Hymn to the Waters
Rigveda X.9 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.
Since ye Waters are pure refreshment, ordain us then to be well-fed and to behold great gladness.
Your most kindly sap—grant us our share of it here, as eager mothers give suck unto their babes.
Let us, as children of your flow, grow fit for him in whose still house ye stir and bring forth life.
Beget us anew, O Waters.
Let the goddesses of the stream bring us favor to thrive, let them grant us draughts of good and life.
Ye who are keepers of treasure and rule o’er steadfast lands, to you, O Waters, I raise my prayer for a healing draught.
“For in the waters,” spake Soma unto me, “lie all the cures of hurt, and Agni, who bringeth weal to all.”
O Waters, pour forth full healing and shielding for my flesh, that mine eyes may behold the sun long upon the earth.
O Waters, bear away from me this day all ill and unrest— whether I have lied or spoken curse, or strayed from truth.
O Waters, I have walked with you this day.
We are joined with your sap.
Full of milk, O Agni, draw nigh—
let thy brightness melt into me.
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.9
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.
āpo hi ṣṭhā mayobhuvas tā na ūrje dadhātana |
mahe raṇāya cakṣase || 1 ||
yo vaḥ śivatamo rasas tasya bhājayateha naḥ |
uśatīr iva mātaraḥ || 2 ||
tasmā araṁ gamāma vo yasya kṣayāya jinvatha |
āpo janayathā ca naḥ || 3 ||
śaṁ no devīr abhiṣṭaya āpo bhavantu pītaye |
śaṁ yor abhi sravantu naḥ || 4 ||
īśānā vāryāṇāṁ kṣayantīś carṣaṇīnām |
apo yācāmi bheṣajam || 5 ||
apsu me somo abravīd antar viśvāni bheṣajā |
agniṁ ca viśvaśambhuvam || 6 ||
āpaḥ pṛṇīta bheṣajaṁ varūthaṁ tanve3 mama |
jyok ca sūryaṁ dṛśe || 7 ||
idam āpaḥ pra vahata yat kiṁ ca duritam mayi |
yad vāham abhidudroha yad vā śepa utānṛtam || 8 ||
āpo adyānv acāriṣaṁ rasena sam agasmahi |
payasvān agna ā gahi tam mā saṁ sṛja varcasā || 9 ||
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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