Hymn to the Viśvedevas — the All-Gods
Rigveda V.44 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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 traditionally attributed to the sage Avatsāra Kāśyapa — who names himself in verse 10 — and addressed to the Viśvedevāḥ, the All-Gods. It is among the most syntactically compressed and riddling hymns in the entire Rigveda: verses shift without warning between unnamed gods, ritual fire, pressed soma, the sun, and the flowing waters, before resolving in a refrain that names Agni as the one who never sleeps. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. As of old, as before, in every way, even now — highest in rank, seated on the sacred grass, finder of the heavenly light; the encircling host turned toward us, swift, to be milked out by song, conquering — in these songs you grow strong.
2. Fair to see for glory are the flames of the nether stone, which lead to the sun's light, shining, driving on the mountain-peaks. You are a good guardian, not to be deceived, O wise one; beyond all magic-powers your name has stood in truth.
3. He follows the courser and the oblation, and the true substance, his path unharmed — he the priest, bearer of might; streaming forth along the sacred grass, the bull, a child in the midst, young and ageless, set apart in the outpouring.
4. Forth go these your well-yoked ones on their course, for the offering, bowed low for that one, guided, increasers of the sacred order — with good reins, all-commanding, with the guiding-straps; Krivi steals away the names on the downward slope.
5. Flickering together with the kindling-sticks, grasper of the pressed soma, the branching one, well-toned amid the wombs of thought; straight-singing in the streams of speech you shine — grow, living, toward the divine wives at the rite.
6. Just as it was seen, so it is told; they have set it together with its reflection, effectively, in the waters. Grant us the great, far-sheltering, wide-sweeping, vast strength, rich in heroes, unshaken.
7. The unwed one — or he who has a wife — goes beyond the rivals with a zealous mind: Sūrya the sage, guarding the heat on every side, and the house. May he, rich in his own good things, grant us shelter.
8. By the banner of this striving, the greater one, the seer-toned, moves — in these rites is your name. Wherever it was set, may he find it through the ritual work; whoever himself carries the offering, he shall make it fitting.
9. The foremost of these has settled down toward the sea; the soma-pressing does not fail in which it has come. Here the heart of the doer does not tremble, where the thought is found that binds in purity.
10. For by the perceptions of his ruling, thoughtful mind — of the truly speaking, worshipful, united one, of Avatsāra — may we win, with delightful songs, the mightiest strength, to be reached even by one who knows.
11. The falcon of these, boundless, girded, is the rapture of the all-bounteous, worshipful, wondrous one. They urge one another on to go; they know the horn, the cup passed round, close beside you.
12. The ever-bountiful, worshipful one has struck down the haters, shielded by his arm, knowing renown, safe to cross together with you. He goes forth to both boons and shines, when he shares his company with the well-faring companions.
13. The bearer of the pressed soma, the good lord of the sacrificer, the udder of all, drawing up our prayers, carries the milk-cow; he has taken to the sap-rich milk. Answering in response, he attends the rite, not sleeping.
14. Him who has stayed awake, the verses desire; him who has stayed awake, the chants go to; him who has stayed awake, this Soma addresses: "I am at home in your friendship."
15. Agni has stayed awake — the verses desire him; Agni has stayed awake — the chants go to him; Agni has stayed awake — this Soma addresses him: "I am at home in your friendship."
Translator's note: verses 1–13 of this hymn are among the most compressed and disputed in the Rigveda — subjects, addressees, and even sentence boundaries are often left unstated in the Sanskrit and must be inferred. Renderings here follow the words present as closely as English allows without supplying a false certainty the Sanskrit does not have. A few points of particular obscurity: "kravaṇa" (v. 9) and "krivi" (v. 4) are treated as they stand, the latter possibly a proper name (a people or place) rather than a common noun; "vayākinam" (v. 5) and "bāhuvṛktaḥ" (v. 12) are rare compounds rendered by their most defensible root sense ("the branching one," "shielded by his arm"). Verse 10 contains the rishi's own name, Avatsāra, confirming the hymn's traditional attribution. Verses 14–15 are the clearest in the hymn and identify Agni, by name, as its resolution.
