vedicrigvedahiranyagarbhacreation

හිරණ්යගර්භ සූක්තම්

हिरण्यगर्भ सूक्तम् in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ vedic·📿 11× repetitions·🕐 During Vedic rituals and homas; in the early morning for meditation on the Creator·📜 Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 121)

Read in your language / script

हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 121) · Rishi Hiranyagarbha Prajapatya · Vedic period (c. 1500-1000 BCE)

The Hiranyagarbha Suktam appears in the tenth Mandala of the Rigveda and is traditionally ascribed to the seer Hiranyagarbha, son of Prajapati. It is one of the supreme cosmogonic hymns of the Veda: it sings of the Golden Womb that arose before all else and became the sole Lord of creation, the giver of life and strength, the King of all that breathes, the upholder of heaven and earth, the mountains and the seas. Through nine verses the seer repeats the profound question, 'To which God shall we offer our worship?' — for the Creator transcends every name the mind can grasp — and only in the tenth verse is that God named at last as Prajapati. The hymn thus moves from wonder at the manifest cosmos to the recognition of the one God who pervades and surpasses it all.

✦ As told in scripture

The Hiranyagarbha Suktam preserves one of humanity's oldest and most luminous insights: that the entire universe sprang from a single 'golden' cosmic seed, the one source of earth and sky, life and death. Its tenth verse, the prayer to Prajapati, is held to be so potent that one who offers it with longing finds that desire fulfilled, for the hymn declares that none but the Creator encompasses all created things, and to Him alone is every offering finally made.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

හිරණ්යගර්භඃ සමවර්තතාග්රේ භූතස්ය ජාතඃ පතිරේක ආසීත් . ස දාධාර පෘථිවීං ද්යාමුතේමාං කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..1..

Hiraṇyagarbhaḥ samavartatāgre bhūtasya jātaḥ patireka āsīt | sa dādhāra pṛthivīṃ dyāmutemāṃ kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||1||

Meaning:सृष्टि के आरम्भ में हिरण्यगर्भ (स्वर्णमय गर्भ) प्रकट हुआ; उत्पन्न होकर वह समस्त भूतों का एकमात्र स्वामी था। उसने इस पृथ्वी और द्युलोक को धारण किया — हम किस देव की हवि से उपासना करें?

Verse 2

ය ආත්මදා බලදා යස්ය විශ්ව උපාසතේ ප්රශිෂං යස්ය දේවාඃ . යස්ය ඡායාමෘතං යස්ය මෘත්යුඃ කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..2..

Ya ātmadā baladā yasya viśva upāsate praśiṣaṃ yasya devāḥ | yasya chāyāmṛtaṃ yasya mṛtyuḥ kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||2||

Meaning:जो आत्मा और बल देता है, जिसकी आज्ञा का समस्त विश्व और देवगण भी पालन करते हैं, जिसकी छाया अमृत है और जिसकी छाया मृत्यु है — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 3

යඃ ප්රාණතෝ නිමිෂතෝ මහිත්වෛක ඉද්රාජා ජගතෝ බභූව . ය ඊශේ අස්ය ද්විපදශ්චතුෂ්පදඃ කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..3..

Yaḥ prāṇato nimiṣato mahitvaika idrājā jagato babhūva | ya īśe asya dvipadaścatuṣpadaḥ kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||3||

Meaning:जो अपनी महिमा से प्राणधारी एवं पलक झपकाने वाले (समस्त जीवित) जगत् का एकमात्र राजा हुआ, जो इसके द्विपद और चतुष्पद प्राणियों का स्वामी है — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 4

යස්යේමේ හිමවන්තෝ මහිත්වා යස්ය සමුද්රං රසයා සහාහුඃ . යස්යේමාඃ ප්රදිශෝ යස්ය බාහූ කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..4..

Yasyeme himavanto mahitvā yasya samudraṃ rasayā sahāhuḥ | yasyemāḥ pradiśo yasya bāhū kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||4||

Meaning:जिसकी महिमा को ये हिमालय पर्वत प्रकट करते हैं, जिसका समुद्र रसा (नदियों) सहित कहा जाता है, जिसकी ये दिशाएँ उसकी भुजाओं के समान हैं — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 5

යේන ද්යෞරුග්රා පෘථිවී ච දෘළ්හා යේන ස්වඃ ස්තභිතං යේන නාකඃ . යෝ අන්තරික්ෂේ රජසෝ විමානඃ කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..5..

