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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 329 of 1027

Mandala 4: HYMN XXXIII. Ṛbhus.

1.I SEND my voice as herald to the Ṛbhus; I crave the white cow for the overspreading. Wind-sped, the Skillful Ones in rapid motion have in an instant compassed round the heaven.

2.What time the Rbus had with care and marvels done proper service to assist their Parents, They won the friendship of the Gods; the Sages carried away the fruit of their devotion.

3.May they who made their Parents, who were lying like posts that moulder, young again for ever,— May Vāja, Vibhvan, Ṛbhu, joined with Indra , protect our sacrifice, the Soma-lovers.

4.As for a year the Ṛbhus kept the Milch-cow, throughout a year fashioned and formed her body, And through a year’s space still sustained her brightness, through these their labours they were made immortal.

5.Two beakers let us make,—thus said the eldest. Let us make three,—this was the younger’s sentence. Four beakers let us make,—thus spoke the youngest. Tvaṣṭar approved this rede of yours, O Ṛbhus.

6.The men spake truth and even so they acted: this Godlike way of theirs the Ṛbhus followed. And Tvaṣṭar, when he looked on the four beakers resplendent as the day, was moved with envy.

7.When for twelve days the Ṛbhus joyed reposing as guests of him who never may be hidden, They made fair fertile fields, they brought the rivers. Plants spread o’er deserts, waters filled the hollows.

8.May they who formed the swift car, bearing Heroes, and the Cow omniform and all-impelling, Even may they form wealth for us,—the Ṛbhus, dexterous-handed, deft in work and gracious.

9.So in their work the Gods had satisfaction, pondering it with thought and mental insight. The Gods’ expert artificer was Vāja, Indra’s Ṛbhukṣan, Varuṇa’s was Vibhvan.

10.They who made glad with sacrifice and praises, wrought the two Bays, his docile Steeds, for Indra,— Ṛbhus, as those who wish a friend to prosper, bestow upon us gear and growth of riches.

11.This day have they set gladdening drink before you. Not without toil are Gods inclined to friendship. Therefore do ye who are so great, O Ṛbhus, vouchsafe us treasures at this third libation.

Asked of Guide

Why do the Ṛbhus make a cow and beakers for the gods?

The Ṛbhus craft the cow and the beakers as acts of skilled service that win the gods’ friendship and secure immortality: they “fashioned and formed her body” over a year and made beakers that Tvaṣṭar praised. Their handiwork—cars, steeds, fertile fields and waters—turns cosmic disorder into useful order and brings prosperity to sacrificers.

The hymn treats these creations as both practical gifts and sacrificial technology that bind gods and humans together; because “not without toil are Gods inclined to friendship,” the Ṛbhus’ labor makes divine favor a return for craft. This echoes later Sāṅkhya and Dharma texts that link skillful action and ritual offering to cosmic harmony and reward.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.