Hymn to the Ṛbhus
Rigveda IV.35 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.
When the sun descendeth and the sky turneth purple with the dying light, we gather to pour the evening offering and to sing hymns to the gods. The Ṛbhus are summoned now, for this hour is theirs — the hour of transition, when day giveth way to night and the boundary between worlds groweth thin.
Come, O Ṛbhus, to the sacred fire! Receive the sweetened butter and the pressed Soma that we offer. The priests do raise their voices in your honour, celebrating that marvellous ascension when ye ceased to be mortal and entered into the imperishable realm of the devas. Your chariots are yoked; your weapons shine; your place at the table of the gods is eternally secure.
In this twilight hour, we remember your journey. Born of human stock, raised in labour and in craft, perfected through unwearying effort, ye did at last touch the threshold of divinity itself. And the gods did recognize you not as strangers but as kinfolk, for ye had proven your worth not through blood but through deed.
The evening star appeareth now, steady and bright, guiding the wanderer home. So too do ye, O Ṛbhus, serve as guide and beacon to all mortals who aspire to transcend their base condition. Your light shineth in the gathering dusk, showing that the path is not closed, that the gates are not barred, that even one born of flesh and clay may rise to sit among the immortals.
Accept our praise, O wondrous ones! Grant us the cunning you possess, the steadfastness of purpose, the vision to see what others cannot perceive. And when our time cometh, remember that we too sought to honour the sacred craft of making, and lift us up from the dust as ye have been lifted.
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.35
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.
ihopa yāta śavaso napātaḥ saudhanvanā ṛbhavo māpa bhūta |
asmin hi vaḥ savane ratnadheyaṁ gamantv indram anu vo madāsaḥ || 1 ||
āgann ṛbhūṇām iha ratnadheyam abhūt somasya suṣutasya pītiḥ |
sukṛtyayā yat svapasyayā cam̐ ekaṁ vicakra camasaṁ caturdhā || 2 ||
vy akṛṇota camasaṁ caturdhā sakhe vi śikṣety abravīta |
athaita vājā amṛtasya panthāṁ gaṇaṁ devānām ṛbhavaḥ suhastāḥ || 3 ||
kimmayaḥ svic camasa eṣa āsa yaṁ kāvyena caturo vicakra |
athā sunudhvaṁ savanam madāya pāta ṛbhavo madhunaḥ somyasya || 4 ||
śacyākarta pitarā yuvānā śacyākarta camasaṁ devapānam |
śacyā harī dhanutarāv ataṣṭendravāhāv ṛbhavo vājaratnāḥ || 5 ||
yo vaḥ sunoty abhipitve ahnāṁ tīvraṁ vājāsaḥ savanam madāya |
tasmai rayim ṛbhavaḥ sarvavīram ā takṣata vṛṣaṇo mandasānāḥ || 6 ||
prātaḥ sutam apibo haryaśva mādhyaṁdinaṁ savanaṁ kevalaṁ te |
sam ṛbhubhiḥ pibasva ratnadhebhiḥ sakhīm̐r yām̐ indra cakṛṣe sukṛtyā || 7 ||
ye devāso abhavatā sukṛtyā śyenā ived adhi divi niṣeda |
te ratnaṁ dhāta śavaso napātaḥ saudhanvanā abhavatāmṛtāsaḥ || 8 ||
yat tṛtīyaṁ savanaṁ ratnadheyam akṛṇudhvaṁ svapasyā suhastāḥ |
tad ṛbhavaḥ pariṣiktaṁ va etat sam madebhir indriyebhiḥ pibadhvam || 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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