A Hymn of Maṇḍala 7
Rigveda VII.49 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.
Praise be unto the rivers! O goddesses of the flowing waters! O ye who do travel from the highest mountains to the lowland plains!
The Sutlej doth flow swiftly; the Chenab doth wind its way; the Ravi doth carry the blessings of the sky. Each river hath its own character, its own power, its own beauty.
From the heavens ye do come, pure and clear. Through the mountains ye do rush, swift and strong. Across the plains ye do flow, life-giving and nourishing. And finally ye do reach the great ocean, where ye do lose your individual identity and become part of something greater.
O rivers, ye are the veins through which the blood of the gods doth flow! Ye do connect the heavens with the earth. Ye do bring the blessing of the sky down to those who dwell upon the land.
We do bathe in your waters; we do drink of your flow; we do perform our sacred rites upon your banks. Every drop of water that falls upon our heads is a blessing. Every moment that we spend in your presence is holy.
Accept our gratitude, O rivers! Accept our worship! Accept our offerings! And flow forever, carrying the blessing of the gods to all who dwell upon the land!
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.49
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.
samudrajyeṣṭhāḥ salilasya madhyāt punānā yanty aniviśamānāḥ |
indro yā vajrī vṛṣabho rarāda tā āpo devīr iha mām avantu || 1 ||
yā āpo divyā uta vā sravanti khanitrimā uta vā yāḥ svayaṁjāḥ |
samudrārthā yāḥ śucayaḥ pāvakās tā āpo devīr iha mām avantu || 2 ||
yāsāṁ rājā varuṇo yāti madhye satyānṛte avapaśyañ janānām |
madhuścutaḥ śucayo yāḥ pāvakās tā āpo devīr iha mām avantu || 3 ||
yāsu rājā varuṇo yāsu somo viśve devā yāsūrjam madanti |
vaiśvānaro yāsv agniḥ praviṣṭas tā āpo devīr iha mām avantu || 4 ||
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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