Hymn to Yama
Rigveda X.10 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Yama spoke, watching the world about him:
"They stand not still, nor do they blink—these spies of the gods, who wander abroad upon the earth.
Turn thyself aside, O wanton one; find thee another than me. With him, let thy body run loose, even as two wheels fly from a chariot."
But Yamī answered him boldly:
"Day and night would I serve thee without weariness.
Even the eye of the sun could I cause to stumble for a time.
Heaven and Earth are bound together by the same ties; so too are we twain.
Therefore could Yamī bear the unbrotherly act of Yama."
Yama replied, stern and unyielding:
"In days to come shall kin perform deeds unbefitting kin.
But as for now, take up thine arm for another's pillow, a true bull's pillow.
Seek thou another for husband, well-portioned one; seek not me."
Yamī pleaded with desperate longing:
"What shall 'brother' mean when there is no shelter left in the world?
What shall 'sister' mean when dissolution draweth nigh?
Driven by desire, I murmur this again and again: join thou thy body unto mine."
But Yama answered with grave restraint:
"Verily, I shall not mingle my body with thine.
Evil is he who lieth with his sister.
Find thou another with whom to share thy joys.
Thy brother seeketh not such union, O well-portioned one."
Yamī, stung with sorrow and wrath, cried out:
"Truly, thou art a fool, Yama—a hard fool indeed!
No heart nor mind have we found in thee.
Another woman shall clasp thee close, as a girth binds a yoked horse, as a vine entwines a tree."
Yet Yama stood firm and made reply:
"Another man shall clasp thee, Yamī, and thou shalt clasp another— even as the vine wreathes about the tree.
Seek his heart, or let him seek thine, and thus make for thyself a bond of gladness."
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.10
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.
o cit sakhāyaṁ sakhyā vavṛtyāṁ tiraḥ purū cid arṇavaṁ jaganvān |
pitur napātam ā dadhīta vedhā adhi kṣami prataraṁ dīdhyānaḥ || 1 ||
na te sakhā sakhyaṁ vaṣṭy etat salakṣmā yad viṣurūpā bhavāti |
mahas putrāso asurasya vīrā divo dhartāra urviyā pari khyan || 2 ||
uśanti ghā te amṛtāsa etad ekasya cit tyajasam martyasya |
ni te mano manasi dhāyy asme janyuḥ patis tanva1m ā viviśyāḥ || 3 ||
na yat purā cakṛmā kad dha nūnam ṛtā vadanto anṛtaṁ rapema |
gandharvo apsv apyā ca yoṣā sā no nābhiḥ paramaṁ jāmi tan nau || 4 ||
garbhe nu nau janitā dampatī kar devas tvaṣṭā savitā viśvarūpaḥ |
nakir asya pra minanti vratāni veda nāv asya pṛthivī uta dyauḥ || 5 ||
ko asya veda prathamasyāhnaḥ ka īṁ dadarśa ka iha pra vocat |
bṛhan mitrasya varuṇasya dhāma kad u brava āhano vīcyā nṝn || 6 ||
yamasya mā yamya1ṁ kāma āgan samāne yonau sahaśeyyāya |
jāyeva patye tanvaṁ riricyāṁ vi cid vṛheva rathyeva cakrā || 7 ||
na tiṣṭhanti na ni miṣanty ete devānāṁ spaśa iha ye caranti |
anyena mad āhano yāhi tūyaṁ tena vi vṛha rathyeva cakrā || 8 ||
rātrībhir asmā ahabhir daśasyet sūryasya cakṣur muhur un mimīyāt |
divā pṛthivyā mithunā sabandhū yamīr yamasya bibhṛyād ajāmi || 9 ||
ā ghā tā gacchān uttarā yugāni yatra jāmayaḥ kṛṇavann ajāmi |
upa barbṛhi vṛṣabhāya bāhum anyam icchasva subhage patim mat || 10 ||
kim bhrātāsad yad anātham bhavāti kim u svasā yan nirṛtir nigacchāt |
kāmamūtā bahv e3tad rapāmi tanvā me tanva1ṁ sam pipṛgdhi || 11 ||
na vā u te tanvā tanva1ṁ sam papṛcyām pāpam āhur yaḥ svasāraṁ nigacchāt |
anyena mat pramudaḥ kalpayasva na te bhrātā subhage vaṣṭy etat || 12 ||
bato batāsi yama naiva te mano hṛdayaṁ cāvidāma |
anyā kila tvāṁ kakṣyeva yuktam pari ṣvajāte libujeva vṛkṣam || 13 ||
anyam ū ṣu tvaṁ yamy anya u tvām pari ṣvajāte libujeva vṛkṣam |
tasya vā tvam mana icchā sa vā tavādhā kṛṇuṣva saṁvidaṁ subhadrām || 14 ||
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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