Hymn to Indra
Rigveda II.17 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. Sing to him this new hymn, in the manner of the Aṅgirases, when his mighty powers rise up as of old — when, in the exhilaration of soma, he set the strongholds moving, all the cattle-pens that force had shut in.
2. Let him be present — he who, for the first sustenance, measuring out his strength, extended his greatness; the hero who wrapped his body for battle, who by his might set the sky upon his head.
3. Then you performed your first great deed of strength, when at the outset you stirred up your fury with the sacred word. Loosed by the chariot-rider with the tawny horses, the swift streams flow forth, together and apart.
4. Then he who, in his might, grew great over all the worlds, making himself their ruler, growing in vigor — he, the bearer, stretched the two world-halves apart with light, and, stitching them together, wrapped up the raging darkness.
5. He made firm the mountains that face the east, by his strength; he turned the course of the waters downward. He held up the earth, all-nourishing, and by his hidden power propped the sky so it would not fall.
6. That weapon fitted to his arms, which the Father made for him out of all his substance at his birth — with it, to lay Kṛvi low upon the earth, the loud-thundering one struck with the mace and broke him open.
7. Like a woman growing old unmarried, still dwelling with her parents, from our common gathering I beg a portion of fortune from you. Make it known to me, bring it to me — give the share of yourself by which you enrich.
8. We would call on you, Indra, the bountiful one; you, Indra, grant deeds and prizes. Help us, Indra, with your wondrous aid; make us, O mighty bull Indra, richer than we are.
9. Now, Indra, may that bounteous gift of yours, in answer to the singer's wish, yield its milk; grant it to your praisers — let our good fortune not burn away. May we, rich in good sons, speak loud words in the assembly.
Translator's note: verse 6 names "Kṛvi" (kriviṁ), a proper name whose referent is uncertain — likely a defeated foe or place-name associated with Indra's battles; rendered here as a name rather than resolved into a common noun. "Māyā" in verse 5 (astabhnān māyayā) carries a range of senses — power, skill, or hidden craft — and is rendered "hidden power" rather than the later philosophical sense of "illusion."
Colophon
Rigveda II.17 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda II.17
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.
tad asmai navyam aṅgirasvad arcata śuṣmā yad asya pratnathodīrate |
viśvā yad gotrā sahasā parīvṛtā made somasya dṛṁhitāny airayat || 1 ||
sa bhūtu yo ha prathamāya dhāyasa ojo mimāno mahimānam ātirat |
śūro yo yutsu tanvam parivyata śīrṣaṇi dyām mahinā praty amuñcata || 2 ||
adhākṛṇoḥ prathamaṁ vīryam mahad yad asyāgre brahmaṇā śuṣmam airayaḥ |
ratheṣṭhena haryaśvena vicyutāḥ pra jīrayaḥ sisrate sadhrya1k pṛthak || 3 ||
adhā yo viśvā bhuvanābhi majmaneśānakṛt pravayā abhy avardhata |
ād rodasī jyotiṣā vahnir ātanot sīvyan tamāṁsi dudhitā sam avyayat || 4 ||
sa prācīnān parvatān dṛṁhad ojasādharācīnam akṛṇod apām apaḥ |
adhārayat pṛthivīṁ viśvadhāyasam astabhnān māyayā dyām avasrasaḥ || 5 ||
sāsmā aram bāhubhyāṁ yam pitākṛṇod viśvasmād ā januṣo vedasas pari |
yenā pṛthivyāṁ ni kriviṁ śayadhyai vajreṇa hatvy avṛṇak tuviṣvaṇiḥ || 6 ||
amājūr iva pitroḥ sacā satī samānād ā sadasas tvām iye bhagam |
kṛdhi praketam upa māsy ā bhara daddhi bhāgaṁ tanvo3 yena māmahaḥ || 7 ||
bhojaṁ tvām indra vayaṁ huvema dadiṣ ṭvam indrāpāṁsi vājān |
aviḍḍhīndra citrayā na ūtī kṛdhi vṛṣann indra vasyaso naḥ || 8 ||
nūnaṁ sā te prati varaṁ jaritre duhīyad indra dakṣiṇā maghonī |
śikṣā stotṛbhyo māti dhag bhago no bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 9 ||
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).