Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda VII.40 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. May the readiness of the sacrificial assembly come to us; let us offer praise to the swift gods. When today god Savitar sets all things in motion, may we have a share in the wealth he distributes.
2. May Mitra, Varuna, and the two world-halves, Heaven and Earth, give us that portion apportioned by the sky; may Indra and Aryaman grant it. May goddess Aditi assign us wealth, and whatever Vayu and Bhaga together bestow.
3. Let that mortal be mighty and full of vigor, O Maruts with your dappled horses, whom you have favored. Agni and Sarasvati speed him on as well; no one can overtake his riches.
4. This Varuna is indeed the leader of ṛta, the cosmic order; Mitra, the kingly ones, Aryaman, and the Waters have upheld it. Goddess Aditi, easy to call upon, unassailable — may they carry us safely across distress, unharmed.
5. We seek the favor of this bounteous god, swift Vishnu, with oblations at the offering. Rudra's greatness is known as his own. May the two Ashvins make their nourishing circuit to us.
6. O glowing Pushan, do not be grudging here, when the protecting goddess and the gift-attending ones give their offerings. May our delight-bringing steeds watch over us; may Vata, who circles the world, give us rain.
7. Now Heaven and Earth are praised by the Vasishthas, and so are truth-keeping Varuna, Mitra, and Agni. May the shining gods grant us our finest song of praise. Protect us always, all of you, with your blessings.
Translator's note: Verse 1's "vidathyā3" carries an old accentual marker (the raised numeral) rather than any added syllable; it is read simply as "belonging to the vidatha," the sacrificial assembly. Verse 5 is highly compressed in the Sanskrit — the relation between "vayāḥ" (branches/blessings), Vishnu, and Rudra's greatness is elliptical in the source itself, and the rendering above stays close to the literal sense rather than smoothing it into a fuller narrative. The closing line "yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ" ("protect us always with your blessings") is a fixed refrain shared by many Vasishtha hymns in this Maṇḍala.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.40 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda VII.40
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.
o śruṣṭir vidathyā3 sam etu prati stomaṁ dadhīmahi turāṇām |
yad adya devaḥ savitā suvāti syāmāsya ratnino vibhāge || 1 ||
mitras tan no varuṇo rodasī ca dyubhaktam indro aryamā dadātu |
dideṣṭu devy aditī rekṇo vāyuś ca yan niyuvaite bhagaś ca || 2 ||
sed ugro astu marutaḥ sa śuṣmī yam martyam pṛṣadaśvā avātha |
utem agniḥ sarasvatī junanti na tasya rāyaḥ paryetāsti || 3 ||
ayaṁ hi netā varuṇa ṛtasya mitro rājāno aryamāpo dhuḥ |
suhavā devy aditir anarvā te no aṁho ati parṣann ariṣṭān || 4 ||
asya devasya mīḻhuṣo vayā viṣṇor eṣasya prabhṛthe havirbhiḥ |
vide hi rudro rudriyam mahitvaṁ yāsiṣṭaṁ vartir aśvināv irāvat || 5 ||
mātra pūṣann āghṛṇa irasyo varūtrī yad rātiṣācaś ca rāsan |
mayobhuvo no arvanto ni pāntu vṛṣṭim parijmā vāto dadātu || 6 ||
nū rodasī abhiṣṭute vasiṣṭhair ṛtāvāno varuṇo mitro agniḥ |
yacchantu candrā upamaṁ no arkaṁ yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 7 ||
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).