Hymn to Sarasvatī
Rigveda VII.96 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.
Hail, O Sarasvatī! Thou art the one whose waters do purify all things! Thy touch is soft; thy power is immense. Where thou dost flow, the land becomes green; where thy waters touch, all impurities are washed away.
The mortal woman who calleth upon thee shall be blessed with fertility and strength. The mortal man who offereth to thee shall prosper in all his endeavors. The child born upon thy banks shall grow healthy and strong.
Thou art the river that knoweth the secrets of all things. Thy waters reflect the sky; they carry the rain clouds to distant lands; they nourish the roots of the tallest trees. Thou art ancient, yet eternally young. Thou hast flowed since the beginning of time, and thou shalt flow until the end of all things.
We call upon thee, O sacred river! We ask thy blessing! Make our fields fertile! Make our women fruitful! Make our people prosperous! And bless us with thy pure and holy water, that we may drink of thee and be forever transformed by thy power!
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.96
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.
bṛhad u gāyiṣe vaco 'suryā nadīnām |
sarasvatīm in mahayā suvṛktibhiḥ stomair vasiṣṭha rodasī || 1 ||
ubhe yat te mahinā śubhre andhasī adhikṣiyanti pūravaḥ |
sā no bodhy avitrī marutsakhā coda rādho maghonām || 2 ||
bhadram id bhadrā kṛṇavat sarasvaty akavārī cetati vājinīvatī |
gṛṇānā jamadagnivat stuvānā ca vasiṣṭhavat || 3 ||
janīyanto nv agravaḥ putrīyantaḥ sudānavaḥ |
sarasvantaṁ havāmahe || 4 ||
ye te sarasva ūrmayo madhumanto ghṛtaścutaḥ |
tebhir no 'vitā bhava || 5 ||
pīpivāṁsaṁ sarasvataḥ stanaṁ yo viśvadarśataḥ |
bhakṣīmahi prajām iṣam || 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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