A Hymn of Maṇḍala 4
Rigveda IV.56 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.
O Dyāvāpṛthivī! Heaven and Earth! Ye cosmic parents! Ye who embrace all things! Ye are the foundation of existence. All that is, liveth between you. All that breatheth, dwelleth in your embrace.
Earth, thou art our mother. Thou art solid and generous. Thou givest us food and water. Thou providest shelter and sanctuary. Thy soil is rich with life. Thy plants and creatures sustain us. We are born from thee. We walk upon thee. We shall return to thee.
Heaven, thou art our father. Thou art vast and eternal. Thou holdest the sun and moon and stars. Thy rain descendeth to nourish the earth. Thy light shineth upon all creatures. Thy vastness filleth us with wonder and awe. From thee cometh all blessings.
Together ye are eternal. Together ye are unchanging. Throughout all ages, Heaven and Earth have stood firm. Empires have risen and fallen. Creatures have been born and died. Yet ye remain. Ye are the womb and the shelter of all existence.
O heavens! O earth! We worship you together. We pour the soma before you. We sing your praises. Bless the crops as they grow. Bless the herds as they multiply. Bless our children. Bless our homes. Keep us safe between your embrace. Grant us fertile fields. Grant us clean water. Grant us the sky full of stars and the sun full of warmth. O Dyāvāpṛthivī! O mother and father of all! Accept our worship!
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.56
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.
mahī dyāvāpṛthivī iha jyeṣṭhe rucā bhavatāṁ śucayadbhir arkaiḥ |
yat sīṁ variṣṭhe bṛhatī viminvan ruvad dhokṣā paprathānebhir evaiḥ || 1 ||
devī devebhir yajate yajatrair aminatī tasthatur ukṣamāṇe |
ṛtāvarī adruhā devaputre yajñasya netrī śucayadbhir arkaiḥ || 2 ||
sa it svapā bhuvaneṣv āsa ya ime dyāvāpṛthivī jajāna |
urvī gabhīre rajasī sumeke avaṁśe dhīraḥ śacyā sam airat || 3 ||
nū rodasī bṛhadbhir no varūthaiḥ patnīvadbhir iṣayantī sajoṣāḥ |
urūcī viśve yajate ni pātaṁ dhiyā syāma rathyaḥ sadāsāḥ || 4 ||
pra vām mahi dyavī abhy upastutim bharāmahe |
śucī upa praśastaye || 5 ||
punāne tanvā mithaḥ svena dakṣeṇa rājathaḥ |
ūhyāthe sanād ṛtam || 6 ||
mahī mitrasya sādhathas tarantī pipratī ṛtam |
pari yajñaṁ ni ṣedathuḥ || 7 ||
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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