Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.120 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. That indeed was the greatest among the worlds, from which was born the fierce one of blazing might. As soon as born he lays low his enemies; all his helpers rejoice, following him.
2. Growing in strength, abundant in might, the foe-queller sets fear into the Dāsa. Winning both what moves and what stands still, your gifts roar out together for you in the exhilarations of soma.
3. To you all direct their purpose, though these helpers be twice or thrice in number. Sweeter than the sweet, pour forth with the sweet one; fight your way to that good honey with honey.
4. Even so, as you win the prizes, the inspired poets rejoice with you at every exhilaration. Stretch your firm bow tighter still, O bold one — let not the malevolent sorcerers deceive you.
5. Through you we prevail in battles, foreseeing the many struggles ahead. I urge your weapons onward with my words; with sacred speech I sharpen your strength.
6. Let me praise the many-shaped one, the skillful, mightiest ruler, Āptya of the Āptyas. With his might he splits open the seven Dānus; he overcomes many rivals who stand against him.
7. You have set that down, both the nearer and the farther, in the dwelling where you gave your protecting help. You made the two swift-moving mothers stand firm; from there you set many works in motion.
8. These sacred words Bṛhaddiva proclaims, foremost, winner of the sunlight, offering vigor to Indra. Self-ruling, he rules over the great herd, and he has thrown open all his own doors.
9. Thus the great Bṛhaddiva, son of Atharvan, spoke to his own self — that self being Indra. The pure sisters, dwelling with their mother, impel and strengthen him with their might.
Translator's note: "Āptya of the Āptyas" (verse 6) is a genuinely opaque epithet — Āptya elsewhere names Trita Āptya, a figure closely linked with Indra, but its precise sense here is uncertain and is kept literal rather than resolved by guesswork. Verse 3's chain of "sweet"/"honey" imagery is likewise compressed in the Sanskrit and rendered as literally as English allows. "The two swift-moving mothers" (verse 7) and "the pure sisters" (verse 9) refer to Heaven-and-Earth and to a group of unnamed female figures respectively; the Sanskrit does not name them further.
Colophon
Rigveda X.120 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.120
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.
tad id āsa bhuvaneṣu jyeṣṭhaṁ yato jajña ugras tveṣanṛmṇaḥ |
sadyo jajñāno ni riṇāti śatrūn anu yaṁ viśve madanty ūmāḥ || 1 ||
vāvṛdhānaḥ śavasā bhūryojāḥ śatrur dāsāya bhiyasaṁ dadhāti |
avyanac ca vyanac ca sasni saṁ te navanta prabhṛtā madeṣu || 2 ||
tve kratum api vṛñjanti viśve dvir yad ete trir bhavanty ūmāḥ |
svādoḥ svādīyaḥ svādunā sṛjā sam adaḥ su madhu madhunābhi yodhīḥ || 3 ||
iti cid dhi tvā dhanā jayantam made-made anumadanti viprāḥ |
ojīyo dhṛṣṇo sthiram ā tanuṣva mā tvā dabhan yātudhānā durevāḥ || 4 ||
tvayā vayaṁ śāśadmahe raṇeṣu prapaśyanto yudhenyāni bhūri |
codayāmi ta āyudhā vacobhiḥ saṁ te śiśāmi brahmaṇā vayāṁsi || 5 ||
stuṣeyyam puruvarpasam ṛbhvam inatamam āptyam āptyānām |
ā darṣate śavasā sapta dānūn pra sākṣate pratimānāni bhūri || 6 ||
ni tad dadhiṣe 'varam paraṁ ca yasminn āvithāvasā duroṇe |
ā mātarā sthāpayase jigatnū ata inoṣi karvarā purūṇi || 7 ||
imā brahma bṛhaddivo vivaktīndrāya śūṣam agriyaḥ svarṣāḥ |
maho gotrasya kṣayati svarājo duraś ca viśvā avṛṇod apa svāḥ || 8 ||
evā mahān bṛhaddivo atharvāvocat svāṁ tanva1m indram eva |
svasāro mātaribhvarīr ariprā hinvanti ca śavasā vardhayanti ca || 9 ||
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).