Hymn to Indra
Rigveda III.30 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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. Your soma-loving friends desire you; they press the soma, they offer food-gifts. They endure the taunts of rival men — for indeed, Indra, all insight comes from you.
2. Not even the farthest regions are far from you; come forward, O lord of bay horses, with your two bay steeds. These pressings are made ready for the steadfast bull; the pressing-stones are yoked, the fire is kindled.
3. Indra, fair-jawed, bountiful, victorious, leader of a great host, mighty in deeds, impetuous — when the fierce one stood hard-pressed among mortals, where then, O bull, were those heroic deeds of yours?
4. For you indeed, shaking things unshaken, go about alone, slaying the Vṛtras. Heaven and earth and the mountains stand as if fixed, obedient to your law.
5. And fearless, much-invoked one, alone by your fame you have spoken firmly, being the Vṛtra-slayer. Even these two boundless world-halves, Indra — when you seize hold of them, bounteous one, it is your radiance alone.
6. Go forth well, Indra, onward with your two bay steeds; let your mace go forth crushing your enemies. Strike those who face you, those who follow, those who flee — make everything true; let it be accomplished.
7. To whatever mortal you have granted sustenance, he shares even wealth kept back in the household. Gracious is your favor, Indra, flowing like ghee; your gift is thousandfold, much-invoked one.
8. You crushed together, much-invoked Indra, Sahadānu who dwelt handless, the misshapen one; you struck down, Indra, with your strength, the growing, scornful, footless Vṛtra.
9. You have settled, Indra, into the seat of the vigorous, level, great, boundless earth. The bull propped up heaven and the mid-air; may the waters, set flowing by you, run here.
10. The Vala-cave, the enclosure of the cow, Indra, fearing your blow, opened wide before you struck. You made the paths easy for driving the cows forth; the sounding voices aided the much-invoked one.
11. Alone, Indra, you have filled the two wealth-holding, joined ones — earth and heaven. And from the mid-air, in the encounter, bring to us, hero, your charioted, allied food and strength.
12. As the sun does not violate the appointed directions, driven forth day by day by the lord of bay steeds — when he has come to the end of his road, then indeed with his horses he makes the unyoking; that is his way.
13. Wishing to see, through the course of the night, the great bright face of shining Dawn — all know, by her greatness, when she has come. Many are the well-wrought deeds of Indra.
14. Great light lies hidden within her flanks; raw and cooked, the cow goes about bearing it. All the sweetness gathered in the ruddy cow — that Indra placed in her for nourishment.
15. Indra, be firm — the chariot-coverings are ready; help the singer for the sacrifice, help your friends. The men of evil magic, evil-minded, quiver-bearing enemies are to be slain.
16. A clamor is heard together with the nearest enemies; strike down upon them your hottest thunderbolt. Cut them off from below, break them apart, overpower them; slay the demon, bounteous one, subdue them.
17. Tear up the demon by the root, Indra; cut through the middle, shatter the tip against it. However much of a wreck you have made of it, hurl your burning weapon at the hater of prayer.
18. For our welfare, leader, together with your prize-winning steeds, when you grant us your many great sustenances — may we be winners of great wealth; may there be for us, Indra, good fortune rich in offspring.
19. Bring to us, Indra, shining fortune; may we settle into the abundance of your gift. Like a wide pasture, desire has spread out in us; fill that desire, lord of goods, with goods.
20. Gladden this desire with cows and horses, and spread it wide with shining bounty. Seeking the light, the inspired poets — the Kuśikas — have made their offering of hymns to you, to Indra.
21. Break open the cow-stalls for us, lord of cattle — the cows; may lasting prizes come to us. You dwell in heaven, bull, truly fierce in strength; be well disposed toward us, bounteous one, giver of cows.
22. May we invoke, for our prosperity, bounteous Indra, most manly, in this contest, in the winning of the prize — the fierce one who hears, for our help, in battles, who slays the Vṛtras, the conqueror of riches.
Translator's note: A few words resist a confident modern rendering and are given conservatively — "kāśiḥ" (5) as "radiance"; "salalūkam" (17), a rare word for a wreck or ruin; "sāmanām" (9), taken as "level" or "even"; and the names "Sahadānu" and the epithet "kuṇāru" (8), obscure demon-figures kept close to their literal sense rather than smoothed into English equivalents.
