HYMNS FROM THE VEDAS
HYMNS FROM THE RIG VEDA
“God, …we ask you to steer us away from the evil path,
and put us on a course which has your blessings”
“O God! Forgive if I have ever committed sin against a benefactor,
a dear friend, or a companion, or my own brother,
or my neighbor or a stranger”
“God withholds his favors from the rich person who is Godless
and who is not interested in giving charity”
“If all speech could be divided into four equal parts,
the wise will replace three parts with silence”
“He is the lord of what moves and what does not move.
We invoke Him to protect us from what is evil (asat),
To save us from decline and to support us
In the growth of our mental abilities”.
“May Deva Indra, the glorious, augment our welfare;
May Deva Pusan, the all-knowing, augment our welfare;
May Deva Surya, the protector from misfortunes, augment our welfare;
May Deva Brhaspati, the grantor of wisdom, augment our welfare.”
“God!
May we listen with our ears to what is good;
May we see with our eyes what is good;
May we with firm limbs enjoy the term of life granted to us,
Singing your praises”
“Let the words of truth be spoken.
Let the deeds of wisdom be performed”.
“O God! O Ganapathi
Among us, your subjects, You are our master. Hail to you.
Among those who are wise, You are the wisest.
Among superiors, You are the highest lord.
Among the glorious, You are the most glorious.
Among the souls, You are the Supreme Soul.
With the prayer, Lord, we are asking You to bless us with
Your presence in our midst to give us Your protection”.
“Lord! How do I comprehend you?
Let my ears be turned to hear you;
Let my eyes be opened to behold you;
Let my mind be eager to know you;
Let my heart be absorbed in you.
What more shall I say?”
“Weaponless are the Asuras, the godless!
Scatter them with thy wheel, impetuous hero”
“Renowned is he when conquering and when slaying:
‘tis he who wins cattle in the combat
when Indra hardens his indignation
all that is fixed and all that moves fear him.
Indra has won all kins, all gold, all horses,
Maghavan, he who breaks forts in pieces;”
“Free us from sins committed by our fathers
from those wherein we have ourselves offended.
O King, loose, like a thief who feeds the cattle,
As from the cord a calf, set free Vasishtha.
Not our own will betrayed us, but seduction,
Thoughtlessness, Varuna! Wine, dice or anger,
The old is near to lead astray the younger:
Even sleep removes not all evil-doing”
“The riches of the liberal never waste away,
While he who will not give finds none to comfort him.
The man with food in store who,
When the needy come in miserable case
Begging for bread to eat,
Hardens his heart against him-
Even when of old he did him service-
Find not one to comfort him.”
“Where, like men cleansing corn-flour in a cribble,
The wise in spirit have created language,
Friends see and recognize the marks of friendship:
Their speech retains the blessed sign imprinted.”
“Creative fertility was there with energy and action,
but who really knows where this creation came from?
For the gods came after the world’s creation.
Who could know the source of this creation and how it was produced?
The one seeing it in the highest heaven only knows,
Or may be it does not.”
“He, much invoked, hath slain Dasyus and Simyus,
After his wont, and laid them low with arrows.
The mighty thunderer with his fair-complexioned friends,
Won the land, the sunlight, and the waters.”
EXCERPTS FROM YAJUR VEDA
“..May we be granted a hundred years to live;
a hundred years to hear and see well;
a hundred years to speak clearly;
a hundred years of self-dependence; and
Yes, all of the above and even in excess of hundred years”
“God! The granter of welfare, the source of happiness, the beneficent,
the cause of joy, the auspicious and the source of bliss, salutations to you.”
Of marriage:
“I am he; you are she.
I am song; you are verse.
I am heaven; you are earth.
Let us two dwell together here;
Let us generate children.”
“Viewing both truth and falsehood, God classified the lack of
faith in Him to falsehood and faith in Him to truth.”
“By holy resolve does one obtain consecration.
By consecration does one gain grace.
By grace does one develop trust in God.
Trust in God leads one to the Truth.”
“Lord! Make me strong.
May all look on me with the eye of a friend;
May I look on all with the eye of a friend;
May we all be cordial to each other.”
