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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 551 of 1027

Mandala 7: HYMN XXXV. Viśvedevas.

1.BEFRIEND us with their aids Indra and Agni, Indra and Varuṇa who receive oblations! Indra and Soma give health, strength and comfort, Indra and Pūṣan be our help in battle.

2.Auspicious Friends to us be Bhaga, Sathsa, auspicious be Purandhi aid all Riches; The blessing of the true and well-conducted, and Aryaman in many forms apparent.

3.Kind unto us he Maker and Sustainer, and the far-reaching Pair with God-like natures. Auspicious unto us be Earth and Heaven, the Mountain, and the Gods’ fair invocations.

4.Favour us Agni with his face of splendour, and Varuva and Mitra and the Aśvins. Favour us noble actions of the pious, impetuous vita blow on us with favour.

5.Early invoked, may Heaven and Earth be friendly, and Air’s mid-region good for us to look on. To us may Herbs and Forest-Trees be gracious, gracious the Lord Victorious of the region.

6.Be the God Indra with the Vasus friendly, and, with Ādityas, Varuṇa who blesseth. Kind, with the Rudras, be the Healer Rudra, and, with the Dames, may Tvaṣṭar kindly listen.

7.Blest unto us be Soma, and devotions, blest be the Sacrifice, the Stones for pressing. Blest be the fixing of the sacred Pillars, blest be the tender Grass and blest the Altar.

8.May the far-seeing Sun rise up to bless us: be the four Quarters of the sky auspicious. Auspicious be the firmly-seated Mountains, auspicious be the Rivers and the Waters.

9.May Adid through holy works be gracioas, and may the Maruts, loud in song, be friendly. May Viṣṇu give felicity, and Pūṣan, the Air that cherisheth our life, and Vāyu.

10.Prosper us Savitar, the God who rescues, and let the radiant Mornings be propitious. Auspicious to all creatures be Parjanya, auspicious be the field’s benign Protector.

11.May all the fellowship of Gods befriend us, Sarasvatī, with Holy Thoughts, be gracious. Friendly be they, the Liberal Ones who seek us, yea, those who dwell in heaven, on earth, in waters.

12.May the great Lords of Truth protect and aid us: blest to us be our horses and our cattle. Kind be the pious skilful-handed Ṛbhus, kind be the Fathers at our invocations.

13.May Aja-Ekapād, the God, be gracious, gracious the Dragon of the Deep, and Ocean. Gracious be he the swelling Child of Waters, gracious be Pṛśni who hath Gods to guard her.

14.So may the Rudras, Vasus, and Ādityas accept the new hymn which we now are making. May all the Holy Ones of earth and heaven, and the Cow’s offipring hear our invocation.

15.They who of Holy Gods are very holy, Immortal, knowing Law, whom man must worship,— May these to-day give us broad paths to travel. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn list so many gods instead of praising just one?

The hymn names many deities to gather favorable forces: each line calls specific gods and realms—“Indra and Agni,” “Earth and Heaven,” “Rudras, Vasus, and Ādityas”—so the community secures help for health, riches, protection, and sacrificial success. The catalogue functions as a ritual net, making the sacrifice auspicious by invoking every relevant power associated with a need or space.

This practice matches other Vedic hymns that work by inclusion rather than single-theory theology; see the Purusha-sukta’s cosmic enumeration, which also assembles divine aspects to bless and order the world. The hymn’s aim is pragmatic: enlist the whole fellowship of gods so the rite’s benefits reach horses, cattle, rivers, and people alike.

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.