Hymn to Rudra
Rigveda I.114 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Rudra, the fierce healer, lord of storms and mountains, father of the Maruts. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. We bring these prayers to Rudra, the mighty one, the one with braided hair, ruler of heroes, so that it may go well for the two-footed and the four-footed, so that all that thrives in this village stays free of sickness.
2. Be gracious to us, Rudra, and grant us comfort; with homage may we worship you, ruler of heroes. That welfare and well-being which father Manu obtained by sacrifice — may we obtain that too, under your guidance, Rudra.
3. May we win your good favor through worship of the gods, bounteous Rudra, ruler of heroes. Being gracious, come to our people — may our heroes go unharmed — we pour out an offering to you.
4. We call down the brilliant Rudra, accomplisher of sacrifice, the wandering seer, to help us. Let him cast his divine wrath far away from us; it is his favor alone that we choose.
5. We invoke with homage the ruddy boar of heaven, braided-haired, of brilliant form, bearing in his hand choice remedies — may he grant us shelter, armor, protection.
6. This word is spoken to the father of the Maruts, sweeter than sweet, a hymn to strengthen Rudra. Grant us, immortal one, sustenance for mortals; be gracious to ourselves, to our children, to our children's children.
7. Do not harm our great one, and do not harm our little one; do not harm the one still growing, and do not harm the one fully grown. Do not slay our father, nor our mother; do not harm, Rudra, our own dear bodies.
8. Do not harm us in our children and our children's children, do not harm us in our lifespan, do not harm us in our cattle, do not harm us in our horses. Do not, Rudra, in anger slay our fighting men — bearing offerings, we call on you always.
9. Like a herdsman gathering his herd, I have driven my praises toward you; grant us favor, father of the Maruts. For your favor is auspicious, most gracious of all — so we choose your protection alone.
10. Far away be your cattle-slaying, your man-slaying wrath, ruler of heroes; let your favor rest on us instead. Be gracious to us, and speak on our behalf, god; and grant us shelter, you of double might.
11. We have spoken homage to him, seeking his help; may Rudra, with the Maruts, hear our call. May Mitra and Varuṇa grant us this, and Aditi, the River, Earth, and Heaven.
Translator's note: "vaṅkum" (v.4) — a rare epithet, here rendered "wandering," is uncertain; it may instead describe Rudra's bent or crooked-going motion. "dvibarhāḥ" (v.10) — "of double might" — is likewise a rare compound whose precise sense (doubled strength, or doubled greatness) is debated; rendered conservatively.
Colophon
Rigveda I.114 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.114
imā rudrāya tavase kapardine kṣayadvīrāya pra bharāmahe matīḥ |
yathā śam asad dvipade catuṣpade viśvam puṣṭaṁ grāme asminn anāturam || 1 ||
mṛḻā no rudrota no mayas kṛdhi kṣayadvīrāya namasā vidhema te |
yac chaṁ ca yoś ca manur āyeje pitā tad aśyāma tava rudra praṇītiṣu || 2 ||
aśyāma te sumatiṁ devayajyayā kṣayadvīrasya tava rudra mīḍhvaḥ |
sumnāyann id viśo asmākam ā carāriṣṭavīrā juhavāma te haviḥ || 3 ||
tveṣaṁ vayaṁ rudraṁ yajñasādhaṁ vaṅkuṁ kavim avase ni hvayāmahe |
āre asmad daivyaṁ heḻo asyatu sumatim id vayam asyā vṛṇīmahe || 4 ||
divo varāham aruṣaṁ kapardinaṁ tveṣaṁ rūpaṁ namasā ni hvayāmahe |
haste bibhrad bheṣajā vāryāṇi śarma varma cchardir asmabhyaṁ yaṁsat || 5 ||
idam pitre marutām ucyate vacaḥ svādoḥ svādīyo rudrāya vardhanam |
rāsvā ca no amṛta martabhojanaṁ tmane tokāya tanayāya mṛḻa || 6 ||
mā no mahāntam uta mā no arbhakam mā na ukṣantam uta mā na ukṣitam |
mā no vadhīḥ pitaram mota mātaram mā naḥ priyās tanvo rudra rīriṣaḥ || 7 ||
mā nas toke tanaye mā na āyau mā no goṣu mā no aśveṣu rīriṣaḥ |
vīrān mā no rudra bhāmito vadhīr haviṣmantaḥ sadam it tvā havāmahe || 8 ||
upa te stomān paśupā ivākaraṁ rāsvā pitar marutāṁ sumnam asme |
bhadrā hi te sumatir mṛḻayattamāthā vayam ava it te vṛṇīmahe || 9 ||
āre te goghnam uta pūruṣaghnaṁ kṣayadvīra sumnam asme te astu |
mṛḻā ca no adhi ca brūhi devādhā ca naḥ śarma yaccha dvibarhāḥ || 10 ||
avocāma namo asmā avasyavaḥ śṛṇotu no havaṁ rudro marutvān |
tan no mitro varuṇo māmahantām aditiḥ sindhuḥ pṛthivī uta dyauḥ || 11 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).