvatsam abharan bhāso asyās tābhiḥ śamībhir amṛtatvam āśuḥ || 4 ||

jyeṣṭha āha camasā dvā kareti kanīyān trīn kṛṇavāmety āha |
kaniṣṭha āha caturas kareti tvaṣṭa ṛbhavas tat panayad vaco vaḥ || 5 ||

satyam ūcur nara evā hi cakrur anu svadhām ṛbhavo jagmur etām |
vibhrājamānām̐ś camasām̐ ahevāvenat tvaṣṭā caturo dadṛśvān || 6 ||

dvādaśa dyūn yad agohyasyātithye raṇann ṛbhavaḥ sasantaḥ |
sukṣetrākṛṇvann anayanta sindhūn dhanvātiṣṭhann oṣadhīr nimnam āpaḥ || 7 ||

rathaṁ ye cakruḥ suvṛtaṁ nareṣṭhāṁ ye dhenuṁ viśvajuvaṁ viśvarūpām |
ta ā takṣantv ṛbhavo rayiṁ naḥ svavasaḥ svapasaḥ suhastāḥ || 8 ||

apo hy eṣām ajuṣanta devā abhi kratvā manasā dīdhyānāḥ |
vājo devānām abhavat sukarmendrasya ṛbhukṣā varuṇasya vibhvā || 9 ||

ye harī medhayokthā madanta indrāya cakruḥ suyujā ye aśvā |
te rāyas poṣaṁ draviṇāny asme dhatta ṛbhavaḥ kṣemayanto na mitram || 10 ||

idāhnaḥ pītim uta vo madaṁ dhur na ṛte śrāntasya sakhyāya devāḥ |
te nūnam asme ṛbhavo vasūni tṛtīye asmin savane dadhāta || 11 ||

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).