Indra's Self-Praise
Rigveda X.48 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 hymn is unusual among the sūktas: rather than a poet addressing Indra, the entire hymn is spoken in Indra's own first-person voice, recounting his deeds and strength. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. I was the first lord of wealth; I win riches continually. Creatures call on me as their father; I give out food to the one who makes offering.
2. I am Indra, refuge and strength of the Atharvan priest; for Trita I brought forth cows from the serpent. I took away power from the Dasyus, granting cattle-pens to Dadhyañc and to Mātariśvan.
3. For me Tvaṣṭar forged the mace of metal; the gods bent their will toward me. My face is like the sun's, unconquerable; they draw near to me for deeds done and deeds yet to do.
4. With my weapon I win cattle, horses, abundant golden wealth; I give out many thousands to the worshipper, when the soma-drafts, praised with hymns, gladden me.
5. I am Indra: I have never lost the stake, I have never submitted to death. Pressing soma, ask me for wealth — you Pūrus shall not come to harm in fellowship with me.
6. Two by two I struck down these snorting foes who raised the mace to fight against me. I struck down with a blow those who challenged me, speaking hard words, unbending before those who postured as humble.
7. Against one, I alone am victor; against two — what indeed can three do against me? I strike down many, as on the threshing-floor; why do enemies who have no Indra revile me?
8. I restored Atithigva to the Guṅgus, I upheld him among the tribes like refreshment that overcomes hindrance. When Parṇaya was struck down, and Karañja too, I became renowned in that great slaying of Vṛtra.
9. Namī Sāpya rose up for me, for enjoyment; in the quest for cattle he made friendship with me once more. When I gave him the dart in the clashes of battle, then I made him worthy of praise, worthy of hymn.
10. In one man soma is seen concealed within; in another its guardian makes it plain. He who would fight the sharp-horned bull stands bound within, deep in the dense net of deceit.
11. Of the Ādityas, the Vasus, and the Rudras — I, a god among gods, do not transgress their ordinances. They shaped me for goodly strength: unconquered, unbroken, unvanquished.
Translator's note: verses 6 and 10 contain phrases whose precise sense is disputed (the description of the "humble" challengers in v.6; the contrast between soma "seen within" and "made plain" in v.10). Both are rendered conservatively, following the Sanskrit word order as closely as English allows, rather than resolved to a confident but unverifiable reading.
Colophon
Rigveda X.48 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.48
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.
aham bhuvaṁ vasunaḥ pūrvyas patir ahaṁ dhanāni saṁ jayāmi śaśvataḥ |
māṁ havante pitaraṁ na jantavo 'haṁ dāśuṣe vi bhajāmi bhojanam || 1 ||
aham indro rodho vakṣo atharvaṇas tritāya gā ajanayam aher adhi |
ahaṁ dasyubhyaḥ pari nṛmṇam ā dade gotrā śikṣan dadhīce mātariśvane || 2 ||
mahyaṁ tvaṣṭā vajram atakṣad āyasam mayi devāso 'vṛjann api kratum |
mamānīkaṁ sūryasyeva duṣṭaram mām āryanti kṛtena kartvena ca || 3 ||
aham etaṁ gavyayam aśvyam paśum purīṣiṇaṁ sāyakenā hiraṇyayam |
purū sahasrā ni śiśāmi dāśuṣe yan mā somāsa ukthino amandiṣuḥ || 4 ||
aham indro na parā jigya id dhanaṁ na mṛtyave 'va tasthe kadā cana |
somam in mā sunvanto yācatā vasu na me pūravaḥ sakhye riṣāthana || 5 ||
aham etāñ chāśvasato dvā-dvendraṁ ye vajraṁ yudhaye 'kṛṇvata |
āhvayamānām̐ ava hanmanāhanaṁ dṛḻhā vadann anamasyur namasvinaḥ || 6 ||
abhī3dam ekam eko asmi niṣṣāḻ abhī dvā kim u trayaḥ karanti |
khale na parṣān prati hanmi bhūri kim mā nindanti śatravo 'nindrāḥ || 7 ||
ahaṁ guṅgubhyo atithigvam iṣkaram iṣaṁ na vṛtraturaṁ vikṣu dhārayam |
yat parṇayaghna uta vā karañjahe prāham mahe vṛtrahatye aśuśravi || 8 ||
pra me namī sāpya iṣe bhuje bhūd gavām eṣe sakhyā kṛṇuta dvitā |
didyuṁ yad asya samitheṣu maṁhayam ād id enaṁ śaṁsyam ukthyaṁ karam || 9 ||
pra nemasmin dadṛśe somo antar gopā nemam āvir asthā kṛṇoti |
sa tigmaśṛṅgaṁ vṛṣabhaṁ yuyutsan druhas tasthau bahule baddho antaḥ || 10 ||
ādityānāṁ vasūnāṁ rudriyāṇāṁ devo devānāṁ na mināmi dhāma |
te mā bhadrāya śavase tatakṣur aparājitam astṛtam aṣāḻham || 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).