Hymn to the Viśvedevas (a riddle hymn)
Rigveda VIII.29 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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 a riddle: each verse describes a single god, or a pair of gods, by attribute and action alone — never by name — leaving the listener to recognize who is meant. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. One, tawny, manifold, glorious, young — he anoints himself with gold.
2. One, shining, has settled into his seat, wise among the gods.
3. One carries in his hand an iron axe, steadfast among the gods.
4. One carries the bolt set in his hand; with it he strikes down the obstructing foes.
5. One carries a sharp weapon in his hand — bright, fierce, possessing the healing balm.
6. One swells with wealth along the paths, like a thief; this one knows the hidden treasures.
7. One, wide-striding, paced out three steps, to where the gods rejoice.
8. Two move with the birds, together with one companion, dwelling forth like travelers away from home.
9. Two have made for themselves a supreme seat in heaven — two sovereigns, whose offering is ghee.
10. Some, chanting, devised the great chant; by it they made the sun shine.
Translator's note: the hymn never names its gods — each verse is a riddle built from a single epithet or action, and tradition reads it as pointing in turn toward gods such as Soma, Agni, Tvaṣṭṛ, Indra, Rudra, a thieving Pūṣan of the paths, Viṣṇu, the Aśvins, Mitra-Varuṇa, and the Aṅgirases, though the Sanskrit itself leaves every identification open. The translation keeps the riddling anonymity rather than supplying names the text withholds.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.29 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 VIII.29
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.
babhrur eko viṣuṇaḥ sūnaro yuvāñjy aṅkte hiraṇyayam || 1 ||
yonim eka ā sasāda dyotano 'ntar deveṣu medhiraḥ || 2 ||
vāśīm eko bibharti hasta āyasīm antar deveṣu nidhruviḥ || 3 ||
vajram eko bibharti hasta āhitaṁ tena vṛtrāṇi jighnate || 4 ||
tigmam eko bibharti hasta āyudhaṁ śucir ugro jalāṣabheṣajaḥ || 5 ||
patha ekaḥ pīpāya taskaro yathām̐ eṣa veda nidhīnām || 6 ||
trīṇy eka urugāyo vi cakrame yatra devāso madanti || 7 ||
vibhir dvā carata ekayā saha pra pravāseva vasataḥ || 8 ||
sado dvā cakrāte upamā divi samrājā sarpirāsutī || 9 ||
arcanta eke mahi sāma manvata tena sūryam arocayan || 10 ||
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).