Hymn to Yama
Rigveda X.58 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.
If thy mind hath wandered unto Yama, son of Vivasvat, far beyond, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath soared unto heaven, or crept to the ends of the earth, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath passed to the land of four corners, far away, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath flown to the four winds, where the world stretcheth wide, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath plunged in the heaving sea, far and deep, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath taken the beams of light, the slanting paths to Yama’s gate, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath gone to the waters, or unto the growing green, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath risen with the sun, or fled to the waking dawn, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath climbed the high-born hills, crowned in mist, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath chased the whirling world, where all things move, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath fled to the furthest afar, the far-off unseen, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
If thy mind hath tarried in what hath been or in what shall be, we shall call it back to thee, hither to dwell and bide.
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.58
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.
yat te yamaṁ vaivasvatam mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 1 ||
yat te divaṁ yat pṛthivīm mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 2 ||
yat te bhūmiṁ caturbhṛṣṭim mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 3 ||
yat te catasraḥ pradiśo mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 4 ||
yat te samudram arṇavam mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 5 ||
yat te marīcīḥ pravato mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 6 ||
yat te apo yad oṣadhīr mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 7 ||
yat te sūryaṁ yad uṣasam mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 8 ||
yat te parvatān bṛhato mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 9 ||
yat te viśvam idaṁ jagan mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 10 ||
yat te parāḥ parāvato mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 11 ||
yat te bhūtaṁ ca bhavyaṁ ca mano jagāma dūrakam |
tat ta ā vartayāmasīha kṣayāya jīvase || 12 ||
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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