Hymn to the Viśvedevas

Rigveda VII.36 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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. Let the sacred prayer go forth from the seat of cosmic order. The sun has sent out its rays like cows. The wide earth has spread out along its ridge. Agni of the broad face blazes up upon it.

2. This pure hymn I fashion for you two, Mitra and Varuṇa, like nourishment, ever new, O mighty lords. One of you, the powerful one, guards the path unbeguiled; and Mitra, speaking, guides the people.

3. They took joy in the wind's swift-going course; like milking cows they swelled with milk. Born in the seat of great heaven, the bull bellowed at that same udder.

4. O Indra, hero, with our song you yoke these dear bay horses of yours, well-charioted and nourishing. You who strike down the fury of the one who would harm us — may I turn Aryaman, the wise in purpose, toward us.

5. The reverent worship his friendship and his vigor, in the very dwelling-place of cosmic order. Praised by the men, he has poured forth his nourishing powers. This homage, most dear, goes to Rudra.

6. When together the glorious rivers come lowing, with Sarasvatī as the seventh, whose mother is the Sindhu — good-yielding, good-streaming, swelling with their own milk.

7. And may those Maruts of ours, exulting, full of strength, protect our prayer and our offspring. Let the flowing waters not pass us by unseen; they have increased for us that wealth which is ours to share.

8. Bring forward your great devotion, and Pūṣan, like a hero fit for the sacred gathering. Bring Bhaga, the furtherer of this prayer of ours, and Purandhi, who attends the giving, that we may win strength in the contest.

9. May this song go forth toward you, O Maruts, and toward Viṣṇu, guardian of the poured libation, together with your help. And may they grant vigor to the offspring of the singer. Protect us always, all of you, with your blessings.

Translator's note: several words resist a single confident rendering and are translated conservatively. "Aramati" (v. 8) and "Puraṁdhi" (v. 8) are minor personified powers — devotion and bounty — kept close to their literal sense rather than fully mythologized. "Vidathya" (v. 8, describing Pūṣan) is rendered "fit for the sacred gathering," its more common attested sense. "Akṣarā" (v. 7) is ambiguous between "imperishable ones" and "flowing/unfailing [waters]"; the latter is used here to match the surrounding river and wealth imagery. "Dhrajataḥ" (v. 3, of the wind) is rendered "swift-going," a conservative gloss of an otherwise rare form.

Colophon

Rigveda VII.36 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 VII.36

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 brahmaitu sadanād ṛtasya vi raśmibhiḥ sasṛje sūryo gāḥ |
vi sānunā pṛthivī sasra urvī pṛthu pratīkam adhy edhe agniḥ || 1 ||

imāṁ vām mitrāvaruṇā suvṛktim iṣaṁ na kṛṇve asurā navīyaḥ |
ino vām anyaḥ padavīr adabdho janaṁ ca mitro yatati bruvāṇaḥ || 2 ||

ā vātasya dhrajato ranta ityā apīpayanta dhenavo na sūdāḥ |
maho divaḥ sadane jāyamāno 'cikradad vṛṣabhaḥ sasminn ūdhan || 3 ||

girā ya etā yunajad dharī ta indra priyā surathā śūra dhāyū |
pra yo manyuṁ ririkṣato mināty ā sukratum aryamaṇaṁ vavṛtyām || 4 ||

yajante asya sakhyaṁ vayaś ca namasvinaḥ sva ṛtasya dhāman |
vi pṛkṣo bābadhe nṛbhiḥ stavāna idaṁ namo rudrāya preṣṭham || 5 ||

ā yat sākaṁ yaśaso vāvaśānāḥ sarasvatī saptathī sindhumātā |
yāḥ suṣvayanta sudughāḥ sudhārā abhi svena payasā pīpyānāḥ || 6 ||

uta tye no maruto mandasānā dhiyaṁ tokaṁ ca vājino 'vantu |
mā naḥ pari khyad akṣarā caranty avīvṛdhan yujyaṁ te rayiṁ naḥ || 7 ||

pra vo mahīm aramatiṁ kṛṇudhvam pra pūṣaṇaṁ vidathya1ṁ na vīram |
bhagaṁ dhiyo 'vitāraṁ no asyāḥ sātau vājaṁ rātiṣācam puraṁdhim || 8 ||

acchāyaṁ vo marutaḥ śloka etv acchā viṣṇuṁ niṣiktapām avobhiḥ |
uta prajāyai gṛṇate vayo dhur yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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).