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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 937 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN C. Viśvedevas.

1.Be, like thyself, O Indra, strong for our delight: here lauded, aid us, Maghavan, drinker of the juice. Savitar with the Gods protect us: hear ye Twain. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

2.Bring swift, for offering, the snare that suits the time, to the pure-drinker Vāyu, roaring as he goes, To him who hath approached the draught of shining milk. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

3.May Savitar the God send us full life, to each who sacrifices, lives aright and pours the juice That we with simple hearts may wait upon the Gods. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

4.May Indra evermore be gracious unto us, and may King Soma meditate our happiness, Even as men secure the comfort of a friend. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

5.Indra hath given the body with its song and strength: Bṛhaspati, thou art the lengthener of life. The sacrifice is Manu, Providence, our Sire. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

6.Indra possesseth might celestial nobly formed: the singer in the house is Agni, prudent Sage. He is the sacrifice in synod, fair, most near. We ask for freedom and complete felicity,

7.Not often have we sinned against you secretly, nor, Vasus, have we openly provoked the Gods. Not one of its, ye Gods, hath worn an alien shape. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

8.May Savitar remove from us our malady, and may the Mountains keep it far away from where The press-stone as it sheds the meath rings loudly forth. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

9.Ye Vasus, let the stone, the presser stand erect: avert all enmities and keep them far remote. Our guard to be adored is Savitar this God. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

10.Eat strength and fatness in the pasture, kine, who are balmed at the reservoir and at the seat of Law. So let your body be our body’s medicine. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

11.The singer fills the spirit: all mens, love hath he. Indra takes kindly care of those who pour the juice. For his libation is the heavenly udder full. We ask for freedom and complete felicity.

12.Wondrous thy spirit-filling light, triumpliant; thy hosts save from decay and are resistless. The pious votary by straightest pathway speeds to possess the best of all the cattle.

Asked of Guide

Why does every verse end with “We ask for freedom and complete felicity”?

The refrain “We ask for freedom and complete felicity” closes each verse as a ritual petition that names the hymn’s aim: liberation from harm and attainment of wellbeing through the Gods’ favor. It turns varied requests—to Indra, Savitar, Vāyu, Agni, the Vasus—into one collective purpose, so each image of strength, healing, or sacrificial order points toward that single outcome.

This technique is common in the Rig Veda’s later hymns: Mandala 10 often repeats a closing formula to bind images and appeals into liturgical unity. The line functions like a liturgy’s chorus, reminding the sacrificer that offerings, praise, and the Gods’ gifts are meant to produce freedom and bliss.

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