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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 852 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN XV. Fathers.

1.MAY they ascend, the lowest, highest, midmost, the Fathers who deserve a share of Soma- May they who have attained the life of spirits, gentle and righteous, aid us when we call them.

2.Now let us pay this homage to the Fathers, to those who passed of old and those who followed, Those who have rested in the earthly region, and those who dwell among the Mighty Races. 3 1 have attained the gracious-minded Fathers, I have gained son and progeny from Viṣṇu. They who enjoy pressed juices with oblation seated on sacred grass, come oftenest hither. 4 Fathers who sit on sacred grass, come, help us: these offerings have we made for you; accept them. So come to us with most auspicious favour, and give us health and strength without a trouble. 5 May they, the Fathers, worthy of the Soma, invited to their favourite oblations. Laid on the sacred grass, come nigh and listen: may they be gracious unto us and bless us. 6 Bowing your bended knees and seated southward, accept this sacrifice of ours with favour. Punish us not for any sin, O Fathers, which we through human frailty have committed. 7 Lapped in the bosom of the purple Mornings, give riches to the man who brings oblations. Grant to your sons a portion of that treasure, and, present, give them energy, ye Fathers. 8 Our ancient Fathers who deserve the Soma, who came, most noble, to our Soma banquet,— With these let Yama, yearning with the yearning, rejoicing eat our offerings at his pleasure. 9 Come to us, Agni, with the gracioug Fathers who dwell in glowing light, the very Kavyas, Who thirsted mid the Gods, who hasten hither, oblation winners, theme of singers’ praises. 10 Come, Agni, come with countless ancient Fathers, dwellers in light, primeval, God-adorers, Eaters and drinkers of oblations, truthful, who travel with the Deities and Indra. 11 Fathers whom Agni’s flames have tasted, come ye nigh: ye kindly leaders, take ye each your proper place. Eat sacrificial food presented on the grass: grant riches with a multitude of hero sons. 12 Thou, Agni Jātavedas, when entreated, didst bear the offerings which thou madest fragrant, And give them to the Fathers who did cat them with Svadha. Eat, thou God, the gifts we bring thee. 13 Thou, Jātavedas, knowest well the number of Fathers who are here and who are absent, Of Fathers whom we know and whom we know not: accept the sacrifice wellprepared with portions. 14 They who, consumed by fire or not cremated, joy in their offering in the midst of heaven,— Grant them, O Sovran Lord, the world of spirits and their own body, as thy pleasure wills it.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn keep calling the dead “Fathers” and asking Agni to bring them offerings?

The poem uses “Fathers” for ancestors as living moral presences who eat and bless: they “eat sacrificial food presented on the grass” and are “worthy of the Soma,” so offerings are a real exchange. Agni functions as the ritual messenger—“Thou, Agni Jātavedas…didst bear the offerings”—who conveys oblations to those who dwell “in glowing light.”

Invoking the Fathers secures concrete returns: prosperity, “health and strength,” and sons; the ritual ties family continuity to cosmic order. This hymn echoes themes in the Gṛhyasūtras about feeding ancestors and the idea that correct rites maintain kinly bonds and social wellbeing.

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