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Ṛṣi Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi
7 Verses
Meter: triṣṭubh
nū marto dayate saniṣyan yo viṣṇava urughāyāya dāśat |
pra yaḥ satrācā manasā yajāta etāvantaṃ naryam āvivāsāt ||
tvaṃ viṣṇo sumatiṃ viśvajanyām aprayutām evayāvo matiṃ dāḥ |
parco yathā naḥ suvitasya bhūrer aśvāvataḥ puruścandrasya rāyaḥ ||
trir devaḥ pṛthivīm eṣa etāṃ vi cakrame śatarcasam mahitvā |
pra viṣṇur astu tavasas tavīyān tveṣaṃ hy asya sthavirasya nāma ||
vi cakrame pṛthivīm eṣa etāṃ kṣetrāya viṣṇur manuṣe daśasyan |
dhruvāso asya kīrayo janāsa urukṣitiṃ sujanimā cakāra ||
pra tat te adya śipiviṣṭa nāmāryaḥ śaṃsāmi vayunāni vidvān |
taṃ tvā ghṛṇāmi tavasam atavyān kṣayantam asya rajasaḥ parāke ||
kim it te viṣṇo paricakṣyam bhūt pra yad vavakṣe śipiviṣṭo asmi |
mā varpo asmad apa ghūha etad yad anyarūpaḥ samithe babhūtha ||
vaṣaṭ te viṣṇav āsa ā kṛṇomi tan me juṣasva śipiviṣṭa havyam |
vardhantu tvā suṣṭutayo ghiro me yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ ||
(note: please research other sources for additional context & meaning that this latest academic translation does not explore)
Translation:
1. Now the mortal desiring to gain gets his share, if he does pious service to wide-ranging Viṣṇu,
will set the sacrifice in motion with fully focused mind, and will seek to attract here such a one, favorable to men.
2. You, Viṣṇu, traveling your ways—give benevolent thought destined for all people, concentrated thought,
so that you will give us our fill of abundant welfare, of greatly glittering wealth in horses.
3. Three times did the quick god stride with his greatness across this earth worth a hundred verses.
Let Viṣṇu be preeminent, stronger than the strong, for vibrant is the name of this stalwart one.
4. Quick Viṣṇu strode across this earth for a dwelling place for Manu, showing his favor.
Firmly fixed are his peoples, (even) the weak. He, affording good birth, has made (them) wide dwelling.
5. This name of yours, o Śipiviṣṭa, of you the stranger do I proclaim today, I who know the (hidden) patterns.
I hymn you, the strong—I, less strong—you who rule over this dusky realm in the distance.
6. Was (this speech) of yours to be disregarded, when you proclaimed of yourself: “I am Śipiviṣṭa”?
Do not hide away this shape from us, when you have appeared in another form in the clash.
7. I make the vaṣaṭ-cry to you from my mouth, Viṣṇu. Enjoy this oblation of mine, Śipiviṣṭa.
Let my lovely praises, my hymns strengthen you. – Do you protect us always with your blessings.
Commentary:
The hymn begins conventionally enough, with a mortal offering sacrifice to the god (vs. 1) and a request for gifts in return (vs. 2). Viṣṇu’s three strides are the subject of the following two, responsive verses (3–4). Verse 3d also introduces the theme of Viṣṇu’s name, which is the subject of the last two real verses of the hymn (5–6, since vs. 7 is merely a repetition of the final verse of VII.99). The enigmatic epithet śipiviṣṭá found in the last verse of the last hymn (VII.99.7) is, as it were, interrogated in these verses. In verse 6 the poet, who boasts that he knows the hidden patterns, sets out to proclaim the god’s name, while addressing him as Śipiviṣṭa, and then asks in the next verse whether the god’s own proclamation of himself as Śipiviṣṭa was meant to be ignored or passed over. The poet then mysteriously alludes to two different forms of the god, which may (or may not) correspond to two different names. The hymn does not resolve these questions, perhaps leaving the shadowy figure of Viṣṇu to be fully developed in the ensuing centuries.