Hymn to the Ādityas
Rigveda VII.52 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.
The Ādityas are without number, yet each one is known! They ride across the sky in their chariots of light; they hold the boundaries of heaven and earth. Nothing escapes their all-seeing eye; nothing hideth from their wisdom.
O ye that were born of Aditi in ages past! Ye who have existed since the very beginning of time! Ye who shall endure when all mortal things have passed away! Grant unto us a portion of your eternal power!
Come down, O mighty ones, from your celestial dwelling! Come to our sacrifice and drink of the soma! Let your presence fill this place; let your blessing fall upon all who gather here! We sing your praises with joy in our hearts!
The mortal who keepeth your law shall prosper. The man who honoreth you shall be blessed with children and cattle. His fields shall yield abundance; his enemies shall flee before him. But the wicked one who breaketh your law shall find no refuge; his days shall be shortened; his name shall be forgotten.
Therefore, we come before you with reverence! We bow down in your presence! We offer you the first fruits of the harvest; we dedicate to you the finest of our beasts. Accept our worship, O Ādityas, and make us forever your servants!
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.52
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.
ādityāso aditayaḥ syāma pūr devatrā vasavo martyatrā |
sanema mitrāvaruṇā sananto bhavema dyāvāpṛthivī bhavantaḥ || 1 ||
mitras tan no varuṇo māmahanta śarma tokāya tanayāya gopāḥ |
mā vo bhujemānyajātam eno mā tat karma vasavo yac cayadhve || 2 ||
turaṇyavo 'ṅgiraso nakṣanta ratnaṁ devasya savitur iyānāḥ |
pitā ca tan no mahān yajatro viśve devāḥ samanaso juṣanta || 3 ||
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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