Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.82 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Indra, built around the repeated refrain "yoke now, Indra, your two bay steeds." It calls on Indra to harness his horses and drive to the pressed soma, praises the poets' offerings, and closes with Indra rejoicing alongside his wife. 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. Listen closely to our songs, bounteous one, not indifferently. When you grant us words of true joy, then you will seek us out — yoke now, Indra, your two bay steeds.
2. They have eaten, they have grown glad indeed, the dear offerings have been shaken loose. The self-luminous inspired poets have sung with their newest hymn — yoke now, Indra, your two bay steeds.
3. We would praise you, fair to behold, bounteous one. Go forth now, praised, your chariot-seat full, according to our desires — yoke now, Indra, your two bay steeds.
4. He indeed mounts that mighty, cattle-finding chariot who, Indra, heeds the full cup that goes with the yoking of the bay steeds — yoke now, Indra, your two bay steeds.
5. Let your right steed be yoked, and your left, you of a hundred powers. With them, delighting in the soma-draught, go to your dear wife — yoke now, Indra, your two bay steeds.
6. I yoke for you, with sacred formula, the two maned bay steeds; come forth, you who hold the reins in your two hands. The vehement pressed juices have made you glad; with Pūṣan beside you, thunderbolt-wielder, you rejoiced together with your wife.
Translator's note: "mātathā iva" in verse 1 and "hāriyojanam" in verse 4 are obscure compounds rendered conservatively here ("not indifferently"; "that goes with the yoking of the bay steeds") rather than resolved with confidence.
Colophon
Rigveda I.82 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.82
upo ṣu śṛṇuhī giro maghavan mātathā iva |
yadā naḥ sūnṛtāvataḥ kara ād arthayāsa id yojā nv indra te harī || 1 ||
akṣann amīmadanta hy ava priyā adhūṣata |
astoṣata svabhānavo viprā naviṣṭhayā matī yojā nv indra te harī || 2 ||
susaṁdṛśaṁ tvā vayam maghavan vandiṣīmahi |
pra nūnam pūrṇavandhuraḥ stuto yāhi vaśām̐ anu yojā nv indra te harī || 3 ||
sa ghā taṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ ratham adhi tiṣṭhāti govidam |
yaḥ pātraṁ hāriyojanam pūrṇam indra ciketati yojā nv indra te harī || 4 ||
yuktas te astu dakṣiṇa uta savyaḥ śatakrato |
tena jāyām upa priyām mandāno yāhy andhaso yojā nv indra te harī || 5 ||
yunajmi te brahmaṇā keśinā harī upa pra yāhi dadhiṣe gabhastyoḥ |
ut tvā sutāso rabhasā amandiṣuḥ pūṣaṇvān vajrin sam u patnyāmadaḥ || 6 ||
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).