Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.33 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. Let us go forth to Indra, longing for cattle; he strengthens our good judgment well. Surely, unharmed, he will turn toward us the highest sign of his wealth in cows.
2. I fly straight to the wealth-giver, the unrivaled one, like a falcon to its cherished nest, honoring Indra with fitting hymns — he who is to be invoked by his praisers on their journey.
3. With his whole host he has seized the quivers; he drives together the cattle of the lord, whichever he desires. Eagerly craving abundant riches, O Indra — mighty one, do not turn miserly toward us like a Paṇi.
4. For you slew the wealthy Dasyu with your club, O Indra, moving alone yet aided by your companions. Scattered from the field, they fled as they came; the ancient ones who offered no sacrifice went to their death.
5. The non-sacrificers, rivaling the sacrificers, turned their heads away and fled from you, Indra. Then, O lord of bay steeds, O steadfast and fierce one, you blew the lawless ones out of heaven, out of both worlds.
6. The Navagva folk wanted to fight the army of the blameless one, and pursued them. Like impotent men driven out before the bull-weaponed god, warned by the criers, they took notice and went away from Indra.
7. You made these weeping and laughing ones fight, O Indra, at the far edge of the dusty realm. You burned the Dasyu down from high heaven; you furthered the praise-song of the one who presses soma and sings.
8. Those who threw up an encircling wall around the earth, adorning themselves with golden jewels — for all their striving they did not overcome you, Indra; you set the sun as a spy around them.
9. When, Indra, you had filled both world-halves entirely on every side with your greatness, you drove out, with sacred formulas, the Dasyu who gave no thought to you — driving him out by means of those who did think of you, Indra.
10. Those who could not reach the limit of heaven and earth, who could not overcome the wealth-giver by their magic — Indra the bull made the thunderbolt his ally; with light he milked the cows out of the darkness.
11. The waters flowed according to their own nature; he grew in the midst of the navigable streams. With a mind fixed single-mindedly, O Indra, you struck him down with your mightiest blow, day after day.
12. Indra pierced through the strongholds of Ilībiśa; he shattered horned Śuṣṇa. With all the force and all the strength you have, O bounteous one, you slew the warring enemy with your thunderbolt.
13. The unerring one advanced against his enemies; with his sharp bull-weapon he broke open their strongholds. Indra hurled the thunderbolt against Vṛtra; triumphing, he carried through his own purpose.
14. You helped Kutsa, Indra, in whom you took delight; you aided the bull-like Daśadyu as he fought. Dust kicked up by hooves reached the sky; the son of Śvitrā rose up to conquer his foes.
15. You helped the tame bull among Tugra's people, O bounteous one, the pale-colored cow, for the winning of the land. Standing their ground there long, they held firm; you laid bare the hidden stores of those who acted as enemies.
Translator's note: verses 6, 14, and 15 turn on proper names and events assumed familiar to the original audience but now obscure (the Navagvas; Kutsa and Daśadyu; Tugra's people and "the son of Śvitrā"). The Sanskrit itself is compressed and elliptical here, and the renderings above are conservative rather than confident. "Paṇi" (verse 3) is left untranslated — it names a class of mythic cattle-withholding traders/misers frequently opposed to Indra in the Rigveda.
Colophon
Rigveda I.33 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.33
etāyāmopa gavyanta indram asmākaṁ su pramatiṁ vāvṛdhāti |
anāmṛṇaḥ kuvid ād asya rāyo gavāṁ ketam param āvarjate naḥ || 1 ||
uped ahaṁ dhanadām apratītaṁ juṣṭāṁ na śyeno vasatim patāmi |
indraṁ namasyann upamebhir arkair yaḥ stotṛbhyo havyo asti yāman || 2 ||
ni sarvasena iṣudhīm̐r asakta sam aryo gā ajati yasya vaṣṭi |
coṣkūyamāṇa indra bhūri vāmam mā paṇir bhūr asmad adhi pravṛddha || 3 ||
vadhīr hi dasyuṁ dhaninaṁ ghanenam̐ ekaś carann upaśākebhir indra |
dhanor adhi viṣuṇak te vy āyann ayajvānaḥ sanakāḥ pretim īyuḥ || 4 ||
parā cic chīrṣā vavṛjus ta indrāyajvāno yajvabhiḥ spardhamānāḥ |
pra yad divo harivaḥ sthātar ugra nir avratām̐ adhamo rodasyoḥ || 5 ||
ayuyutsann anavadyasya senām ayātayanta kṣitayo navagvāḥ |
vṛṣāyudho na vadhrayo niraṣṭāḥ pravadbhir indrāc citayanta āyan || 6 ||
tvam etān rudato jakṣataś cāyodhayo rajasa indra pāre |
avādaho diva ā dasyum uccā pra sunvataḥ stuvataḥ śaṁsam āvaḥ || 7 ||
cakrāṇāsaḥ parīṇaham pṛthivyā hiraṇyena maṇinā śumbhamānāḥ |
na hinvānāsas titirus ta indram pari spaśo adadhāt sūryeṇa || 8 ||
pari yad indra rodasī ubhe abubhojīr mahinā viśvataḥ sīm |
amanyamānām̐ abhi manyamānair nir brahmabhir adhamo dasyum indra || 9 ||
na ye divaḥ pṛthivyā antam āpur na māyābhir dhanadām paryabhūvan |
yujaṁ vajraṁ vṛṣabhaś cakra indro nir jyotiṣā tamaso gā adukṣat || 10 ||
anu svadhām akṣarann āpo asyāvardhata madhya ā nāvyānām |
sadhrīcīnena manasā tam indra ojiṣṭhena hanmanāhann abhi dyūn || 11 ||
ny āvidhyad ilībiśasya dṛḻhā vi śṛṅgiṇam abhinac chuṣṇam indraḥ |
yāvat taro maghavan yāvad ojo vajreṇa śatrum avadhīḥ pṛtanyum || 12 ||
abhi sidhmo ajigād asya śatrūn vi tigmena vṛṣabheṇā puro 'bhet |
saṁ vajreṇāsṛjad vṛtram indraḥ pra svām matim atirac chāśadānaḥ || 13 ||
āvaḥ kutsam indra yasmiñ cākan prāvo yudhyantaṁ vṛṣabhaṁ daśadyum |
śaphacyuto reṇur nakṣata dyām uc chvaitreyo nṛṣāhyāya tasthau || 14 ||
āvaḥ śamaṁ vṛṣabhaṁ tugryāsu kṣetrajeṣe maghavañ chvitryaṁ gām |
jyok cid atra tasthivāṁso akrañ chatrūyatām adharā vedanākaḥ || 15 ||
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).