Book XVI

The Texts of the White Yajurveda, tr. Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1899], at sacred-texts.com

p. 140

BOOK THE SIXTEENTH.

HOMAGE be paid unto thy wrath, O Rudra, homage to thy
shaft: to thy two arms be homage paid.
2 With that auspicious form of thine, mild, Rudra! pleasant
to behold,
Even with that most blessèd form, look, Mountain-haunter!
here on us.
3 The shaft which, Mountain-haunter, thou art holding in
thy hand to shoot,
Make that auspicious, Mountain-Lord! Injure not man nor
moving thing.
4 O Dweller on the Mountain, we salute thee with auspicious
hymn;
That all, yea, all our people may be healthy and well-satisfied.
5 The Advocate, the first divine Physician, hath defended us.
Crushing all serpents, drive away all Yâtudhânis down below.
6 That most auspicious One whose hue is coppery and red
and brown,
And those, the Rudras who maintain their station in the
regions, who surround him in a thousand bands, of these
we deprecate the wrath.
7 May he who glides away, whose neck is azure, and whose
hue is red,
He whom the herdsmen, whom the girls who carry water
have beheld, may he when seen be kind to us.
8 Homage to him the Azure-nested, the thousand-eyed, the
bountiful,
Yea, and his spirit ministers—to them I offer reverence.

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9 Loosen thy bowstring, loosen it from thy bow's two
extremities,
And cast away, O Lord Divine, the arrows that are in thy
hand.
10 Now stringless be Kapardin's bow, his quiver hold no pointed
shaft.
The shafts he had have perished and the sheath that held
his sword is bare.
11 Thy weapon, O Most Bountiful, the bow that resteth in thy
hand,—
With that, deprived of power to harm, protect thou us on
every side.
12 So may the arrow of thy bow, in all directions, pass us by,
And in a place remote from us lay thou the quiver that thou
hast.
13 Having unbent thy how O thou hundred-eyed, hundred-quivered
One!
And dulled thy pointed arrows' heads, be kind and gracious
unto us.
14 To thy fierce weapon, now unstrung, be reverent obeisance
paid.
Homage be paid to both thine arms, and to thy bow be
reverence!
15 Do thou no injury to great or small of us, harm not the
growing boy, harm not the full grown man.
Slay not a sire among us, slay no mother here, and to our
own dear bodies, Rudra! do no harm.
16 Harm us not in our seed or in our progeny, harm us not in
our life or in our cows or steeds.
Slay not our heroes in the fury of their wrath. We with
oblations ever call on only thee.
17 Homage to the golden-armed leader of hosts, lord of the
1 regions, to the trees with their green tresses, to the Lord
of beasts be homage; homage to him whose sheen is like
green grass, homage to the radiant Lord of paths, homage
to the golden-haired wearer of the sacrificial cord, homage
to the Lord of the well-endowed.

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18 Homage to the brown-hued piercer, to the Lord of food be
homage. Homage to Bhava's weapon, homage to the
Lord of moving things! homage to Rudra whose bow is
bent to slay, to the Lord of fields homage, homage to the
charioteer who injures, none, to the Lord of forests be
homage.
19 Homage to the red architect, to the Lord of trees homage!
Homage to him who stretched out the earth, to him who
gives relief be homage. Homage to the Lord of Plants,
homage to the prudent merchant! Homage to the Lord
of bushes, to the shouting Lord of foot-soldiers who
makes foes weep be homage.
20 Homage to the runner at full stretch, to the Lord of
ministering spirits, homage! Homage to the conquering,
piercing Lord of assailing bands, homage to the towering
sword-bearer, to the Lord of thieves homage! Homage to
the gliding robber, to the roamer, to the Lord of forests
homage!
21 Homage to the cheat, to the arch-deceiver, to the Lord of
stealers homage! Homage to the wearer of sword and
quiver, to the Lord of robbers homage! Homage to the
boltarmed homicides, to the Lord of pilferers homage!
Homage to the sword-bearers, to those who roam at night,
to the Lord of plunderers homage!
22 To the turban-wearing haunter of mountains, Lord of
land-grabbers homage! Homage to you who bear arrows
and to you who carry bows. Homage to you with bent
bows, and to you who adjust your arrows, to you who
draw the bow and to you who shoot be homage!
23 Homage to you who let fly and to you who pierce, homage
to you who sleep and to you who wake, homage to you
who lie and to you who sit, homage to you who stand
and to you who run.
24 Homage to assemblies and to you lords of assemblies,
homage to horses and to you masters of horses, homage to
you hosts that wound and pierce, to you destructive
armies with excellent bands be homage.

