Hymns to Vayu from the Rig-Veda - Book I
HYMN II. Vayu.
1 BEAUTIFUL Vayu, come, for thee these Soma drops
have been prepared:
Drink of them, hearken to our call.
2 Knowing the days, with Soma juice poured forth, the singers
glorify
Thee, Vayu, with their hymns of praise.
3 Vayu,
thy penetrating stream goes forth unto the worshipper,
Far-spreading
for the Soma draught.
4 These, Indra-Vayu, have been shed;
come for our offered dainties' sake:
The drops are yearning
for you both.
5 Well do ye mark libations, ye Vayu and Indra,
rich in spoil
So come ye swiftly hitherward.
6 Vayu and
Indra, come to what the Soma. presser hath prepared:
Soon,
Heroes, thus I make my prayer.
7 Mitra, of holy strength,
I call, and foe-destroying Varuna,
Who make the oil-fed rite
complete.
8 Mitra and Varuna, through Law, lovers and cherishers
of Law,
Have ye obtained your might power
9 Our Sages,
Mitra-Varuna, wide dominion, strong by birth,
Vouchsafe us
strength that worketh well.
HYMN XXIII. Vayu and Others.
1 STRONG are the Somas; come thou nigh; these
juices have been mixt with milk:
Drink, Vayu, the presented
draughts.
2 Both Deities who touch the heaven, Indra and
Vayu we invoke
To drink of this our soma juice.
3 The
singers' for their aid, invoke Indra and Vayu, swift as mind,
The thousand-eyed, the Lords of thought.
4 Mitra and Varupa,
renowned as Gods of consecrated might,
We call to drink the
Soma juice.
5 Those who by Law uphold the Law, Lords of the
shining light of Law,
Mitra I call, and Varuna.
6 Let
Varuna be our chief defence, let Mitra guard us with all aids
Both make us rich exceedingly.
7 Indra, by Maruts girt, we
call to drink the Soma juice: may he
Sate him in union with
his troop.
8 Gods, Marut hosts whom Indra leads, distributers
of Pusan's gifts,
Hearken ye all unto my cry.
9 With conquering
Indra for ally, strike Vrtra down, ye bounteous Gods
Let
not the wicked master us.
10 We call the Universal Gods,
and Maruts to the Soma draught,
For passing strong are Prsni's
Sons.
11 Fierce comes the Maruts' thundering voice, like
that of conquerors, when ye go
Forward to victory, O Men.
12 Born of the laughing lightning. may the Maruts guard us
everywhere
May they be gracious unto Us.
13 Like some
lost animal, drive to us, bright Pusan, him who bears up heaven,
Resting on many-coloured grass.
14 Pusan the Bright has found
the King, concealed and bidden in a cave,
Who rests on grass
of many hues.
15 And may he. duly bring to me the six bound
closely, through these drops,
As one who ploughs with steers
brings corn.
16 Along their paths the Mothers go, Sisters
of priestly ministrants,
Mingling their sweetness with the
milk.
17 May Waters gathered near the Sun, and those wherewith
the Sun is joined,
Speed forth this sacrifice of ours.
18 I call the Waters, Goddesses, wherein our cattle quench their
thirst;
Oblations to the Streams be given.
19 Amrit is
in the Waters in the Waters there is healing balm
Be swift,
ye Gods, to give them praise.
20 Within the Waters-Soma thus
hath told me-dwell all balms that heal,
And Agni, he who
blesseth all. The Waters hold all medicines.
21 O Waters,
teem with medicine to keep my body safe from harm,
So that
I long may see the Sun.
22 Whatever sin is found in me, whatever
evil I have wrought.
If I have lied or falsely sworn, Waters,
remove it far from me.
23 The Waters I this day have sought,
and to their moisture have we come:
O Agni, rich in milk,
come thou, and with thy splendour cover me.
24 Fill me with
splendour, Agni; give offspring and length of days; the Gods
Shall know me even as I am, and Indra with the Rsis, know.
HYMN CXXXIV. Vayu.
1. Vayu, let fleet-foot coursers bring thee speedily
to this our feast, to drink first of the juice we pour, to the
first draught of Soma juice.
May our glad hymn, discerning
well, uplifted, gratify thy mind.
Come with thy team-drawn
car, O Vayu, to the gift, come to the sacrificer's gift.
2 May the joy-giving drops, O Vayu gladden thee, effectual,
well prepared, directed to the heavens, strong, blent with milk
and seeking heaven;
That aids, effectual to fulfil, may wait
upon our skilful power.
Associate teams come hitherward to
grant our prayers . they shall address the hymns we sing.
3 Two red steeds Vayu yokes, Vayu two purple steeds, swift-footed,
to the chariot, to the pole to draw, most able, at the pole,
to draw.
Wake up intelligence, as when a lover wakes his
sleeping love.
Illumine heaven and earth, make thou the Dawns
to shine, for glory make the Dawns to shine.
