Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda IV.55 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.
All-Gods! Viśvedevas! Ye multitude of powers! Ye who are many and yet one! We call upon you together. Come now to this sacred fire. Accept the soma. Accept our praise.
Mitra and Varuṇa, ye just ones! Indra the mighty! Agni the flaming priest! Soma, the nectar of immortality! Vāyu, the wind! Savitṛ, the impeller! All ye are called. All ye are invoked. All ye stand together at this altar.
The lesser gods also come! The Rudras! The Ādityas! The Maruts! The Vasus! The waters! The fire! The herbs! All that liveth and moveth through the cosmos—ye are present here. Ye are witnesses to this sacrifice. Ye are participants in this offering.
We know not which of you to praise first. There are so many. Your names are countless. Your forms are infinite. Yet we feel the unity within your multiplicity. Ye are different expressions of the same power. Ye are the many faces of the divine.
Accept this soma together! Drink from one cup! Be pleased with our words! Grant us health and wealth. Grant us long life. Grant us freedom from fear. Grant us children and cattle and horses. Grant us the wisdom to prosper. O Viśvedevas! O all-gods! Be merciful unto us. Dwell among us. Protect us. We call upon you with all devotion!
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.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.
ko vas trātā vasavaḥ ko varūtā dyāvābhūmī adite trāsīthāṁ naḥ |
sahīyaso varuṇa mitra martāt ko vo 'dhvare varivo dhāti devāḥ || 1 ||
pra ye dhāmāni pūrvyāṇy arcān vi yad ucchān viyotāro amūrāḥ |
vidhātāro vi te dadhur ajasrā ṛtadhītayo rurucanta dasmāḥ || 2 ||
pra pastyā3m aditiṁ sindhum arkaiḥ svastim īḻe sakhyāya devīm |
ubhe yathā no ahanī nipāta uṣāsānaktā karatām adabdhe || 3 ||
vy aryamā varuṇaś ceti panthām iṣas patiḥ suvitaṁ gātum agniḥ |
indrāviṣṇū nṛvad u ṣu stavānā śarma no yantam amavad varūtham || 4 ||
ā parvatasya marutām avāṁsi devasya trātur avri bhagasya |
pāt patir janyād aṁhaso no mitro mitriyād uta na uruṣyet || 5 ||
nū rodasī ahinā budhnyena stuvīta devī apyebhir iṣṭaiḥ |
samudraṁ na saṁcaraṇe saniṣyavo gharmasvaraso nadyo3 apa vran || 6 ||
devair no devy aditir ni pātu devas trātā trāyatām aprayucchan |
nahi mitrasya varuṇasya dhāsim arhāmasi pramiyaṁ sānv agneḥ || 7 ||
agnir īśe vasavyasyāgnir mahaḥ saubhagasya |
tāny asmabhyaṁ rāsate || 8 ||
uṣo maghony ā vaha sūnṛte vāryā puru |
asmabhyaṁ vājinīvati || 9 ||
tat su naḥ savitā bhago varuṇo mitro aryamā |
indro no rādhasā gamat || 10 ||
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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