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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 406 of 1027

Mandala 5: HYMN LII Maruts.

1.SING boldly forth, Śyāvāśva, with the Maruts who are loud in song, Who, holy, as their wont is, joy in glory that is free from guile.

2.For in their boldness they are friends of firm and sure heroic strength. They in their course, bold-spirited, guard all men of their own accord.

3.Like steers in rapid motion they advance and overtake the nights; And thus the Maruts’ power in heaven and on the earth we celebrate.

4.With boldness to your Maruts let us offer laud and sacrifice: Who all, through ages of mankind, guard mortal man from injury.

5.Praiseworthy, givers of good gifts, Heroes with full and perfect strength - To Maruts, Holy Ones of heaven, will I extol the sacrifice.

6.The lofty Heroes cast their spears and weapons bright with gleaming gold. After these Maruts followed close, like laughing lightning from the sky, a splendour of its own accord.

7.They who waxed mighty, of the earth, they who are in the wide mid-air, Or in the rivers’ compass, or in the abode of ample heaven.

8.Praise thou the Maruts’ company, the valorous and truly strong, The Heroes, hasting, by themselves have yoked their deer for victory.

9.Fair-gleaming, on Paruṣṇī they have clothed themselves in robes of wool, And with their chariot tires they cleave the rock asunder in their might.

10.Whether as wanderers from the way or speeders on or to the path, Under these names the spreading band tend well the sacrifice for me.

11.To this the Heroes well attend, well do their teams attend to this. Visible are their varied forms. Behold, they are Paravatas.

12.Hymn-singing, seeking water, they, praising, have danced about the spring. What are they unto me? No thieves, but helpers, splendid to behold.

13.Sublime, with lightnings for their spears, Sages and Orderers are they. Ṛṣi, adore that Marut host, and make them happy with thy song.

14.Ṛṣi, invite the Marut band with offerings, as a maid her friend. From heaven, too, Bold Ones, in your might haste hither glorified with songs.

15.Thinking of these now let him come, as with the escort of the Gods, And with the splendid Princes, famed for rapid courses, to the gifts.

16.Princes, who, when I asked their kin, named Pṛśni as their Mother-cow, And the impetuous Rudra they, the Mighty Ones, declared their Sire.

17.The mighty ones, the seven times seven, have singly given me hundred gifts. I have obtained on Yamuna famed wealth in kine and wealth in steeds.

Asked of Guide

Why do the Maruts keep appearing as both warriors and helpers around springs and sacrifices?

The chapter shows the Maruts as a single, active company that embodies storm-warrior power and communal service: they “cast their spears” and come “like laughing lightning,” yet they also “seek water” and “attend the sacrifice.” Their identity ties martial might to ritual support — they arrive with force but perform roles that sustain the ritual community.

That combination places them in both heaven and the local world: they are “Sages and Orderers” who guard mortals and tend the rites, so their thunderous display and their ministrations to springs and yajña belong to one functioning divine band. This mirrors later Vedic patterns found in other hymns of the Rig‑Veda where divine collectives perform both cosmic action and cultic service.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.