Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda X.77 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. As clouds sprinkle down their bounty, so my voice pours forth good things; like the oblation-laden sacrifices of one who truly knows, this hymn is worthy of a chant fit for the Maruts — I have praised their troop, to match their splendor.
2. For glory the young men made themselves bright, through many nights, as befits the Maruts. These sons of heaven advanced, taking their stations; they, the Ādityas, grew strong like vigorous young ones.
3. They who by their own strength have surpassed heaven and earth in greatness, as the sun surpasses the clouds — they are like radiant heroes worthy of praise, like foe-destroying young men reaching toward the sky.
4. At your coming, as at the base of the waters, the great earth trembles and grows unsteady. This all-nourishing sacrifice is here, ready for you — come together, like bearers of good food-offerings.
5. You, at the chariot-poles, are like steeds yoked with reins; luminous with light at daybreak; like falcons glorious in themselves, foe-destroying; like travelers setting forth, sprinkling rain all around.
6. When you, Maruts, drive forth from afar, knowing the great hidden wealth still to be granted — good ones that you are — keep enmity far away, apart.
7. Whoever, standing at the sacrifice raised on high, offers worship to the Maruts as a man should — he gains vigor rich in wealth and good sons; may he stand under the gods' protection.
8. For they, worthy of worship at the sacrifices, are our helpers, most beneficent under the name of Āditya. May they speed our hymn like a swift chariot, delighting in the great course and in the rite.
Translator's note: several images in this hymn compress multiple similes into a single line (e.g. verse 5's chariot-steeds, dawn-light, falcons, and rain-sprinklers), and Sanskrit syntax leaves some comparisons only implied by "na" ("like"); the English above keeps each simile distinct rather than merging them for smoother prose. Verse 8's "ādityena nāmnā" ("under the Āditya name") is rendered literally — the verse identifies the Maruts with the Ādityas rather than naming a separate deity.
Colophon
Rigveda X.77 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 X.77
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
abhrapruṣo na vācā pruṣā vasu haviṣmanto na yajñā vijānuṣaḥ |
sumārutaṁ na brahmāṇam arhase gaṇam astoṣy eṣāṁ na śobhase || 1 ||
śriye maryāso añjīm̐r akṛṇvata sumārutaṁ na pūrvīr ati kṣapaḥ |
divas putrāsa etā na yetira ādityāsas te akrā na vāvṛdhuḥ || 2 ||
pra ye divaḥ pṛthivyā na barhaṇā tmanā riricre abhrān na sūryaḥ |
pājasvanto na vīrāḥ panasyavo riśādaso na maryā abhidyavaḥ || 3 ||
yuṣmākam budhne apāṁ na yāmani vithuryati na mahī śratharyati |
viśvapsur yajño arvāg ayaṁ su vaḥ prayasvanto na satrāca ā gata || 4 ||
yūyaṁ dhūrṣu prayujo na raśmibhir jyotiṣmanto na bhāsā vyuṣṭiṣu |
śyenāso na svayaśaso riśādasaḥ pravāso na prasitāsaḥ paripruṣaḥ || 5 ||
pra yad vahadhve marutaḥ parākād yūyam mahaḥ saṁvaraṇasya vasvaḥ |
vidānāso vasavo rādhyasyārāc cid dveṣaḥ sanutar yuyota || 6 ||
ya udṛci yajñe adhvareṣṭhā marudbhyo na mānuṣo dadāśat |
revat sa vayo dadhate suvīraṁ sa devānām api gopīthe astu || 7 ||
te hi yajñeṣu yajñiyāsa ūmā ādityena nāmnā śambhaviṣṭhāḥ |
te no 'vantu rathatūr manīṣām mahaś ca yāmann adhvare cakānāḥ || 8 ||
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).