Hymn to the Ṛbhus
Rigveda IV.33 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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.
Praise be to the Ṛbhus, those wondrous craftsmen, the sons of Sudhanvan the learned one! They were mortal once, yet through their cunning and their skilful hands they did rise to dwell among the devas. No inheritance fell to them; no kingdom was granted them at their birth. Yet by their labour and their wit they fashioned themselves a path to immortality.
Consider their first work: they took the vessel of wood — a simple cup — and through their divine art they wrought it into four perfect vessels, each flawless, each more marvellous than before. Who hath ever heard of such craft? Who but the Ṛbhus could multiply and perfect at once?
In the heaven of India they were welcomed and exalted. The Adityas did acknowledge their greatness; the Maruts did make way before them. For they had proven that mortal cunning, joined to unwearying effort, might ascend to the very seat of the gods. No spell, no magic — only the work of intelligent hands, the vision of the maker's art.
Yet know ye, O mortals, that the path they trod is not easy. Many seasons passed before the devas recognized their worth. Many tasks they undertook, many trials they endured. But steadfast they remained, perfecting their craft, until at last the gods themselves could not deny them place.
The Ṛbhus show us that greatness is not the gift of fortune alone. It is born from labour and from the marriage of mind and hand. Let us too be cunning in our works, skilful in our making, faithful in our effort. For though we be born mortal, the gods do not bar the way to those who climb with unwavering purpose.
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 IV.33
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.
pra ṛbhubhyo dūtam iva vācam iṣya upastire śvaitarīṁ dhenum īḻe |
ye vātajūtās taraṇibhir evaiḥ pari dyāṁ sadyo apaso babhūvuḥ || 1 ||
yadāram akrann ṛbhavaḥ pitṛbhyām pariviṣṭī veṣaṇā daṁsanābhiḥ |
ād id devānām upa sakhyam āyan dhīrāsaḥ puṣṭim avahan manāyai || 2 ||
punar ye cakruḥ pitarā yuvānā sanā yūpeva jaraṇā śayānā |
te vājo vibhvām̐ ṛbhur indravanto madhupsaraso no 'vantu yajñam || 3 ||
yat saṁvatsam ṛbhavo gām arakṣan yat saṁvatsam ṛbhavo mā apiṁśan |
yat saṁvatsam abharan bhāso asyās tābhiḥ śamībhir amṛtatvam āśuḥ || 4 ||
jyeṣṭha āha camasā dvā kareti kanīyān trīn kṛṇavāmety āha |
kaniṣṭha āha caturas kareti tvaṣṭa ṛbhavas tat panayad vaco vaḥ || 5 ||
satyam ūcur nara evā hi cakrur anu svadhām ṛbhavo jagmur etām |
vibhrājamānām̐ś camasām̐ ahevāvenat tvaṣṭā caturo dadṛśvān || 6 ||
dvādaśa dyūn yad agohyasyātithye raṇann ṛbhavaḥ sasantaḥ |
sukṣetrākṛṇvann anayanta sindhūn dhanvātiṣṭhann oṣadhīr nimnam āpaḥ || 7 ||
rathaṁ ye cakruḥ suvṛtaṁ nareṣṭhāṁ ye dhenuṁ viśvajuvaṁ viśvarūpām |
ta ā takṣantv ṛbhavo rayiṁ naḥ svavasaḥ svapasaḥ suhastāḥ || 8 ||
apo hy eṣām ajuṣanta devā abhi kratvā manasā dīdhyānāḥ |
vājo devānām abhavat sukarmendrasya ṛbhukṣā varuṇasya vibhvā || 9 ||
ye harī medhayokthā madanta indrāya cakruḥ suyujā ye aśvā |
te rāyas poṣaṁ draviṇāny asme dhatta ṛbhavaḥ kṣemayanto na mitram || 10 ||
idāhnaḥ pītim uta vo madaṁ dhur na ṛte śrāntasya sakhyāya devāḥ |
te nūnam asme ṛbhavo vasūni tṛtīye asmin savane dadhāta || 11 ||
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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