Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda V.54 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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.
Behold the Maruts in their splendor! See how they shine in golden armor, each breastplate forged in the fires of heaven, each helm a crown of light. The gold burnishes in the lightning-flash, brilliant beyond the brilliance of the sun. They are radiant as the morning, fierce as the noon.
Their chariots are made of the wind itself, without wheel or axle—yet swifter than any chariot drawn by horses. They ride upon the storm-clouds as one rides upon a horse. The air parts before them. The heavens open. They trail the winds behind them like dust trails a chariot upon the road.
Each Marut bears weapons forged in celestial smithies. Their spears are lightning-bright and lightning-sharp. Their swords gleam with the whiteness of silver and the sharpness of obsidian. They wield axes that split the mountains. They carry bows that draw arrows of pure light. In their hands is the power to destroy and the power to restore.
See how they move in perfect unison, each Marut in harmony with the others, yet each fierce and independent. They are like a school of fish that turns as one creature, like a flock of birds that wheels in perfect formation. No general commands them, yet each knows what the others will do. They are brothers bound not by birth but by the fire of Rudra.
O Maruts, ye armored ones, ye chariots of wind! How beautiful thou art in thy terrible might! How fearsome thy approach! The hearts of the brave grow stronger at thy coming. The hearts of the wicked grow cold. Accept this hymn, O storm-gods! Accept the worship of thy mortals! Manifest thy power for our sake!
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 V.54
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.
pra śardhāya mārutāya svabhānava imāṁ vācam anajā parvatacyute |
gharmastubhe diva ā pṛṣṭhayajvane dyumnaśravase mahi nṛmṇam arcata || 1 ||
pra vo marutas taviṣā udanyavo vayovṛdho aśvayujaḥ parijrayaḥ |
saṁ vidyutā dadhati vāśati tritaḥ svaranty āpo 'vanā parijrayaḥ || 2 ||
vidyunmahaso naro aśmadidyavo vātatviṣo marutaḥ parvatacyutaḥ |
abdayā cin muhur ā hrādunīvṛtaḥ stanayadamā rabhasā udojasaḥ || 3 ||
vy a1ktūn rudrā vy ahāni śikvaso vy a1ntarikṣaṁ vi rajāṁsi dhūtayaḥ |
vi yad ajrām̐ ajatha nāva īṁ yathā vi durgāṇi maruto nāha riṣyatha || 4 ||
tad vīryaṁ vo maruto mahitvanaṁ dīrghaṁ tatāna sūryo na yojanam |
etā na yāme agṛbhītaśociṣo 'naśvadāṁ yan ny ayātanā girim || 5 ||
abhrāji śardho maruto yad arṇasam moṣathā vṛkṣaṁ kapaneva vedhasaḥ |
adha smā no aramatiṁ sajoṣasaś cakṣur iva yantam anu neṣathā sugam || 6 ||
na sa jīyate maruto na hanyate na sredhati na vyathate na riṣyati |
nāsya rāya upa dasyanti notaya ṛṣiṁ vā yaṁ rājānaṁ vā suṣūdatha || 7 ||
niyutvanto grāmajito yathā naro 'ryamaṇo na marutaḥ kabandhinaḥ |
pinvanty utsaṁ yad ināso asvaran vy undanti pṛthivīm madhvo andhasā || 8 ||
pravatvatīyam pṛthivī marudbhyaḥ pravatvatī dyaur bhavati prayadbhyaḥ |
pravatvatīḥ pathyā antarikṣyāḥ pravatvantaḥ parvatā jīradānavaḥ || 9 ||
yan marutaḥ sabharasaḥ svarṇaraḥ sūrya udite madathā divo naraḥ |
na vo 'śvāḥ śrathayantāha sisrataḥ sadyo asyādhvanaḥ pāram aśnutha || 10 ||
aṁseṣu va ṛṣṭayaḥ patsu khādayo vakṣaḥsu rukmā maruto rathe śubhaḥ |
agnibhrājaso vidyuto gabhastyoḥ śiprāḥ śīrṣasu vitatā hiraṇyayīḥ || 11 ||
taṁ nākam aryo agṛbhītaśociṣaṁ ruśat pippalam maruto vi dhūnutha |
sam acyanta vṛjanātitviṣanta yat svaranti ghoṣaṁ vitatam ṛtāyavaḥ || 12 ||
yuṣmādattasya maruto vicetaso rāyaḥ syāma rathyo3 vayasvataḥ |
na yo yucchati tiṣyo3 yathā divo3 'sme rāranta marutaḥ sahasriṇam || 13 ||
yūyaṁ rayim marutaḥ spārhavīraṁ yūyam ṛṣim avatha sāmavipram |
yūyam arvantam bharatāya vājaṁ yūyaṁ dhattha rājānaṁ śruṣṭimantam || 14 ||
tad vo yāmi draviṇaṁ sadyaūtayo yenā sva1r ṇa tatanāma nṝm̐r abhi |
idaṁ su me maruto haryatā vaco yasya tarema tarasā śataṁ himāḥ || 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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