4 For thee the
radiant Dawns in the fardistant sky broaden their lovely gannents
forth in wondrous beams, bright-coloured in their new-born beams.
For thee the nectar-yielding Cow pours all rich treasures forth
as milk.
The Marut host hast thou engendered from the womb,
the Maruts from the womb of heaven.
5 For thee the pure bright
quickly-flowing Soma-drops, strong in their heightening power,
hasten to mixthemselves, hasten to the water to be mixed.
To thee the weary coward prays for luck that he may speed away.
Thou by thy law protectest us from every world, yea, from the
world of highest Gods.
6 Thou, Vayu, who hast none before
thee, first of all hast right to drink these offerings of Soma
juice, hast right to drink the juice out-poured,
Yea, poured
by all invoking tribes who free themselves from taint of sin,
For thee all cows are milked to yield the Soma-milk, to yield
the butter and the milk.
HYMN CXXXV. Vayu, Indra-Vayu.
1. STREWN is the sacred grass; come Vayu, to
our feast, with team of thousands, come, Lord of the harnessed
team, with hundreds, Lord of harnessed steeds!
The drops
divine are lifted up for thee, the God, to drink them first.
The juices rich in sweets have raised thern for thy joy, have
raised themselves to give thee strength.
2 Purified by the
stones the Soma flows for thee, clothed with its lovely splendours,
to the reservoir, flows clad in its refulgent light.
For
thee the Soma is poured forth, thy portioned share mid. Gods
and men.
Drive thou thy horses, Vayu, come to us with love,
come well-inclined and loving us.
3 Come thou with hundreds,
come with thousands in thy team to this our solemn rite, to
taste the sacred food, Vayu, to taste the offerings.
This
is thy seasonable share, that comes co-radiant with the Sun.
Brought by attendant priests pure juice is offered up, Vayu,
pure juice is offered up.
4 The chariot with its team of
horses bring you both, to guard us and to taste the well-appointed
food, Vayu, to taste the offerings!
Drink of the pleasant
-flavoured juice the first draught is assigned to you.
O
Vayu, with your splendid bounty come ye both, Indra, with bounty
come ye both.
5 May our songs bring you hither to our solemn
rites: these drops of mighty vigour have they beauti fied, like
a swift veed of mighty strength.
Drink of them well-inclined
to us, come hitherward to be our help.
Drink, Indra-Vayu,
of these Juices pressed with stones, Strength-givers! till they
gladden you.
6 These Soma juices pressed for you in waters
here, borne by attendant priests, are oficredup to you: bright,
Vayu, are they offered up.
Swift through the strainer have
they flowed, and here are shed for both ofyou,
Soma-drops,
fain for you, over the wether's fleece, Somas over the wether's
fleece.
7 O Vayu, pass thou over all the,slumberers, and
where the press-stone rings enter ye both that house, yea, Indra,
go ye both within.
The joyous Maiden is beheld, the butter
flows. With richly laden team come to our solemn rite, yea,
Indra, come ye to the rite.
8 Ride hither to the offering
of the pleasant juice, the holy Fig-tree which victorious priests
surround: victorious be they still for us.
At once the cows
yield milk, the barleymeal is dressed. For thee,
O Vayu,
never shall the cows grow thin, never for thee shall they be
dry.
9 These Bulls of thine, O Vayu with the arm of strength,
who swiftly fly within the current of thy stream, the Bulls
increasing in their might,
Horseless, yet even through the
waste swift-moving, whom no shout can stay,
Hard to be checked
are they, like sunbeams, in their course. hard to be checked
by both the hands.
Suggestions for Further Reading
- The Rig Veda translation by Griffith, Introduction
- Hymns of the Sama veda translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
- Yajur Veda: The Veda Of The Black Yajus School
- Hymns Of The Atharva-Veda
- Anugita English Translation
- THE Sanatsugâtîya, A Spiritual Dialogue
- Dharmashastras, the Sacred Law Books of Hindus
- The Hindu Dharmashastras, Subject Index
- The Grihya Sutras, The Vedic Domestic Ritual Texts
- The Sankhya Sutras of Kapila, Index page
- Translation of Upanishads by Swami Paramananda, Index
- A History Of Indian Philosophy - Chapter Index
- The Upanishads translated by Max Muller
- Vedic Reader for Students
- The Bhagavad-gita in a nutshell
- Essays On Dharma
- Esoteric Mystic Hinduism
- Introduction to Hinduism
- Hindu Way of Life
- Essays On Karma
- Hindu Rites and Rituals
- The Origin of The Sanskrit Language
- Symbolism in Hinduism
- Essays on The Upanishads
- Concepts of Hinduism
- Essays on Atman
- Hindu Festivals
- Spiritual Practice
- Right Living
- Yoga of Sorrow
- Happiness
- Mental Health
- Concepts of Buddhism
- General Essays
Source: An English translation of the Vedas by Ralph T.H. Griffith, 1896.