Hymn to Viśvedevāḥ
Rigveda I.126 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Viśvedevāḥ, the assembled gods and divine powers, invoked in a dana-stuti (praise of generosity). It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Bhāvayavya, thou man of abundant wealth! Thy generosity is known throughout all the lands. The rivers do not flow so freely as thy gifts. The monsoon doth not rain so abundantly as thy bounty. Thou art the pillar upon which the poor do rest their hopes.
From thy hand come forth the treasures that sustain life. The merchant doth prosper in thy service. The laborer doth find employment and livelihood. Thy herds multiply endlessly. Thy granaries overflow with the grain of the harvest. Yet none of this prosperity doth make thee arrogant or cruel.
Nay, thou hast chosen the path of the righteous man. Thou dost remember those who have nothing. Thou dost honor the ancient laws of hospitality. When the wanderer arrives at thy gates, thou dost welcome him as thou would'st welcome a brother. The widow knoweth that she shall not want. The orphan is cared for as thy own child.
The gods do observe such virtue. They smile upon thee from their high seats in the heavens. Indra doth strengthen thy arm in battle. Varuṇa doth grant thee truth and prosperity. The Aśvins do protect thy journeys. Soma doth flow sweetly from thy libation.
O Bhāvayavya, may thy wealth serve the divine purpose! May thy generosity create waves of good karma that shall return to thee multiplied a hundredfold! May thy name endure, and may all men remember thee as the great giver, the upholder of dharma, the honored patron of the sacrificial fire.
Colophon
Rigveda I.126 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Viśvedevāḥ, the assembled gods and divine powers, invoked in a dana-stuti (praise of generosity). This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.126
amandān stomān pra bhare manīṣā sindhāv adhi kṣiyato bhāvyasya |
yo me sahasram amimīta savān atūrto rājā śrava icchamānaḥ || 1 ||
śataṁ rājño nādhamānasya niṣkāñ chatam aśvān prayatān sadya ādam |
śataṁ kakṣīvām̐ asurasya gonāṁ divi śravo 'jaram ā tatāna || 2 ||
upa mā śyāvāḥ svanayena dattā vadhūmanto daśa rathāso asthuḥ |
ṣaṣṭiḥ sahasram anu gavyam āgāt sanat kakṣīvām̐ abhipitve ahnām || 3 ||
catvāriṁśad daśarathasya śoṇāḥ sahasrasyāgre śreṇiṁ nayanti |
madacyutaḥ kṛśanāvato atyān kakṣīvanta ud amṛkṣanta pajrāḥ || 4 ||
pūrvām anu prayatim ā dade vas trīn yuktām̐ aṣṭāv aridhāyaso gāḥ |
subandhavo ye viśyā iva vrā anasvantaḥ śrava aiṣanta pajrāḥ || 5 ||
āgadhitā parigadhitā yā kaśīkeva jaṅgahe |
dadāti mahyaṁ yādurī yāśūnām bhojyā śatā || 6 ||
upopa me parā mṛśa mā me dabhrāṇi manyathāḥ |
sarvāham asmi romaśā gandhārīṇām ivāvikā || 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).
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