Yena dyaurugrā pṛthivī ca dṛḷhā yena svaḥ stabhitaṃ yena nākaḥ | yo antarikṣe rajaso vimānaḥ kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||5||

Meaning:जिसके द्वारा उग्र द्युलोक और पृथ्वी दृढ़ हुए, जिसके द्वारा स्वर्लोक और नाक (आकाश) स्थिर हुए, जो अन्तरिक्ष में रज का विधाता है — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 6

යං ක්රන්දසී අවසා තස්තභානේ අභ්යෛක්ෂේතාං මනසා රේජමානේ . යත්රාධි සූර උදිතෝ විභාති කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..6..

Yaṃ krandasī avasā tastabhāne abhyaikṣetāṃ manasā rejamāne | yatrādhi sūra udito vibhāti kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||6||

Meaning:जिसकी सहायता से धारण किए हुए द्यावा-पृथिवी, मन में काँपते हुए जिसकी ओर देखते रहे, जहाँ उदित सूर्य प्रकाशित होता है — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 7

ආපෝ හ යද්බෘහතීර්විශ්වමායන්ගර්භං දධානා ජනයන්තීරග්නිම් . තතෝ දේවානාං සමවර්තතාසුරේකඃ කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..7..

Āpo ha yadbṛhatīrviśvamāyangarbhaṃ dadhānā janayantīragnim | tato devānāṃ samavartatāsureka kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||7||

Meaning:जब महान जल आए, विश्व के गर्भ को धारण करते हुए और अग्नि को जन्म देते हुए, तब देवों का एक प्राण (असु) प्रकट हुआ — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 8

යශ්චිදාපෝ මහිනා පර්යපශ්යද්දක්ෂං දධානා ජනයන්තීර්යජ්ඤම් . යෝ දේවේෂ්වධි දේව ඒක ආසීත්කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..8..

Yaścidāpo mahinā paryapaśyaddakṣaṃ dadhānā janayantīryajñam | yo deveṣvadhi deva eka āsītkasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||8||

Meaning:जिसने अपनी महिमा से उन जलों को देखा जो सामर्थ्य धारण किए हुए थे और यज्ञ को जन्म दे रहे थे, जो देवों में भी एकमात्र अधिदेव था — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 9

මා නෝ හිංසීජ්ජනිතා යඃ පෘථිව්යා යෝ වා දිවං සත්යධර්මා ජජාන . යශ්චාපශ්චන්ද්රා බෘහතීර්ජජාන කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම ..9..

Mā no hiṃsījjanitā yaḥ pṛthivyā yo vā divaṃ satyadharmā jajāna | yaścāpaścandrā bṛhatīrjajāna kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||9||

Meaning:वह हमें हानि न पहुँचाए — जो पृथ्वी का जनक है, जिसने सत्य धर्म वाला होकर द्युलोक की रचना की, और जिसने महान चमकते जल उत्पन्न किए — हम किस देव की उपासना करें?

Verse 10

ප්රජාපතේ න ත්වදේතාන්යන්යෝ විශ්වා ජාතානි පරි තා බභූව . යත්කාමාස්තේ ජුහුමස්තන්නෝ අස්තු වයං ස්යාම පතයෝ රයීණාම් ..10..

Prajāpate na tvadetānyanyo viśvā jātāni pari tā babhūva | yatkāmāste juhumastanno astu vayaṃ syāma patayo rayīṇām ||10||

Meaning:हे प्रजापते! तुम्हारे अतिरिक्त अन्य कोई इन समस्त उत्पन्न पदार्थों को नहीं व्याप्त कर सका। जिस कामना से हम तुम्हें आहुति देते हैं, वह हमें प्राप्त हो; हम धन-सम्पदा के स्वामी बनें।

Word-by-Word Meaning

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හිරණ්යගර්භඃ🔊hiraṇyagarbhaḥThe Golden Womb / Golden Embryo — the cosmic seed from which the universe unfolds

සමවර්තත අග්රේ🔊samavartata agreArose / came into being in the beginning

භූතස්ය ජාතඃ පතිඃ ඒකඃ ආසීත්🔊bhūtasya jātaḥ patiḥ ekaḥ āsītOnce born, He alone was the Lord of all that exists (all creation)

ස දාධාර පෘථිවීං ද්යාං උත ඉමාං🔊sa dādhāra pṛthivīṃ dyāṃ uta imāṃHe upheld and sustained this earth and the heaven

කස්මෛ දේවාය හවිෂා විධේම🔊kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhemaTo which God (Ka — the unknowable Supreme) shall we offer our oblation? (the refrain of each verse)

ආත්මදා බලදා🔊ātmadā baladāGiver of the Self (life/soul) and giver of strength

යස්ය ප්රශිෂං දේවාඃ උපාසතේ🔊yasya praśiṣaṃ devāḥ upāsateWhose command even the gods obey and worship

