Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.80 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. Thus indeed, in the exhilaration of soma, the sacred formula worked to strengthen you. O mightiest one, wielder of the vajra, by your power you drove the serpent out from the earth — they sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
2. That bull-like intoxication, the pressed soma brought by the eagle, exhilarated you — with which, O vajra-wielder, you struck down Vṛtra away from the waters by your power. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
3. Go forth, advance, be bold — your vajra will not fail you. Indra, your strength is manly power indeed: slay Vṛtra, win the waters. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
4. Indra, you struck Vṛtra down from over the earth, down from the sky. Release downward these life-giving, Marut-accompanied waters. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
5. Indra, provoked, struck with the vajra the back of raging Vṛtra — advancing upon him, striking him down, driving the waters onward to their flowing course. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
6. Upon the height he strikes down with the hundred-jointed vajra. Indra, exhilarated by the draught, seeks a path for his companions. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
7. Indra, O wielder of the pressing-stones, O vajra-bearer, unrivaled indeed is the heroic power that is yours — for that deceptive beast, him you slew by your own craft. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
8. Your bolts spread out, following the ninety navigable rivers. Great is your heroic power, Indra; strength is set in your two arms. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
9. A thousand sing praise together, twenty more cry out around him, a hundred roared after him — the sacred formula was raised up for Indra. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
10. Indra struck out the might of Vṛtra, his own force overpowering that force. Great is this manly deed of his: having slain Vṛtra, he released the waters. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
11. Even these two great ones trembled in fear at your fury, when, Indra, wielder of the vajra, with the Maruts at your side, you slew Vṛtra by your power. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
12. Not by trembling, not by thundering did Vṛtra frighten Indra away. The iron vajra, thousand-pointed, came upon him. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
13. When you matched your thunderbolt and lightning-missile against Vṛtra, then, Indra, as you sought to slay the serpent, your power pressed hard against him in heaven. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
14. At your roar, O wielder of the pressing-stones, all that stands still and all that moves trembles. Even Tvaṣṭṛ trembles in fear before your fury, Indra. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
15. Indeed, so far as we have considered it, who surpasses Indra in heroic power? In him the gods have joined manly strength, resolve, and might together. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
16. The vision that Atharvan, and Manu the father, and Dadhyañc shaped — in that, O Indra, as before, sacred formulas and hymns of praise have come together. They sang praise in accord with your sovereignty.
Translator's note: the recurring refrain "arcann anu svarājyam" (literally "they sang praise following [your] self-rule/sovereignty") is rendered consistently throughout. A few phrases resist certainty: the "ninety navigable rivers" of verse 8 and the counts of a thousand, twenty, and a hundred singers in verse 9 are numerals of uncertain reference, likely formulaic or symbolic rather than literal; "māyayā" in verse 7 ("by craft/magic") and "badbadhe" in verse 13 ("pressed hard, forced") are both translated conservatively where the exact nuance is debated.
Colophon
Rigveda I.80 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.80
itthā hi soma in made brahmā cakāra vardhanam |
śaviṣṭha vajrinn ojasā pṛthivyā niḥ śaśā ahim arcann anu svarājyam || 1 ||
sa tvāmadad vṛṣā madaḥ somaḥ śyenābhṛtaḥ sutaḥ |
yenā vṛtraṁ nir adbhyo jaghantha vajrinn ojasārcann anu svarājyam || 2 ||
prehy abhīhi dhṛṣṇuhi na te vajro ni yaṁsate |
indra nṛmṇaṁ hi te śavo hano vṛtraṁ jayā apo 'rcann anu svarājyam || 3 ||
nir indra bhūmyā adhi vṛtraṁ jaghantha nir divaḥ |
sṛjā marutvatīr ava jīvadhanyā imā apo 'rcann anu svarājyam || 4 ||
indro vṛtrasya dodhataḥ sānuṁ vajreṇa hīḻitaḥ |
abhikramyāva jighnate 'paḥ sarmāya codayann arcann anu svarājyam || 5 ||
adhi sānau ni jighnate vajreṇa śataparvaṇā |
mandāna indro andhasaḥ sakhibhyo gātum icchaty arcann anu svarājyam || 6 ||
indra tubhyam id adrivo 'nuttaṁ vajrin vīryam |
yad dha tyam māyinam mṛgaṁ tam u tvam māyayāvadhīr arcann anu svarājyam || 7 ||
vi te vajrāso asthiran navatiṁ nāvyā3 anu |
mahat ta indra vīryam bāhvos te balaṁ hitam arcann anu svarājyam || 8 ||
sahasraṁ sākam arcata pari ṣṭobhata viṁśatiḥ |
śatainam anv anonavur indrāya brahmodyatam arcann anu svarājyam || 9 ||
indro vṛtrasya taviṣīṁ nir ahan sahasā sahaḥ |
mahat tad asya pauṁsyaṁ vṛtraṁ jaghanvām̐ asṛjad arcann anu svarājyam || 10 ||
ime cit tava manyave vepete bhiyasā mahī |
yad indra vajrinn ojasā vṛtram marutvām̐ avadhīr arcann anu svarājyam || 11 ||
na vepasā na tanyatendraṁ vṛtro vi bībhayat |
abhy enaṁ vajra āyasaḥ sahasrabhṛṣṭir āyatārcann anu svarājyam || 12 ||
yad vṛtraṁ tava cāśaniṁ vajreṇa samayodhayaḥ |
ahim indra jighāṁsato divi te badbadhe śavo 'rcann anu svarājyam || 13 ||
abhiṣṭane te adrivo yat sthā jagac ca rejate |
tvaṣṭā cit tava manyava indra vevijyate bhiyārcann anu svarājyam || 14 ||
nahi nu yād adhīmasīndraṁ ko vīryā paraḥ |
tasmin nṛmṇam uta kratuṁ devā ojāṁsi saṁ dadhur arcann anu svarājyam || 15 ||
yām atharvā manuṣ pitā dadhyaṅ dhiyam atnata |
tasmin brahmāṇi pūrvathendra ukthā sam agmatārcann anu svarājyam || 16 ||
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).