Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.10 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Indra, the storm-king and champion of the gods, slayer of Vṛtra, lord of thunder and rain. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. The singers sing to you, the chanters chant the chant; the priests, O you of a hundred powers, have raised you up like a bamboo pole.
2. When he climbs from ridge to ridge, much undone work becomes clear; that purpose Indra perceives — the bull moves on together with his herd.
3. Yoke, then, your two maned bay horses, the two bulls that fill the harness-strap; and then, O Indra, soma-drinker, come within hearing of our songs.
4. Come — toward our praise-songs sound out, proclaim, cry out. Join our sacred word, O generous one, and, Indra, increase our sacrifice.
5. A hymn is to be sung to Indra, a strengthening hymn to him who gives abundant reward, so that the mighty one may delight in our pressed soma and in our friendship.
6. Him indeed we beg for friendship, him for wealth, him for strong sons. May the mighty Indra grant us this, sharing out his goods to us.
7. Wide-opened, well-driven-out glory is given by you alone, O Indra. Throw open the pen of the cows; make bounty for us, O wielder of the stone.
8. Not even the two world-halves together can hold you back when you rage. Conquer the sun-lit waters; shake the cows loose for us.
9. O you whose ears are listening, hear my call; now indeed take in my songs. Indra, take this praise of mine; make me closer than even a comrade.
10. We know you as the mightiest bull in the contests, one who hears the call. From the mightiest bull we call for help that wins a thousandfold.
11. Come now to us, O Indra Kauśika, rejoicing — drink the pressed soma. Draw out our life anew; make the seer a winner of a thousand rewards.
12. O you who delight in songs, may these songs of ours surround you on every side. Following him whose life is lengthened, may the increases be welcome; may the delights be pleasing.
Translator's note: verse 11 addresses Indra as "Kauśika," the clan-name of the seer's family (Viśvāmitra's line), rather than an epithet of the god himself. Verse 12's closing line (vṛddhāyum anu vṛddhayo juṣṭā bhavantu juṣṭayaḥ) turns on a repetition of roots — "increase/increased" and "delight/delighted" — that Sanskrit can compress more tightly than English; the rendering here keeps the sense rather than the wordplay.
Colophon
Rigveda I.10 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.10
gāyanti tvā gāyatriṇo 'rcanty arkam arkiṇaḥ |
brahmāṇas tvā śatakrata ud vaṁśam iva yemire || 1 ||
yat sānoḥ sānum āruhad bhūry aspaṣṭa kartvam |
tad indro arthaṁ cetati yūthena vṛṣṇir ejati || 2 ||
yukṣvā hi keśinā harī vṛṣaṇā kakṣyaprā |
athā na indra somapā girām upaśrutiṁ cara || 3 ||
ehi stomām̐ abhi svarābhi gṛṇīhy ā ruva |
brahma ca no vaso sacendra yajñaṁ ca vardhaya || 4 ||
uktham indrāya śaṁsyaṁ vardhanam puruniṣṣidhe |
śakro yathā suteṣu ṇo rāraṇat sakhyeṣu ca || 5 ||
tam it sakhitva īmahe taṁ rāye taṁ suvīrye |
sa śakra uta naḥ śakad indro vasu dayamānaḥ || 6 ||
suvivṛtaṁ sunirajam indra tvādātam id yaśaḥ |
gavām apa vrajaṁ vṛdhi kṛṇuṣva rādho adrivaḥ || 7 ||
nahi tvā rodasī ubhe ṛghāyamāṇam invataḥ |
jeṣaḥ svarvatīr apaḥ saṁ gā asmabhyaṁ dhūnuhi || 8 ||
āśrutkarṇa śrudhī havaṁ nū cid dadhiṣva me giraḥ |
indra stomam imam mama kṛṣvā yujaś cid antaram || 9 ||
vidmā hi tvā vṛṣantamaṁ vājeṣu havanaśrutam |
vṛṣantamasya hūmaha ūtiṁ sahasrasātamām || 10 ||
ā tū na indra kauśika mandasānaḥ sutam piba |
navyam āyuḥ pra sū tira kṛdhī sahasrasām ṛṣim || 11 ||
pari tvā girvaṇo gira imā bhavantu viśvataḥ |
vṛddhāyum anu vṛddhayo juṣṭā bhavantu juṣṭayaḥ || 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).