Hymn to Pūṣan
Rigveda I.42 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Pūṣan, the pastoral god, guardian of paths and herds, escort of the dead. 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.
Praise unto Pūṣan, the golden-hued, who driveth his chariot across the earth. He knoweth every path—the ways of men, the trails of beasts, the roads that gods do travel. Not a single track escapeth him, not a crossing, not a mountain pass.
Pūṣan the nourisher! He feedeth all the world. His hands are gentle, his heart boundless. He driveeth away the wolf that threateneth the flock; he keepeth the thief at bay. By his grace do herds prosper, do flocks multiply.
We invoke thee, O bright one, when the dawn breaketh! Guide us along the paths; let no man wander lost. Thy chariot hath golden wheels; thy horses are swift beyond measure. They know the way through trackless lands.
Thou art the keeper of the ways for all who journey. The merchant invoketh thee when he setteth forth. The warrior calleth upon thee ere he marceth to battle. The pilgrim prayeth to thee when he knoweth not the road. Thou art the friend of the wanderer.
O Pūṣan, golden lord! We have sacrificed unto thee. Thou hast eaten of our offerings. Now grant us safe passage. Let our feet not stumble, our eyes not fail us in darkness. Keep us from the ambush, from the wolf, from the thief in the night.
Grant us prosperity in all our journeys. May we arrive whole at our destinations. May our paths be straight and our enemies turned aside. Glory unto thee, O golden-hued! Thou shepherd of all roads, thou guide of the world's wanderers. We praise thee with lifted hands.
Colophon
Rigveda I.42 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 Pūṣan, the pastoral god, guardian of paths and herds, escort of the dead. 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.42
sam pūṣann adhvanas tira vy aṁho vimuco napāt |
sakṣvā deva pra ṇas puraḥ || 1 ||
yo naḥ pūṣann agho vṛko duḥśeva ādideśati |
apa sma tam patho jahi || 2 ||
apa tyam paripanthinam muṣīvāṇaṁ huraścitam |
dūram adhi sruter aja || 3 ||
tvaṁ tasya dvayāvino 'ghaśaṁsasya kasya cit |
padābhi tiṣṭha tapuṣim || 4 ||
ā tat te dasra mantumaḥ pūṣann avo vṛṇīmahe |
yena pitṝn acodayaḥ || 5 ||
adhā no viśvasaubhaga hiraṇyavāśīmattama |
dhanāni suṣaṇā kṛdhi || 6 ||
ati naḥ saścato naya sugā naḥ supathā kṛṇu |
pūṣann iha kratuṁ vidaḥ || 7 ||
abhi sūyavasaṁ naya na navajvāro adhvane |
pūṣann iha kratuṁ vidaḥ || 8 ||
śagdhi pūrdhi pra yaṁsi ca śiśīhi prāsy udaram |
pūṣann iha kratuṁ vidaḥ || 9 ||
na pūṣaṇam methāmasi sūktair abhi gṛṇīmasi |
vasūni dasmam īmahe || 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).
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