Translations of Rig Veda Suktas 33-121 by M.P. Pandit

HYMN 37

Rishi : KANVA Deity: MARUTS

1. Celebrate, O Kanvas, your host of Maruts, sportive, without battle-steeds, resplendent in their carriage.

The Maruts are particular deities, tempestuous, fast-moving life-powers, effecting the divine movement of Indra’s luminous, powerful mind-energies.

2. The Maruts who borne by spotted deer, with decorative weapons of speech, are self-luminous.

Prishatibhih: the storming deer carrying the host of Maruts who are life-powers effecting the divine movement of mind-energies.

Rishi: their very gaze becomes the weapon of strike.

Anjibhih vashibhih: with words that reveal (decorate). Words arising from their tempestuous movement, bring out what is hidden (profound). With such speech do the Maruts, with their natural radiances, manifest to the inner sacrificant.

3. Words are their whip in hand. The moment they utter I hear instantly. Their speech works wonders in my journey.

4. Sing ye the God-given hymn to your host of Maruts, forceful, of flaming light, powerful.

5. Praise the might of Maruts, unslayable amid the Cows (radiances), sportive. Their might has grown in the womb of Soma-Delight.

6. Shakers of Earth and Heaven, O heroes, who amongst ye is the mightiest? For ye shake all around like the hem of a garment.

7. For your gait, fierce and violent, the mortal laid firm (support). The many-ridged mountain would give way.

The sacrificer provides a firm pillar-support to his body lest it collapse at the furious approach of the Maruts.

8. At whose tempestuous approach, the earth like the enfeebled king, trembles in fear.

9. Their source is indeed firm. The birds have vigour to issue from their mother, for their prowess prevails double everywhere.

Prishni, the Cow of variegated hues, is the mother of Maruts. Like: Aditi, she is the field for the manifestation of the life-powers, source of the mental energies. Stationed in the infinite Life-region, capable of various manifestations, this substantial Shakti is the mother of the Maruts.

The power of the Maruts is twofold: action and knowledge; hence it is spoken of as double. There are other verses describing the mental energies as birds. Though they are life-powers, they attain to the form of mental activities.

10. Generators of speech, they throw up the Water, in their courses; they impel the lowing Kine to proceed on their knees.

The verse describes the prowess of the speech of the Maruts. It has been described how even mountains crash. Here it is said how they spread out the Waters and the Kine are urged to obtain them by entering on their knees.

The Maruts are well-known as brethren of Indra. Following up the action of Indra, they spiead out the energies of nourishment (symbolised by waters) and thereby promote and impel of the currents of consciousness (symbolised by cows.)

11. By their gait they throw ’down even him who is spread our long, offspring of the cloud (coverer) uninjurable.

The cloud signifies the coverer of the waters, heavily dark.

12. Because of your might, O Maruts, ye impel men, impel the clouds (to release the waters).

13. As the Maruts proceed, they clamour on the way. Someone hears their report.

It is not the sound that all can hear; only the inner sacrificant whose subtle sense is awake that can hear it.

14. Come quick, O Maruts, with your swift (vehicles); strenuous rituals are on for ye among the Kanvas; rejoice among them.

15. For your gratification is the offering. To ye, verily, we belong, we are yours for all life.

HYMN 38

Rishi: KANVA Deity: Maruts

1. When will ye, lovers of praise, hold in both hands us who have spread out the sacred grass, as the father does his son ?

2. Where, indeed, are ye (gone)? When will ye arrive? Move from earth, as from heaven, to where they call ye as cows do.

For the Maruts, as Gods, it is easy to move from heaven, but difficult to appear and move from the earth which is inert and full of obstructiors. Hence the prayer that their movement from earth be as easy as from heaven.

3. O Maruts, where are your new felicities? Where are the right-goings? Where all the auspicious gifts ?

With all these be disposed towards us.

4. Sons of Prishni, be ye mortals so that your singer (of praise) becomes immortal.

5. May not your praiser be insatiable as the deer in its pasture; may he walk the path of the Controller.

6. May not the Sin-spirit, highly powerful, difficulto overcome, strike me down; may she be consumed by unholy thirst.

7. True, indeed, that these Rudras, luminous, strong, cause windless rain even in the desert.

Though impetuous in their movement, avoiding rain-dispelling wind, they pour down the rain. The import is that the Maruts create the rasa (of life) even in the sapless, inert, physical body.

8. Like the bellowing cow, the lightning roars; the mother-cow tends its calf. Hence the rain of the Maruts.

As the inner sacrifice proceeds, there come states of visions of light, hearings of the celestial sound, downpour of bliss, by the grace of the Maruts.

9. They cause darkness even in day time by the raincloud, when they inundate the earth.

Even though there is constant illumination in the inner sacrifice, at times, due to excessive shower of bliss, all appears covered with darkness; this is due to the fast movement of the Maruts at the moment.

10. At the reverberation of the Maruts, every earthly dwelling shakes, men too tremble.

The earthly dwelling is the body of the sacrificer; even the indwelling being trembles, not merely the outer body. Such is the velocity of the Maruts.

11. O Maruts, strong-armed, come hither along the bright embanked streams with unhindered motion.

The embankment is the body. The streams are life-energies channelling the flow of Force.

12. May the fellies of your wheels be firm, steady your cars and their steeds. May the reins be well-fashioned.

The reins stand for rays, rays of consciousness to control the movement of life-forces signified by horses attached to the carriage. May they be polished and clean.

13. Speak to Agni with the revealing words of praise, Agni the Lord of the Word, fair as friend.

The Rishi calls upon himself to utter the speech that is vouchsafed by Agni, companion of the Maruts, to reveal the own form of the host of Maruts.

Though Agni is especially the voice of the summoner, he is the Deity of all speech. Agni who is all the Gods becomes the Lord of the Word, Brahmanaspati, in a special Mantra.

14. Uiter the prayer, spread it out like a cloud, chant the expressive word of Gayatri.

Here too the Rishi addressed himself.

Speech brings out the glory of the utterance of praise, and pleases the Deity.

15. Glorify the host of Maruts, luminous, avid of praise, adored with chants of illumination. May they increase here in us.

This is an exhortation to all God-lovers.