Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.42 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. Like an archer casting his shot well forward, like one eager to serve, bring him this hymn of praise. With speech, you inspired ones, surpass the speech of the rival — singer, settle Indra here with soma.
2. Win over your friend as one wins a cow by milking; awaken, singer, Indra the lover. Like a bucket filled full and pressed down with wealth, stir the hero to give his gifts.
3. Why indeed, bounteous one, do they call you the nourisher? Sharpen me — I hear that you are called the sharpener. Let my thought be fruitful, mighty one; bring us Bhaga, the finder of wealth, Indra.
4. You, Indra, the peoples call on from both sides as they stand arrayed against each other in the contest over "mine." There the one who brings the oblation makes you his ally; the hero wants no friendship with one who presses no soma.
5. To him who pours out abundant flowing wealth for you, who presses sharp soma and offers refreshment — for him, at the break of day, Indra yokes the enemies like swift horses, well goaded, and strikes down the obstacle.
6. In whom we have placed our praise — that Indra, the bounteous one, who has set his desire upon us — let his enemy be afraid, though far off; let the splendid things of the peoples bow down before him.
7. Drive the enemy far away, to a distance, with that fierce weapon of yours, much-invoked one. Give us wealth rich in barley and cattle, Indra; make the singer's thought rich with the treasure of victory.
8. Into whom the strong, sharp somas have entered, plentiful to the last drop — that Indra, the bounteous one, will not hold back his gift; he brings abundant good things to the one who presses soma.
9. And he wins the throw by staking beyond his share — the winning cast that the skilled gambler picks out at the right moment. Whoever desires the gods does not hold back his wealth; the self-powerful one showers him with riches in return.
10. With cattle may we overcome evil-minded want, and with barley all hunger, much-invoked one. May we, together with our kings, be first to win the prizes; may we conquer with our own strength.
11. May Bṛhaspati guard us all around, from behind and from above and from below, against the one who wishes us harm. May Indra guard us from in front and from the middle — as a friend to his friends, may he open wide room for us.
Translator's note: verse 9 draws on the imagery of the ancient Vedic dice game — "prahā" (the throw), "kṛta" (the winning cast), and "śvaghnī" (the skilled gambler) — comparing the soul who gives freely to the gods with a player who wins by staking boldly. The comparison is rendered conservatively, keeping the game imagery visible rather than resolving it into abstraction.
Colophon
Rigveda X.42 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.42
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.
asteva su prataraṁ lāyam asyan bhūṣann iva pra bharā stomam asmai |
vācā viprās tarata vācam aryo ni rāmaya jaritaḥ soma indram || 1 ||
dohena gām upa śikṣā sakhāyam pra bodhaya jaritar jāram indram |
kośaṁ na pūrṇaṁ vasunā nyṛṣṭam ā cyāvaya maghadeyāya śūram || 2 ||
kim aṅga tvā maghavan bhojam āhuḥ śiśīhi mā śiśayaṁ tvā śṛṇomi |
apnasvatī mama dhīr astu śakra vasuvidam bhagam indrā bharā naḥ || 3 ||
tvāṁ janā mamasatyeṣv indra saṁtasthānā vi hvayante samīke |
atrā yujaṁ kṛṇute yo haviṣmān nāsunvatā sakhyaṁ vaṣṭi śūraḥ || 4 ||
dhanaṁ na syandram bahulaṁ yo asmai tīvrān somām̐ āsunoti prayasvān |
tasmai śatrūn sutukān prātar ahno ni svaṣṭrān yuvati hanti vṛtram || 5 ||
yasmin vayaṁ dadhimā śaṁsam indre yaḥ śiśrāya maghavā kāmam asme |
ārāc cit san bhayatām asya śatrur ny asmai dyumnā janyā namantām || 6 ||
ārāc chatrum apa bādhasva dūram ugro yaḥ śambaḥ puruhūta tena |
asme dhehi yavamad gomad indra kṛdhī dhiyaṁ jaritre vājaratnām || 7 ||
pra yam antar vṛṣasavāso agman tīvrāḥ somā bahulāntāsa indram |
nāha dāmānam maghavā ni yaṁsan ni sunvate vahati bhūri vāmam || 8 ||
uta prahām atidīvyā jayāti kṛtaṁ yac chvaghnī vicinoti kāle |
yo devakāmo na dhanā ruṇaddhi sam it taṁ rāyā sṛjati svadhāvān || 9 ||
gobhiṣ ṭaremāmatiṁ durevāṁ yavena kṣudham puruhūta viśvām |
vayaṁ rājabhiḥ prathamā dhanāny asmākena vṛjanenā jayema || 10 ||
bṛhaspatir naḥ pari pātu paścād utottarasmād adharād aghāyoḥ |
indraḥ purastād uta madhyato naḥ sakhā sakhibhyo varivaḥ kṛṇotu || 11 ||
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).