A Hymn of Maṇḍala 10
Rigveda X.168 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.
Now shall I speak the greatness of the Wind, and of his chariot:
shattering in his course, and with a thunderous cry.
He rideth touching the heights of heaven, reddening the air, casting up dust from the face of the earth as he passeth by.
The scattered whirls of the Wind press forward in his wake, hastening unto him as maidens flock to feast and mirth.
Yoked with them on one chariot, the god is swift, ruling as king over all this wide world.
Along the tracks of the sky he hasteneth, never tarrying, nor resting in any single day.
He is fellow to the waters, first-born of order— but who knoweth his birth, or whence he hath come forth?
The breath of the gods, seed of the world, this god strayeth wheresoever he will.
His voice alone is known, his shape unseen.
To him—to the Wind—we bring our gift in honor.
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.168
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.
vātasya nu mahimānaṁ rathasya rujann eti stanayann asya ghoṣaḥ |
divispṛg yāty aruṇāni kṛṇvann uto eti pṛthivyā reṇum asyan || 1 ||
sam prerate anu vātasya viṣṭhā ainaṁ gacchanti samanaṁ na yoṣāḥ |
tābhiḥ sayuk sarathaṁ deva īyate 'sya viśvasya bhuvanasya rājā || 2 ||
antarikṣe pathibhir īyamāno na ni viśate katamac canāhaḥ |
apāṁ sakhā prathamajā ṛtāvā kva svij jātaḥ kuta ā babhūva || 3 ||
ātmā devānām bhuvanasya garbho yathāvaśaṁ carati deva eṣaḥ |
ghoṣā id asya śṛṇvire na rūpaṁ tasmai vātāya haviṣā vidhema || 4 ||
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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