Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda V.52 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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. Sing forth boldly, Śyāvāśva, together with the hymning Maruts — who, guileless, according to their own nature, exult in glory, worthy of worship.
2. For they are, boldly, the companions of steady strength; bold on their course, they themselves continually protect their people.
3. They, rushing like bulls, leap through the nights. On the great Maruts we meditate, in heaven and on earth.
4. In you, Maruts, we boldly place our praise and our sacrifice — you who through all the generations of humankind protect mortals from harm.
5. Sing forth the sacrifice to the Maruts of heaven, worthy of worship, the bounteous heroes of full and unshared strength.
6. With golden ornaments, with weapons, the lofty heroes hurled their spears. After them the lightnings flashed, O Maruts, and the radiance of heaven rose up of itself.
7. Who have grown mighty, the earthly ones, who grew in the wide atmosphere, in the domain of the rivers, or in the gathering-place of the great heaven.
8. Proclaim loudly the troop of the Maruts, of true strength, mighty. And indeed those heroes, for their own splendor, harnessed their swift steeds themselves.
9. And indeed they, the pure ones, clothed themselves in wool at the Paruṣṇī. And with the wheel-rims of their chariots they split the mountain with their might.
10. On the path, off the path, between the paths, along the paths — by these names, for me, they bring the sacrifice, spread out wide.
11. Then the heroes come down; then they bring their teams; then, from far regions, come wondrous forms to be seen.
12. The hymn-singers, the seekers at the spring, the praisers, the dancers — some of these were to me like thieves, yet were helpers, to look upon, in their flashing splendor.
13. They who are lofty, whose spears are lightning, who are seers and wise ordainers — that troop of the Maruts, O seer, honor with homage, delight with song.
14. Toward the troop of the Maruts, O seer, go with gifts, as a maiden goes to a friend. O bold ones of heaven, praised with might, urge them on with hymns.
15. Now, meditating on these gods, flowing toward them like a stream — may he join, with gifts, together with the patrons famed for their coming, the adorned ones.
16. Those wise patrons who, in seeking their kinship, called her a cow, called Pṛśni their mother; and they, the mighty ones, called impetuous Rudra their father.
17. Seven mighty patrons gave me seven gifts; each one gave a hundred — famed at the Yamunā. I deck myself with the gift of cattle above; I deck myself with the gift of horses below.
Translator's note: verses 10, 12, and 15 contain rare compounds (āpathayo vipathayo 'ntaspathā anupathāḥ; kubhanyavaḥ; vakṣaṇā) whose precise sense is uncertain even in the Sanskrit tradition. They are rendered here conservatively, close to their literal roots, rather than resolved into a confident but speculative meaning.
Colophon
Rigveda V.52 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 V.52
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.
pra śyāvāśva dhṛṣṇuyārcā marudbhir ṛkvabhiḥ |
ye adrogham anuṣvadhaṁ śravo madanti yajñiyāḥ || 1 ||
te hi sthirasya śavasaḥ sakhāyaḥ santi dhṛṣṇuyā |
te yāmann ā dhṛṣadvinas tmanā pānti śaśvataḥ || 2 ||
te syandrāso nokṣaṇo 'ti ṣkandanti śarvarīḥ |
marutām adhā maho divi kṣamā ca manmahe || 3 ||
marutsu vo dadhīmahi stomaṁ yajñaṁ ca dhṛṣṇuyā |
viśve ye mānuṣā yugā pānti martyaṁ riṣaḥ || 4 ||
arhanto ye sudānavo naro asāmiśavasaḥ |
pra yajñaṁ yajñiyebhyo divo arcā marudbhyaḥ || 5 ||
ā rukmair ā yudhā nara ṛṣvā ṛṣṭīr asṛkṣata |
anv enām̐ aha vidyuto maruto jajjhatīr iva bhānur arta tmanā divaḥ || 6 ||
ye vāvṛdhanta pārthivā ya urāv antarikṣa ā |
vṛjane vā nadīnāṁ sadhasthe vā maho divaḥ || 7 ||
śardho mārutam uc chaṁsa satyaśavasam ṛbhvasam |
uta sma te śubhe naraḥ pra syandrā yujata tmanā || 8 ||
uta sma te paruṣṇyām ūrṇā vasata śundhyavaḥ |
uta pavyā rathānām adrim bhindanty ojasā || 9 ||
āpathayo vipathayo 'ntaspathā anupathāḥ |
etebhir mahyaṁ nāmabhir yajñaṁ viṣṭāra ohate || 10 ||
adhā naro ny ohate 'dhā niyuta ohate |
adhā pārāvatā iti citrā rūpāṇi darśyā || 11 ||
chandaḥstubhaḥ kubhanyava utsam ā kīriṇo nṛtuḥ |
te me ke cin na tāyava ūmā āsan dṛśi tviṣe || 12 ||
ya ṛṣvā ṛṣṭividyutaḥ kavayaḥ santi vedhasaḥ |
tam ṛṣe mārutaṁ gaṇaṁ namasyā ramayā girā || 13 ||
accha ṛṣe mārutaṁ gaṇaṁ dānā mitraṁ na yoṣaṇā |
divo vā dhṛṣṇava ojasā stutā dhībhir iṣaṇyata || 14 ||
nū manvāna eṣāṁ devām̐ acchā na vakṣaṇā |
dānā saceta sūribhir yāmaśrutebhir añjibhiḥ || 15 ||
pra ye me bandhveṣe gāṁ vocanta sūrayaḥ pṛśniṁ vocanta mātaram |
adhā pitaram iṣmiṇaṁ rudraṁ vocanta śikvasaḥ || 16 ||
sapta me sapta śākina ekam-ekā śatā daduḥ |
yamunāyām adhi śrutam ud rādho gavyam mṛje ni rādho aśvyam mṛje || 17 ||
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).