Colophon
Rigveda III.30 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 III.30
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.
icchanti tvā somyāsaḥ sakhāyaḥ sunvanti somaṁ dadhati prayāṁsi |
titikṣante abhiśastiṁ janānām indra tvad ā kaś cana hi praketaḥ || 1 ||
na te dūre paramā cid rajāṁsy ā tu pra yāhi harivo haribhyām |
sthirāya vṛṣṇe savanā kṛtemā yuktā grāvāṇaḥ samidhāne agnau || 2 ||
indraḥ suśipro maghavā tarutro mahāvrātas tuvikūrmir ṛghāvān |
yad ugro dhā bādhito martyeṣu kva1 tyā te vṛṣabha vīryāṇi || 3 ||
tvaṁ hi ṣmā cyāvayann acyutāny eko vṛtrā carasi jighnamānaḥ |
tava dyāvāpṛthivī parvatāso 'nu vratāya nimiteva tasthuḥ || 4 ||
utābhaye puruhūta śravobhir eko dṛḻham avado vṛtrahā san |
ime cid indra rodasī apāre yat saṁgṛbhṇā maghavan kāśir it te || 5 ||
pra sū ta indra pravatā haribhyām pra te vajraḥ pramṛṇann etu śatrūn |
jahi pratīco anūcaḥ parāco viśvaṁ satyaṁ kṛṇuhi viṣṭam astu || 6 ||
yasmai dhāyur adadhā martyāyābhaktaṁ cid bhajate gehya1ṁ saḥ |
bhadrā ta indra sumatir ghṛtācī sahasradānā puruhūta rātiḥ || 7 ||
sahadānum puruhūta kṣiyantam ahastam indra sam piṇak kuṇārum |
abhi vṛtraṁ vardhamānam piyārum apādam indra tavasā jaghantha || 8 ||
ni sāmanām iṣirām indra bhūmim mahīm apārāṁ sadane sasattha |
astabhnād dyāṁ vṛṣabho antarikṣam arṣantv āpas tvayeha prasūtāḥ || 9 ||
alātṛṇo vala indra vrajo goḥ purā hantor bhayamāno vy āra |
sugān patho akṛṇon niraje gāḥ prāvan vāṇīḥ puruhūtaṁ dhamantīḥ || 10 ||
eko dve vasumatī samīcī indra ā paprau pṛthivīm uta dyām |
utāntarikṣād abhi naḥ samīka iṣo rathīḥ sayujaḥ śūra vājān || 11 ||
diśaḥ sūryo na mināti pradiṣṭā dive-dive haryaśvaprasūtāḥ |
saṁ yad ānaḻ adhvana ād id aśvair vimocanaṁ kṛṇute tat tv asya || 12 ||
didṛkṣanta uṣaso yāmann aktor vivasvatyā mahi citram anīkam |
viśve jānanti mahinā yad āgād indrasya karma sukṛtā purūṇi || 13 ||
mahi jyotir nihitaṁ vakṣaṇāsv āmā pakvaṁ carati bibhratī gauḥ |
viśvaṁ svādma sambhṛtam usriyāyāṁ yat sīm indro adadhād bhojanāya || 14 ||
indra dṛhya yāmakośā abhūvan yajñāya śikṣa gṛṇate sakhibhyaḥ |
durmāyavo durevā martyāso niṣaṅgiṇo ripavo hantvāsaḥ || 15 ||
saṁ ghoṣaḥ śṛṇve 'vamair amitrair jahī ny eṣv aśaniṁ tapiṣṭhām |
vṛścem adhastād vi rujā sahasva jahi rakṣo maghavan randhayasva || 16 ||
ud vṛha rakṣaḥ sahamūlam indra vṛścā madhyam praty agraṁ śṛṇīhi |
ā kīvataḥ salalūkaṁ cakartha brahmadviṣe tapuṣiṁ hetim asya || 17 ||
svastaye vājibhiś ca praṇetaḥ saṁ yan mahīr iṣa āsatsi pūrvīḥ |
rāyo vantāro bṛhataḥ syāmāsme astu bhaga indra prajāvān || 18 ||
ā no bhara bhagam indra dyumantaṁ ni te deṣṇasya dhīmahi prareke |
ūrva iva paprathe kāmo asme tam ā pṛṇa vasupate vasūnām || 19 ||
imaṁ kāmam mandayā gobhir aśvaiś candravatā rādhasā paprathaś ca |
svaryavo matibhis tubhyaṁ viprā indrāya vāhaḥ kuśikāso akran || 20 ||
ā no gotrā dardṛhi gopate gāḥ sam asmabhyaṁ sanayo yantu vājāḥ |
divakṣā asi vṛṣabha satyaśuṣmo 'smabhyaṁ su maghavan bodhi godāḥ || 21 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 22 ||
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).