Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.152 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. O ruler, you are great in this way, the wondrous devourer of enemies — whose friend is never slain, never overcome.
2. Giver of well-being, lord of the clans, slayer of Vṛtra, repeller of the scornful, whose will prevails — let bull Indra go before us, the soma-drinker, who makes us fearless.
3. Strike away the demon, strike away the scorners, break apart the jaws of Vṛtra. O Indra, slayer of Vṛtra, drive away the fury of the enemy who seeks to oppress us.
4. Strike away our scorners, O Indra; hold down those who make war on us. Whoever seeks to oppress us — send him down into the darkness below.
5. Drive away, O Indra, the intent of the hater, and the weapon of the one who seeks to overpower us. Extend your shelter more widely against wrath — ward off the weapon.
Translator's note: "rakṣas" (v. 3) names a demon/hostile spirit, kept as "demon" rather than the more general "fiend." "adharaṁ tamaḥ" (v. 4) is rendered "darkness below" for the netherworld/nether-gloom to which the hostile party is sent. "jijyāsataḥ" (v. 5), a desiderative of the verb "to conquer," is rendered "the one who seeks to overpower us."
Colophon
Rigveda X.152 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.152
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.
śāsa itthā mahām̐ asy amitrakhādo adbhutaḥ |
na yasya hanyate sakhā na jīyate kadā cana || 1 ||
svastidā viśas patir vṛtrahā vimṛdho vaśī |
vṛṣendraḥ pura etu naḥ somapā abhayaṁkaraḥ || 2 ||
vi rakṣo vi mṛdho jahi vi vṛtrasya hanū ruja |
vi manyum indra vṛtrahann amitrasyābhidāsataḥ || 3 ||
vi na indra mṛdho jahi nīcā yaccha pṛtanyataḥ |
yo asmām̐ abhidāsaty adharaṁ gamayā tamaḥ || 4 ||
apendra dviṣato mano 'pa jijyāsato vadham |
vi manyoḥ śarma yaccha varīyo yavayā vadham || 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).