Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda VII.59 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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 Maruts, ye fierce and mighty! Ye who ride upon the winds like warriors upon their steeds! Hear now this prayer that we raise unto you!
Deliver us from the grip of death! Keep us safe from the diseases that would consume us! Guard us from the evil that would overcome us! O ye terrible ones, become our protectors!
Tryambaka, three-eyed one, lord of the mountains! Thou who dwellest in the high places! Thou who art Rudra, fierce and merciless! Hear our prayer! Let not the deadly sickness touch us! Let not death's cold hand reach out to grasp us!
We have seen death take away those we love. We have seen the young struck down; we have seen the strong grow weak. The fear of death dwelleth in every mortal heart. Yet thou alone hast power over death, O Tryambaka!
Grant us life! Grant us strength! Grant us the years that are owed to us! Let us grow old in peace and wisdom! Let us see our children's children! Let us not be taken before our time!
O Maruts, companions of Rudra, great destroyer! Ye who understand the mysteries of life and death! Turn away the arrow of death from us! Let our thread of life remain uncut! Let us live long and prosper! Accept this prayer, O mighty ones, and grant us deliverance!
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 VII.59
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.
yaṁ trāyadhva idam-idaṁ devāso yaṁ ca nayatha |
tasmā agne varuṇa mitrāryaman marutaḥ śarma yacchata || 1 ||
yuṣmākaṁ devā avasāhani priya ījānas tarati dviṣaḥ |
pra sa kṣayaṁ tirate vi mahīr iṣo yo vo varāya dāśati || 2 ||
nahi vaś caramaṁ cana vasiṣṭhaḥ parimaṁsate |
asmākam adya marutaḥ sute sacā viśve pibata kāminaḥ || 3 ||
nahi va ūtiḥ pṛtanāsu mardhati yasmā arādhvaṁ naraḥ |
abhi va āvart sumatir navīyasī tūyaṁ yāta pipīṣavaḥ || 4 ||
o ṣu ghṛṣvirādhaso yātanāndhāṁsi pītaye |
imā vo havyā maruto rare hi kam mo ṣv a1nyatra gantana || 5 ||
ā ca no barhiḥ sadatāvitā ca naḥ spārhāṇi dātave vasu |
asredhanto marutaḥ somye madhau svāheha mādayādhvai || 6 ||
sasvaś cid dhi tanva1ḥ śumbhamānā ā haṁsāso nīlapṛṣṭhā apaptan |
viśvaṁ śardho abhito mā ni ṣeda naro na raṇvāḥ savane madantaḥ || 7 ||
yo no maruto abhi durhṛṇāyus tiraś cittāni vasavo jighāṁsati |
druhaḥ pāśān prati sa mucīṣṭa tapiṣṭhena hanmanā hantanā tam || 8 ||
sāṁtapanā idaṁ havir marutas taj jujuṣṭana |
yuṣmākotī riśādasaḥ || 9 ||
gṛhamedhāsa ā gata maruto māpa bhūtana |
yuṣmākotī sudānavaḥ || 10 ||
iheha vaḥ svatavasaḥ kavayaḥ sūryatvacaḥ |
yajñam maruta ā vṛṇe || 11 ||
tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhim puṣṭivardhanam |
urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt || 12 ||
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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