Hymn to Indra

Rigveda II.12 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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. Who, as soon as born, first among gods, wise in mind, surpassed the other gods in resolve — from whose fury the two world-halves, heaven and earth, trembled, by the greatness of his manly strength — he, O people, is Indra.

2. Who made firm the shaking earth, who stilled the mountains when they were in tumult, who measured out the wide space of air, who propped up the sky — he, O people, is Indra.

3. Who, having slain the serpent, let loose the seven rivers to flow; who drove out the cattle by breaking open Vala's hold; who struck fire from between two stones; who seizes the field in battles — he, O people, is Indra.

4. By whom all these overthrows were wrought; who thrust the dāsa race down, low and hidden; who, like a gambler who has won, seized the winnings, taking the wealth of the [rival] lord — he, O people, is Indra.

5. Of whom, the terrible one, they ask, "where is he?" and of whom some even say, "he does not exist" — he wears away the wealth of the [rival] lord as a throw of dice wears it away; put your faith in him — he, O people, is Indra.

6. Who spurs on the poor man, the weak man, the singer of sacred praise, the humble one who cries out in need; who, fair-helmed, is the helper of the man who has yoked the pressing-stones and pressed the soma — he, O people, is Indra.

7. He at whose command stand the horses, the cattle, the clans, all the chariots; who brought forth the sun, who brought forth the dawn, who is the leader of the waters — he, O people, is Indra.

8. Whom the two clashing hosts call upon as they meet, the enemies on both sides, the higher and the lower; even the two who have mounted the same chariot call to him, each apart, for himself — he, O people, is Indra.

9. Without whom people do not win; whom fighting men, in the thick of battle, call on for aid; who has become the match of all things, who shakes what cannot be shaken — he, O people, is Indra.

10. Who, with his weapon, struck down the many who bore great wrongdoing without a thought for it; who grants no quarter to the defiant man's defiance, who is the slayer of the Dasyu — he, O people, is Indra.

11. Who tracked down Śambara dwelling in the mountains, in the fortieth year; who slew the serpent as it grew mighty, and the son of Dānu lying there — he, O people, is Indra.

12. Who, the seven-reined mighty bull, released the seven rivers to run their course; who, his arm bearing the thunderbolt, struck down Rauhiṇa as he climbed toward heaven — he, O people, is Indra.

13. Before him even heaven and earth bow down; before his fury even the mountains take fright; who is the soma-drinker, well known, his arm bearing the thunderbolt, the thunderbolt in his hand — he, O people, is Indra.

14. Who helps, with his protection, the one who presses the soma, the one who cooks the offering, the one who recites the praise, the one who labors at the rite; whose strength is our sacred word, whose is the soma, whose is this bounty — he, O people, is Indra.

15. Fierce one, for the one who presses and cooks the offering, you break open the prize — you indeed are true. May we, Indra, ever dear to you, rich in able sons, speak out at the gathering of the rite.

Translator's note: verse 4's "lakṣam" and verse 5's "vija" draw on the imagery of dice-play (a stake won, a throw that wears away an opponent's holdings); the rendering keeps that gambling image rather than resolving it into abstract language. Verse 8's "krandasī" (the two crying/clashing hosts) is read as the contending armies rather than personified Heaven-and-Earth, following the verse's own martial context. Verse 10's "śardhate nānudadāti śṛdhyām" is rendered conservatively as showing no quarter to defiance, the surest sense of a compact and disputed phrase.

Colophon

Rigveda II.12 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 II.12

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.

yo jāta eva prathamo manasvān devo devān kratunā paryabhūṣat |
yasya śuṣmād rodasī abhyasetāṁ nṛmṇasya mahnā sa janāsa indraḥ || 1 ||

yaḥ pṛthivīṁ vyathamānām adṛṁhad yaḥ parvatān prakupitām̐ aramṇāt |
yo antarikṣaṁ vimame varīyo yo dyām astabhnāt sa janāsa indraḥ || 2 ||

yo hatvāhim ariṇāt sapta sindhūn yo gā udājad apadhā valasya |
yo aśmanor antar agniṁ jajāna saṁvṛk samatsu sa janāsa indraḥ || 3 ||

yenemā viśvā cyavanā kṛtāni yo dāsaṁ varṇam adharaṁ guhākaḥ |
śvaghnīva yo jigīvām̐l lakṣam ādad aryaḥ puṣṭāni sa janāsa indraḥ || 4 ||

yaṁ smā pṛcchanti kuha seti ghoram utem āhur naiṣo astīty enam |
so aryaḥ puṣṭīr vija ivā mināti śrad asmai dhatta sa janāsa indraḥ || 5 ||

yo radhrasya coditā yaḥ kṛśasya yo brahmaṇo nādhamānasya kīreḥ |
yuktagrāvṇo yo 'vitā suśipraḥ sutasomasya sa janāsa indraḥ || 6 ||

yasyāśvāsaḥ pradiśi yasya gāvo yasya grāmā yasya viśve rathāsaḥ |
yaḥ sūryaṁ ya uṣasaṁ jajāna yo apāṁ netā sa janāsa indraḥ || 7 ||

yaṁ krandasī saṁyatī vihvayete pare 'vara ubhayā amitrāḥ |
samānaṁ cid ratham ātasthivāṁsā nānā havete sa janāsa indraḥ || 8 ||

yasmān na ṛte vijayante janāso yaṁ yudhyamānā avase havante |
yo viśvasya pratimānam babhūva yo acyutacyut sa janāsa indraḥ || 9 ||

yaḥ śaśvato mahy eno dadhānān amanyamānāñ charvā jaghāna |
yaḥ śardhate nānudadāti śṛdhyāṁ yo dasyor hantā sa janāsa indraḥ || 10 ||

yaḥ śambaram parvateṣu kṣiyantaṁ catvāriṁśyāṁ śarady anvavindat |
ojāyamānaṁ yo ahiṁ jaghāna dānuṁ śayānaṁ sa janāsa indraḥ || 11 ||

yaḥ saptaraśmir vṛṣabhas tuviṣmān avāsṛjat sartave sapta sindhūn |
yo rauhiṇam asphurad vajrabāhur dyām ārohantaṁ sa janāsa indraḥ || 12 ||

dyāvā cid asmai pṛthivī namete śuṣmāc cid asya parvatā bhayante |
yaḥ somapā nicito vajrabāhur yo vajrahastaḥ sa janāsa indraḥ || 13 ||

yaḥ sunvantam avati yaḥ pacantaṁ yaḥ śaṁsantaṁ yaḥ śaśamānam ūtī |
yasya brahma vardhanaṁ yasya somo yasyedaṁ rādhaḥ sa janāsa indraḥ || 14 ||

yaḥ sunvate pacate dudhra ā cid vājaṁ dardarṣi sa kilāsi satyaḥ |
vayaṁ ta indra viśvaha priyāsaḥ suvīrāso vidatham ā vadema || 15 ||

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).