Hymn to Rudra
Rigveda II.33 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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 Rudra, the Howler, the Archer, he whose eye is the sun and the storm! We tremble before thy majesty. We tremble at thy name. Thou art the wild one, the unbowed, the untameable force that moveth through heaven and earth.
Thou art the father of the Maruts, those terrifying winds that shake the mountains and split the clouds. When thou drawest thy bow, the very stones quake. When thou speakest, the thunder answers. Thy arrows fly unseen, striking the sinner and the fool, yet thou art healer also — physician of the gods and of men.
O Rudra, lord of beasts, herdsman of the wild things that roam the forest and the high places — we do not presume to comprehend thee. Thou art beyond our knowing, beyond our mortal understanding. Thou art the necessary danger, the sacred terror, the destroyer who must be feared even as he is revered.
We offer unto thee the finest herbs, the sweetest butter, the Soma most precious. We offer unto thee our fervent prayers, our stammering words, our trembling voices. Have mercy upon us, O Red One! Let not thy shafts find their mark upon our flesh. Let not thy wrath descend upon our houses and our fields.
Yet we know thee also as the healer, the gentle one, the physician. Thou who healest the wounds of gods and men alike — heal us of our sicknesses both seen and unseen. Cure us of our follies. Purify us of our transgressions. Make us worthy of thy protection even as we acknowledge thy terrible power.
O Rudra, thou ancient one, thou whose song is sung in the heart of mountains and in the howling of wolves — accept our worship. Grant us thy peace, which passeth understanding, yet feedeth the soul. Guard us always, in thy awful, sacred wisdom.
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 II.33
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.
ā te pitar marutāṁ sumnam etu mā naḥ sūryasya saṁdṛśo yuyothāḥ |
abhi no vīro arvati kṣameta pra jāyemahi rudra prajābhiḥ || 1 ||
tvādattebhī rudra śaṁtamebhiḥ śataṁ himā aśīya bheṣajebhiḥ |
vy a1smad dveṣo vitaraṁ vy aṁho vy amīvāś cātayasvā viṣūcīḥ || 2 ||
śreṣṭho jātasya rudra śriyāsi tavastamas tavasāṁ vajrabāho |
parṣi ṇaḥ pāram aṁhasaḥ svasti viśvā abhītī rapaso yuyodhi || 3 ||
mā tvā rudra cukrudhāmā namobhir mā duṣṭutī vṛṣabha mā sahūtī |
un no vīrām̐ arpaya bheṣajebhir bhiṣaktamaṁ tvā bhiṣajāṁ śṛṇomi || 4 ||
havīmabhir havate yo havirbhir ava stomebhī rudraṁ diṣīya |
ṛdūdaraḥ suhavo mā no asyai babhruḥ suśipro rīradhan manāyai || 5 ||
un mā mamanda vṛṣabho marutvān tvakṣīyasā vayasā nādhamānam |
ghṛṇīva cchāyām arapā aśīyā vivāseyaṁ rudrasya sumnam || 6 ||
kva1 sya te rudra mṛḻayākur hasto yo asti bheṣajo jalāṣaḥ |
apabhartā rapaso daivyasyābhī nu mā vṛṣabha cakṣamīthāḥ || 7 ||
pra babhrave vṛṣabhāya śvitīce maho mahīṁ suṣṭutim īrayāmi |
namasyā kalmalīkinaṁ namobhir gṛṇīmasi tveṣaṁ rudrasya nāma || 8 ||
sthirebhir aṅgaiḥ pururūpa ugro babhruḥ śukrebhiḥ pipiśe hiraṇyaiḥ |
īśānād asya bhuvanasya bhūrer na vā u yoṣad rudrād asuryam || 9 ||
arhan bibharṣi sāyakāni dhanvārhan niṣkaṁ yajataṁ viśvarūpam |
arhann idaṁ dayase viśvam abhvaṁ na vā ojīyo rudra tvad asti || 10 ||
stuhi śrutaṁ gartasadaṁ yuvānam mṛgaṁ na bhīmam upahatnum ugram |
mṛḻā jaritre rudra stavāno 'nyaṁ te asman ni vapantu senāḥ || 11 ||
kumāraś cit pitaraṁ vandamānam prati nānāma rudropayantam |
bhūrer dātāraṁ satpatiṁ gṛṇīṣe stutas tvam bheṣajā rāsy asme || 12 ||
yā vo bheṣajā marutaḥ śucīni yā śaṁtamā vṛṣaṇo yā mayobhu |
yāni manur avṛṇītā pitā nas tā śaṁ ca yoś ca rudrasya vaśmi || 13 ||
pari ṇo hetī rudrasya vṛjyāḥ pari tveṣasya durmatir mahī gāt |
ava sthirā maghavadbhyas tanuṣva mīḍhvas tokāya tanayāya mṛḻa || 14 ||
evā babhro vṛṣabha cekitāna yathā deva na hṛṇīṣe na haṁsi |
havanaśrun no rudreha bodhi bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 15 ||
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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