EXCERPTS FROM THE ATHARVA VEDA
“Let the son be devoted to his father; Let him be of one mind with his mother;
Let the wife be sweet and gentle to her husband”.
“In this changing world everything and every being is enveloped by God.
Live in this world without attachment.
Be happy in what has been apportioned to you
And do not crave what rightly belongs to others”
“ May you rise and not fall.
May you be granted long life.
May you achieve success in your occupation.
May you ride the chariot of happiness.
May you grow in wisdom with years”.
“You , O Love, are greater than all.
You are higher than heaven, and wider than earth.
You, O Love, are greater than all.
You are swifter than wind, and hotter than fire.
You, O Love, are greater than all.”
“A woman may lose her husband to death.
Such a woman may find a new husband and dedicate
Dedicate her love to the newlyfound mate.”
“The qualities of truthfulness, righteousness, daring and hard work,
combined with belief in God, prayer and charity are what uphold a nation.
May our country, the mistress of our past, present and future,
Open wide opportunities for us.”
“There are no eight, nine or ten Gods;
There are no five, six or seven Gods;
There are not even two, three or four Gods;
To him who knows, there is only one God.
All deities are but different names of the One.
He is the One, the only One.
He is the One who oversees what breathes and what does not breathe.
He is the One with all the power and the authority.”
“Let us be in peace and harmony with our earth and with the skies.
Let us be in harmony with the waters and with the plant kingdom;
Let us be in harmony with the forests.
Let us be in peace and harmony with the Devas.
May we dedicate this invocation for harmony everywhere.”
“May the Lord make a gift of peace to us and to all men.
May harmony be established by removing what is dreadful.
May harmony be established be removing what is sinful.
May peace and harmony reign everywhere.”
A series of hymns to the Earth:
“High Truth, unyielding Order, Consecration,
Ardor and Prayer and Holy Ritual
Uphold the Earth, may she, the ruling Mistress
Of what has been and what will come to be,
For us spread wide a limitless domain.”
“Untrammeled in the midst of men, the Earth,
Adorned with heights and gentle slopes and plains,
Bears plants and herbs of various healing powers.
May she spread wide for us, afford us joy!”
“On whom are ocean, river, and all waters,
On whom have sprung up food and plowman’s crops,
On whom moves and all that breathes and stirs abroad
Earth, may she grant us the long first draught!”
“ To Earth belong the four directions of space.
On her grows food; on her the plowman toils.
She carries likewise all that breathes and stirs.
Earth, may she grant us cattle and food in plenty!”
“On whom the men of olden days roamed far,
On whom the conquering Gods smote the demons,
The home of cattle, horses and of birds,
May earth vouchsafe to us good fortune and glory!”
“Bearer of all things, hoard of treasures rare,
Sustaining mother, Earth the golden-breasted
Who bears the Sacred Universal Fire,
Whose spouse is Indra-may she grant us wealth!”
“Limitless Earth, whom the Gods, never sleeping,
Protect forever with unflagging care,
May she exude for us the well-loved honey,
Shed upon us her splendor copiously!”
“All creatures, born from you, move round upon you.
You carry all that has two legs, three or four.
To you, O Earth, belong the five human races,
Those mortals upon whom the rising sun
Sheds the immortal splendor of his rays.
May the creatures of earth, united together,
Let flow for me the honey of speech!
Grant to me this boon, O Earth.”
“ She carries in her lap the fools and also the wise.
She bears the death of the wicked as well as the good.
She lives in friendly collaboration with the boar,
Offering herself as sanctuary to the wild pig..
Peaceful and fragrant, gracious to the touch,
May Earth, swollen with milk, her breasts overflowing,
Grant me her blessing together with her milk!”
“Primeval Mother, disperser of men,
You, far-flung Earth, fulfill all our desires.
Whatever you lack, may the Lord of creatures,
The First-born of Right, supply to you fully!
May your dwellings, O Earth, free from sickness and wasting,
Flourish for us! Through a long life, watchful,
May we always offer to you our tribute!
O Earth, O Mother, dispose my lot
In gracious fashion that I be at ease.
In harmony with all the powers of Heaven”