Colophon
Rigveda V.44 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 V.44
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.
tam pratnathā pūrvathā viśvathemathā jyeṣṭhatātim barhiṣadaṁ svarvidam |
pratīcīnaṁ vṛjanaṁ dohase girāśuṁ jayantam anu yāsu vardhase || 1 ||
śriye sudṛśīr uparasya yāḥ svar virocamānaḥ kakubhām acodate |
sugopā asi na dabhāya sukrato paro māyābhir ṛta āsa nāma te || 2 ||
atyaṁ haviḥ sacate sac ca dhātu cāriṣṭagātuḥ sa hotā sahobhariḥ |
prasarsrāṇo anu barhir vṛṣā śiśur madhye yuvājaro visruhā hitaḥ || 3 ||
pra va ete suyujo yāmann iṣṭaye nīcīr amuṣmai yamya ṛtāvṛdhaḥ |
suyantubhiḥ sarvaśāsair abhīśubhiḥ krivir nāmāni pravaṇe muṣāyati || 4 ||
saṁjarbhurāṇas tarubhiḥ sutegṛbhaṁ vayākinaṁ cittagarbhāsu susvaruḥ |
dhāravākeṣv ṛjugātha śobhase vardhasva patnīr abhi jīvo adhvare || 5 ||
yādṛg eva dadṛśe tādṛg ucyate saṁ chāyayā dadhire sidhrayāpsv ā |
mahīm asmabhyam uruṣām uru jrayo bṛhat suvīram anapacyutaṁ sahaḥ || 6 ||
vety agrur janivān vā ati spṛdhaḥ samaryatā manasā sūryaḥ kaviḥ |
ghraṁsaṁ rakṣantam pari viśvato gayam asmākaṁ śarma vanavat svāvasuḥ || 7 ||
jyāyāṁsam asya yatunasya ketuna ṛṣisvaraṁ carati yāsu nāma te |
yādṛśmin dhāyi tam apasyayā vidad ya u svayaṁ vahate so araṁ karat || 8 ||
samudram āsām ava tasthe agrimā na riṣyati savanaṁ yasminn āyatā |
atrā na hārdi kravaṇasya rejate yatrā matir vidyate pūtabandhanī || 9 ||
sa hi kṣatrasya manasasya cittibhir evāvadasya yajatasya sadhreḥ |
avatsārasya spṛṇavāma raṇvabhiḥ śaviṣṭhaṁ vājaṁ viduṣā cid ardhyam || 10 ||
śyena āsām aditiḥ kakṣyo3 mado viśvavārasya yajatasya māyinaḥ |
sam anyam-anyam arthayanty etave vidur viṣāṇam paripānam anti te || 11 ||
sadāpṛṇo yajato vi dviṣo vadhīd bāhuvṛktaḥ śrutavit taryo vaḥ sacā |
ubhā sa varā praty eti bhāti ca yad īṁ gaṇam bhajate suprayāvabhiḥ || 12 ||
sutambharo yajamānasya satpatir viśvāsām ūdhaḥ sa dhiyām udañcanaḥ |
bharad dhenū rasavac chiśriye payo 'nubruvāṇo adhy eti na svapan || 13 ||
yo jāgāra tam ṛcaḥ kāmayante yo jāgāra tam u sāmāni yanti |
yo jāgāra tam ayaṁ soma āha tavāham asmi sakhye nyokāḥ || 14 ||
agnir jāgāra tam ṛcaḥ kāmayante 'gnir jāgāra tam u sāmāni yanti |
agnir jāgāra tam ayaṁ soma āha tavāham asmi sakhye nyokāḥ || 15 ||
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).