✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
0396 / 1027

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

Rig Veda · 396 of 1027

Mandala 5: HYMN XLII. Viśvedevas.

1.Now may our sweetest song with deep devotion reach Varuṇa, Mitra, Aditi, and Bhaga. May the Five Priests’ Lord, dwelling in oblations, bliss-giving Asura, hear, whose paths are open.

2.May Aditi welcome, even as a mother her dear heart-gladdening son, my song that lauds her. The prayer they love, bliss-giving, God-appointed, I offer unto Varuṇa and Mitra.

3.In spirit him, the Sagest of the Sages; with sacrificial oil and meath bedew him So then let him, God Savitar, provide us excellent, ready, and resplendent treasures.

4.With willing mind, Indra, vouchsafe us cattle, prosperity, Lord of Bays! and pious patrons; And, with the sacred prayer by Gods appointed, give us the holy Deities’ lovingkindness.

5.God Bhaga, Savitar who deals forth riches, Indra, and they who conquer Vṛtra’s treasures, And Vāja and Ṛbhukṣan and Purandhi, the Mighty and Immortal Ones, protect us!

6.Let us declare his deeds, the undecaying unrivalled Victor whom the Maruts follow. None of old times, O Maghavan, nor later, none of these days hath reached thy hero prowess.

7.Praise him the Chief who gives the boon of riches, Bṛhaspati distributor of treasures, Who, blessing most the man who sings and praises, comes with abundant wealth to his invoker.

8.Tended, Bṛhaspati, with thy protections, the princes are unharmed and girt by heroes. Wealth that brings bliss is found among the givers of horses and of cattle and of raiment.

9.Make their wealth flee who, through our hymns enjoying their riches, yield us not an ample guerdon. Far from the sun keep those who hate devotion, the godless, prospering in their vocation.

10.With wheelless chariots drive down him, O Maruts, who at the feasts of Gods regards the demons. May he, though bathed in sweat, form empty wishes, who blames his sacred rite who toils to serve you.

11.Praise him whose bow is strong and sure his arrow, him who is Lord of every balm that bealeth. Worship thou Rudra for his great good favour: adore the Asura, God, with salutations.

12.May the House-friends, the cunning-handed Artists, may the Steer’s Wives, the streams carved out by Vibhvan, And may the fair Ones honour and befriend us, Sarasvatī, Brhaddiva, and Rākā.

13.My newest song, thought that now springs within me, I offer to the Great, the Sure Protector, Who made for us this All, in fond love laying each varied form within his Daughter’s bosom.

14.Now, even now, may thy fair praise, O Singer, attain Idaspati who roars and thunders, Who, rich in clouds and waters with his lightning speeds forth bedewing both the earth and heaven.

15.May this my laud attain the troop of Maruts, those who are youths in act, the Sons of Rudra. The wish calls me to riches and well-being: praise the unwearied Ones whose steeds are dappled.

16.May this my laud reach earth and air’s mid-region, and forest trees and plants to win me riches. May every Deity be swift to listen, and Mother Earth with no ill thought regard me.

17.Gods, may we dwell in free untroubled bliss.

18.May we obtain the Aśvins’ newest favour, and gain their health-bestowing happy guidance. Bring riches hither unto us, and heroes, and all felicity and joy, Immortals!

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn ask so many different gods for riches and protection instead of naming just one?

The hymn addresses a roster of devas because each deity carries a specific role in securing wealth, healing, and social standing: Bhaga and Bṛhaspati grant distributive riches, Indra and the Maruts grant heroic prowess, the Aśvins grant health and favor, and Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aditi protect cosmic order and family well‑being. The poet strings these names together and asks that “every Deity be swift to listen,” treating the ritual song as the channel through which multiple powers cooperate to produce prosperity.

This pattern matches other Rig Veda hymns that treat the ritual as a communal request distributed among specialists; compare Mandala 1 hymns where Indra, Agni, and Soma receive complementary roles in granting boons. The hymn’s sweep — invoking house‑friends, artisans, rivers, and mothers — shows wealth conceived as social, sacred, and ecological, not merely material.

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.