Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.25 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. Whatever help of yours is nearest, whatever is farthest, whatever is in between, O fierce Indra — with those help us well in the battle against Vṛtra, and with these prizes of war, [stand by us] mighty and fierce.
2. With these helps, unharmed, [overcome] the clashing rival hosts; unsettle the enemy's fury, O Indra. With these, [scatter] every assailing force in every direction; bring down the Dāsa peoples for the sake of the Ārya folk.
3. O Indra, kinsmen and non-kinsmen alike, hostile rivals who have drawn up against us from nearby — strike down their wavering strength, turn back their manly assaults.
4. Hero contends with hero, body against body, when they strive for victory, each shining in his own form; when the two battle-lines, crying out over the fertile fields, contend for offspring, for cattle, for children, for waters.
5. No hero, no swift one, no bold one, no warrior who thought himself your match has ever fought you down. Indra, none of these stands against you — you surpass every race of them.
6. He rules over the manly strength of both sides when the ordainers call him to the encounter — whether in the great battle full of warriors against Vṛtra, or in the fight for a dwelling place, when the two vast [armies] stretch out against each other.
7. Then indeed, when the peoples trembled, O Indra, be our protector and our shelter — ours, the most valiant among the noble ones, our patrons, O Indra, who have set us in the front.
8. To your great Indra-power everything has been granted; wholly, everything is yours in the slaying of Vṛtra — the dominion, the might, O worshipful one; together with the gods, [everything] is yours in overpowering men.
9. So, Indra, drive our rivals together in the battles; subdue the clashing, godless foes. May we, the Bharadvājas, singing, know your help at daybreak — and now as well, O Indra.
Translator's note: verse 6's "vyacasvantā" (the two wide-reaching ones) is read as referring to the two opposing battle formations, following the dual verb "vitantasaite" (they stretch themselves out); verse 8's repeated "anu te" ("[it belongs] to you") is rendered as a single sustained clause across the verse rather than repeated in full each time, to avoid stilted English.
Colophon
Rigveda VI.25 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda VI.25
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.
yā ta ūtir avamā yā paramā yā madhyamendra śuṣminn asti |
tābhir ū ṣu vṛtrahatye 'vīr na ebhiś ca vājair mahān na ugra || 1 ||
ābhiḥ spṛdho mithatīr ariṣaṇyann amitrasya vyathayā manyum indra |
ābhir viśvā abhiyujo viṣūcīr āryāya viśo 'va tārīr dāsīḥ || 2 ||
indra jāmaya uta ye 'jāmayo 'rvācīnāso vanuṣo yuyujre |
tvam eṣāṁ vithurā śavāṁsi jahi vṛṣṇyāni kṛṇuhī parācaḥ || 3 ||
śūro vā śūraṁ vanate śarīrais tanūrucā taruṣi yat kṛṇvaite |
toke vā goṣu tanaye yad apsu vi krandasī urvarāsu bravaite || 4 ||
nahi tvā śūro na turo na dhṛṣṇur na tvā yodho manyamāno yuyodha |
indra nakiṣ ṭvā praty asty eṣāṁ viśvā jātāny abhy asi tāni || 5 ||
sa patyata ubhayor nṛmṇam ayor yadī vedhasaḥ samithe havante |
vṛtre vā maho nṛvati kṣaye vā vyacasvantā yadi vitantasaite || 6 ||
adha smā te carṣaṇayo yad ejān indra trātota bhavā varūtā |
asmākāso ye nṛtamāso arya indra sūrayo dadhire puro naḥ || 7 ||
anu te dāyi maha indriyāya satrā te viśvam anu vṛtrahatye |
anu kṣatram anu saho yajatrendra devebhir anu te nṛṣahye || 8 ||
evā naḥ spṛdhaḥ sam ajā samatsv indra rārandhi mithatīr adevīḥ |
vidyāma vastor avasā gṛṇanto bharadvājā uta ta indra nūnam || 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).