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25 Homage to the troops and to you lords of troops be homage.
Homage to the companies and to you lords of companies, homage.
Homage to sharpers and to you lords of sharpers, homage.
Homage to you the deformed, and to you who wear all forms, homage!
26 Homage to armies and to you the leaders of armies, homage.
Homage to you car-borne and to you who are carless, homage.
Homage to the charioteers and to you drivers of horses, homage.
Homage to you the great and to you the small, homage.
27 Homage to you carpenters, and to you chariot-makers homage.
Homage to you potters and to you blacksmiths, homage.
Homage to you Nishâdas and to you Puñjishthas, homage.
Homage to you dog-leaders, and to you hunters, homage.
28 Homage to dogs, and to you masters of dogs, homage.
Homage to Bhava, and to Rudra homage, homage to Sarva
and to Pasupati, and to Nîlagrîva and Sitikantha, homage.
29 Homage to him with braided hair and to him with shaven
hair, homage! homage to the thousand-eyed and to him
with a hundred bows, homage!
To the mountain-haunter and to Sipivishta, homage!
To the most bountiful, armed with arrows, homage!
30 Homage to the short, and to the dwarf, homage, homage to
the great and to the adult, homage! Homage to the full-grown
and to the growing, to the foremost and to the first
be homage.
31 Homage to the swift, and to the active be homage, and to
the hasty and to the rapid mover be homage! Homage to
him who dwells in waves, and in still waters, to him who
dwells in rivers and on islands.
32 Homage to the eldest and to the youngest, to the first-born
and to the last-born, homage! Homage to the middle-most
and to the immature, to the lowest and to him who
is in the depth, be homage!

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33 Homage to Sobhya and to the dweller in the magic amulet,
homage! Homage to him who is allied to Yama, to him
who prospers be homage! Homage to the famous and to
the endmost, to him of the sown corn-land and to him of
the threshing-floor be homage.
31 Homage to him in woods and to him in bushes, homage!
Homage to him as sound and to him as echo, homage!
Homage to him with swift armies and to him with swift
chariots, homage! Homage to the hero, and to him who
rends asunder be homage.
35 Homage to him who wears a helmet, and to him who wears
a cuirass, homage! To him who wears mail and defensive
armour, homage! To the renowned one and to him whose
army is renowned be homage, to him who is in drums and
to him who makes himself known by beating them.
36 Homage to the bold one and to the prudent, homage to him
who carries sword and quiver, homage to him who hath
keen arrows and is armed with weapons, homage to him
who hath good weapons and a good bow.
37 Homage to him who dwells on paths and roads, homage to
him who dwells in rugged spots and on the skirts of mountains,
homage to him who dwells in water courses and
lakes, homage to him who dwells in rivers and mores.
38 Homage to him who dwells in wells and pits, homage to him
who dwells in bright sky and sunlight. Homage to him
who dwells in cloud and lightning, homage to him who
dwells in rain and to him who dwells in fair weather.
39 Homage to him who dwells in wind and to him who dwells
in tempest, homage to the dweller in houses and to the
house-protector. Homage to Soma and to Rudra, homage
to the copper-coloured and to the ruddy One.
40 Homage to the giver of weal, and to Pasupati, homage to
the fierce and to the terrific. Homage to him who slays
in front and to him who slays at a distance, homage to
the slayer and to the frequent slayer, homage to the
green-tressed trees, homage to the deliverer.
41 Homage to the source of happiness and to the source of
delight, homage to the causer of happiness and to the causer
of delight, homage to the auspicious, homage to the most
auspicious.

