Hymn to the Ṛbhus
Rigveda IV.36 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.
Behold the Ṛbhus, those divine craftsmen, now seated firmly among the Adityas! No sorcerer's spite can touch them, no curse can bind them, no mortal rivalry can diminish their glory. They have passed beyond all danger, having shed the last vestiges of mortality in the sacred fire of their own making.
Sons of Sudhanvan, ye have proven your lineage! Your father was wise and learned, but ye have surpassed him, for ye took his gifts and transformed them into instruments of divine power. You did not merely inherit — ye created, ye innovated, ye brought forth marvels that the very gods themselves looked upon with wonder and admiration.
The Ṛbhus are eternal now. The rains may fall and the seasons turn; empires rise and crumble; men are born and pass away — yet the Ṛbhus remain, unchanging and uncorrupted, dwelling in the golden halls of Indra. Your fame shall never fade, your deeds shall never be forgotten, your names shall be praised as long as the Soma is pressed and the sacred fire burneth.
We mortals do acknowledge your supremacy in all craft and cunning. Whatever is made well, whatever is wrought with skill and vision, we know it is touched by your spirit. You are the patrons of all artisans, all builders, all who labour with their hands to create beauty and utility. When the potter sits at his wheel, when the smith strikes the anvil, when the carpenter shapes the wood, your blessing is upon them.
Therefore hear us now, O Ṛbhus, ye who have transcended the human condition while yet remaining forever honoured as our kinfolk and exemplars! Bless our labours, sharpen our wit, steady our hands, and grant us some measure of that divine vision which ye possess. May we too, though mortal, create things worthy of the immortals' praise.
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.36
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.
anaśvo jāto anabhīśur ukthyo3 rathas tricakraḥ pari vartate rajaḥ |
mahat tad vo devyasya pravācanaṁ dyām ṛbhavaḥ pṛthivīṁ yac ca puṣyatha || 1 ||
rathaṁ ye cakruḥ suvṛtaṁ sucetaso 'vihvarantam manasas pari dhyayā |
tām̐ ū nv a1sya savanasya pītaya ā vo vājā ṛbhavo vedayāmasi || 2 ||
tad vo vājā ṛbhavaḥ supravācanaṁ deveṣu vibhvo abhavan mahitvanam |
jivrī yat santā pitarā sanājurā punar yuvānā carathāya takṣatha || 3 ||
ekaṁ vi cakra camasaṁ caturvayaṁ niś carmaṇo gām ariṇīta dhītibhiḥ |
athā deveṣv amṛtatvam ānaśa śruṣṭī vājā ṛbhavas tad va ukthyam || 4 ||
ṛbhuto rayiḥ prathamaśravastamo vājaśrutāso yam ajījanan naraḥ |
vibhvataṣṭo vidatheṣu pravācyo yaṁ devāso 'vathā sa vicarṣaṇiḥ || 5 ||
sa vājy arvā sa ṛṣir vacasyayā sa śūro astā pṛtanāsu duṣṭaraḥ |
sa rāyas poṣaṁ sa suvīryaṁ dadhe yaṁ vājo vibhvām̐ ṛbhavo yam āviṣuḥ || 6 ||
śreṣṭhaṁ vaḥ peśo adhi dhāyi darśataṁ stomo vājā ṛbhavas taṁ jujuṣṭana |
dhīrāso hi ṣṭhā kavayo vipaścitas tān va enā brahmaṇā vedayāmasi || 7 ||
yūyam asmabhyaṁ dhiṣaṇābhyas pari vidvāṁso viśvā naryāṇi bhojanā |
dyumantaṁ vājaṁ vṛṣaśuṣmam uttamam ā no rayim ṛbhavas takṣatā vayaḥ || 8 ||
iha prajām iha rayiṁ rarāṇā iha śravo vīravat takṣatā naḥ |
yena vayaṁ citayemāty anyān taṁ vājaṁ citram ṛbhavo dadā naḥ || 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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