O Rudra! O thou terrible one! O thou who art adorned with serpents and with fire! We come before thee with fear and with trembling!

Thou art not like unto the other gods. They are merciful; they are generous; they are inclined toward kindness. But thou—O Rudra—thou art fierce and thou art fearful. Thy anger is as a storm that cannot be turned aside.

We have heard the stories of thy wrath. The mountains have felt the touch of thy arrows. The forests have burned at thy coming. Even the demons do flee in terror when they see thee approach.

Yet we have heard also of thy compassion. For thou art not only the destroyer; thou art also the healer. The herbs of the field are thine; the medicine and the remedy do flow from thy hand. Those whom thou hast struck down, thou canst also restore to wholeness.

O Rudra, we beseech thee! Do not turn thy face toward us in anger! We are thy servants; we do respect thy power. We do not ask for mercy alone, but only that thy wrath might not fall upon us unjustly.

Turn toward us the kindly side of thy nature! Show us thy healing hand! Let thy arrows pass us by! And let us know the peace that cometh from the protection of Rudra the fierce.

We make this offering unto thee, O terrible god! We sing this hymn unto thee! Accept it with grace! And be unto us not a destroyer, but a guardian and a protector!

O Rudra, O fierce one, O mighty lord—we place our trust in thee. Do not fail us. Do not abandon us. Be our god, our protector, our friend!