HYMN XL. Brahmaṇaspati

Rig Veda, tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], at sacred-texts.com

HYMN XL. Brahmaṇaspati

1 O BRAHMAṆASPATI, stand up: God-serving men we pray to thee.
May they who give good gifts, the Maruts, come to us. Indra, most swift, be thou with them.
2 O Son of Strength, each mortal calls to thee for aid when spoil of battle waits for him.
O Maruts, may this man who loves you well obtain wealth of good steeds and hero might.
3 May Brahmaṇaspati draw nigh, may Sūnṛtā the Goddess come,
And Gods bring to this rite which gives the five-fold gift the Hero, lover of mankind.
4 He who bestows a noble guerdon on the priest wins fame that never shall decay.
For him we offer sacred hero-giving food, peerless and conquering easily.
5 Now Brahmaṇaspati speaks forth aloud the solemn hymn of praise,
Wherein Indra and Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, the Gods, have made their dwelling place.
6 May we in holy synods, Gods! recite that hymn, peerless, that brings felicity.
If you, O Heroes, graciously accept this word, may it obtain all bliss from you.
7 Who shall approach the pious? who the man whose sacred grass is trimmed?
The offerer with his folk advances more and more: he fills his house with precious things.
8 He amplifies his lordly might, with kings he slays: e’en mid alarms he dwells secure
In great or lesser fight none checks him, none subdues,—the wielder of the thunderbolt.