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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 552 of 1027

Mandala 7: HYMN XXXVI. Viśvedevas

1.LET the prayer issue from the seat of Order, for Sūrya with his beams hath loosed the cattle. With lofty ridges earth is far extended, and Agni’s flame hath lit the spacious surface.

2.O Asuras, O Varuṇa and Mitra, this hymn to you, like food, anew I offer. One of you is a strong unerring Leader, and Mitra, speaking, stirreth men to labour.

3.The movements of the gliding wind come hither: like cows, the springs are filled to overflowing. Born in the station e’en of lofty heaven the Bull hath loudly bellowed in this region.

4.May I bring hither with my song, O Indra, wise Aryaman who yokes thy dear Bay Horses, Voracious, with thy noble car, O Hero, him who defeats the wrath of the malicious.

5.In their own place of sacrifice adorers worship to gain long life and win his friendship. He hath poured food on men when they have praised him; be this, the dearest reverence, paid to Rudra.

6.Coming together, glorious, loudly roaring - Sarasvatī, Mother of Floods, the seventh- With copious milk, with fair streams, strongly flowing, full swelling with the volume of their water;

7.And may the mighty Maruts, too, rejoicing, aid our devotion and protect our offspring. Let not swift-moving Aksara neglect us: they have increased our own appropriate riches,

8.Bring ye the great Aramati before you, and Pūṣan as the Hero of the synod, Bhaga who looks upon this hymn with favour, and, as our strength, the bountiful Purandbi.

9.May this our song of praise reach you, O Maruts, and Viṣṇu guardian of the future infant. May they vouchsafe the singer strength for offspring. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn name so many gods together instead of addressing just one?

The hymn gathers many deities because it treats sacrifice as a communal act whose benefits come from a constellation of powers: Sūrya loosens the cattle, Agni lights the surface, Varuṇa and Mitra guide order, and Sarasvatī and the Maruts bring waters and protection. Each verse invokes a function—food, offspring, wealth, protection—so naming multiple gods stitches those functions into a single petition.

This is the same practical polymathy you find in other Vedic hymns and in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad where different gods represent complementary aspects of ritual and life. The hymn’s list reads like a toolkit: call each god for the particular good they supply, and the sacrifice becomes effective for the singer’s aims.

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.