A Hymn of Maṇḍala 9
Rigveda IX.83 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.
The filter is spread wide for thee, O lord of hallowed utterance.
Pressing forward, thou wheelest round its limbs on every side.
The raw, whose frame hath not felt the heat, may not reach it; only the well-cooked, who hasten forth, attain it in full.
The filter of the kindled one is stretched to heaven’s course; its burning threads lie outstretched, gleaming.
His fleet-footed steeds uphold the Cleanser— they rise upon the back of heaven in shining show.
The speckled one before hath lit the Dawns; the ox, prize-seeker, beareth the worlds.
By his craft were they meted out, these makers of cunning, and the Fathers, beholding mankind, did fix the seed.
Gandharva guardeth his path aright; the unfailing one keepeth watch o’er the lineages of the gods.
The lord of the snare ensnareth the defiler in his cords.
They who do best the rite have drunk the draught of honey.
Thou bearer of the offering, thyself an offering, dost circle round the great seat of the skies, the sacred course, clad in cloud.
As king, with the filter for thy wain, thou hast mounted the prize.
With a thousand spikes dost thou win high renown.
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.83
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.
pavitraṁ te vitatam brahmaṇas pate prabhur gātrāṇi pary eṣi viśvataḥ |
ataptatanūr na tad āmo aśnute śṛtāsa id vahantas tat sam āśata || 1 ||
tapoṣ pavitraṁ vitataṁ divas pade śocanto asya tantavo vy asthiran |
avanty asya pavītāram āśavo divas pṛṣṭham adhi tiṣṭhanti cetasā || 2 ||
arūrucad uṣasaḥ pṛśnir agriya ukṣā bibharti bhuvanāni vājayuḥ |
māyāvino mamire asya māyayā nṛcakṣasaḥ pitaro garbham ā dadhuḥ || 3 ||
gandharva itthā padam asya rakṣati pāti devānāṁ janimāny adbhutaḥ |
gṛbhṇāti ripuṁ nidhayā nidhāpatiḥ sukṛttamā madhuno bhakṣam āśata || 4 ||
havir haviṣmo mahi sadma daivyaṁ nabho vasānaḥ pari yāsy adhvaram |
rājā pavitraratho vājam āruhaḥ sahasrabhṛṣṭir jayasi śravo bṛhat || 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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