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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 650 of 1027

Mandala 8: HYMN XXX. Viśvedevas.

1.NOT one of you, ye Gods, is small, none of you is a feeble child: All of you, verily, are great.

2.Thus be ye lauded, ye destroyers of the foe, ye Three-and-Thirty Deities, The Gods of man, the Holy Ones.

3.As such defend and succour us, with benedictions speak to us: Lead us not from our fathers’ and from Manu’s path into the distance far away.

4.Ye Deities who stay with us, and all ye Gods of all mankind, Give us your wide protection, give shelter for cattle and for steed.

Asked of Guide

Who are the "Three-and-Thirty Deities" mentioned here?

The phrase names the assembled Vedic gods as a fixed divine council of thirty-three beings — devas who protect humans and uphold order. The hymn calls them ‘‘ye Three-and-Thirty Deities’’ and asks for their defense, benedictions, and shelter for cattle and steeds.

This grouping appears across Vedic literature as the recognized host of important gods; see the Rig Veda generally and the later Mahabharata, which treats the thirty-three as the principal heavenly gods. The hymn frames them as guarantors of tradition, asking they ‘‘Lead us not from our fathers’ and from Manu’s path.’’

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