I am the beginning and the end,
origin and dissolution,
refuge, home, true lover,
womb and imperishable seed.

I am the heat of the sun,
I hold back the rain and release it;
I am death, and the deathless,
and all that is or is not.

The righteous who follow the scriptures
strictly, who drink the soma
and are purified of their sins,
who pray to be taken to heaven —

they reach the world of the gods
and enjoy an indescribable
bliss, although after eons
of those vast and glorious pleasures,

when their merit is spent, they fall back
into the mortal world;
impelled by desire, they achieve
only what will pass away.

But to those who meditate on me
undistracted, and worship me
everywhere, always, I will bring
a reward that never can be lost.