Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda VI.50 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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 Gods, ye lords of all the earth, ye keepers of the sky, preserve us from all ills that lurk in darkness and in dread.
Protect our children, shield our wives, guard well our cattle and our gold. Let no malevolence draw near; let evil sorcery be stayed.
The fiend that wandereth in the night, that drinketh blood and feasts on flesh—turn back this demon at the gate. Let not his shadow touch our doors.
The thief who stealeth in the dark, the poison-maker, and the witch—all these we bid you cast aside, far hence, beyond the mountains high.
O All-Gods, mighty ones and true, ye who have never turned your face from those who call upon your name—now hear us as we call to you.
Ye heard our fathers' prayer of old, when they were beset by foes. Ye saved them from the arrow's flight; ye hearkened to their cry.
So too, O Powers manifold, do now take heed of us. The soma floweth; the fire burneth; the prayer riseth high.
Give unto us a dwelling safe, a path that hath no pitfall deep. Let all our ways be smoothed and clear; let all our journeys end in peace.
The children unborn, yet to come—protect them from the evil eye. The children yet in the womb—grant them that they be born with strength.
So shall we live in joy and health, so shall our cattle multiply. So shall the rains fall on our fields, and so shall harvests crown the year. Grant this unto us, O All-Gods, now and forevermore.
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 VI.50
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.
huve vo devīm aditiṁ namobhir mṛḻīkāya varuṇam mitram agnim |
abhikṣadām aryamaṇaṁ suśevaṁ trātṝn devān savitāram bhagaṁ ca || 1 ||
sujyotiṣaḥ sūrya dakṣapitṝn anāgāstve sumaho vīhi devān |
dvijanmāno ya ṛtasāpaḥ satyāḥ svarvanto yajatā agnijihvāḥ || 2 ||
uta dyāvāpṛthivī kṣatram uru bṛhad rodasī śaraṇaṁ suṣumne |
mahas karatho varivo yathā no 'sme kṣayāya dhiṣaṇe anehaḥ || 3 ||
ā no rudrasya sūnavo namantām adyā hūtāso vasavo 'dhṛṣṭāḥ |
yad īm arbhe mahati vā hitāso bādhe maruto ahvāma devān || 4 ||
mimyakṣa yeṣu rodasī nu devī siṣakti pūṣā abhyardhayajvā |
śrutvā havam maruto yad dha yātha bhūmā rejante adhvani pravikte || 5 ||
abhi tyaṁ vīraṁ girvaṇasam arcendram brahmaṇā jaritar navena |
śravad id dhavam upa ca stavāno rāsad vājām̐ upa maho gṛṇānaḥ || 6 ||
omānam āpo mānuṣīr amṛktaṁ dhāta tokāya tanayāya śaṁ yoḥ |
yūyaṁ hi ṣṭhā bhiṣajo mātṛtamā viśvasya sthātur jagato janitrīḥ || 7 ||
ā no devaḥ savitā trāyamāṇo hiraṇyapāṇir yajato jagamyāt |
yo datravām̐ uṣaso na pratīkaṁ vyūrṇute dāśuṣe vāryāṇi || 8 ||
uta tvaṁ sūno sahaso no adyā devām̐ asminn adhvare vavṛtyāḥ |
syām ahaṁ te sadam id rātau tava syām agne 'vasā suvīraḥ || 9 ||
uta tyā me havam ā jagmyātaṁ nāsatyā dhībhir yuvam aṅga viprā |
atriṁ na mahas tamaso 'mumuktaṁ tūrvataṁ narā duritād abhīke || 10 ||
te no rāyo dyumato vājavato dātāro bhūta nṛvataḥ purukṣoḥ |
daśasyanto divyāḥ pārthivāso gojātā apyā mṛḻatā ca devāḥ || 11 ||
te no rudraḥ sarasvatī sajoṣā mīḻhuṣmanto viṣṇur mṛḻantu vāyuḥ |
ṛbhukṣā vājo daivyo vidhātā parjanyāvātā pipyatām iṣaṁ naḥ || 12 ||
uta sya devaḥ savitā bhago no 'pāṁ napād avatu dānu papriḥ |
tvaṣṭā devebhir janibhiḥ sajoṣā dyaur devebhiḥ pṛthivī samudraiḥ || 13 ||
uta no 'hir budhnyaḥ śṛṇotv aja ekapāt pṛthivī samudraḥ |
viśve devā ṛtāvṛdho huvānāḥ stutā mantrāḥ kaviśastā avantu || 14 ||
evā napāto mama tasya dhībhir bharadvājā abhy arcanty arkaiḥ |
gnā hutāso vasavo 'dhṛṣṭā viśve stutāso bhūtā yajatrāḥ || 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).
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