Hymn to Indra, Drinker of Soma
Rigveda III.40 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 hymn calls Indra to the pressed soma, invites him to drink his fill, and asks him to strengthen and carry forward the sacrifice, coming from near or far to hear the singers' praise.
1. Indra, we call you, the bull, to the soma pressed out. Drink of that sweet draught.
2. Indra, praised by many, delight in the pressed soma that carries insight. Drink, and take your fill.
3. Indra, lord of the people, being praised, carry our sacrifice forward, well-set as it is, together with all the gods.
4. Indra, lord of the true, these pressed somas go out to you — the shining drops, to your dwelling.
5. Take into your belly the pressed soma, Indra, the choice one — your drops, born of heaven.
6. Lover of song, drink our pressed soma; you are anointed with streams of sweetness. Indra, glory itself is given by you.
7. The imperishable splendors of the soma-wood cling to Indra; having drunk the soma, he grew strong.
8. Come to us, whether from the near places or the far, slayer of Vṛtra. Delight in these songs of ours.
9. When you are called between the far region and the near, Indra, come here from there.
Translator's note: verse 7's "dyumnāni vaninaḥ" (splendors "of the wood/tree") is rendered as "of the soma-wood," taking it as the pressed soma-stalks rather than forest imagery generally; the phrase is compact and could also be read more broadly as "of the trees." Verse 6's "tvādātam id yaśaḥ" ("glory is indeed given by you") is left literal rather than resolved toward either "self-given" or "given by you [to us]," since the Sanskrit leaves the direction ambiguous.
Colophon
Rigveda III.40 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.40
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.
indra tvā vṛṣabhaṁ vayaṁ sute some havāmahe |
sa pāhi madhvo andhasaḥ || 1 ||
indra kratuvidaṁ sutaṁ somaṁ harya puruṣṭuta |
pibā vṛṣasva tātṛpim || 2 ||
indra pra ṇo dhitāvānaṁ yajñaṁ viśvebhir devebhiḥ |
tira stavāna viśpate || 3 ||
indra somāḥ sutā ime tava pra yanti satpate |
kṣayaṁ candrāsa indavaḥ || 4 ||
dadhiṣvā jaṭhare sutaṁ somam indra vareṇyam |
tava dyukṣāsa indavaḥ || 5 ||
girvaṇaḥ pāhi naḥ sutam madhor dhārābhir ajyase |
indra tvādātam id yaśaḥ || 6 ||
abhi dyumnāni vanina indraṁ sacante akṣitā |
pītvī somasya vāvṛdhe || 7 ||
arvāvato na ā gahi parāvataś ca vṛtrahan |
imā juṣasva no giraḥ || 8 ||
yad antarā parāvatam arvāvataṁ ca hūyase |
indreha tata ā gahi || 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).