Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.169 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Indra, the storm-king and champion of the gods, closely paired throughout with the Maruts, his band of storm-warriors. 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. You, Indra, are mighty; you have reined in these. You are the mighty protector against the assailant. Be our wise ordainer, you who know the Maruts well — win favor for us, for they are dearest to you.
2. For you, Indra, the far-ranging peoples yoked themselves, seeking you out, driving off the foe among mortals — the war-band of the Maruts, racing ahead, in the winning of the sun-rewarded prize of battle.
3. That spear of yours, Indra, has reached us; the Maruts drive off the shapeless monster entirely. Agni too, blazing, gives forth his offerings — as the waters give to an island — bestowing refreshment.
4. But you, Indra, give us that wealth, with your mightiest gift, like a rich offering. And those praises of yours that delight, like Vāyu's — they swell with sweetness like an udder, through your gifts of strength.
5. In you, Indra, are the most abundant riches, the leader of whoever seeks the right order. May the Maruts be truly gracious to us — those gods who, as of old, go their way well.
6. Come forth, Indra, to meet the men of the bounteous one; exert yourself greatly in your earthly seat. And when these broad-founded ones of theirs, heroic, stood performing their mighty deeds at the ford —
7. — the tread of these terrible, untiring, approaching Maruts is heard. With their helpers they fell the mortal who wages war against them, like a debtor, with their onrushes.
8. Open up for the devout, Indra, universal bounties together with the Maruts, with cattle foremost among them. By those who praise you, you are praised, god, together with the gods. May we find that swift-giving strength and nourishment.
Translator's note: this hymn is unusually elliptical Vedic Sanskrit with several words of uncertain sense. Verse 1's "tyajasaḥ" (rendered "assailant") may instead mean "deserter" or "onslaught." Verse 3's "sanemi" and the phrase "ṣmātase śuśukvān" resist confident parsing; "blazing, gives forth his offerings" is a conservative reading of an obscure clause. Verse 6's "pṛthubudhnāsa etāḥ" ("these broad-founded ones") likely refers to clouds or waters but the referent is left implicit in the Sanskrit and is rendered as such here rather than supplied. Where sense was doubtful, the translation stays close to the literal Sanskrit rather than smoothing the difficulty away.
Colophon
Rigveda I.169 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.169
mahaś cit tvam indra yata etān mahaś cid asi tyajaso varūtā |
sa no vedho marutāṁ cikitvān sumnā vanuṣva tava hi preṣṭhā || 1 ||
ayujran ta indra viśvakṛṣṭīr vidānāso niṣṣidho martyatrā |
marutām pṛtsutir hāsamānā svarmīḻhasya pradhanasya sātau || 2 ||
amyak sā ta indra ṛṣṭir asme sanemy abhvam maruto junanti |
agniś cid dhi ṣmātase śuśukvān āpo na dvīpaṁ dadhati prayāṁsi || 3 ||
tvaṁ tū na indra taṁ rayiṁ dā ojiṣṭhayā dakṣiṇayeva rātim |
stutaś ca yās te cakananta vāyoḥ stanaṁ na madhvaḥ pīpayanta vājaiḥ || 4 ||
tve rāya indra tośatamāḥ praṇetāraḥ kasya cid ṛtāyoḥ |
te ṣu ṇo maruto mṛḻayantu ye smā purā gātūyantīva devāḥ || 5 ||
prati pra yāhīndra mīḻhuṣo nṝn mahaḥ pārthive sadane yatasva |
adha yad eṣām pṛthubudhnāsa etās tīrthe nāryaḥ pauṁsyāni tasthuḥ || 6 ||
prati ghorāṇām etānām ayāsām marutāṁ śṛṇva āyatām upabdiḥ |
ye martyam pṛtanāyantam ūmair ṛṇāvānaṁ na patayanta sargaiḥ || 7 ||
tvam mānebhya indra viśvajanyā radā marudbhiḥ śurudho goagrāḥ |
stavānebhiḥ stavase deva devair vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 8 ||
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).