Hymn to Yama
Rigveda X.154 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.
Soma doth cleanse himself for some, while others draw nigh with ghee in hand.
For those to whom the honey floweth freely—unto them let him go now.
They who stood unshaken by their burning will, who rose unto the sun by that same fire, who turned their fervor into might and glory—unto them let him go now.
They who strive in games of honor, who yield their flesh as champions do, or who bestow a thousand gifts of priestly worth—unto them let him go now.
Yea, and those of old, the lovers of truth, steadfast and strong in righteousness, the forebears who burned with holy zeal—O Yama, unto them let him go now.
The bards of countless craftings, who keep watch o’er the sun, the seers who blaze with fervent light—O Yama, to those born of fire let him go now.
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.154
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.
soma ekebhyaḥ pavate ghṛtam eka upāsate |
yebhyo madhu pradhāvati tām̐ś cid evāpi gacchatāt || 1 ||
tapasā ye anādhṛṣyās tapasā ye svar yayuḥ |
tapo ye cakrire mahas tām̐ś cid evāpi gacchatāt || 2 ||
ye yudhyante pradhaneṣu śūrāso ye tanūtyajaḥ |
ye vā sahasradakṣiṇās tām̐ś cid evāpi gacchatāt || 3 ||
ye cit pūrva ṛtasāpa ṛtāvāna ṛtāvṛdhaḥ |
pitṝn tapasvato yama tām̐ś cid evāpi gacchatāt || 4 ||
sahasraṇīthāḥ kavayo ye gopāyanti sūryam |
ṛṣīn tapasvato yama tapojām̐ api gacchatāt || 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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