Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.55 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. Even the breadth of heaven has spread wide for him; not even the earth matches Indra in greatness. Fearsome, mighty, blazing against the peoples, he whets his thunderbolt to sharpness, like a bull.
2. Like the sea receiving the rivers that flow into it far and wide, he takes them in. Indra grows bull-like for the drinking of soma; from ancient times this warrior is praised for his strength.
3. You, Indra, master that mountain of wealth for our enjoyment; you govern the ordinances of great manly power. Through your heroism you shine forth among the gods, fierce one, set foremost for every deed.
4. He indeed is praised in the contest by those who pay homage, proclaiming his Indra-power, dear among the peoples. The bull becomes welcome, the eager bull, when the bounteous one drives the milch-cow home in safety.
5. He, the warrior, performs great battles by his might, with strength on behalf of the peoples. And they place their trust in the vehement one; for Indra they forge the deadly vajra again and again.
6. Eager for renown, he, growing mighty with the earth, destroys the built strongholds by his strength. Making the lights safe for the worshipper, the wise one released the waters to flow.
7. Soma-drinker, let your mind be set on giving; turn your two bay steeds hither, you who hear our praise. Whatever steady charioteers are yours, Indra, restless impulses never lead you astray.
8. You bear unfailing wealth in your two hands; renowned, you have set unconquerable strength in your body. Like wells encircled by their diggers, many are the powers, Indra, within your frame.
Translator's note: "vane" in verse 4 (literally "in the wood/forest") is rendered "in the contest," a recognized secondary sense of the word in battle contexts. "nighanighnate" in verse 5, an intensive form built on the root "han" ("to strike"), is rendered "forge... again and again," following the repeated-striking action implied by Tvaṣṭar's hammering of the vajra elsewhere in the Rigveda; a literal "strike repeatedly" is also defensible.
Colophon
Rigveda I.55 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.55
divaś cid asya varimā vi papratha indraṁ na mahnā pṛthivī cana prati |
bhīmas tuviṣmāñ carṣaṇibhya ātapaḥ śiśīte vajraṁ tejase na vaṁsagaḥ || 1 ||
so arṇavo na nadyaḥ samudriyaḥ prati gṛbhṇāti viśritā varīmabhiḥ |
indraḥ somasya pītaye vṛṣāyate sanāt sa yudhma ojasā panasyate || 2 ||
tvaṁ tam indra parvataṁ na bhojase maho nṛmṇasya dharmaṇām irajyasi |
pra vīryeṇa devatāti cekite viśvasmā ugraḥ karmaṇe purohitaḥ || 3 ||
sa id vane namasyubhir vacasyate cāru janeṣu prabruvāṇa indriyam |
vṛṣā chandur bhavati haryato vṛṣā kṣemeṇa dhenām maghavā yad invati || 4 ||
sa in mahāni samithāni majmanā kṛṇoti yudhma ojasā janebhyaḥ |
adhā cana śrad dadhati tviṣīmata indrāya vajraṁ nighanighnate vadham || 5 ||
sa hi śravasyuḥ sadanāni kṛtrimā kṣmayā vṛdhāna ojasā vināśayan |
jyotīṁṣi kṛṇvann avṛkāṇi yajyave 'va sukratuḥ sartavā apaḥ sṛjat || 6 ||
dānāya manaḥ somapāvann astu te 'rvāñcā harī vandanaśrud ā kṛdhi |
yamiṣṭhāsaḥ sārathayo ya indra te na tvā ketā ā dabhnuvanti bhūrṇayaḥ || 7 ||
aprakṣitaṁ vasu bibharṣi hastayor aṣāḻhaṁ sahas tanvi śruto dadhe |
āvṛtāso 'vatāso na kartṛbhis tanūṣu te kratava indra bhūrayaḥ || 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).