Hymn to Bṛhaspati
Rigveda I.190 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Bṛhaspati, lord of sacred speech and divine knowledge, priest of the gods. 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.
Hail to thee, Bṛhaspati, Lord of the Sacred Word! Thou art the master of speech and prayer. Thou art the teacher of the gods themselves. When the divine assembly gathereth to decide the fate of worlds, it is thou who speakest wisdom. It is thy voice that breaketh the silence of chaos.
In the beginning, when all was void and darkness, thy word did call forth creation. Thy utterances have the power to shape reality itself. What thou speakest becometh truth. What thou namest becometh real. And so thy power is vast beyond measure, for thou art not merely a speaker of words — thou art the very source of speech itself.
O Bṛhaspati! Guide our tongues that we may speak truth. Guide our minds that we may perceive wisdom. Guide our hearts that we may act righteously. For what is speech without truth? What is wisdom without righteousness? What is the power of words if they do not serve the cosmic order?
Thou art the enemy of the asuras, the demons who would destroy the ṛta. Thy words are spears that pierce their armor. Thy prayers are arrows that strike them down. And so all who seek righteousness look to thee for aid. All who would uphold the law invoke thy name.
Grant us thy blessing, O Lord of Prayer! Make us swift in speaking truth and slow in uttering falsehood. Make us wise in counsel and brave in action. Make us worthy servants of the cosmic order. And let thy blessings flow through our words, that all whom we speak to may be uplifted, enlightened, and guided toward the good. O Bṛhaspati, eternal teacher, divine counselor — accept our worship and our praise!
Colophon
Rigveda I.190 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 Bṛhaspati, lord of sacred speech and divine knowledge, priest of the gods. 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.190
anarvāṇaṁ vṛṣabham mandrajihvam bṛhaspatiṁ vardhayā navyam arkaiḥ |
gāthānyaḥ suruco yasya devā āśṛṇvanti navamānasya martāḥ || 1 ||
tam ṛtviyā upa vācaḥ sacante sargo na yo devayatām asarji |
bṛhaspatiḥ sa hy añjo varāṁsi vibhvābhavat sam ṛte mātariśvā || 2 ||
upastutiṁ namasa udyatiṁ ca ślokaṁ yaṁsat saviteva pra bāhū |
asya kratvāhanyo3 yo asti mṛgo na bhīmo arakṣasas tuviṣmān || 3 ||
asya śloko divīyate pṛthivyām atyo na yaṁsad yakṣabhṛd vicetāḥ |
mṛgāṇāṁ na hetayo yanti cemā bṛhaspater ahimāyām̐ abhi dyūn || 4 ||
ye tvā devosrikam manyamānāḥ pāpā bhadram upajīvanti pajrāḥ |
na dūḍhye3 anu dadāsi vāmam bṛhaspate cayasa it piyārum || 5 ||
supraituḥ sūyavaso na panthā durniyantuḥ pariprīto na mitraḥ |
anarvāṇo abhi ye cakṣate no 'pīvṛtā aporṇuvanto asthuḥ || 6 ||
saṁ yaṁ stubho 'vanayo na yanti samudraṁ na sravato rodhacakrāḥ |
sa vidvām̐ ubhayaṁ caṣṭe antar bṛhaspatis tara āpaś ca gṛdhraḥ || 7 ||
evā mahas tuvijātas tuviṣmān bṛhaspatir vṛṣabho dhāyi devaḥ |
sa naḥ stuto vīravad dhātu gomad vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 8 ||
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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