Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda V.51 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.
Come, O Viśvedevas! Ye who are called by a thousand names, who wear a thousand forms, who dwell in the highest heaven and in the lowliest stone—come now and receive this closing invocation. We have kindled the fire for thee. We have poured the soma for thee. We have lifted our voices in song for thee.
Indra, thou king of gods! Agni, thou tongue of the flame! Soma, thou ecstatic and sublime! Rudra, thou fearsome and merciful! Varuṇa, thou bound-maker! Mitra, thou friend! Yama, thou appointed one! Vāyu, thou swift one! Sūrya, thou golden-eyed! Come one and all.
Vastu-patni, mistress of the dwelling! Aditi, boundless mother! Rodasī, wide earth! Diti, bound-maker! Ye divine feminine ones, pour forth thy blessings upon us. Let thy grace flow as water flows, as light flows from the sun, as growth flows through the seed.
O Maruts, O Apsarases, O Gandharvas—ye mighty band, ye celestial dancers, ye singers of eternal songs—join now in the chorus of praise. Ye creatures of heaven, ye spirits of air and water, ye denizens of all the realms—hear this hymn!
We sing thy glory, O Viśvedevas! We praise thy might, thy wisdom, thy mercy. Thou art the source and sustenance of all that is. Thou art the beginning and the end. Accept this humble offering. Grant us thy blessing. Guard us from harm. Lead us ever toward truth and light. O All-Gods, eternal and victorious, hear us! Hear us! Hear us!
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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda V.51
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.
agne sutasya pītaye viśvair ūmebhir ā gahi |
devebhir havyadātaye || 1 ||
ṛtadhītaya ā gata satyadharmāṇo adhvaram |
agneḥ pibata jihvayā || 2 ||
viprebhir vipra santya prātaryāvabhir ā gahi |
devebhiḥ somapītaye || 3 ||
ayaṁ somaś camū suto 'matre pari ṣicyate |
priya indrāya vāyave || 4 ||
vāyav ā yāhi vītaye juṣāṇo havyadātaye |
pibā sutasyāndhaso abhi prayaḥ || 5 ||
indraś ca vāyav eṣāṁ sutānām pītim arhathaḥ |
tāñ juṣethām arepasāv abhi prayaḥ || 6 ||
sutā indrāya vāyave somāso dadhyāśiraḥ |
nimnaṁ na yanti sindhavo 'bhi prayaḥ || 7 ||
sajūr viśvebhir devebhir aśvibhyām uṣasā sajūḥ |
ā yāhy agne atrivat sute raṇa || 8 ||
sajūr mitrāvaruṇābhyāṁ sajūḥ somena viṣṇunā |
ā yāhy agne atrivat sute raṇa || 9 ||
sajūr ādityair vasubhiḥ sajūr indreṇa vāyunā |
ā yāhy agne atrivat sute raṇa || 10 ||
svasti no mimītām aśvinā bhagaḥ svasti devy aditir anarvaṇaḥ |
svasti pūṣā asuro dadhātu naḥ svasti dyāvāpṛthivī sucetunā || 11 ||
svastaye vāyum upa bravāmahai somaṁ svasti bhuvanasya yas patiḥ |
bṛhaspatiṁ sarvagaṇaṁ svastaye svastaya ādityāso bhavantu naḥ || 12 ||
viśve devā no adyā svastaye vaiśvānaro vasur agniḥ svastaye |
devā avantv ṛbhavaḥ svastaye svasti no rudraḥ pātv aṁhasaḥ || 13 ||
svasti mitrāvaruṇā svasti pathye revati |
svasti na indraś cāgniś ca svasti no adite kṛdhi || 14 ||
svasti panthām anu carema sūryācandramasāv iva |
punar dadatāghnatā jānatā saṁ gamemahi || 15 ||
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).
🌲