Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda III.55 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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.
Ye gods whose dwelling is on high! Ye who do sit in council deep! Ye who do govern all that is, the visible and the unseen realms! Come down to us, O Viśvedevas, and accept this hymn of praise.
Ye are the guardians of the law, the keepers of the cosmic flame. The ṛta—the eternal truth—doth flow through all your sacred limbs. Ye regulate the seasons' turn; ye order all the worlds aright. Through you alone doth life persist; through you doth all the cosmos hold.
The sun doth rise because ye will it; the night doth fall at your command. The waters flow; the winds do blow; the stars keep ever their true course. The mountains stand upon the earth; the sky holds up its vault on high. All this endureth through your strength; all this proceedeth from your mind.
Refrain: O Viśvedevas, hear our cry! Accept our offering and our prayer!
The mortals sing to you each day. The priests do make the sacred fire. The soma poureth like a stream upon the altar's gleaming stone. We gather here with reverent hearts to praise your might and majesty.
Ye give the mortal man his strength; ye grant unto the weak their power. The sick are healed when ye are called; the lost are guided home again. The poor man finds his daily bread; the widow finds her shelter safe. Ye are compassionate and just; ye never turn away from prayer.
Refrain: O Viśvedevas, hear our cry! Accept our offering and our prayer!
Grant us the blessing we entreat; grant us the wisdom that we seek. Let us go forth in righteous ways; let us do deeds of truth and good. Keep us from evil, keep us safe; preserve our children for all time. For ever shall we sing your praise; for ever shall your glory shine.
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 III.55
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.
uṣasaḥ pūrvā adha yad vyūṣur mahad vi jajñe akṣaram pade goḥ |
vratā devānām upa nu prabhūṣan mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 1 ||
mo ṣū ṇo atra juhuranta devā mā pūrve agne pitaraḥ padajñāḥ |
purāṇyoḥ sadmanoḥ ketur antar mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 2 ||
vi me purutrā patayanti kāmāḥ śamy acchā dīdye pūrvyāṇi |
samiddhe agnāv ṛtam id vadema mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 3 ||
samāno rājā vibhṛtaḥ purutrā śaye śayāsu prayuto vanānu |
anyā vatsam bharati kṣeti mātā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 4 ||
ākṣit pūrvāsv aparā anūrut sadyo jātāsu taruṇīṣv antaḥ |
antarvatīḥ suvate apravītā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 5 ||
śayuḥ parastād adha nu dvimātābandhanaś carati vatsa ekaḥ |
mitrasya tā varuṇasya vratāni mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 6 ||
dvimātā hotā vidatheṣu samrāḻ anv agraṁ carati kṣeti budhnaḥ |
pra raṇyāni raṇyavāco bharante mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 7 ||
śūrasyeva yudhyato antamasya pratīcīnaṁ dadṛśe viśvam āyat |
antar matiś carati niṣṣidhaṁ gor mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 8 ||
ni veveti palito dūta āsv antar mahām̐ś carati rocanena |
vapūṁṣi bibhrad abhi no vi caṣṭe mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 9 ||
viṣṇur gopāḥ paramam pāti pāthaḥ priyā dhāmāny amṛtā dadhānaḥ |
agniṣ ṭā viśvā bhuvanāni veda mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 10 ||
nānā cakrāte yamyā3 vapūṁṣi tayor anyad rocate kṛṣṇam anyat |
śyāvī ca yad aruṣī ca svasārau mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 11 ||
mātā ca yatra duhitā ca dhenū sabardughe dhāpayete samīcī |
ṛtasya te sadasīḻe antar mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 12 ||
anyasyā vatsaṁ rihatī mimāya kayā bhuvā ni dadhe dhenur ūdhaḥ |
ṛtasya sā payasāpinvateḻā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 13 ||
padyā vaste pururūpā vapūṁṣy ūrdhvā tasthau tryaviṁ rerihāṇā |
ṛtasya sadma vi carāmi vidvān mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 14 ||
pade iva nihite dasme antas tayor anyad guhyam āvir anyat |
sadhrīcīnā pathyā3 sā viṣūcī mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 15 ||
ā dhenavo dhunayantām aśiśvīḥ sabardughāḥ śaśayā apradugdhāḥ |
navyā-navyā yuvatayo bhavantīr mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 16 ||
yad anyāsu vṛṣabho roravīti so anyasmin yūthe ni dadhāti retaḥ |
sa hi kṣapāvān sa bhagaḥ sa rājā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 17 ||
vīrasya nu svaśvyaṁ janāsaḥ pra nu vocāma vidur asya devāḥ |
ṣoḻhā yuktāḥ pañca-pañcā vahanti mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 18 ||
devas tvaṣṭā savitā viśvarūpaḥ pupoṣa prajāḥ purudhā jajāna |
imā ca viśvā bhuvanāny asya mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 19 ||
mahī sam airac camvā samīcī ubhe te asya vasunā nyṛṣṭe |
śṛṇve vīro vindamāno vasūni mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 20 ||
imāṁ ca naḥ pṛthivīṁ viśvadhāyā upa kṣeti hitamitro na rājā |
puraḥsadaḥ śarmasado na vīrā mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 21 ||
niṣṣidhvarīs ta oṣadhīr utāpo rayiṁ ta indra pṛthivī bibharti |
sakhāyas te vāmabhājaḥ syāma mahad devānām asuratvam ekam || 22 ||
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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