Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.53 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. Now we bring forth, well and duly, our speech and our songs to mighty Indra, in the dwelling-place of Vivasvat. Those who merely sleep never find treasure; poor praise wins no favor among the givers of wealth.
2. You are the door to horses, Indra, the door to cattle, the door to barley — lord and master of wealth. Helper of men from ancient times, you do not starve desire; a friend to friends — this is what we sing of you.
3. Powerful Indra, doer of many deeds, most brilliant one — this wealth is seen on every side as yours. Gather it, then, O overpowering one, and bring it here; do not leave unfulfilled the desire of the singer who trusts in you.
4. With these days, glad of mind, with these soma-drops, warding off want with cattle and with horses — rending the dasyu with Indra's help, by the soma-drops, may we, free of hostility, lay hold together of nourishment.
5. May we lay hold, Indra, together with riches, together with nourishment, together with prizes of many splendors, radiant as the sky; may we lay hold together with divine providence full of heroic strength, first in cattle, and having horses.
6. Those exhilarating draughts made you exult, those bull-like powers; those soma-draughts, in the slayings of Vṛtra, O true lord — when for the singer you struck down ten unmatched Vṛtras, thousands of them, for the one who spreads the sacred grass.
7. Battle after battle you boldly enter; city after city you crush with your might. When, Indra, through friendship with Namī, in that far-off place, you struck down the one called Namuci, the deceiver.
8. You slew Karañja and Parṇaya, with your keenest onset, in aid of Atithigva. You broke open the hundred forts of Vaṅgṛda, unyielding, urged on by Ṛjiśvan.
9. You, O renowned one, checked with the wheel of your chariot, at that evil place, the twice-ten tribal kings — sixty thousand and ninety-nine of them — who had come against friendless Suśravas.
10. You helped Suśravas, Indra, with your aid, and with your protection you helped Tūrvayāṇa. For him, the great young king, you made Kutsa, Atithigva, and Āyu submissive.
11. May we, Indra, kept safe by the gods, be your dearest friends. May we praise you, and through you, rich in brave sons, gain a longer life, ever further extended.
Translator's note: verse 9's "abandhunā" (kinless/friendless) and "duṣpadā" (at an evil footing/place) describe a battle in which Indra defends Suśravas against a coalition of twenty tribal kings; the numbers and place-names in verses 8–10 (Karañja, Parṇaya, Vaṅgṛda, Atithigva, Ṛjiśvan, Suśravas, Tūrvayāṇa, Kutsa, Āyu) are proper names from a cycle of battle-legends whose full historical detail is lost outside the hymn itself, and are rendered here literally rather than expanded upon.
Colophon
Rigveda I.53 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.53
ny ū3 ṣu vācam pra mahe bharāmahe gira indrāya sadane vivasvataḥ |
nū cid dhi ratnaṁ sasatām ivāvidan na duṣṭutir draviṇodeṣu śasyate || 1 ||
duro aśvasya dura indra gor asi duro yavasya vasuna inas patiḥ |
śikṣānaraḥ pradivo akāmakarśanaḥ sakhā sakhibhyas tam idaṁ gṛṇīmasi || 2 ||
śacīva indra purukṛd dyumattama taved idam abhitaś cekite vasu |
ataḥ saṁgṛbhyābhibhūta ā bhara mā tvāyato jarituḥ kāmam ūnayīḥ || 3 ||
ebhir dyubhiḥ sumanā ebhir indubhir nirundhāno amatiṁ gobhir aśvinā |
indreṇa dasyuṁ darayanta indubhir yutadveṣasaḥ sam iṣā rabhemahi || 4 ||
sam indra rāyā sam iṣā rabhemahi saṁ vājebhiḥ puruścandrair abhidyubhiḥ |
saṁ devyā pramatyā vīraśuṣmayā goagrayāśvāvatyā rabhemahi || 5 ||
te tvā madā amadan tāni vṛṣṇyā te somāso vṛtrahatyeṣu satpate |
yat kārave daśa vṛtrāṇy aprati barhiṣmate ni sahasrāṇi barhayaḥ || 6 ||
yudhā yudham upa ghed eṣi dhṛṣṇuyā purā puraṁ sam idaṁ haṁsy ojasā |
namyā yad indra sakhyā parāvati nibarhayo namuciṁ nāma māyinam || 7 ||
tvaṁ karañjam uta parṇayaṁ vadhīs tejiṣṭhayātithigvasya vartanī |
tvaṁ śatā vaṅgṛdasyābhinat puro 'nānudaḥ pariṣūtā ṛjiśvanā || 8 ||
tvam etāñ janarājño dvir daśābandhunā suśravasopajagmuṣaḥ |
ṣaṣṭiṁ sahasrā navatiṁ nava śruto ni cakreṇa rathyā duṣpadāvṛṇak || 9 ||
tvam āvitha suśravasaṁ tavotibhis tava trāmabhir indra tūrvayāṇam |
tvam asmai kutsam atithigvam āyum mahe rājñe yūne arandhanāyaḥ || 10 ||
ya udṛcīndra devagopāḥ sakhāyas te śivatamā asāma |
tvāṁ stoṣāma tvayā suvīrā drāghīya āyuḥ prataraṁ dadhānāḥ || 11 ||
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).