A Hymn of Maṇḍala 10
Rigveda X.146 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.
O Lady of the Wilderness, Lady of the Waste, thou yonder who seemest lost, just ahead— How is it thou askest not for the hamlet? Doth no fear find thee, not at all?
When the ciccika lendeth voice with the roaring one—be it bird or beast— then doth the Lady of the Waste show forth her greatness, as a king racing through the rattle of cymbals.
It is as though kine do graze, as though a township draweth nigh; and the Lady of the Wilderness at dusk— it is as though a cart doth groan beneath its burden.
Surely 'tis one calling unto his cow;
surely 'tis another who cleaveth wood.
But who abideth with the Lady of the Waste at even shall think, "Some dread thing hath cried out!"
Yet the Lady of the Wilderness doeth no slaying, save if another striketh first.
Having feasted on fruit full sweet, one may lie down at ease.
Anointed with fragrance, redolent and rich in store though she tills not, she, the Mother of wild things, the Lady of the Wilderness, have I now named aloud.
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.146
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.
araṇyāny araṇyāny asau yā preva naśyasi |
kathā grāmaṁ na pṛcchasi na tvā bhīr iva vindatī3m̐ || 1 ||
vṛṣāravāya vadate yad upāvati ciccikaḥ |
āghāṭibhir iva dhāvayann araṇyānir mahīyate || 2 ||
uta gāva ivādanty uta veśmeva dṛśyate |
uto araṇyāniḥ sāyaṁ śakaṭīr iva sarjati || 3 ||
gām aṅgaiṣa ā hvayati dārv aṅgaiṣo apāvadhīt |
vasann araṇyānyāṁ sāyam akrukṣad iti manyate || 4 ||
na vā araṇyānir hanty anyaś cen nābhigacchati |
svādoḥ phalasya jagdhvāya yathākāmaṁ ni padyate || 5 ||
āñjanagandhiṁ surabhim bahvannām akṛṣīvalām |
prāham mṛgāṇām mātaram araṇyānim aśaṁsiṣam || 6 ||
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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