Hymn to Indra (A Hymn for Battle)
Rigveda X.103 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. Swift, sharpening himself, fearsome like a bull, striking blow upon blow, disturber of the peoples, the one who makes them cry out, unsleeping, the lone hero — Indra conquered a hundred armies at once.
2. With him who roars, who never sleeps, the victorious, the battle-maker, unshakeable, the bold one — with that Indra, conquer; with him withstand, O fighting men, with the bull who holds the arrow in his hand.
3. He with the arrow-bearers, he with the quiver-bearers, the commander, he who joins battle — that Indra of the fight, with his troop; victor in the clash, drinker of soma, mighty of arm, fierce with the bow, shooter of well-aimed shafts.
4. O Brihaspati, fly around us in your chariot, driving off demons and enemies; shattering their armies, crushing them in battle, conquering — be the protector of our chariots.
5. Known by his strength, firm, foremost hero, powerful, swift, overpowering, fierce; surrounded by heroes, strong with your troop, born of might — O Indra, mount your victorious chariot, finder of cattle.
6. The breaker of strongholds, the finder of cattle, the mace-armed, who conquers on the battle-course, crushing with his strength — follow him, O kinsmen, be heroes after him; O comrades, take hold together, following Indra.
7. Plunging by force into their strongholds, pitiless, the hero of hundredfold fury, Indra, unshakeable, winner of battles, unconquerable — may he favor our armies onward in the fights.
8. Indra is the leader of these hosts; let Brihaspati, the sacrificial gift, the rite, and the soma go before them; let the Maruts advance at the head of the divine armies that shatter and conquer.
9. Of Indra the bull, of Varuna the king, of the Adityas, of the fierce host of the Maruts — great-minded, world-shaking — the battle-cry of the conquering gods has risen up.
10. Rouse up our weapons, O bounteous one; rouse up the spirits of my warriors; rouse up, O slayer of Vritra, the strength of the mighty steeds; let the war-cries of the conquering chariots go forth.
11. Indra is ours when the banners clash; let our arrows, whatever they be, be victorious; let our warriors have the upper hand; and you gods, protect us when we call.
12. Confusing the minds of those enemies, O Apva, seize their limbs and go forth; advance upon them, burn their hearts with anguish; let the foes be overtaken by blind darkness.
13. Go forth and conquer, O men; let Indra grant you protection. Let your arms be strong, that you may be unconquerable.
Translator's note: "Apva" (verse 12) is a rare Vedic name for a goddess or spirit of panic/terror invoked against the enemy; the word is left as a proper name rather than translated, since no single English word captures it without narrowing its sense.
Colophon
Rigveda X.103 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 X.103
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
āśuḥ śiśāno vṛṣabho na bhīmo ghanāghanaḥ kṣobhaṇaś carṣaṇīnām |
saṁkrandano 'nimiṣa ekavīraḥ śataṁ senā ajayat sākam indraḥ || 1 ||
saṁkrandanenānimiṣeṇa jiṣṇunā yutkāreṇa duścyavanena dhṛṣṇunā |
tad indreṇa jayata tat sahadhvaṁ yudho nara iṣuhastena vṛṣṇā || 2 ||
sa iṣuhastaiḥ sa niṣaṅgibhir vaśī saṁsraṣṭā sa yudha indro gaṇena |
saṁsṛṣṭajit somapā bāhuśardhy u1gradhanvā pratihitābhir astā || 3 ||
bṛhaspate pari dīyā rathena rakṣohāmitrām̐ apabādhamānaḥ |
prabhañjan senāḥ pramṛṇo yudhā jayann asmākam edhy avitā rathānām || 4 ||
balavijñāyaḥ sthaviraḥ pravīraḥ sahasvān vājī sahamāna ugraḥ |
abhivīro abhisatvā sahojā jaitram indra ratham ā tiṣṭha govit || 5 ||
gotrabhidaṁ govidaṁ vajrabāhuṁ jayantam ajma pramṛṇantam ojasā |
imaṁ sajātā anu vīrayadhvam indraṁ sakhāyo anu saṁ rabhadhvam || 6 ||
abhi gotrāṇi sahasā gāhamāno 'dayo vīraḥ śatamanyur indraḥ |
duścyavanaḥ pṛtanāṣāḻ ayudhyo3 'smākaṁ senā avatu pra yutsu || 7 ||
indra āsāṁ netā bṛhaspatir dakṣiṇā yajñaḥ pura etu somaḥ |
devasenānām abhibhañjatīnāṁ jayantīnām maruto yantv agram || 8 ||
indrasya vṛṣṇo varuṇasya rājña ādityānām marutāṁ śardha ugram |
mahāmanasām bhuvanacyavānāṁ ghoṣo devānāṁ jayatām ud asthāt || 9 ||
ud dharṣaya maghavann āyudhāny ut satvanām māmakānām manāṁsi |
ud vṛtrahan vājināṁ vājināny ud rathānāṁ jayatāṁ yantu ghoṣāḥ || 10 ||
asmākam indraḥ samṛteṣu dhvajeṣv asmākaṁ yā iṣavas tā jayantu |
asmākaṁ vīrā uttare bhavantv asmām̐ u devā avatā haveṣu || 11 ||
amīṣāṁ cittam pratilobhayantī gṛhāṇāṅgāny apve parehi |
abhi prehi nir daha hṛtsu śokair andhenāmitrās tamasā sacantām || 12 ||
pretā jayatā nara indro vaḥ śarma yacchatu |
ugrā vaḥ santu bāhavo 'nādhṛṣyā yathāsatha || 13 ||
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).