Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.148 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. Pressing the soma, O Indra, we praise you — and having already won, O mighty one, we praise you for the prize as well. Bring us the well-being you take pleasure in; through ourselves, through our own line, may we win it, upheld by you.
2. You, O Indra, hero, were born lofty, able to overcome the Dāsa clans with the sun's help. Placed in secret, hidden, concealed in the waters — we carry it forth like soma at the streaming.
3. Sing out, knowing one, toward the songs of the noble patron — inspired poet among the seers, seeking good favor. May we be those who delight in the soma-draughts, and also in the portions set apart for you, chariot-borne one.
4. These sacred words I speak to you, Indra; grant to our men the strength of men, hero. Be of one mind with those you delight in, and protect the singers, and their people too.
5. Hear the call of Pṛthī, Indra, hero, and let yourself be praised by the hymns of Venya, who has cried out toward your ghee-rich dwelling-place. Like a wave through the depths, his eloquent songs surge and swell.
Translator's note: Verse 2's clause "guhā hitaṁ guhyaṁ gūḻham apsu" (placed in secret, hidden, concealed in the waters) is compressed and its referent uncertain — rendered here conservatively, keeping the triple emphasis on concealment rather than supplying an implied object. Verse 4's word "stīn" is obscure; rendered here as "their people," a conservative guess at a term for dependents or kin rather than a confident gloss.
Colophon
Rigveda X.148 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.148
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.
suṣvāṇāsa indra stumasi tvā sasavāṁsaś ca tuvinṛmṇa vājam |
ā no bhara suvitaṁ yasya cākan tmanā tanā sanuyāma tvotāḥ || 1 ||
ṛṣvas tvam indra śūra jāto dāsīr viśaḥ sūryeṇa sahyāḥ |
guhā hitaṁ guhyaṁ gūḻham apsu bibhṛmasi prasravaṇe na somam || 2 ||
aryo vā giro abhy arca vidvān ṛṣīṇāṁ vipraḥ sumatiṁ cakānaḥ |
te syāma ye raṇayanta somair enota tubhyaṁ rathoḻha bhakṣaiḥ || 3 ||
imā brahmendra tubhyaṁ śaṁsi dā nṛbhyo nṛṇāṁ śūra śavaḥ |
tebhir bhava sakratur yeṣu cākann uta trāyasva gṛṇata uta stīn || 4 ||
śrudhī havam indra śūra pṛthyā uta stavase venyasyārkaiḥ |
ā yas te yoniṁ ghṛtavantam asvār ūrmir na nimnair dravayanta vakvāḥ || 5 ||
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).