Hymn to Indra
Rigveda III.34 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. Indra, breaker of strongholds, overcame the Dāsa with his hymns of praise — finder of wealth, dividing his enemies. Impelled by sacred speech, growing strong in body, the bountiful giver filled both world-halves.
2. I raise up my voice, adorning it for the immortal one, toward the onrush of you, the mighty and powerful one. O Indra, you are lord of the human settlements and of the divine peoples, the one who goes before.
3. Indra, leading his host with might, held Vṛtra in check; destroying the ways of the magic-wielders, he turned aside their course. He struck down the shoulderless one, burning eagerly among the waters; he made manifest the milk-streams of the resting waters.
4. Indra, winner of the sun-light, bringing the days into being, conquered the battle-hosts with his eager helpers, himself their helper. He made the beacon of the days shine forth for Manu; he found the light for the great battle.
5. Indra the impetuous entered in with force, holding, like a hero, many manly deeds. Through insight he made these known to the singer; he drew forth their bright color.
6. They marvel at the great deeds of this great Indra, his many well-accomplished works. With his might he ground down the crooked ones; with his magic powers, overpowering in strength, he crushed the Dasyus.
7. In battle Indra, by his greatness, made room for the gods — the true lord, the filler of the peoples. In the dwelling of Vivasvat, the inspired sages praise these deeds of his with their hymns.
8. The ever-victorious, the excellent one, the giver of strength, who has won the sun-light and the divine waters, who won this earth and that heaven — in Indra the steadfast ones exult.
9. He won the steeds, and he won the sun; Indra won the much-nourishing cow. And he won the golden treasure; having slain the Dasyus, he furthered the Ārya line.
10. Indra won the plants, the days; he won the forest-trees, the mid-air. He split open Vala, drove off the discordant ones; then he became the tamer of those of hostile intent.
11. May we call, for our good, bounteous Indra, most heroic, in this battle, in the winning of the prize — the mighty one who listens, for help in combats, who strikes down the obstacles, the winner of spoils.
Translator's note: Verse 3 turns on several difficult epithets — "vyaṁsam" ("the shoulderless one," a name for Vṛtra), "varpaṇītiḥ" (rendered here as "turned aside their course"), and "rāmyāṇām" (rendered cautiously as "resting," of uncertain sense). Verse 5's closing "āsām" ("of these," feminine plural) has no clear antecedent in the verse and may refer back to the waters of verse 3; it is rendered conservatively. Verse 9's "varṇam" ("color" or "race/kind") is rendered "line" following its contrast with the slain Dasyus.
Colophon
Rigveda III.34 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.34
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.
indraḥ pūrbhid ātirad dāsam arkair vidadvasur dayamāno vi śatrūn |
brahmajūtas tanvā vāvṛdhāno bhūridātra āpṛṇad rodasī ubhe || 1 ||
makhasya te taviṣasya pra jūtim iyarmi vācam amṛtāya bhūṣan |
indra kṣitīnām asi mānuṣīṇāṁ viśāṁ daivīnām uta pūrvayāvā || 2 ||
indro vṛtram avṛṇoc chardhanītiḥ pra māyinām aminād varpaṇītiḥ |
ahan vyaṁsam uśadhag vaneṣv āvir dhenā akṛṇod rāmyāṇām || 3 ||
indraḥ svarṣā janayann ahāni jigāyośigbhiḥ pṛtanā abhiṣṭiḥ |
prārocayan manave ketum ahnām avindaj jyotir bṛhate raṇāya || 4 ||
indras tujo barhaṇā ā viveśa nṛvad dadhāno naryā purūṇi |
acetayad dhiya imā jaritre premaṁ varṇam atirac chukram āsām || 5 ||
maho mahāni panayanty asyendrasya karma sukṛtā purūṇi |
vṛjanena vṛjinān sam pipeṣa māyābhir dasyūm̐r abhibhūtyojāḥ || 6 ||
yudhendro mahnā varivaś cakāra devebhyaḥ satpatiś carṣaṇiprāḥ |
vivasvataḥ sadane asya tāni viprā ukthebhiḥ kavayo gṛṇanti || 7 ||
satrāsāhaṁ vareṇyaṁ sahodāṁ sasavāṁsaṁ svar apaś ca devīḥ |
sasāna yaḥ pṛthivīṁ dyām utemām indram madanty anu dhīraṇāsaḥ || 8 ||
sasānātyām̐ uta sūryaṁ sasānendraḥ sasāna purubhojasaṁ gām |
hiraṇyayam uta bhogaṁ sasāna hatvī dasyūn prāryaṁ varṇam āvat || 9 ||
indra oṣadhīr asanod ahāni vanaspatīm̐r asanod antarikṣam |
bibheda valaṁ nunude vivāco 'thābhavad damitābhikratūnām || 10 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 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).