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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 549 of 1027

Mandala 7: HYMN XXXIII Vasiṣṭha.

1.THESE who wear hair-knots on the right, the movers of holy thought, white-robed, have won me over. I warned the men, when from the grass I raised me, Not from afar can my Vasisthas help you.

2.With Soma they brought Indra from a distance, Over Vaisanta, from the strong libation. Indra preferred Vasisthas to the Soma pressed by the son of Vayata, Pasadyumna.

3.So, verily, with these he crossed the river, in company with these he slaughtered Bheda. So in the fight with the Ten Kings, Vasisthas! did Indra help Sudās through your devotions.

4.I gladly, men I with prayer prayed by our fathers have fixed your axle: ye shall not be injured: Since, when ye sang aloud the Sakvari verses, Vasisthas! ye invigorated Indra.

5.Like thirsty men they looked to heaven, in battle with the Ten Kings, surrounded and imploring. Then Indra heard Vasiṣṭha as he praised him, and gave the Trtsus ample room and freedom.

6.Like sticks and staves wherewith they drive the cattle, Stripped bare, the Bharatas were found defenceless: Vasiṣṭha then became their chief and leader: then widely. were the Trtsus’ clans extended.

7.Three fertilize the worlds with genial moisture: three noble Creatures cast a light before them. Three that give warmth to all attend the morning. All these have they discovered, these Vasisthas.

8.Like the Sun’s growing glory is their splendour, and like the sea’s is their unflathomed greatness. Their course is like the wind’s. Your laud, Vasisthas, can never be attained by any other.

9.They with perceptions of the heart in secret resort to that which spreads a thousand branches. The Apsaras brought hither the Vasisthas wearing the vesture spun for them by Yama.

10.A form of lustre springing from the lightning wast thou, when Varuṇa and Mitra saw thee. Tliy one and only birth was then, Vasiṣṭha, when from thy stock Agastya brought thee hither.

11.Born of their love for Urvasi, Vasiṣṭha thou, priest, art son of Varuṇa and Mitra; And as a fallen drop, in heavenly fervour, all the Gods laid thee on a lotus-blossorn.

12.He thinker, knower both of earth and heaven, endowed with many a gift, bestowing thousands, Destined to wear the vesture spun by Yama, sprang from the Apsaras to life, Vasiṣṭha.

13.Born at the sacrifice, urged by adorations, both with a common flow bedewed the pitcher. Then from the midst thereof there rose up Māna, and thence they say was born the sage Vasiṣṭha.

14.He brings the bearer of the laud and Sāman: first shall he speak bringing the stone for pressing. With grateful hearts in reverence approach him: to you, O Pratrdas, Vasiṣṭha cometh.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn keep praising Vasiṣṭha’s lineage and deeds so insistently?

The hymn shows Vasiṣṭha as the decisive priest whose rites and praise secure victory and prosperity: he “invigorated Indra,” led the Bharatas, and caused the Trtsus’ clans to extend. Repeated origin-stories—born of Varuṇa and Mitra, shaped by Apsaras, or arising from the sacrificial pitcher—treat his identity as sacred capital, a source of ritual power invested in the community’s success.

This chapter treats genealogies and myths as functional claims about ritual efficacy rather than mere biography. The multiple birth-accounts echo how other Rigvedic hymns and later Puranic tales (compare the narratives about Agastya in later texts) layer origins to explain why a rishi’s praise works: lineage, mythic favor, and sacrificial role together make Vasiṣṭha the priest who brings victory and abundance.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.