Rig Veda Sukta 100
Mandala 7Sukta 1007 Mantras

Sukta 100

Sukta 7.100

Rishi

Vasiṣṭha (traditional)

Devata

Vishnu

Chandas

Triṣṭubh

This short Triṣṭubh hymn praises Viṣṇu as the all-pervading power who “strides out” the earth and establishes a wide, stable field for human life and sacred work. Vasiṣṭha presents worship as purposeful approach—gift, praise, and the vaṣaṭ-call—seeking Viṣṇu’s protection, well-being (svasti), and a secure dwelling.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 7.100

Mantras

Mantra 1

नू मर्तो दयते सनिष्यन्यो विष्णव उरुगायाय दाशत् । प्र यः सत्राचा मनसा यजात एतावन्तं नर्यमाविवासात् ॥

Now the mortal who seeks to win gives to Vishnu the wide-to-be-sung; he presses forward—constant in mind—and worships. He draws near and serves that heroic Power in its full measure, so that the Vast may uphold his ascent.

Mantra 2

त्वं विष्णो सुमतिं विश्वजन्यामप्रयुतामेवयावो मतिं दाः । पर्चो यथा नः सुवितस्य भूरेरश्वावतः पुरुश्चन्द्रस्य रायः ॥

You, O Vishnu, give us the good and universal understanding—unhindered, ever-yoking—so that we may reach the wide felicities of right-going. Grant us the abundant plenitude, rich in swift energies, shining with many lights.

Mantra 3

त्रिर्देवः पृथिवीमेष एतां वि चक्रमे शतर्चसं महित्वा । प्र विष्णुरस्तु तवसस्तवीयान्त्वेषं ह्यस्य स्थविरस्य नाम ॥

Thrice the god strode out this earth, and by his greatness made it a hundred-hymned field. Let Vishnu be manifest as mightier than might; for ‘the Impetuous’ is the name of this Eternal Strong One.

Mantra 4

वि चक्रमे पृथिवीमेष एतां क्षेत्राय विष्णुर्मनुषे दशस्यन् । ध्रुवासो अस्य कीरयो जनास उरुक्षितिं सुजनिमा चकार ॥

He strode out this earth for a field of action; Vishnu, serving and fostering the human, established. Firm are his praising peoples; he made for them a wide dwelling and a good birth—an enlarged and harmonious foundation for the soul’s works.

Mantra 5

प्र तत्ते अद्य शिपिविष्ट नामार्यः शंसामि वयुनानि विद्वान् । तं त्वा गृणामि तवसमतव्यान्क्षयन्तमस्य रजसः पराके ॥

Today I proclaim that name of yours, O Shipiviṣṭa; as one who knows the workings, I declare your ways. I sing you, the mighty, the unconquerable, who dwells in the far reaches of this luminous space—beyond the grasp of the lower vision.

Mantra 6

किमित्ते विष्णो परिचक्ष्यं भूत्प्र यद्ववक्षे शिपिविष्टो अस्मि । मा वर्पो अस्मदप गूह एतद्यदन्यरूपः समिथे बभूथ ॥

What is there to be looked at about you, O Vishnu, since I have openly declared, ‘I am Shipiviṣṭa’? Do not hide from us this form of yours—that you become of another appearance in the battle: reveal the divine strategy that conquers by transformation.

Mantra 7

वषट् ते विष्णवास आ कृणोमि तन्मे जुषस्व शिपिविष्ट हव्यम् । वर्धन्तु त्वा सुष्टुतयो गिरो मे यूयं पात स्वस्तिभिः सदा नः ॥

I make for you the vaṣaṭ-call, O Vishnu; accept my offering, O Shipiviṣṭa. May my well-shaped praises and words increase you; do you guard us always with your powers of well-being and right-going.

Inside Sukta 100

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    The hymn opens by describing the earnest mortal who seeks attainment and therefore offers and worships Viṣṇu, the vast and widely praised.

  2. Development

    It unfolds Viṣṇu’s beneficence: his strides create a workable ‘field’ for humanity, and his established order yields wide dwelling and auspicious birth.

  3. Climax

    The central revelation is Viṣṇu’s cosmic act of ‘striding out’ the earth—making stable space (urukṣiti) and a secure foundation for life and sacrifice.

