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Rig Veda · 294 of 1027
Mandala 3: HYMN LX. Ṛbhus.
1.HERE is your ghostly kinship, here, O Men: they came desirous to these holy rites with store of wealth, With wondrous arts, whereby, with schemes to meet each need, Ye gained, Sudhanvan’s Sons! your share in sacrifice.
2.The mighty powers wherewith. ye formed the chalices, the thought by which ye drew the cow from out the hide, The intellect wherewith ye wrought the two Bay Steeds,—through these, O Ṛbhus, ye attained divinity.
3.Friendship with Indra have the Ṛbhus, fully gained: grandsons of Manu, they skilfully urged the work. Sudhanvan’s Children won them everlasting life, serving with holy rites, pious with noble acts. 4:In company with Indra come ye to the juice, then gloriously shall your wishes be fulfilled. Not to be paragoned, ye Priests, are your good deeds, nor your heroic acts, Ṛbhus, Sudhanvan’s Sons. 5 O Indra, with the Ṛbhus, Mighty Ones, pour down the Soma juice effused, well-blent, from both thy hands. Maghalan, urged by song, in the drink-offerer’s house rejoice thee with the Heroes, with Sudhanvan’s Sons. 6 With Ṛbhu near, and Vāja, Indra, here exult, with Saci, praised of many, in the juice we pour. These homes wherein we dwell have turned themselves to thee, -devotions to the Gods, as laws of men ordain. 7 Come with the mighty Ṛbhus, Indra, come to us, strengthening with thy help the singer’s holy praise; At hundred eager calls come to the living man, with thousand arts attend the act of sacrifice.
Asked of Guide
Why are the Ṛbhus praised as gaining divinity through crafts and service to Indra?
The chapter says the Ṛbhus attained divinity by their wondrous arts and pious service: they “formed the chalices,” “drew the cow from out the hide,” and “wrought the two Bay Steeds,” skills that win them friendship with Indra and everlasting life. Their craftsmanship and ritual work are described as the means by which Sudhanvan’s Sons share in sacrifice and enter the gods’ company.
This hymn treats divine status as earned through effective, sacred labor and loyal participation in ritual life; the Ṛbhus’ technical feats become sacramental acts that bring them “to the juice” with Indra. That idea echoes later Vedic themes about ritual proficiency granting cosmic role, which a reader can compare with the Ṛgveda hymns that celebrate ritual artisans and Indra’s rewards.
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