Hymn to Pūṣan
Rigveda X.17 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
“Tvaṣṭar prepareth a wedding for his daughter”— at this saying, lo, the whole world hearkens and gathers.
The mother of Yama, bride to great Vivasvant, was borne about in bridal rite—yet vanished from sight.
They hid her, the deathless one, from the eyes of mortal men.
And having shaped a likeness of her form, they gave that image unto Vivasvant for wife.
Yet she bore within her womb the Aśvins, twin-born, while the true one, Saraṇyū, left behind the pair— perhaps Yama and Yamī, of equal soul and bond.
Let Pūṣan awaken thee now—he, the wise herdsman whose flocks stray not, the warden of the world.
He shall guide thee unto the Fathers;
and Agni shall lead thee unto the gods,
those that are good to find.
Āyu, whose name is Lifetime, shall gird thee round with full span of days.
From the forepath let Pūṣan ward thee well.
Where the doers of good deeds sit, where they have gone before, there may Savitar, the god, set thee down in peace.
Pūṣan knoweth these lands full well—through and through.
He shall lead us by the gentlest way, where no hurt lieth.
Glowing he cometh, grantor of wholeness and hale-hearted men.
Let him go before us, ever foreseeing.
Upon the forward road was Pūṣan born—
the path that leadeth heavenward, the road of earth below.
To each beloved seat he wandereth, forward and back, with foresight in his eye.
They call upon Sarasvatī, those that seek the gods.
In lengthening rites she is named.
They of noble deed have called her;
and she shall bestow goodly wealth upon the faithful.
O Sarasvatī, who once rode the chariot alongside the Fathers of old,
stirred with joy at the svadhā-cry, take now thy place on this sacred grass.
Be glad with us—grant unto us foods that bring no ill.
Sarasvatī, whom the Fathers call when they come unto the southern fire,
bring forth a share of the draught, rich in thousands, full of gain, for the givers of offering.
Let the Waters—ye Mothers—make us clean.
With ghee, O pure ones, cleanse us well.
For ye, O goddesses, bear away all stain.
I rise from your stream shining, made pure.
That drop which was loosed in the early days— through this womb and through the womb before—
I now offer, ever circling, in the way of the seven sacred rites.
Thy drop that leapeth forth, and thy herb set a-stir by priestly arms, whether from the holy lap, or from the Adhvaryu’s hand, or from the strainer—
that I offer in mind, at the cry of vaṣaṭ.
Thy bursting drop, thy plant, that which is beneath the ladle and that which is beyond— let Br̥haspati, god of the word, pour all these together for our blessing.
Milk-full are the herbs; milk-full my lowly speech.
Milk-full too is the milk of the waters.
With this let me be cleansed, through and through.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda X.17
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.
tvaṣṭā duhitre vahatuṁ kṛṇotītīdaṁ viśvam bhuvanaṁ sam eti |
yamasya mātā paryuhyamānā maho jāyā vivasvato nanāśa || 1 ||
apāgūhann amṛtām martyebhyaḥ kṛtvī savarṇām adadur vivasvate |
utāśvināv abharad yat tad āsīd ajahād u dvā mithunā saraṇyūḥ || 2 ||
pūṣā tvetaś cyāvayatu pra vidvān anaṣṭapaśur bhuvanasya gopāḥ |
sa tvaitebhyaḥ pari dadat pitṛbhyo 'gnir devebhyaḥ suvidatriyebhyaḥ || 3 ||
āyur viśvāyuḥ pari pāsati tvā pūṣā tvā pātu prapathe purastāt |
yatrāsate sukṛto yatra te yayus tatra tvā devaḥ savitā dadhātu || 4 ||
pūṣemā āśā anu veda sarvāḥ so asmām̐ abhayatamena neṣat |
svastidā āghṛṇiḥ sarvavīro 'prayucchan pura etu prajānan || 5 ||
prapathe pathām ajaniṣṭa pūṣā prapathe divaḥ prapathe pṛthivyāḥ |
ubhe abhi priyatame sadhasthe ā ca parā ca carati prajānan || 6 ||
sarasvatīṁ devayanto havante sarasvatīm adhvare tāyamāne |
sarasvatīṁ sukṛto ahvayanta sarasvatī dāśuṣe vāryaṁ dāt || 7 ||
sarasvati yā sarathaṁ yayātha svadhābhir devi pitṛbhir madantī |
āsadyāsmin barhiṣi mādayasvānamīvā iṣa ā dhehy asme || 8 ||
sarasvatīṁ yām pitaro havante dakṣiṇā yajñam abhinakṣamāṇāḥ |
sahasrārgham iḻo atra bhāgaṁ rāyas poṣaṁ yajamāneṣu dhehi || 9 ||
āpo asmān mātaraḥ śundhayantu ghṛtena no ghṛtapvaḥ punantu |
viśvaṁ hi ripram pravahanti devīr ud id ābhyaḥ śucir ā pūta emi || 10 ||
drapsaś caskanda prathamām̐ anu dyūn imaṁ ca yonim anu yaś ca pūrvaḥ |
samānaṁ yonim anu saṁcarantaṁ drapsaṁ juhomy anu sapta hotrāḥ || 11 ||
yas te drapsaḥ skandati yas te aṁśur bāhucyuto dhiṣaṇāyā upasthāt |
adhvaryor vā pari vā yaḥ pavitrāt taṁ te juhomi manasā vaṣaṭkṛtam || 12 ||
yas te drapsaḥ skanno yas te aṁśur avaś ca yaḥ paraḥ srucā |
ayaṁ devo bṛhaspatiḥ saṁ taṁ siñcatu rādhase || 13 ||
payasvatīr oṣadhayaḥ payasvan māmakaṁ vacaḥ |
apām payasvad it payas tena mā saha śundhata || 14 ||
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).
🌲