  4. Where it settles

    It ends in liturgical immediacy: the poet performs the vaṣaṭ-call, asks Viṣṇu (Śipiviṣṭa) to accept the offering, and prays for continual protection and well-being (svasti).

The deity: Viṣṇu

  • In the VedaIn the Rig Veda, Viṣṇu is the ‘urugāya’ (wide-to-be-sung), the expansive one whose measured strides (trīṇi padāni) establish space and support for gods and mortals; he is invoked as a beneficent helper of Manuṣa (humankind).
  • Cosmic functionTo extend and stabilize cosmic space—ordering earth and the regions through his strides—so that life, sacrifice, and right action can proceed on a firm foundation.
  • Inner significanceThe power of spiritual expansion: the widening of consciousness and the securing of an inner ‘dwelling’ where aspiration, discipline, and worship can take root and flourish.

The seer

  • VasiṣṭhaVasiṣṭha gotra (Āditya/Vasiṣṭha family of seers) · One of the foremost ṛṣis of the Rig Veda, celebrated as a master of sacred speech (brahman) and as the leading seer of Mandala 7; closely associated with royal consecration themes and the theology of Ṛta (cosmic order).

Famous verses

urugāyāya (to the wide-to-be-sung)
Verse 7.100.1Sets the devotional and ritual posture: purposeful giving, steady-minded worship, and approaching Viṣṇu as the heroic, all-supporting Vast.Read verse 7.100.1 →
vi cakrame pṛthivīm (he strode out the earth)
Verse 7.100.4A key Viṣṇu-theology verse: his stride establishes earth as kṣetra (field of action) and grants urukṣiti (wide dwelling) and sujanima (good birth).Read verse 7.100.4 →
vaṣaṭ te viṣṇo (the vaṣaṭ-call to you, O Viṣṇu)
Verse 7.100.7Liturgical culmination with the explicit vaṣaṭ-call, request for acceptance of havis, and the closing prayer for svasti and protection.Read verse 7.100.7 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Urugāya (widely celebrated, vast)
  • Trivikrama (the strider in three steps)
  • World-establisher (creates wide dwelling/urukṣiti)
  • Protector granting svasti (well-being)
  • Supporter of human endeavor (kṣetra for action)

Also by this seer

  • Rig Veda Mandala 7 (majority of hymns traditionally attributed to Vasiṣṭha and his line)
  • Vasiṣṭha–Varuṇa hymns emphasizing Ṛta, moral order, and supplication (e.g., RV 7.86–7.89)
  • Later tradition: Vasiṣṭha Dharmasūtra / Vasiṣṭha Smṛti (attributed in post-Vedic literature)

The rite, step by step

  • Prepare the altar/vedi and establish Agni; orient the ritual space as ‘kṣetra’ (field of action).
  • Recite the Viṣṇu verses with attention to ‘striding’ imagery, mentally mapping the widening of space and order.
  • Offer oblations with the vaṣaṭ-call (as in 7.100.7), inviting the deity to ‘enjoy’ (juṣasva) the havis.
  • Conclude with protective petitions for svasti and firm dwelling (urukṣiti), sealing the rite with praise and remembrance of Viṣṇu’s strides.

Offerings

  • Ghee (ājya) oblations into Agni
  • Soma libation (where applicable)
  • Havis (general sacrificial offering) accompanied by vaṣaṭ
  • Praise (stuti) as a verbal offering

Frequently Asked Questions

It teaches that Viṣṇu creates and stabilizes wide space for life and sacred work, and that sincere worship brings protection, well-being (svasti), and a secure dwelling.

The ‘strides’ symbolize Viṣṇu’s cosmic act of measuring out and establishing the world—making the earth a usable field (kṣetra) and giving people a firm, spacious foundation (urukṣiti).

Vaṣaṭ is a ritual exclamation used when making an offering into the fire; here it marks the moment of oblation and the request that Viṣṇu accept the offering and guard the worshippers with svasti.

Ask anything about Sukta 100 of the Rig Veda

Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.

Not sure where to start?

A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.

Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app

Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Continue reading in the Vedapath app

Open in App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play