A Hymn of Maṇḍala 9
Rigveda IX.3 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 9 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.
This god, the deathless one, flieth as a bird on the wing, hasting toward the wooden cups to take his seat.
This god, begotten of sacred song, darteth through the fleece's maze, cleansing himself, and not to be beguiled.
This god, the tawny-hued, in his cleansing, is arrayed for the prize by truth-seeking minstrels who adore him.
As a champion with his loyal band, he striveth to gain all things fair, while he maketh himself pure.
This god rideth forth in his chariot; in his cleansing he showeth his grace, and maketh known his voice with might.
Praised by the seers enflamed with breath divine, the god doth plunge through waters, laying up treasure for the godly man.
He streaketh through the heavens, his stream coursing the airy ways,
neighing full oft as he purifieth himself.
Lo, he hath sped across the sky, through the windswept ways, and none may bind him— fit in the rite as he maketh himself pure.
Pressed as in days of old, in the way of his birth, the god pressed for the gods, the tawny one rusheth into the straining fleece.
And lo, this one, full of power, bringeth forth the drink that refreshes even as he is born, and is cleansed in the flowing stream.
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 IX.3
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.
eṣa devo amartyaḥ parṇavīr iva dīyati |
abhi droṇāny āsadam || 1 ||
eṣa devo vipā kṛto 'ti hvarāṁsi dhāvati |
pavamāno adābhyaḥ || 2 ||
eṣa devo vipanyubhiḥ pavamāna ṛtāyubhiḥ |
harir vājāya mṛjyate || 3 ||
eṣa viśvāni vāryā śūro yann iva satvabhiḥ |
pavamānaḥ siṣāsati || 4 ||
eṣa devo ratharyati pavamāno daśasyati |
āviṣ kṛṇoti vagvanum || 5 ||
eṣa viprair abhiṣṭuto 'po devo vi gāhate |
dadhad ratnāni dāśuṣe || 6 ||
eṣa divaṁ vi dhāvati tiro rajāṁsi dhārayā |
pavamānaḥ kanikradat || 7 ||
eṣa divaṁ vy āsarat tiro rajāṁsy aspṛtaḥ |
pavamānaḥ svadhvaraḥ || 8 ||
eṣa pratnena janmanā devo devebhyaḥ sutaḥ |
hariḥ pavitre arṣati || 9 ||
eṣa u sya puruvrato jajñāno janayann iṣaḥ |
dhārayā pavate sutaḥ || 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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