Hymn to the Waters
Rigveda X.9 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. You Waters are indeed the bringers of delight — grant us strength, and the sight of great joy.
2. That most gracious essence of yours — give us our share of it here, as loving mothers give to their children.
3. May we come fittingly to that dwelling for whose sake you stir and flow. O Waters, bring us forth anew.
4. May the divine Waters be kind to us in our need, good to drink; may they flow toward us bringing health and well-being.
5. Rulers of what is desired, governing over the peoples — of you, O Waters, I ask a healing remedy.
6. Soma told me: within the waters are all remedies, and Agni too, who brings well-being to all.
7. O Waters, grant healing and shelter for my body, and grant long sight of the sun.
8. Carry away, O Waters, whatever wrong is in me — whether I have done harm, or cursed, or spoken untruth.
9. Today, O Waters, I have walked with you; we have joined together in your essence. Come, O Agni rich in milk — unite me with your splendor.
Colophon
Rigveda X.9 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.9
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.
āpo hi ṣṭhā mayobhuvas tā na ūrje dadhātana |
mahe raṇāya cakṣase || 1 ||
yo vaḥ śivatamo rasas tasya bhājayateha naḥ |
uśatīr iva mātaraḥ || 2 ||
tasmā araṁ gamāma vo yasya kṣayāya jinvatha |
āpo janayathā ca naḥ || 3 ||
śaṁ no devīr abhiṣṭaya āpo bhavantu pītaye |
śaṁ yor abhi sravantu naḥ || 4 ||
īśānā vāryāṇāṁ kṣayantīś carṣaṇīnām |
apo yācāmi bheṣajam || 5 ||
apsu me somo abravīd antar viśvāni bheṣajā |
agniṁ ca viśvaśambhuvam || 6 ||
āpaḥ pṛṇīta bheṣajaṁ varūthaṁ tanve3 mama |
jyok ca sūryaṁ dṛśe || 7 ||
idam āpaḥ pra vahata yat kiṁ ca duritam mayi |
yad vāham abhidudroha yad vā śepa utānṛtam || 8 ||
āpo adyānv acāriṣaṁ rasena sam agasmahi |
payasvān agna ā gahi tam mā saṁ sṛja varcasā || 9 ||
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).