Hymn to Viṣṇu
Rigveda VII.99 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 Viṣṇu! Mighty god! Thou whom we honor and praise! Thy three great strides have measured out the entire universe. The first stride covereth the earth; the second stride reacheth unto the sky; the third stride extendeth into the highest heaven, where it is invisible to mortal eyes.
Through thy strides, O Viṣṇu, all things have been measured and ordered. Nothing escapeth thy knowledge; nothing falleth outside thy dominion. Thou art the sustainer of all things; thou art the preserver of the cosmos.
Thy strength is immeasurable; thy wisdom is infinite. Yet thou art also compassionate; thou art also merciful. Thou dost protect the righteous; thou dost guide those who are lost; thou dost grant blessing and grace to all who call upon thee.
We mortals live within thy shadow, O mighty one. The very earth beneath our feet hath been measured and sanctified by thy stride. The sky above us hath been ordered by thy second step. And the highest heaven, that realm beyond all knowing, is secured by thy third and final stride.
Accept our praises, O Viṣṇu! Accept our offerings! Bless us with thy presence! Let thy vast power protect us; let thy infinite wisdom guide us; let thy eternal compassion sustain us 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.99
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.
paro mātrayā tanvā vṛdhāna na te mahitvam anv aśnuvanti |
ubhe te vidma rajasī pṛthivyā viṣṇo deva tvam paramasya vitse || 1 ||
na te viṣṇo jāyamāno na jāto deva mahimnaḥ param antam āpa |
ud astabhnā nākam ṛṣvam bṛhantaṁ dādhartha prācīṁ kakubham pṛthivyāḥ || 2 ||
irāvatī dhenumatī hi bhūtaṁ sūyavasinī manuṣe daśasyā |
vy astabhnā rodasī viṣṇav ete dādhartha pṛthivīm abhito mayūkhaiḥ || 3 ||
uruṁ yajñāya cakrathur u lokaṁ janayantā sūryam uṣāsam agnim |
dāsasya cid vṛṣaśiprasya māyā jaghnathur narā pṛtanājyeṣu || 4 ||
indrāviṣṇū dṛṁhitāḥ śambarasya nava puro navatiṁ ca śnathiṣṭam |
śataṁ varcinaḥ sahasraṁ ca sākaṁ hatho apraty asurasya vīrān || 5 ||
iyam manīṣā bṛhatī bṛhantorukramā tavasā vardhayantī |
rare vāṁ stomaṁ vidatheṣu viṣṇo pinvatam iṣo vṛjaneṣv indra || 6 ||
vaṣaṭ te viṣṇav āsa ā kṛṇomi tan me juṣasva śipiviṣṭa havyam |
vardhantu tvā suṣṭutayo giro me yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 7 ||
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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