Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda VII.39 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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, hear our prayer! We come before thee with humble hearts. We do not ask for more than we need. We ask only for what is right.
Guard us from pride and from greed. Keep us from envy and from hatred. Help us to be generous with those who have less than we do. Help us to be merciful unto those who have wronged us.
Give us the strength to do our duty. Help us to care for our families. Help us to contribute to our communities. Help us to be good neighbors and good friends.
Teach us the difference between right and wrong. Guide us when we are uncertain. Strengthen us when we are weak. Comfort us when we are sad.
And when our earthly life doth come to an end, receive us with honor. Remember us not for our failures, but for the times when we did try to do what is right. And let us find peace in the knowledge that we lived as best we could.
O Viśvedevas, accept our prayer! Let thy blessing rest upon us now and forever!
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 VII.39
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.
ūrdhvo agniḥ sumatiṁ vasvo aśret pratīcī jūrṇir devatātim eti |
bhejāte adrī rathyeva panthām ṛtaṁ hotā na iṣito yajāti || 1 ||
pra vāvṛje suprayā barhir eṣām ā viśpatīva bīriṭa iyāte |
viśām aktor uṣasaḥ pūrvahūtau vāyuḥ pūṣā svastaye niyutvān || 2 ||
jmayā atra vasavo ranta devā urāv antarikṣe marjayanta śubhrāḥ |
arvāk patha urujrayaḥ kṛṇudhvaṁ śrotā dūtasya jagmuṣo no asya || 3 ||
te hi yajñeṣu yajñiyāsa ūmāḥ sadhasthaṁ viśve abhi santi devāḥ |
tām̐ adhvara uśato yakṣy agne śruṣṭī bhagaṁ nāsatyā puraṁdhim || 4 ||
āgne giro diva ā pṛthivyā mitraṁ vaha varuṇam indram agnim |
āryamaṇam aditiṁ viṣṇum eṣāṁ sarasvatī maruto mādayantām || 5 ||
rare havyam matibhir yajñiyānāṁ nakṣat kāmam martyānām asinvan |
dhātā rayim avidasyaṁ sadāsāṁ sakṣīmahi yujyebhir nu devaiḥ || 6 ||
nū rodasī abhiṣṭute vasiṣṭhair ṛtāvāno varuṇo mitro agniḥ |
yacchantu candrā upamaṁ no arkaṁ yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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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