Hymn to Vāyu and Indra-Vāyu
Rigveda VII.91 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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. Surely those gods of old, who grew strong through our homage, were blameless — for Vāyu, for Manu who was hard-pressed, they made the dawn abide together with the sun.
2. Eager as messengers, guardians not to be deceived, watching over the months and the many passing years — O Indra and Vāyu, this hymn of praise reaching toward you asks for mercy and for fresh well-being.
3. Rich in food, wealth-increasing, wise, the bright one attends the glory of the yoked team. They, of one mind, arrayed themselves for Vāyu; all the men brought about their own good fortune.
4. As great as the force of the body, as great as their strength, as great as what the men achieve gazing with fixed attention — drink the pure soma, you pure drinkers, for us; O Indra and Vāyu, sit down here upon this barhis grass.
5. Yoking your team of desired steeds, O Indra and Vāyu, come forward together in one chariot. For this, the finest of the honeyed soma has been set out for you both; then, well pleased, loose your team for us.
6. The hundred, the thousand team-horses that follow you, O Indra and Vāyu, all of them desirable — come forward with these bountiful steeds; drink, you heroes, of the honeyed soma that has been offered.
7. Like racehorses begging for glory, we the Vasiṣṭhas call upon Indra and Vāyu with hymns of praise, seeking the prize, for good protection. May you two always protect us with blessings.
Translator's note: "niyutaḥ" (verse 3, 5, 6) names the team of horses/steeds yoked to Vāyu's car; it is rendered here as "team" rather than personified. "svapatyāni cakruḥ" (verse 3) literally means something like "made good offspring/works" and is rendered conservatively as "brought about their own good fortune."
Colophon
Rigveda VII.91 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 VII.91
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.
kuvid aṅga namasā ye vṛdhāsaḥ purā devā anavadyāsa āsan |
te vāyave manave bādhitāyāvāsayann uṣasaṁ sūryeṇa || 1 ||
uśantā dūtā na dabhāya gopā māsaś ca pāthaḥ śaradaś ca pūrvīḥ |
indravāyū suṣṭutir vām iyānā mārḍīkam īṭṭe suvitaṁ ca navyam || 2 ||
pīvoannām̐ rayivṛdhaḥ sumedhāḥ śvetaḥ siṣakti niyutām abhiśrīḥ |
te vāyave samanaso vi tasthur viśven naraḥ svapatyāni cakruḥ || 3 ||
yāvat taras tanvo3 yāvad ojo yāvan naraś cakṣasā dīdhyānāḥ |
śuciṁ somaṁ śucipā pātam asme indravāyū sadatam barhir edam || 4 ||
niyuvānā niyutaḥ spārhavīrā indravāyū sarathaṁ yātam arvāk |
idaṁ hi vām prabhṛtam madhvo agram adha prīṇānā vi mumuktam asme || 5 ||
yā vāṁ śataṁ niyuto yāḥ sahasram indravāyū viśvavārāḥ sacante |
ābhir yātaṁ suvidatrābhir arvāk pātaṁ narā pratibhṛtasya madhvaḥ || 6 ||
arvanto na śravaso bhikṣamāṇā indravāyū suṣṭutibhir vasiṣṭhāḥ |
vājayantaḥ sv avase huvema yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 7 ||
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).