Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.177 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. Indra, filler of the peoples, bull among men, king of the tribes, much-invoked — praised, seeking glory, come with your help to our side; having yoked your two mighty bay steeds, come toward us.
2. Your mighty, bull-strong steeds, O Indra, yoked by the sacred word, the coursers that draw your great chariot — mount them, and come with them toward us. We call on you, Indra, when the soma is pressed.
3. Mount your mighty chariot; your strong soma is pressed, its sweet drops poured out. Having yoked your two mighty bays, O bull of the settled peoples, come with your bay steeds, hastening down toward us.
4. Here is the sacrifice that seeks the gods, here the offering, here these prayers, here, Indra, is the soma. The sacred grass is strewn — come here indeed, mighty one; sit down and drink; unyoke your two bays here.
5. O well-praised Indra, come toward us, toward the prayers of the devoted singer. May we, praising you, find your help at daybreak; may we find nourishment, strength, and your swift-giving bounty.
Translator's note: verse 5's "vṛjanaṁ" (rendered "strength") carries a range of senses in Vedic usage — a strong enclosure, a company, or vigor/might — and is translated conservatively here as "strength."
Colophon
Rigveda I.177 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.177
ā carṣaṇiprā vṛṣabho janānāṁ rājā kṛṣṭīnām puruhūta indraḥ |
stutaḥ śravasyann avasopa madrig yuktvā harī vṛṣaṇā yāhy arvāṅ || 1 ||
ye te vṛṣaṇo vṛṣabhāsa indra brahmayujo vṛṣarathāso atyāḥ |
tām̐ ā tiṣṭha tebhir ā yāhy arvāṅ havāmahe tvā suta indra some || 2 ||
ā tiṣṭha rathaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ vṛṣā te sutaḥ somaḥ pariṣiktā madhūni |
yuktvā vṛṣabhyāṁ vṛṣabha kṣitīnāṁ haribhyāṁ yāhi pravatopa madrik || 3 ||
ayaṁ yajño devayā ayam miyedha imā brahmāṇy ayam indra somaḥ |
stīrṇam barhir ā tu śakra pra yāhi pibā niṣadya vi mucā harī iha || 4 ||
o suṣṭuta indra yāhy arvāṅ upa brahmāṇi mānyasya kāroḥ |
vidyāma vastor avasā gṛṇanto vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 5 ||
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).