Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.29 is a short sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Indra, the storm-king and champion of the gods, slayer of Vṛtra, lord of thunder and rain. Each of its seven verses ends in the same refrain, asking Indra to proclaim the singers renowned in cattle and horses; the verses themselves turn on quieting bad omens — a braying donkey, a screeching bird — and on lulling ill-wishers to sleep while good fortune wakes. 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. Even though, true drinker of soma, we seem as if unpraised —
still, Indra, proclaim us famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
2. Jawed one, lord of prizes, powerful one, by your wondrous deeds —
proclaim us, Indra, famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
3. Lull to sleep the two of crooked sight; let the two unwary ones sleep —
proclaim us, Indra, famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
4. Let those stingy powers sleep; let the generous gifts awaken, hero —
proclaim us, Indra, famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
5. Indra, smash the donkey braying with that evil intent —
proclaim us, Indra, famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
6. Let the wind carry it far away from the forest, past the kuṇḍṛṇācī —
proclaim us, Indra, famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
7. Strike down every screeching cry; crush the kṛkadāśva-bird in your jaws —
proclaim us, Indra, famous, in cattle, in gleaming horses, in thousands, you of vast bounty.
Translator's note: verse 6's "kuṇḍṛṇācī" is a hapax legomenon with no secure meaning; it is left transliterated rather than guessed at. Verse 7's "kṛkadāśva" is understood here as the name of a bird (traditionally identified with the francolin partridge), taken as an omen-bird whose cry is to be silenced, in keeping with the donkey of verse 5 and the "screeching cry" in the same verse.
Colophon
Rigveda I.29 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.29
yac cid dhi satya somapā anāśastā iva smasi |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 1 ||
śiprin vājānām pate śacīvas tava daṁsanā |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 2 ||
ni ṣvāpayā mithūdṛśā sastām abudhyamāne |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 3 ||
sasantu tyā arātayo bodhantu śūra rātayaḥ |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 4 ||
sam indra gardabham mṛṇa nuvantam pāpayāmuyā |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 5 ||
patāti kuṇḍṛṇācyā dūraṁ vāto vanād adhi |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 6 ||
sarvam parikrośaṁ jahi jambhayā kṛkadāśvam |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 7 ||
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).