Hymn to the Weapons of War
Rigveda VI.75 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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. The hymn addresses, in turn, the warrior's armor, bow, bowstring, quiver, chariot, horses, and arrows, asking each for protection and victory in battle.
1. His appearance becomes like that of a thundercloud, when the armored man goes into the midst of battles. Conquer with a body unpierced — may the greatness of the armor carry you through.
2. With the bow may we win cattle, with the bow win the contest; with the bow may we win fierce battles. The bow turns back the enemy's desire; with the bow may we conquer every quarter.
3. As if about to speak, she comes again and again to the ear, embracing her dear friend. Like a woman she whispers, stretched upon the bow — this bowstring, carrying us safely through the battle.
4. These two, moving like a woman at a gathering, bearing it in their lap like a mother her son — may they, acting as one, pierce away the enemies: these two bow-horns, trembling against the foes.
5. Father of many, many are his sons — the quiver makes a whizzing sound as it enters the fray. Bound on the back, sent forth, it conquers combats and whole armies.
6. Standing in the chariot, the good charioteer drives the horses forward wherever he wishes. Praise the greatness of the reins — the reins follow after the mind.
7. The mighty-hoofed horses make piercing sounds, racing on together with the chariots. Trampling down with their forehooves, they destroy the enemies, never swerving from the foe.
8. "Chariot-shed" is its name, the offering-place, where its weapon and its armor are laid down. There, by the strong chariot, may we sit always, our minds at peace.
9. Sweet to sit among, the fathers, givers of vigor, resorted to in hardship, powerful, profound, of brilliant hosts, strong with arrows, unfailing, truly heroic, vast, overpowering armies.
10. The fathers, priests, worthy of soma — may heaven and earth, kindly and flawless, favor us. May Pūṣan, who furthers the sacred order, protect us from harm; guard us — let no one wishing us evil have power over us.
11. It wears an eagle's feather; its tooth is of horn; bound with sinew, it flies when let loose. Where men rush together and scatter apart, there may the arrows grant us shelter.
12. O straight-flier, encompass us; may our body become as a stone. May Soma speak in our favor; may Aditi grant us shelter.
13. It strikes upon their crest, it smites upon their haunches. O whip, wise one, urge on the horses in the combats.
14. Like a serpent with its coils it winds around the arm, warding off the blow of the bowstring — the hand-guard, knowing all the right ways: may this thing of protection guard the man on every side.
15. To her who is anointed, who has the head of an antelope, and whose point is of iron — to this divine arrow, offspring of Parjanya's seed, great homage.
16. Released, fly forth, O arrow sharpened by sacred word. Go to the enemies, strike home; leave not a single one of them remaining.
17. Where the arrows fly together like boys with loosened hair, there may Brahmaṇaspati and Aditi grant us shelter — grant us shelter forever.
18. I cover your vital spots with armor; may King Soma clothe you further with immortality. May Varuṇa make room wider than wide for you; may the gods rejoice in you as you conquer.
19. Whoever of our own kin turns hostile, or whoever is a stranger, seeks to slay us — may all the gods bring him harm. The sacred formula is my armor within.
Translator's note: Verse 14's "hastaghna" (hand-guard) is the archer's arm-bracer that protects against the bowstring's recoil; its personification as protector is rendered conservatively. Verse 17's "viśikhāḥ" (of arrows/boys) is uncertain in this simile and is rendered literally as "loosened hair" rather than resolved to a single image.
Colophon
Rigveda VI.75 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 VI.75
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.
jīmūtasyeva bhavati pratīkaṁ yad varmī yāti samadām upasthe |
anāviddhayā tanvā jaya tvaṁ sa tvā varmaṇo mahimā pipartu || 1 ||
dhanvanā gā dhanvanājiṁ jayema dhanvanā tīvrāḥ samado jayema |
dhanuḥ śatror apakāmaṁ kṛṇoti dhanvanā sarvāḥ pradiśo jayema || 2 ||
vakṣyantīved ā ganīganti karṇam priyaṁ sakhāyam pariṣasvajānā |
yoṣeva śiṅkte vitatādhi dhanvañ jyā iyaṁ samane pārayantī || 3 ||
te ācarantī samaneva yoṣā māteva putram bibhṛtām upasthe |
apa śatrūn vidhyatāṁ saṁvidāne ārtnī ime viṣphurantī amitrān || 4 ||
bahvīnām pitā bahur asya putraś ciścā kṛṇoti samanāvagatya |
iṣudhiḥ saṅkāḥ pṛtanāś ca sarvāḥ pṛṣṭhe ninaddho jayati prasūtaḥ || 5 ||
rathe tiṣṭhan nayati vājinaḥ puro yatra-yatra kāmayate suṣārathiḥ |
abhīśūnām mahimānam panāyata manaḥ paścād anu yacchanti raśmayaḥ || 6 ||
tīvrān ghoṣān kṛṇvate vṛṣapāṇayo 'śvā rathebhiḥ saha vājayantaḥ |
avakrāmantaḥ prapadair amitrān kṣiṇanti śatrūm̐r anapavyayantaḥ || 7 ||
rathavāhanaṁ havir asya nāma yatrāyudhaṁ nihitam asya varma |
tatrā ratham upa śagmaṁ sadema viśvāhā vayaṁ sumanasyamānāḥ || 8 ||
svāduṣaṁsadaḥ pitaro vayodhāḥ kṛcchreśritaḥ śaktīvanto gabhīrāḥ |
citrasenā iṣubalā amṛdhrāḥ satovīrā uravo vrātasāhāḥ || 9 ||
brāhmaṇāsaḥ pitaraḥ somyāsaḥ śive no dyāvāpṛthivī anehasā |
pūṣā naḥ pātu duritād ṛtāvṛdho rakṣā mākir no aghaśaṁsa īśata || 10 ||
suparṇaṁ vaste mṛgo asyā danto gobhiḥ saṁnaddhā patati prasūtā |
yatrā naraḥ saṁ ca vi ca dravanti tatrāsmabhyam iṣavaḥ śarma yaṁsan || 11 ||
ṛjīte pari vṛṅdhi no 'śmā bhavatu nas tanūḥ |
somo adhi bravītu no 'ditiḥ śarma yacchatu || 12 ||
ā jaṅghanti sānv eṣāṁ jaghanām̐ upa jighnate |
aśvājani pracetaso 'śvān samatsu codaya || 13 ||
ahir iva bhogaiḥ pary eti bāhuṁ jyāyā hetim paribādhamānaḥ |
hastaghno viśvā vayunāni vidvān pumān pumāṁsam pari pātu viśvataḥ || 14 ||
ālāktā yā ruruśīrṣṇy atho yasyā ayo mukham |
idam parjanyaretasa iṣvai devyai bṛhan namaḥ || 15 ||
avasṛṣṭā parā pata śaravye brahmasaṁśite |
gacchāmitrān pra padyasva māmīṣāṁ kaṁ canoc chiṣaḥ || 16 ||
yatra bāṇāḥ sampatanti kumārā viśikhā iva |
tatrā no brahmaṇas patir aditiḥ śarma yacchatu viśvāhā śarma yacchatu || 17 ||
marmāṇi te varmaṇā chādayāmi somas tvā rājāmṛtenānu vastām |
uror varīyo varuṇas te kṛṇotu jayantaṁ tvānu devā madantu || 18 ||
yo naḥ svo araṇo yaś ca niṣṭyo jighāṁsati |
devās taṁ sarve dhūrvantu brahma varma mamāntaram || 19 ||
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).