Hymn to Indra
Rigveda V.39 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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. Whatever wondrous bounty is given by you, Indra, wielder of the stone — bring us that wealth, finder of goods, with both hands.
2. Whatever you judge most excellent and heavenly, Indra, bring that. May we come to know that gift of yours, boundless as the ocean, given for our sake.
3. With that great, renowned mind of yours — eager to give, and effective — wielder of the stone, break open even firm strongholds, for the winning of the prize.
4. Indra, most bounteous of the bounteous ones, king of the peoples — he takes delight in many songs, offered for his glorification.
5. For him indeed — poetic speech, the hymn to be proclaimed for Indra. For him indeed, who is borne along by devotion, the Atris' songs make him grow; the Atris adorn their songs.
Translator's note: "vidadvasu" (v.1) is an epithet meaning roughly "finder/bestower of goods," rendered here as "finder of goods." "brahmavāhase" (v.5) — "borne along by devotion/the sacred formulation" — is a compact epithet for Indra as one drawn or carried by prayer; rendered conservatively. "Atrayaḥ" (v.5) names the Atri clan, the poetic family credited with this hymn.
Colophon
This hymn 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 V.39
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.
yad indra citra mehanāsti tvādātam adrivaḥ |
rādhas tan no vidadvasa ubhayāhasty ā bhara || 1 ||
yan manyase vareṇyam indra dyukṣaṁ tad ā bhara |
vidyāma tasya te vayam akūpārasya dāvane || 2 ||
yat te ditsu prarādhyam mano asti śrutam bṛhat |
tena dṛḻhā cid adriva ā vājaṁ darṣi sātaye || 3 ||
maṁhiṣṭhaṁ vo maghonāṁ rājānaṁ carṣaṇīnām |
indram upa praśastaye pūrvībhir jujuṣe giraḥ || 4 ||
asmā it kāvyaṁ vaca uktham indrāya śaṁsyam |
tasmā u brahmavāhase giro vardhanty atrayo giraḥ śumbhanty atrayaḥ || 5 ||
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).