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Rig Veda · 612 of 1027
Mandala 7: HYMN XCVI. Sarasvatī.
1.I SING a lofty song, for she is mightiest, most divine of Streams. Sarasvatī will I exalt with hymns and lauds, and, O Vasiṣṭha, Heaven and Earth.
2.When in the fulness of their strength the Pūrus dwell, Beauteous One, on thy two grassy banks, Favour us thou who hast the Maruts for thy friends: stir up the bounty of our chiefs.
3.So may Sarasvatī auspicious send good luck; she, rich in spoil, is never niggardly in thought, When praised in jamadagni’s way and lauded as Vasiṣṭha lauds.
4.We call upon Sarasvān, as unmarried men who long for wives, As liberal men who yearn for sons.
5.Be thou our kind protector, O Sarasvān, with those waves of thine Laden with sweets and dropping oil.
6.May we enjoy Sarasvān’s breast, all-beautiful, that swells with streams, May we gain food and progeny.
Asked of Guide
Who is Sarasvatī in this hymn, and why do the poets ask her for sons and bounty?
The hymn presents Sarasvatī as a mighty, divine River and a goddess of abundance—the “loftiest song” names her “most divine of Streams” and celebrates her banks where the Pūrus dwell. She is portrayed as generous, “rich in spoil,” allied with the Maruts and able to pour out sustenance and protection, so the poets turn to her as a life-giving force.
As a river-goddess she embodies fertility, wealth, and social prosperity: sons, food, and chiefs’ favour follow from her waters and blessing. This aligns with other Vedic poems where rivers confer lineage and bounty, comparable to how the Rigveda elsewhere invokes rivers as sources of ritual and household welfare.
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