යස්ය ඡායා අමෘතං යස්ය මෘත්යුඃ🔊yasya chāyā amṛtaṃ yasya mṛtyuḥWhose shadow is immortality, and whose shadow (also) is death

යඃ ප්රාණතඃ නිමිෂතඃ🔊yaḥ prāṇataḥ nimiṣataḥHe who (rules) over all that breathes and all that blinks (lives)

ඒක ඉත් රාජා ජගතඃ බභූව🔊eka it rājā jagataḥ babhūvaBecame by His greatness the one sole King of the moving world

ද්විපදඃ චතුෂ්පදඃ🔊dvipadaḥ catuṣpadaḥOf the two-footed (humans) and the four-footed (animals)

යස්ය ඉමේ හිමවන්තඃ🔊yasya ime himavantaḥTo whom belong these snow-clad mountains (the Himalayas)

යස්ය ප්රදිශඃ යස්ය බාහූ🔊yasya pradiśaḥ yasya bāhūWhose are the quarters of space, (they being as) His two arms

යේන ද්යෞඃ උග්රා පෘථිවී ච දෘළ්හා🔊yena dyauḥ ugrā pṛthivī ca dṛḷhāBy whom the mighty heaven and the earth were made firm

ආපඃ හ යත් බෘහතීඃ🔊āpaḥ ha yat bṛhatīḥWhen the great cosmic waters came

ගර්භං දධානාඃ ජනයන්තීඃ අග්නිම්🔊garbhaṃ dadhānāḥ janayantīḥ agnimBearing the (golden) embryo and bringing forth Agni (fire/life)

දේවානාං සමවර්තත අසුඃ ඒකඃ🔊devānāṃ samavartata asuḥ ekaḥThence arose the one Life-breath (Asu) of the gods

මා නඃ හිංසීත් ජනිතා🔊mā naḥ hiṃsīt janitāMay the Creator who begot us not harm us

සත්යධර්මා🔊satyadharmāHe whose laws are true (the upholder of true cosmic order)

ප්රජාපතේ🔊prajāpateO Prajapati (Lord of all creatures) — the one God is here named

වයං ස්යාම පතයඃ රයීණාම්🔊vayaṃ syāma patayaḥ rayīṇāmMay we become masters (possessors) of riches and abundance

Benefits of Chanting हिरण्यगर्भ सूक्तम्

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A supreme Vedic meditation on the one Creator (Hiranyagarbha / Prajapati) behind the universe

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Deepens contemplation of the cosmic origin — the 'Golden Womb' from which all arose

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Its refrain 'Kasmai devaya havisha vidhema' cultivates humility before the unknowable Supreme

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Chanted in major Vedic rituals, homas and temple consecrations

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The final verse is a celebrated prayer to Prajapati for the fulfilment of desires and abundance

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Bestows peace, expansive wisdom and reverence for the divine ordering of creation

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Considered highly auspicious for invoking the Creator's grace and protection ('ma no himsih')

How to Chant हिरण्यगर्भ सूक्तम्

Repetitions11times

Best TimeDuring Vedic rituals and homas; in the early morning for meditation on the Creator

Recite slowly with clear Vedic pronunciation, dwelling on the cosmic imagery of each verse and the searching refrain. It is traditionally chanted in major homas, temple consecrations and Vedic worship of the Creator. For personal sadhana, sit calmly in the morning and contemplate Hiranyagarbha as the one source of all existence; the tenth verse is recited as a direct prayer to Prajapati. Eleven recitations is a customary count.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete हिरण्यगर्भ सूक्तम् written in the Sinhala script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

It is a creation hymn of ten verses from the Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 121) describing Hiranyagarbha, the 'Golden Womb' or cosmic seed that arose in the beginning and became the one Lord of all creation. It is among the most philosophically important hymns of the Veda on the origin of the universe.

Hiranyagarbha means the 'Golden Womb' or 'Golden Embryo' — the luminous cosmic seed from which the whole universe is said to have unfolded. It represents the first manifestation of the Supreme as the source and sustainer of all that exists, later identified with Brahma and Prajapati.

It means 'To which God shall we offer our worship (oblation)?' Nine of the ten verses end with this question, expressing awe before a Creator so great as to be beyond name. The word 'Ka' (which/who) itself became a name of the Supreme, and the tenth verse finally answers by naming Him Prajapati, the Lord of all creatures.

It is chanted in major Vedic rituals, homas and temple consecrations, and in personal practice as a meditation on the one Creator of the universe. The famous tenth verse is recited as a prayer to Prajapati for protection, the fulfilment of one's desires, and prosperity ('may we become masters of riches').