Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda X.78 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. Like inspired poets with their hymns, well-minded; like the pious, skilled in their rites; like kings, radiant, fair to look upon; like young men of the settlements, unblemished.
2. Who, like Agni, blaze with splendor, gold-breasted; like winds self-yoked, bringing help at once; like the wisest, foremost in good guidance; sheltering well, like soma, for the one who walks in truth.
3. Who, like winds, roar and race onward; like the tongues of fires, blazing out; like armored warriors, mighty in strength; like the praises of the fathers, richly giving.
4. Who, like the spokes of chariots, share one hub; like victorious heroes, reaching toward the sky; like young suitors sprinkling ghee; loud-sounding, like a well-chanted hymn.
5. Who, like horses, foremost and swift; like eager wooers, like charioteers, bountiful; like waters rushing down in their floods; all-formed, like the Aṅgirases with their chants.
6. Like pressing-stones, wise ones whose mother is the river; ever-rending, like rocks, every day; like little children at play, with good mothers; like a great host on the march, and with fury.
7. Like the banners of the dawns, adorning the sacred rite; seeking beauty, they have shone out in their ornaments; like rivers racing on, spears agleam; like ones come from afar, they have measured out the miles.
8. Gods, make us fortunate, rich in treasure — us, your praisers, Maruts, as you grow in strength. Attend to the friendship of this song of praise, for from of old the gifts of treasure have been yours to give.
Translator's note: The whole hymn is built from a chain of similes ("like ___") whose object — the Maruts — is named only once, directly, in verse 8; every earlier verse describes them only by comparison. A few terms admit more than one reading: "svapnasaḥ" (1) is read here as "of good work/activity" rather than "well-sleeping"; "śiśūlā" (6) as "little children"; "mahāgrāma" (6) as "a great host/troop," which some read as a marching army and others as a great herd or clan on the move.
Colophon
Rigveda X.78 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.78
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.
viprāso na manmabhiḥ svādhyo devāvyo3 na yajñaiḥ svapnasaḥ |
rājāno na citrāḥ susaṁdṛśaḥ kṣitīnāṁ na maryā arepasaḥ || 1 ||
agnir na ye bhrājasā rukmavakṣaso vātāso na svayujaḥ sadyaūtayaḥ |
prajñātāro na jyeṣṭhāḥ sunītayaḥ suśarmāṇo na somā ṛtaṁ yate || 2 ||
vātāso na ye dhunayo jigatnavo 'gnīnāṁ na jihvā virokiṇaḥ |
varmaṇvanto na yodhāḥ śimīvantaḥ pitṝṇāṁ na śaṁsāḥ surātayaḥ || 3 ||
rathānāṁ na ye1 'rāḥ sanābhayo jigīvāṁso na śūrā abhidyavaḥ |
vareyavo na maryā ghṛtapruṣo 'bhisvartāro arkaṁ na suṣṭubhaḥ || 4 ||
aśvāso na ye jyeṣṭhāsa āśavo didhiṣavo na rathyaḥ sudānavaḥ |
āpo na nimnair udabhir jigatnavo viśvarūpā aṅgiraso na sāmabhiḥ || 5 ||
grāvāṇo na sūrayaḥ sindhumātara ādardirāso adrayo na viśvahā |
śiśūlā na krīḻayaḥ sumātaro mahāgrāmo na yāmann uta tviṣā || 6 ||
uṣasāṁ na ketavo 'dhvaraśriyaḥ śubhaṁyavo nāñjibhir vy aśvitan |
sindhavo na yayiyo bhrājadṛṣṭayaḥ parāvato na yojanāni mamire || 7 ||
subhāgān no devāḥ kṛṇutā suratnān asmān stotṝn maruto vāvṛdhānāḥ |
adhi stotrasya sakhyasya gāta sanād dhi vo ratnadheyāni santi || 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).