Hymn to the Viśvedevas
Rigveda VII.42 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.
Come ye, O Viśvedevas, to the dwelling of the righteous! We have prepared the altar; we have kindled the sacred fire. The Soma hath been pressed; the hymns are ready to be sung.
We call upon all the gods. The great gods and the small gods, the well-known gods and the obscure ones—come ye all! No god is too mighty to heed the call of his worshippers; no god is too small to be honored.
The sky doth arch above us, holding all the stars. The earth doth lie beneath our feet, supporting all life. And between these two, the gods do work their will, maintaining the order and harmony of all things.
We do give thanks unto the gods for the blessings that have come into our lives. We do ask forgiveness for the times when we have fallen short. We do ask strength for the trials that lie ahead.
Accept this sacrifice, O Viśvedevas! It is offered with a clean heart and sincere devotion. And grant unto us thy protection and thy blessing, 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.42
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.
pra brahmāṇo aṅgiraso nakṣanta pra krandanur nabhanyasya vetu |
pra dhenava udapruto navanta yujyātām adrī adhvarasya peśaḥ || 1 ||
sugas te agne sanavitto adhvā yukṣvā sute harito rohitaś ca |
ye vā sadmann aruṣā vīravāho huve devānāṁ janimāni sattaḥ || 2 ||
sam u vo yajñam mahayan namobhiḥ pra hotā mandro ririca upāke |
yajasva su purvaṇīka devān ā yajñiyām aramatiṁ vavṛtyāḥ || 3 ||
yadā vīrasya revato duroṇe syonaśīr atithir āciketat |
suprīto agniḥ sudhito dama ā sa viśe dāti vāryam iyatyai || 4 ||
imaṁ no agne adhvaraṁ juṣasva marutsv indre yaśasaṁ kṛdhī naḥ |
ā naktā barhiḥ sadatām uṣāsośantā mitrāvaruṇā yajeha || 5 ||
evāgniṁ sahasya1ṁ vasiṣṭho rāyaskāmo viśvapsnyasya staut |
iṣaṁ rayim paprathad vājam asme yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 6 ||
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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