Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.21 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. These calls of the most abundant singer summon you, hero, worthy to be called. Thoughts summon you, the chariot-rider, ageless, ever-new; wealth and abundance are sought through eloquent words.
2. Praise that Indra, the well-known one, borne up by praise, with hymns, grown mighty through sacrifice — whose greatness, in might, surpasses heaven beyond earth's, the greatness of the one of many powers.
3. He indeed made the trackless, spreading darkness into order with the sun. When will mortals, worshipping, self-empowered, cease to transgress the abode of the immortal that is yours?
4. Who did these things — where indeed is that Indra? To what people does he go, among which clans? What sacrifice, Indra, is welcome to your mind, for your favor? What hymn, and which is the priest you favor?
5. Now indeed, active for you, were the ancient ones born long ago, your friends, O doer of many deeds — those of the middle time and the new ones; and of the youngest too, O much-invoked one, take heed.
6. Asking about the ancient deeds, we the later ones follow, Indra, after what the ancients attained by report. We sing praise, hero, bearing the sacred word; as far as we know, we praise you as great.
7. The might of the demon has risen up against you, grown great — stand firm and well against that. With your ancient, allied friendship, with the mace, bold one, drive them away.
8. So hear indeed, Indra, the new one who prays with sacred words, hero, sustainer of singers. For you were the friend of the fathers of old, and have always been easy to call upon, in our seeking.
9. For our help, bring forth Varuṇa, Mitra, Indra, the Maruts — make them come to our aid today. Bring forth Pūṣan, Viṣṇu, Agni, Puraṁdhi, Savitṛ, the plants, and the mountains.
10. These singers, O mighty one worthy of worship, praise you with hymns. Hear the call of the one who calls — for there is no other like you, immortal one, apart from you.
11. Now come to my speech, knowing it well, O son of strength, with all the venerable gods — those who were flame-tongued, servants of the cosmic order, who made Manu the master over the dāsa.
12. Be our leader, take note of us, on easy paths and on difficult ones, path-maker, knowing the way. With those tireless, wide, best-carrying steeds, Indra, bring us the prize.
Translator's note: several phrases are dense and elliptical even by Vedic standards. "svadhāvaḥ" (verse 3) and "vibhūtiḥ" (verse 1) are rendered conservatively as "self-empowered" and "abundance"; "dāsa" (verse 11) is left untranslated as it names the mythic/human adversary of the Vedic people rather than a common noun. "Puraṁdhi" (verse 9) is kept as a proper name (a goddess of abundance/fullness) rather than translated.
Colophon
Rigveda VI.21 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.21
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.
imā u tvā purutamasya kāror havyaṁ vīra havyā havante |
dhiyo ratheṣṭhām ajaraṁ navīyo rayir vibhūtir īyate vacasyā || 1 ||
tam u stuṣa indraṁ yo vidāno girvāhasaṁ gīrbhir yajñavṛddham |
yasya divam ati mahnā pṛthivyāḥ purumāyasya ririce mahitvam || 2 ||
sa it tamo 'vayunaṁ tatanvat sūryeṇa vayunavac cakāra |
kadā te martā amṛtasya dhāmeyakṣanto na minanti svadhāvaḥ || 3 ||
yas tā cakāra sa kuha svid indraḥ kam ā janaṁ carati kāsu vikṣu |
kas te yajño manase śaṁ varāya ko arka indra katamaḥ sa hotā || 4 ||
idā hi te veviṣataḥ purājāḥ pratnāsa āsuḥ purukṛt sakhāyaḥ |
ye madhyamāsa uta nūtanāsa utāvamasya puruhūta bodhi || 5 ||
tam pṛcchanto 'varāsaḥ parāṇi pratnā ta indra śrutyānu yemuḥ |
arcāmasi vīra brahmavāho yād eva vidma tāt tvā mahāntam || 6 ||
abhi tvā pājo rakṣaso vi tasthe mahi jajñānam abhi tat su tiṣṭha |
tava pratnena yujyena sakhyā vajreṇa dhṛṣṇo apa tā nudasva || 7 ||
sa tu śrudhīndra nūtanasya brahmaṇyato vīra kārudhāyaḥ |
tvaṁ hy ā3piḥ pradivi pitṝṇāṁ śaśvad babhūtha suhava eṣṭau || 8 ||
protaye varuṇam mitram indram marutaḥ kṛṣvāvase no adya |
pra pūṣaṇaṁ viṣṇum agnim puraṁdhiṁ savitāram oṣadhīḥ parvatām̐ś ca || 9 ||
ima u tvā puruśāka prayajyo jaritāro abhy arcanty arkaiḥ |
śrudhī havam ā huvato huvāno na tvāvām̐ anyo amṛta tvad asti || 10 ||
nū ma ā vācam upa yāhi vidvān viśvebhiḥ sūno sahaso yajatraiḥ |
ye agnijihvā ṛtasāpa āsur ye manuṁ cakrur uparaṁ dasāya || 11 ||
sa no bodhi puraetā sugeṣūta durgeṣu pathikṛd vidānaḥ |
ye aśramāsa uravo vahiṣṭhās tebhir na indrābhi vakṣi vājam || 12 ||
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).