Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda V.55 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.
Sing praise to the Maruts! O ye singers of hymns, raise your voices! The storm is coming—the great and glorious storm that brings life to the parched earth. The sky darkens. The wind rises. The first drops of rain begin to fall, sweet and precious as nectar.
The Maruts bring the rain! These divine ones, these storm-warriors, shake the clouds until they burst. The waters descend in torrents, in sheets, in rivers from heaven itself. The earth drinks deeply and is satisfied. The seed that lay dormant stirs to life. The hidden springs begin to flow. The grass greens and the flowers bloom.
What gift is greater than the gift of rain? The rain sustains all life. The rain fills the wells and the rivers. The rain makes the fields fertile and the pastures lush. The rain fills the udders of the cattle and makes the milk flow white and abundant. The rain is life itself, falling from heaven as a blessing from the gods.
The Maruts are generous in their fury! When they come, they come not to destroy but to renew. The lightning strikes the dry wood and sets it ablaze—yet from the ashes new growth springs forth. The wind tears down the dead branches—yet fresh leaves follow. The rain floods the valleys—yet life floods in abundance.
O Maruts, ye bringers of rain, ye liberators of the waters! We praise thee for thy gift. We sing thy glory for the blessing thou pourest forth. Come now with thy storm! Shake the heavens! Split the clouds! Let the water fall like a veil from the sky. Make the earth green. Make the grain grow. Make the herds prosper. O Maruts, bring thy divine gift to our fields and our people!
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.55
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.
prayajyavo maruto bhrājadṛṣṭayo bṛhad vayo dadhire rukmavakṣasaḥ |
īyante aśvaiḥ suyamebhir āśubhiḥ śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 1 ||
svayaṁ dadhidhve taviṣīṁ yathā vida bṛhan mahānta urviyā vi rājatha |
utāntarikṣam mamire vy ojasā śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 2 ||
sākaṁ jātāḥ subhvaḥ sākam ukṣitāḥ śriye cid ā prataraṁ vāvṛdhur naraḥ |
virokiṇaḥ sūryasyeva raśmayaḥ śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 3 ||
ābhūṣeṇyaṁ vo maruto mahitvanaṁ didṛkṣeṇyaṁ sūryasyeva cakṣaṇam |
uto asmām̐ amṛtatve dadhātana śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 4 ||
ud īrayathā marutaḥ samudrato yūyaṁ vṛṣṭiṁ varṣayathā purīṣiṇaḥ |
na vo dasrā upa dasyanti dhenavaḥ śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 5 ||
yad aśvān dhūrṣu pṛṣatīr ayugdhvaṁ hiraṇyayān praty atkām̐ amugdhvam |
viśvā it spṛdho maruto vy asyatha śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 6 ||
na parvatā na nadyo varanta vo yatrācidhvam maruto gacchathed u tat |
uta dyāvāpṛthivī yāthanā pari śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 7 ||
yat pūrvyam maruto yac ca nūtanaṁ yad udyate vasavo yac ca śasyate |
viśvasya tasya bhavathā navedasaḥ śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 8 ||
mṛḻata no maruto mā vadhiṣṭanāsmabhyaṁ śarma bahulaṁ vi yantana |
adhi stotrasya sakhyasya gātana śubhaṁ yātām anu rathā avṛtsata || 9 ||
yūyam asmān nayata vasyo acchā nir aṁhatibhyo maruto gṛṇānāḥ |
juṣadhvaṁ no havyadātiṁ yajatrā vayaṁ syāma patayo rayīṇām || 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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