A Hymn of Maṇḍala 10
Rigveda X.72 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.
Now with loud praise shall we speak forth the birth of the gods, that one in time to come may behold them as the songs are sung.
The Lord of Holy Speech, like a smith at his forge, did smelt these births.
In that first age of gods, what is, was born from what was not.
In the eldest dawning of the divine, being sprang from non-being.
The reaches of the heavens were wrought thereafter— being was born of Him whose feet were laid bare.
From Him whose feet were laid open came forth the earth; from the earth arose the bounds of space.
From Aditi sprang Daksha, and from Daksha, Aditi in turn.
For Aditi was born, thy daughter, O Daksha; and after her, the gods were brought to light— the fair-born kin of the Deathless One.
When ye, O gods, stood bound close in the waters, a bitter dust flew out from you, like sweat from dancers in their whirl.
When ye, O gods, even as the Yatis of old, did swell the living worlds, then from the sea ye drew forth the sun, hidden deep beneath the wave.
Eight sons were born of Aditi’s womb, but with seven she went to the gods of old.
The eighth, sprung from a lifeless egg, she cast away.
Yet again, for birth’s sake and for death’s, she brought back him who came of the dead egg, and gave him unto the elder gods.
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.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.72
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.
devānāṁ nu vayaṁ jānā pra vocāma vipanyayā |
uktheṣu śasyamāneṣu yaḥ paśyād uttare yuge || 1 ||
brahmaṇas patir etā saṁ karmāra ivādhamat |
devānām pūrvye yuge 'sataḥ sad ajāyata || 2 ||
devānāṁ yuge prathame 'sataḥ sad ajāyata |
tad āśā anv ajāyanta tad uttānapadas pari || 3 ||
bhūr jajña uttānapado bhuva āśā ajāyanta |
aditer dakṣo ajāyata dakṣād v aditiḥ pari || 4 ||
aditir hy ajaniṣṭa dakṣa yā duhitā tava |
tāṁ devā anv ajāyanta bhadrā amṛtabandhavaḥ || 5 ||
yad devā adaḥ salile susaṁrabdhā atiṣṭhata |
atrā vo nṛtyatām iva tīvro reṇur apāyata || 6 ||
yad devā yatayo yathā bhuvanāny apinvata |
atrā samudra ā gūḻham ā sūryam ajabhartana || 7 ||
aṣṭau putrāso aditer ye jātās tanva1s pari |
devām̐ upa prait saptabhiḥ parā mārtāṇḍam āsyat || 8 ||
saptabhiḥ putrair aditir upa prait pūrvyaṁ yugam |
prajāyai mṛtyave tvat punar mārtāṇḍam ābharat || 9 ||
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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