Hymn to Sarasvatī
Rigveda VI.61 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.
Sarasvatī, thou first-born of the sacred waters, most mighty of the mighty, guardian of all treasures — hear us! We sing thy praise with uplifted voice, we invoke thee with reverent hearts.
Thou art the river supreme, flowing from the mountains' breast, carrying all blessings to those who dwell upon thy banks. Thy waters are pure and life-giving, thy current swift and blessed. From thee springs all knowledge, all wisdom, all speech divine. The ṛṣis have long sung thy glory; the fathers of old drank deep of thy blessing.
We worship thee, O Sarasvatī, thou goddess of eloquence and learning, thou who givest voice to the dumb, who makest the stammerer speak with clarity. Grant us thy grace, that our speech may be sweet and our words may carry the weight of truth. Bless our songs, that they may rise to the very heavens and be heard by all the immortal ones.
Thou floweth through the three worlds, bringing fertility to the barren lands, bringing prosperity to the faithful. Where thy waters touch the earth, there blooms the sacred lotus. Where thy current runs, the herds grow fat and the kine yield milk abundantly. The fields that drink thy blessing bring forth grain beyond measure.
We have heard the tales of old, how thou didst nourish the ṛṣis in their meditation, how thou didst inspire them with sacred knowledge. Bhāradvāja himself sat upon thy banks and drank deep of thy wisdom. Grant that we too may partake of thy divine bounty, that we may become as those great ones of old.
Sarasvatī, most glorious! Accept our offerings, accept our hymns of praise. Lead us ever forward upon the path of righteousness. Be thou our guide and protector, our mother and our teacher. From thy waters springs the nectar of immortality; from thy breast flows the milk of eternal sustenance.
We bow before thee in reverence. We honor thy name with every utterance. Be merciful unto us, O Sarasvatī, and grant us thy blessings without end.
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 VI.61
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.
iyam adadād rabhasam ṛṇacyutaṁ divodāsaṁ vadhryaśvāya dāśuṣe |
yā śaśvantam ācakhādāvasam paṇiṁ tā te dātrāṇi taviṣā sarasvati || 1 ||
iyaṁ śuṣmebhir bisakhā ivārujat sānu girīṇāṁ taviṣebhir ūrmibhiḥ |
pārāvataghnīm avase suvṛktibhiḥ sarasvatīm ā vivāsema dhītibhiḥ || 2 ||
sarasvati devanido ni barhaya prajāṁ viśvasya bṛsayasya māyinaḥ |
uta kṣitibhyo 'vanīr avindo viṣam ebhyo asravo vājinīvati || 3 ||
pra ṇo devī sarasvatī vājebhir vājinīvatī |
dhīnām avitry avatu || 4 ||
yas tvā devi sarasvaty upabrūte dhane hite |
indraṁ na vṛtratūrye || 5 ||
tvaṁ devi sarasvaty avā vājeṣu vājini |
radā pūṣeva naḥ sanim || 6 ||
uta syā naḥ sarasvatī ghorā hiraṇyavartaniḥ |
vṛtraghnī vaṣṭi suṣṭutim || 7 ||
yasyā ananto ahrutas tveṣaś cariṣṇur arṇavaḥ |
amaś carati roruvat || 8 ||
sā no viśvā ati dviṣaḥ svasṝr anyā ṛtāvarī |
atann aheva sūryaḥ || 9 ||
uta naḥ priyā priyāsu saptasvasā sujuṣṭā |
sarasvatī stomyā bhūt || 10 ||
āpapruṣī pārthivāny uru rajo antarikṣam |
sarasvatī nidas pātu || 11 ||
triṣadhasthā saptadhātuḥ pañca jātā vardhayantī |
vāje-vāje havyā bhūt || 12 ||
pra yā mahimnā mahināsu cekite dyumnebhir anyā apasām apastamā |
ratha iva bṛhatī vibhvane kṛtopastutyā cikituṣā sarasvatī || 13 ||
sarasvaty abhi no neṣi vasyo māpa spharīḥ payasā mā na ā dhak |
juṣasva naḥ sakhyā veśyā ca mā tvat kṣetrāṇy araṇāni ganma || 14 ||
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).
🌲