Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda III.38 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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 supreme warrior, none can stand before thee! In the heavens, thou art the mightiest of all the Devas. Upon the earth, wherever thy name is spoken and thy sacrifices are kindled, there the people know peace and victory. The very demons that oppose thee shriek in terror at thy approach; they flee into the depths of Vṛtra's old prison, the lightless pit.
Thy strength is as the strength of mountains piled upon mountains. Thy power is as the power of the endless ocean. When thou dost stir, the earth doth tremble; when thou speakest, thy voice shaketh the foundations of all the worlds. No being in heaven or earth or the middle regions between them hath the courage to raise hand or weapon against thee.
We have seen thy deeds written in the very sky! The clouds obey thy command; the lightning followeth thy will. The rains that fall upon our fields are thy gift to us. The cattle that fatten in our pastures grow strong because thou dost permit it. Every blessing that cometh to the people of the Vedas is because thou standest as our guardian and protector.
The Maruts sing thy praises; the Aśvins carry word of thy exploits to the far corners of creation. Even the lesser gods acknowledge thy supremacy. They know that when the Asuras rise up to challenge the order of the cosmos, it is thou alone who hath the power to cast them down.
O lord of lords, O unrivaled champion! We mortals, weak creatures of a day, do what we can to honor thee. We kindle the sacred fires; we pour the soma; we chant the ancient words. Accept our homage, O mighty one, and continue to hold back the chaos that presseth upon the world. Let thy reign endure forever!
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 III.38
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.
abhi taṣṭeva dīdhayā manīṣām atyo na vājī sudhuro jihānaḥ |
abhi priyāṇi marmṛśat parāṇi kavīm̐r icchāmi saṁdṛśe sumedhāḥ || 1 ||
inota pṛccha janimā kavīnām manodhṛtaḥ sukṛtas takṣata dyām |
imā u te praṇyo3 vardhamānā manovātā adha nu dharmaṇi gman || 2 ||
ni ṣīm id atra guhyā dadhānā uta kṣatrāya rodasī sam añjan |
sam mātrābhir mamire yemur urvī antar mahī samṛte dhāyase dhuḥ || 3 ||
ātiṣṭhantam pari viśve abhūṣañ chriyo vasānaś carati svarociḥ |
mahat tad vṛṣṇo asurasya nāmā viśvarūpo amṛtāni tasthau || 4 ||
asūta pūrvo vṛṣabho jyāyān imā asya śurudhaḥ santi pūrvīḥ |
divo napātā vidathasya dhībhiḥ kṣatraṁ rājānā pradivo dadhāthe || 5 ||
trīṇi rājānā vidathe purūṇi pari viśvāni bhūṣathaḥ sadāṁsi |
apaśyam atra manasā jaganvān vrate gandharvām̐ api vāyukeśān || 6 ||
tad in nv asya vṛṣabhasya dhenor ā nāmabhir mamire sakmyaṁ goḥ |
anyad-anyad asurya1ṁ vasānā ni māyino mamire rūpam asmin || 7 ||
tad in nv asya savitur nakir me hiraṇyayīm amatiṁ yām aśiśret |
ā suṣṭutī rodasī viśvaminve apīva yoṣā janimāni vavre || 8 ||
yuvam pratnasya sādhatho maho yad daivī svastiḥ pari ṇaḥ syātam |
gopājihvasya tasthuṣo virūpā viśve paśyanti māyinaḥ kṛtāni || 9 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 10 ||
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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