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Rig Veda · 223 of 1027
Mandala 2: HYMN XXXII. Various Deities.
1.GRACIOUSLY further, O ye Heaven and Earth, this speech striving to win reward, of me your worshipper. First rank I give to you, Immortal, high extolled! I, fain to win me wealth, to you the mighty Pair.
2.Let not man’s guile annoy us, secret or by day: give not us up a prey to these calamities. Sever not thou our friendship: think thereon for us. This, with a heart that longs for bliss, we seek from thee.
3.Bring hither with benignant mind the willing Cow teeming with plenteous milk, full, inexhaustible. O thou invoked by many, day by day I urge thee with my word, a charger rapid in his tread.
4.With eulogy I call on Rākā swift to hear may she, auspicious, hear us, and herself observe. With never-breaking needle may she sew her work, and give a hero son most wealthy, meet for praise.
5.All thy kind thoughts, O Rākā, lovely in their form, wherewith thou grantest wealth to him who offers gifts— With these come thou to us this day benevolent, O Blessed One, bestowing food of thousand sorts.
6.O broad-tressed Sinīvālī, thou who art the Sister of the Gods, Accept the offered sacrifice, and, Goddess, grant us progeny.
7.With lovely fingers, lovely arms, prolific Mother of many sons— Present the sacred gifts to her, to Sinīvālī Queen of men.
8.Her, Sinīvālī, her, Gungū, her, Rākā, her, Sarasvatī, Indrāṇī to mine aid I call, and Varuṇānī for my weal.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn invoke so many goddesses (Rākā, Sinīvālī, Sarasvatī) for children and wealth?
The hymn gathers a group of female deities—Rākā, Sinīvālī, Sarasvatī, Indrāṇī, Varuṇānī—and addresses them as benefactors who grant progeny and prosperity, asking each to “accept the offered sacrifice” and “grant us progeny.” The poet links their powers: Rākā with swift hearing and fruitful sewing, Sinīvālī as “prolific Mother of many sons,” and Sarasvatī among those called to bring food and abundance, so the request covers birth, nurture, and sustenance.
This is a ritual strategy: naming multiple goddesses multiplies means of relief and ensures different aspects of blessing are covered. The hymn’s procedure echoes the practice found elsewhere in the Rig Veda of enlisting a roster of divine patrons to secure a full, dependable outcome, similar to how other hymns call many gods to witness and empower a single votive aim.
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