Hymn to Rudra
Rigveda I.85 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Rudra, the fierce healer, lord of storms and mountains, father of the Maruts. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Hark! What voice is that which crieth through the heavens? What roaring shaketh the foundations of the earth? 'Tis the Maruts! The storm-band approacheth! The sons of Rudra do come forth in their terrible glory!
They ride upon chariots of wind. Their steeds are swift as lightning. Upon their brows do rest the thunderclouds. From their mouths do issue forth the very sounds of thunder and hail. The sky itself doth quail before them. The earth doth shrink in fear.
See how they gleam and shine! Their armor is wrought of gold and burnished silver. Their spears flash like the sun breaking through storm-clouds. Each Marut beareth weapons fashioned in the forge of heaven itself. A thousand warrior-gods ride together, their voices united in a mighty chorus that shaketh all the worlds.
They are beautiful and terrible to behold — terrible in their might, beautiful in their order and purpose. They bring the rain that drinketh the soil and maketh the seed to grow. They bring the wind that disperseth the clouds and cleareth the air. They are both destruction and blessing, curse and benediction.
The Maruts sing! Their song is the howling gale. Their drumming is the roll of thunder. Their dance is the wheeling of the storm. Praise unto them! They guard the realm of heaven and earth. They maintain the cosmic order. They ride forth in service of Rudra and in alliance with Indra the Thunderer. All hail the roaring Maruts!
Colophon
Rigveda I.85 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Rudra, the fierce healer, lord of storms and mountains, father of the Maruts. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.85
pra ye śumbhante janayo na saptayo yāman rudrasya sūnavaḥ sudaṁsasaḥ |
rodasī hi marutaś cakrire vṛdhe madanti vīrā vidatheṣu ghṛṣvayaḥ || 1 ||
ta ukṣitāso mahimānam āśata divi rudrāso adhi cakrire sadaḥ |
arcanto arkaṁ janayanta indriyam adhi śriyo dadhire pṛśnimātaraḥ || 2 ||
gomātaro yac chubhayante añjibhis tanūṣu śubhrā dadhire virukmataḥ |
bādhante viśvam abhimātinam apa vartmāny eṣām anu rīyate ghṛtam || 3 ||
vi ye bhrājante sumakhāsa ṛṣṭibhiḥ pracyāvayanto acyutā cid ojasā |
manojuvo yan maruto ratheṣv ā vṛṣavrātāsaḥ pṛṣatīr ayugdhvam || 4 ||
pra yad ratheṣu pṛṣatīr ayugdhvaṁ vāje adrim maruto raṁhayantaḥ |
utāruṣasya vi ṣyanti dhārāś carmevodabhir vy undanti bhūma || 5 ||
ā vo vahantu saptayo raghuṣyado raghupatvānaḥ pra jigāta bāhubhiḥ |
sīdatā barhir uru vaḥ sadas kṛtam mādayadhvam maruto madhvo andhasaḥ || 6 ||
te 'vardhanta svatavaso mahitvanā nākaṁ tasthur uru cakrire sadaḥ |
viṣṇur yad dhāvad vṛṣaṇam madacyutaṁ vayo na sīdann adhi barhiṣi priye || 7 ||
śūrā ived yuyudhayo na jagmayaḥ śravasyavo na pṛtanāsu yetire |
bhayante viśvā bhuvanā marudbhyo rājāna iva tveṣasaṁdṛśo naraḥ || 8 ||
tvaṣṭā yad vajraṁ sukṛtaṁ hiraṇyayaṁ sahasrabhṛṣṭiṁ svapā avartayat |
dhatta indro nary apāṁsi kartave 'han vṛtraṁ nir apām aubjad arṇavam || 9 ||
ūrdhvaṁ nunudre 'vataṁ ta ojasā dādṛhāṇaṁ cid bibhidur vi parvatam |
dhamanto vāṇam marutaḥ sudānavo made somasya raṇyāni cakrire || 10 ||
jihmaṁ nunudre 'vataṁ tayā diśāsiñcann utsaṁ gotamāya tṛṣṇaje |
ā gacchantīm avasā citrabhānavaḥ kāmaṁ viprasya tarpayanta dhāmabhiḥ || 11 ||
yā vaḥ śarma śaśamānāya santi tridhātūni dāśuṣe yacchatādhi |
asmabhyaṁ tāni maruto vi yanta rayiṁ no dhatta vṛṣaṇaḥ suvīram || 12 ||
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).
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