Hymn to Vāc
Rigveda IX.52 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.
He that ruleth the heavens, bringeth riches, and beareth the prize to our hands with the stalk—being pressed, rush thou forth into the cleansing cloth.
Upon thy path of old, around the fleece of sheep, the beloved one driveth, spreading as a thousand streams afar.
As for him who is as a pot, give him a push; and the one who giveth not of himself—yea, shove him, O drop.
Shove him with thy strokes, thou smiter.
Bring low the boastful speech of such men, O oft-called drop—of any that dare aim their hand against us.
With a hundredfold aid for our sake, O drop—or with a thousand shining draughts— cleanse thyself, and make ready the hoard.
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.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.
pari dyukṣaḥ sanadrayir bharad vājaṁ no andhasā |
suvāno arṣa pavitra ā || 1 ||
tava pratnebhir adhvabhir avyo vāre pari priyaḥ |
sahasradhāro yāt tanā || 2 ||
carur na yas tam īṅkhayendo na dānam īṅkhaya |
vadhair vadhasnav īṅkhaya || 3 ||
ni śuṣmam indav eṣām puruhūta janānām |
yo asmām̐ ādideśati || 4 ||
śataṁ na inda ūtibhiḥ sahasraṁ vā śucīnām |
pavasva maṁhayadrayiḥ || 5 ||
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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