Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda V.49 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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 Viśvedevas, ye are the custodians of ṛta, the cosmic order that sustains all things. Ye hold the truth in your hands as one holds water in a vessel. By your will does the sun rise and set. By your law do the seasons turn and the stars trace their paths.
Ye are the architects of the world. Ye set the boundaries between earth and sky, between the waters of the deep and the burning dome above. Ye hold the mountains fixed upon their pillars. Ye bind the rivers to their courses. All that hath form and all that is formless obey thy decree.
The ṛta—the sacred order—flows through all creation as the Veda flows from the mouth of the divine. Through ṛta the moon waxes and wanes in her appointed time. Through ṛta the rain falls when the earth thirsts. Through ṛta the seed germinates in the soil and grows toward the sun. All nature dances to thy measure, O Viśvedevas.
Ye punish the liar and exalt the truthful. Ye guard the sacrifice against corruption. Ye ensure that the gift given returns sevenfold to the giver. Thus is ṛta maintained, and through ṛta the cosmos stands eternal.
We, mortal and fleeting, take refuge in thy order. Grant us understanding of thy law. Guide us in the path of truth. Let our words be honest, our deeds just, our hearts aligned with the eternal order. Through ṛta we find shelter. In thy law we find peace. O Viśvedevas, masters of the cosmic order, accept this hymn and this offering!
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 V.49
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.
devaṁ vo adya savitāram eṣe bhagaṁ ca ratnaṁ vibhajantam āyoḥ |
ā vāṁ narā purubhujā vavṛtyāṁ dive-dive cid aśvinā sakhīyan || 1 ||
prati prayāṇam asurasya vidvān sūktair devaṁ savitāraṁ duvasya |
upa bruvīta namasā vijānañ jyeṣṭhaṁ ca ratnaṁ vibhajantam āyoḥ || 2 ||
adatrayā dayate vāryāṇi pūṣā bhago aditir vasta usraḥ |
indro viṣṇur varuṇo mitro agnir ahāni bhadrā janayanta dasmāḥ || 3 ||
tan no anarvā savitā varūthaṁ tat sindhava iṣayanto anu gman |
upa yad voce adhvarasya hotā rāyaḥ syāma patayo vājaratnāḥ || 4 ||
pra ye vasubhya īvad ā namo dur ye mitre varuṇe sūktavācaḥ |
avaitv abhvaṁ kṛṇutā varīyo divaspṛthivyor avasā madema || 5 ||
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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