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42 Homage to him who is beyond and to him who is on this
side, homage to him who crosses over and to him who
crosses back. Homage to him who is in fords and on
river banks, homage to him who is in tender grass and in
foam.
43 Homage to him who is in sand and to him who is in running
water, homage to him who is on pebbly ground and to
him who is where still water stands. Homage to him
who wears braided hair and to him whose hair is smooth.
Homage to him who is in deserts and to him who is on
broad roads.
44 Homage to him who is in herds of cattle and to him who
is in cow-pens, homage to him who is on beds and to
him who is in houses. Homage to him who is in hearts,
and to him who is in whirlpools, homage to him who is in
wells and to him who is in abysses.
45 Homage to him who is in dry things and to him who is in
green things. Homage to him who is in dust and to him
who is in vapour. Homage to him who is in inaccessible
places, homage to him who is in creeping plants, homage
to him who is in the earth and to him who is in good soil.
46 Homage to him who is in leaves and to him who is in the
falling of leaves. Homage to him with the threatening
voice and to him who slays, homage to him who troubles
and to him who afflicts. Homage to you arrow-makers
and to you bow-makers, homage to you sprinklers, to the
hearts of the Gods. Homage to the discerners, homage
to the destroyers; homage to the indestructible.
47 Pursuer, Lord of Soma juice, thou cleaver, coloured blue
and red,
Cleave not, destroy not one of these our children, nor of
these our beasts, let nothing that is ours be sick.
48 To the strong Rudra bring we these our songs of praise, to
him the Lord of Heroes, with the braided hair,
That it be well with all our cattle and our men, that in this
village all be healthy and well-fed.
49 Rudra, with that auspicious form of thine which healeth
every day,
Auspicious, healer of disease, be kind to us that we may live.

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50 May Rudra's missile turn aside and spare us, the great
wrath of the impetuous One avoid us.
Turn, Bounteous God, thy strong bow from our princes, and
be thou gracious to our seed and offspring.
I Most bounteous, most auspicious, be auspicious, well inclined
to us.
On some remotest tree lay down thy weapon. and clad in
robe of skin approach, bearing thy bow come hitherward.
52 O Wound averter, purple-hued, to thee be homage, holy Lord!
May all those thousand darts of thine strike dead another
one than us.
53 Thousands of thousands are the shafts, the missiles ready
in thy hands:
Thou holy Lord, who hast the power, turn thou their
points away from us.
54 Innumerable thousands are the Rudras on the face of earth:
Of all these Rudras we unbend the bows a thousand leagues
away.
55 Bhavas there are above us in this mighty billowy sea of air,
Of all of these do we unbend, etc.
56 Rudras are dwelling in the sky, whose necks are blue, whose
throats are white:
Of these do we unbend the bows a thousand leagues away
from us.
57 Sarvas haunt realms beneath the earth—their necks are blue,
their throats are white:
Of these, etc.
58 These, green like young grass, in the trees, with azure necks
and purple hue,
Of those, etc.
59 Those, ministering spirits’ lords, with no hair-tufts, with
braided locks,
Of these, etc.
60 Those, the protectors of the paths, bringers of food, who
fight for life. Of these, etc.
61 Those who with arrows in their hand, and armed with
words, frequent the fords, Of these, etc.
62 Those who, inhabiting the food, vex men while drinking from
their cups, etc.

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63 Rudras so many and still more, lodged in the quarters of
the sky, etc.
64 Homage to Rudras, those whose home is sky, whose arrows
floods of rain.
To them ten eastward, southward ten, ten to the south, ten
to the north, ten to the region uppermost!
To them be homage! May they spare and guard us. Within
their jaws we lay the man who hates us and whom we
abhor.
65 Homage to Rudras, those whose home is air, whose arrows
is the rain. To them, etc.
66 Homage to Rudras, those whose home is earth, whose arrows
is men's food.
To them be homage, etc.