Hymn to Yama
Rigveda X.13 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.
With reverence I yoke for you twain the holy word of old.
Let the cry of the rite’s patron go forth far—like a path it goeth.
Let all the sons of the deathless—ye who dwell in the starry halls— hearken to the call.
When ye came, side by side like twin-born powers, the children of Manu, seeking the gods, did bring you forth.
Sit ye now upon your broad and rightful place, as is your wont.
Be ye goodly thrones for the drops we pour.
I have gone up the five steps of the mount, and I follow the four-footed way as bidden.
With but a breath, I fashion its twin;
and on the navel of truth I cleanse it through and through.
For the love of the gods he chose death, yet for the sake of sons he turned not to deathlessness.
The gods made Br̥haspati, the seer, into their very offering.
Yama gave up his own dear flesh, and left it as his seed.
The seven rivers run for the child who rideth with the storm-lords.
For their sire have the sons made truth their kin.
The twin wains bear it—of both kinds they rule.
They take their place, and feast upon the one that is of both.
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.13
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.
yuje vām brahma pūrvyaṁ namobhir vi śloka etu pathyeva sūreḥ |
śṛṇvantu viśve amṛtasya putrā ā ye dhāmāni divyāni tasthuḥ || 1 ||
yame iva yatamāne yad aitam pra vām bharan mānuṣā devayantaḥ |
ā sīdataṁ svam u lokaṁ vidāne svāsasthe bhavatam indave naḥ || 2 ||
pañca padāni rupo anv arohaṁ catuṣpadīm anv emi vratena |
akṣareṇa prati mima etām ṛtasya nābhāv adhi sam punāmi || 3 ||
devebhyaḥ kam avṛṇīta mṛtyum prajāyai kam amṛtaṁ nāvṛṇīta |
bṛhaspatiṁ yajñam akṛṇvata ṛṣim priyāṁ yamas tanva1m prārirecīt || 4 ||
sapta kṣaranti śiśave marutvate pitre putrāso apy avīvatann ṛtam |
ubhe id asyobhayasya rājata ubhe yatete ubhayasya puṣyataḥ || 5 ||
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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