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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 290 of 1027

Mandala 3: HYMN LVI. Viśvedevas.

1.NOT men of magic skill, not men of wisdom impair the Gods’ first steadfast ordinances. Ne’er may the earth and heaven which know not malice, nor the fixed hills, be bowed by sage devices.

2.One, moving not away, supports six burthens: the Cows proceed to him the true, the Highest. Near stand three Mighty Ones who travel swiftly: two are concealed from sight, one is apparent.

3.The Bull who wears all shapes, the triple-breasted, three-uddered, with a brood in many places, Ruleth majestic with his triple aspect, the Bull, the Everlasting Ones’ impregner.

4.When nigh them, as their tracer he observed them: he called aloud the dear name of Ādityas. The Goddesses, the Waters, stayed to meet him: they who were wandering separate enclosed him.

5.Streams! the wise Gods have thrice three habitations. Child of three Mothers, he is Lord in synods. Three are the holy Ladies of the Waters, thrice here from heaven supreme in our assembly.

6.Do thou, O Savitar, from heaven thrice hither, three times a day, send down thy blessings daily. Send us, O Bhaga, triple wealth and treasure; cause the two worlds to prosper us, Preserver!

7.Savitar thrice from heaven pours down abundance, and the fair-handed Kings Varuṇa, Mitra; And spacious Heaven and Earth, yea, and the Waters, solicit wealth that Savitar may send us.

8.Three are the bright realms, best, beyond attainment, and three, the Asura’s Heroes, rule as Sovrans, Holy and vigorous, never to be injured. Thrice may the Gods from heaven attend our synod.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn repeat the number three so much—'thrice', 'three Mothers', 'three realms'?

The hymn uses triads to map cosmic structure and ritual rhythm: one supports six burdens, three Mighty Ones, three Mothers, three habitations, thrice-sent blessings. Those threes mark stable, interlocking orders—cosmic (Heaven–Earth–Waters), divine groups (Ādityas, Asuras), and the ritual day—so the number organizes reality and the priests’ petitions alike.

Naming Savitar, Bhaga, Varuṇa, Mitra around repeated threes ties specific gods into that structure; the repetition insists the gods’ power comes in plural, ordered sets. For a similar insistence on ritual numbers shaping cosmos, compare the Brāhmaṇa commentaries which read numerical patterns as functional, not decorative.

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