Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.20 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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, who like the sky stands over the earth, whose wealth by strength outmatches the peoples in battle — grant us that thousandfold bounty of fertile fields, O son of strength, conqueror of Vṛtra.
2. To you, Indra, as to the sky, the whole of sovereign power was given together by the gods, when, drinker of the pressed dregs, accompanied by Viṣṇu, you slew the serpent Vṛtra who had shut in the waters.
3. Overpowering, mightier than the mighty, stronger than the strong, made great by prayer, of ever-growing greatness, Indra became king of the sweet soma, when he aided the breaker of all the strongholds.
4. By the hundreds the Paṇis fled here from Indra, for the seer Daśoṇi, in the winning of the hymn's reward. With his deadly blows he left nothing at all of the tricks of hungering Śuṣṇa, nothing of his food.
5. From the great enmity all living things were freed, when Śuṣṇa fell at the fall of the thunderbolt. Indra made wide room in the chariot for his charioteer Kutsa, in the winning of the sun.
6. Like a falcon bringing him the intoxicating soma-stalk, twisting off the head of the Dāsa Namuci, he helped Namī Sāpya as he lay sleeping — filled him with wealth, with nourishment, with well-being.
7. You broke apart, O wielder of the thunderbolt, by your strength, the firm strongholds of Pipru, master of serpent-magic. O generous one, that unforgettable treasure you gave as a gift to Ṛjiśvan, the worshipper.
8. Indra, whose favor brings good help, drove Vetasu — master of tenfold wiles, the impetuous Daśoṇi — again and again against Tugra, mighty as an elephant, to shine forth, drawing him near as to a mother.
9. Unopposed, he conquers the rival hosts, bearing in his hand the Vṛtra-slaying thunderbolt. He stands as upon a seat; his two bay horses, yoked by his word, carry lofty Indra.
10. May we win your ever-new help, Indra; may the Pūrus praise you forth with this sacrifice — for you broke the seven autumn strongholds that sheltered them, and struck down the Dāsas, aiding Purukutsa.
11. You, Indra, growing from ancient times, favored Uśanā Kāvya. You gave away Navavāstva, to be surrendered, to the great father, his own descendant.
12. You, Indra, the roaring one, set the roaring waters flowing like rivers, when, O hero, you carried them across the sea; carry Turvaśa and Yadu safely across.
13. That deed in the contest was yours, Indra, all of it — when Dhuni and Cumuri, the two who lay sleeping, were struck down. Dabhīti, bringing kindling wood, pressing soma for you, shone forth for you with hymns of praise.
Translator's note: verses 8, 11, and 13 name figures (Vetasu, Daśoṇi, Navavāstva, Dhuni, Cumuri, Dabhīti) and events known to us only from this and a few other Rigvedic passages; their exact circumstances are lost, so the renderings above stay close to the Sanskrit syntax rather than supplying narrative detail the text does not give.
Colophon
Rigveda VI.20 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 VI.20
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.
dyaur na ya indrābhi bhūmāryas tasthau rayiḥ śavasā pṛtsu janān |
taṁ naḥ sahasrabharam urvarāsāṁ daddhi sūno sahaso vṛtraturam || 1 ||
divo na tubhyam anv indra satrāsuryaṁ devebhir dhāyi viśvam |
ahiṁ yad vṛtram apo vavrivāṁsaṁ hann ṛjīṣin viṣṇunā sacānaḥ || 2 ||
tūrvann ojīyān tavasas tavīyān kṛtabrahmendro vṛddhamahāḥ |
rājābhavan madhunaḥ somyasya viśvāsāṁ yat purāṁ dartnum āvat || 3 ||
śatair apadran paṇaya indrātra daśoṇaye kavaye 'rkasātau |
vadhaiḥ śuṣṇasyāśuṣasya māyāḥ pitvo nārirecīt kiṁ cana pra || 4 ||
maho druho apa viśvāyu dhāyi vajrasya yat patane pādi śuṣṇaḥ |
uru ṣa sarathaṁ sārathaye kar indraḥ kutsāya sūryasya sātau || 5 ||
pra śyeno na madiram aṁśum asmai śiro dāsasya namucer mathāyan |
prāvan namīṁ sāpyaṁ sasantam pṛṇag rāyā sam iṣā saṁ svasti || 6 ||
vi pipror ahimāyasya dṛḻhāḥ puro vajriñ chavasā na dardaḥ |
sudāman tad rekṇo apramṛṣyam ṛjiśvane dātraṁ dāśuṣe dāḥ || 7 ||
sa vetasuṁ daśamāyaṁ daśoṇiṁ tūtujim indraḥ svabhiṣṭisumnaḥ |
ā tugraṁ śaśvad ibhaṁ dyotanāya mātur na sīm upa sṛjā iyadhyai || 8 ||
sa īṁ spṛdho vanate apratīto bibhrad vajraṁ vṛtrahaṇaṁ gabhastau |
tiṣṭhad dharī adhy asteva garte vacoyujā vahata indram ṛṣvam || 9 ||
sanema te 'vasā navya indra pra pūravaḥ stavanta enā yajñaiḥ |
sapta yat puraḥ śarma śāradīr dard dhan dāsīḥ purukutsāya śikṣan || 10 ||
tvaṁ vṛdha indra pūrvyo bhūr varivasyann uśane kāvyāya |
parā navavāstvam anudeyam mahe pitre dadātha svaṁ napātam || 11 ||
tvaṁ dhunir indra dhunimatīr ṛṇor apaḥ sīrā na sravantīḥ |
pra yat samudram ati śūra parṣi pārayā turvaśaṁ yaduṁ svasti || 12 ||
tava ha tyad indra viśvam ājau sasto dhunīcumurī yā ha siṣvap |
dīdayad it tubhyaṁ somebhiḥ sunvan dabhītir idhmabhṛtiḥ pakthy a1rkaiḥ || 13 ||
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).