Hymn to Bṛhaspati
Rigveda VII.97 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 Bṛhaspati! Lord of sacred speech! Thou who dwellest among the gods as the priest and the counselor! All wisdom floweth from thy lips; all truth originates from thy understanding!
It is thou who knowest the secret names of all things. When thou speakest, the gods themselves do listen with reverence. It is thou who cutteth through confusion and revealeth the essential truth. It is thou who guideth the sacrifice, ensuring that every word is spoken correctly, every ritual is performed with precision.
Without thee, O Bṛhaspati, even the mightiest gods would lack direction. Indra might hurl his thunderbolt, but what would be the purpose? Agni might blaze with his flames, but what would be the meaning? It is thou who giveth purpose and meaning to all the divine actions.
We mortal priests do call upon thee when we recite the hymns! We invoke thy name when we perform the rituals! Give us, we beseech thee, the power to speak truly and well! Grant us the gift of eloquence! Grant us the wisdom to choose the right words at the right moment!
Thou art the lord of prayer; thou art the master of the sacred word. When we speak thy name, the very heavens do listen. When we recite thy praises, the gods themselves do lean forward to hear.
In thee are embodied all the virtues that we mortals do admire: wisdom, courage, righteousness, eloquence, and strength. Thou art the guardian of truth; thou art the protector of those who seek enlightenment.
Accept our offering, O mighty Bṛhaspati! Listen to our prayers! Guide us with thy wisdom! Make us worthy to approach thy sacred presence! And grant unto us the blessing of thy protection and thy grace!
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.97
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.
yajñe divo nṛṣadane pṛthivyā naro yatra devayavo madanti |
indrāya yatra savanāni sunve gaman madāya prathamaṁ vayaś ca || 1 ||
ā daivyā vṛṇīmahe 'vāṁsi bṛhaspatir no maha ā sakhāyaḥ |
yathā bhavema mīḻhuṣe anāgā yo no dātā parāvataḥ piteva || 2 ||
tam u jyeṣṭhaṁ namasā havirbhiḥ suśevam brahmaṇas patiṁ gṛṇīṣe |
indraṁ śloko mahi daivyaḥ siṣaktu yo brahmaṇo devakṛtasya rājā || 3 ||
sa ā no yoniṁ sadatu preṣṭho bṛhaspatir viśvavāro yo asti |
kāmo rāyaḥ suvīryasya taṁ dāt parṣan no ati saścato ariṣṭān || 4 ||
tam ā no arkam amṛtāya juṣṭam ime dhāsur amṛtāsaḥ purājāḥ |
śucikrandaṁ yajatam pastyānām bṛhaspatim anarvāṇaṁ huvema || 5 ||
taṁ śagmāso aruṣāso aśvā bṛhaspatiṁ sahavāho vahanti |
sahaś cid yasya nīlavat sadhasthaṁ nabho na rūpam aruṣaṁ vasānāḥ || 6 ||
sa hi śuciḥ śatapatraḥ sa śundhyur hiraṇyavāśīr iṣiraḥ svarṣāḥ |
bṛhaspatiḥ sa svāveśa ṛṣvaḥ purū sakhibhya āsutiṁ kariṣṭhaḥ || 7 ||
devī devasya rodasī janitrī bṛhaspatiṁ vāvṛdhatur mahitvā |
dakṣāyyāya dakṣatā sakhāyaḥ karad brahmaṇe sutarā sugādhā || 8 ||
iyaṁ vām brahmaṇas pate suvṛktir brahmendrāya vajriṇe akāri |
aviṣṭaṁ dhiyo jigṛtam puraṁdhīr jajastam aryo vanuṣām arātīḥ || 9 ||
bṛhaspate yuvam indraś ca vasvo divyasyeśāthe uta pārthivasya |
dhattaṁ rayiṁ stuvate kīraye cid yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 10 ||
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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