Indra, and a Charm for Subandhu's Recovery
Rigveda X.60 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. We have come, bearing homage, to the man of blazing appearance, praised among the Māhīnas.
2. The matchless one, ever bountiful, brilliant, whose chariot drives forth — the true lord of Bhajaratha.
3. He who has prevailed over the tribes like buffaloes — both the armed and the unarmed — in battle.
4. Under whose command Ikṣvāku thrives, wealthy, like the five tribes of people in heaven.
5. O Indra, uphold dominion among the Asamātis and the Rathaproṣṭhas, as the sun is upheld in heaven to be seen.
6. For the kinsmen of Agastya you yoke a red pair of steeds. You have trodden down the Paṇis, O king, all the ungenerous ones.
7. Here is your mother, here your father, here life itself has come. This is your way back, O Subandhu — come, come forth!
8. As they bind the yoke fast with a leather thong to hold it firm, so has he fixed your mind — for life, not for death, but for unharmed safety.
9. As this great earth holds these trees fast, so has he fixed your mind — for life, not for death, but for unharmed safety.
10. From Yama, son of Vivasvat, I have brought back Subandhu's mind — for life, not for death, but for unharmed safety.
11. Downward blows the wind, downward the sun's heat burns. Downward the cow yields her milk — downward let your affliction go.
12. This hand of mine is blessed, this one of mine is more blessed still. This one of mine heals all things, this one has a touch that brings good fortune.
Translator's note: verse 4's "marāyi" is an obscure form with no settled sense; it is rendered here conservatively alongside "wealthy" (revān) rather than resolved into a confident guess. Verse 6's "nadbhyaḥ" is read as "for the kinsmen/descendants" of Agastya, the standard construal, though the base form is uncertain.
Colophon
Rigveda X.60 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.60
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.
ā janaṁ tveṣasaṁdṛśam māhīnānām upastutam |
aganma bibhrato namaḥ || 1 ||
asamātiṁ nitośanaṁ tveṣaṁ niyayinaṁ ratham |
bhajerathasya satpatim || 2 ||
yo janān mahiṣām̐ ivātitasthau pavīravān |
utāpavīravān yudhā || 3 ||
yasyekṣvākur upa vrate revān marāyy edhate |
divīva pañca kṛṣṭayaḥ || 4 ||
indra kṣatrāsamātiṣu rathaproṣṭheṣu dhāraya |
divīva sūryaṁ dṛśe || 5 ||
agastyasya nadbhyaḥ saptī yunakṣi rohitā |
paṇīn ny akramīr abhi viśvān rājann arādhasaḥ || 6 ||
ayam mātāyam pitāyaṁ jīvātur āgamat |
idaṁ tava prasarpaṇaṁ subandhav ehi nir ihi || 7 ||
yathā yugaṁ varatrayā nahyanti dharuṇāya kam |
evā dādhāra te mano jīvātave na mṛtyave 'tho ariṣṭatātaye || 8 ||
yatheyam pṛthivī mahī dādhāremān vanaspatīn |
evā dādhāra te mano jīvātave na mṛtyave 'tho ariṣṭatātaye || 9 ||
yamād ahaṁ vaivasvatāt subandhor mana ābharam |
jīvātave na mṛtyave 'tho ariṣṭatātaye || 10 ||
nya1g vāto 'va vāti nyak tapati sūryaḥ |
nīcīnam aghnyā duhe nyag bhavatu te rapaḥ || 11 ||
ayam me hasto bhagavān ayam me bhagavattaraḥ |
ayam me viśvabheṣajo 'yaṁ śivābhimarśanaḥ || 12 ||
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).