Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.112 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. Indra, drink at your pleasure of the pressed soma, for the morning pressing is your drink by right. Rouse yourself, hero, to strike down enemies; with hymns we shall proclaim your mighty deeds.
2. Your chariot, swifter than thought, Indra — with it come here to drink the soma. Let your bay steeds run swiftly to us, the bulls that carry you in your exultation.
3. With the golden splendor of the sun, with its finest radiance, touch your body. Called by us, your friends, Indra, sit down together with us and be gladdened.
4. You whose greatness, in your ecstasies, these two great worlds — heaven and earth — could not contain: to that dwelling, Indra, with your yoked bay steeds and your dear ones, go, to the dear food that awaits you.
5. You who, having ever drunk, Indra, have worked against your enemies deeds unmatched and joyous — that soma stirs up your abundance and your strength; that pressed soma, Indra, is for your exhilaration.
6. This is your ancient cup, Indra — drink the soma from it, you of a hundred powers. Full is the trough of the intoxicating sweetness that all the gods alike desire.
7. For you, Indra, in many ways the people, their offerings set out, call, O bull. Let these pressings of ours be the sweetest for you; delight in them.
8. I will now proclaim your ancient deeds of strength, Indra, the first ones done. Fierce in your true wrath, you split open the rock and made the cow easy to find for the one who prays.
9. Sit down well, lord of hosts, among your hosts; they call you the most inspired of the sages. Without you nothing at all is done, far or near — sing out, bountiful one, a great and wondrous song.
10. Look upon us, bountiful one, as we entreat you; be mindful, friend, lord of wealth, of your friends. Make delight, delight-maker of true might; even to one without a share, grant a share of wealth.
Translator's note: verse 10's "raṇa" (raṇaṁ kṛdhi raṇakṛt) carries both "battle" and "joy/delight" as senses in Vedic Sanskrit; given the hymn's feast setting the joy-sense is rendered here, though a martial reading ("wage war, war-maker") is equally defensible from the Sanskrit alone.
Colophon
Rigveda X.112 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.112
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.
indra piba pratikāmaṁ sutasya prātaḥsāvas tava hi pūrvapītiḥ |
harṣasva hantave śūra śatrūn ukthebhiṣ ṭe vīryā3 pra bravāma || 1 ||
yas te ratho manaso javīyān endra tena somapeyāya yāhi |
tūyam ā te harayaḥ pra dravantu yebhir yāsi vṛṣabhir mandamānaḥ || 2 ||
haritvatā varcasā sūryasya śreṣṭhai rūpais tanvaṁ sparśayasva |
asmābhir indra sakhibhir huvānaḥ sadhrīcīno mādayasvā niṣadya || 3 ||
yasya tyat te mahimānam madeṣv ime mahī rodasī nāviviktām |
tad oka ā haribhir indra yuktaiḥ priyebhir yāhi priyam annam accha || 4 ||
yasya śaśvat papivām̐ indra śatrūn anānukṛtyā raṇyā cakartha |
sa te puraṁdhiṁ taviṣīm iyarti sa te madāya suta indra somaḥ || 5 ||
idaṁ te pātraṁ sanavittam indra pibā somam enā śatakrato |
pūrṇa āhāvo madirasya madhvo yaṁ viśva id abhiharyanti devāḥ || 6 ||
vi hi tvām indra purudhā janāso hitaprayaso vṛṣabha hvayante |
asmākaṁ te madhumattamānīmā bhuvan savanā teṣu harya || 7 ||
pra ta indra pūrvyāṇi pra nūnaṁ vīryā vocam prathamā kṛtāni |
satīnamanyur aśrathāyo adriṁ suvedanām akṛṇor brahmaṇe gām || 8 ||
ni ṣu sīda gaṇapate gaṇeṣu tvām āhur vipratamaṁ kavīnām |
na ṛte tvat kriyate kiṁ canāre mahām arkam maghavañ citram arca || 9 ||
abhikhyā no maghavan nādhamānān sakhe bodhi vasupate sakhīnām |
raṇaṁ kṛdhi raṇakṛt satyaśuṣmābhakte cid ā bhajā rāye asmān || 10 ||
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).