Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VII.19 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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. He who, sharp-horned, like a fearsome bull, alone drives forth all the tribes — you are the one who gives the wealth of the ever-ungenerous man to the one who presses soma more freely.
2. You, Indra, helped Kutsa then, serving him with your own body in that battle, when, striving to aid the son of Ṛjunas, you subdued for him the dāsa Śuṣṇa and Kuyava.
3. You, bold one, with your boldness and all your aids helped Sudās who brought you offerings; you helped Trasadasyu son of Purukutsa, and Pūru, in the winning of land, in the slaughters of Vṛtra.
4. You, man-minded one, with your men, at the gods' feast slay many foes, O tawny-horsed one; you put the dasyu Cumuri and Dhuni to sleep for Dabhīti, easy killings.
5. These are your deeds, O mace-in-hand: in a single day, ninety-nine strongholds — and at the hundredth settlement you drove forward still, and slew Vṛtra, and slew Namuci too.
6. These are your ancient gifts of sustenance, Indra, for Sudās the offerer who gave you oblations; for you, the bull, I yoke your two bull steeds — let the prayers reach you, mighty one, and win strength.
7. Let us not, O powerful one, in this our need, be given over to evil, O lord of bay horses; guard us with shelters that do not harm; may we be dear to you among the patrons.
8. May we indeed be dear to you, bounteous one, in your favor; may we your men, your friends, rejoice under your protection. Beat down Turvaśa, beat down Yadu, meaning to do a deed worthy of praise for Atithigva.
9. Even at once, bounteous one, in your favor, the men who chant hymns chant hymns to you — those who by their calls to you scattered the Paṇis without gifts; choose us for that same alliance.
10. These praises of men, most manly one, are yours, offered from us, bringing gifts along with them; in their battles against Vṛtra, Indra, be gracious, be their hero-friend, and their helper.
11. Now, Indra, hero, praised and aided, driven on by prayer, grow strong in your body; measure out to us strength and gains. Protect us always with blessings.
Translator's note: verse 1's "vedaḥ" (wealth/property) and verse 9's reference to the Paṇis (a class of miserly non-sacrificers in the Rigveda) are rendered conservatively; verse 8's "atithigva" is a byname for the king Divodāsa, kept here as a proper name rather than expanded.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.19 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 VII.19
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.
yas tigmaśṛṅgo vṛṣabho na bhīma ekaḥ kṛṣṭīś cyāvayati pra viśvāḥ |
yaḥ śaśvato adāśuṣo gayasya prayantāsi suṣvitarāya vedaḥ || 1 ||
tvaṁ ha tyad indra kutsam āvaḥ śuśrūṣamāṇas tanvā samarye |
dāsaṁ yac chuṣṇaṁ kuyavaṁ ny asmā arandhaya ārjuneyāya śikṣan || 2 ||
tvaṁ dhṛṣṇo dhṛṣatā vītahavyam prāvo viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ sudāsam |
pra paurukutsiṁ trasadasyum āvaḥ kṣetrasātā vṛtrahatyeṣu pūrum || 3 ||
tvaṁ nṛbhir nṛmaṇo devavītau bhūrīṇi vṛtrā haryaśva haṁsi |
tvaṁ ni dasyuṁ cumuriṁ dhuniṁ cāsvāpayo dabhītaye suhantu || 4 ||
tava cyautnāni vajrahasta tāni nava yat puro navatiṁ ca sadyaḥ |
niveśane śatatamāviveṣīr ahañ ca vṛtraṁ namucim utāhan || 5 ||
sanā tā ta indra bhojanāni rātahavyāya dāśuṣe sudāse |
vṛṣṇe te harī vṛṣaṇā yunajmi vyantu brahmāṇi puruśāka vājam || 6 ||
mā te asyāṁ sahasāvan pariṣṭāv aghāya bhūma harivaḥ parādai |
trāyasva no 'vṛkebhir varūthais tava priyāsaḥ sūriṣu syāma || 7 ||
priyāsa it te maghavann abhiṣṭau naro madema śaraṇe sakhāyaḥ |
ni turvaśaṁ ni yādvaṁ śiśīhy atithigvāya śaṁsyaṁ kariṣyan || 8 ||
sadyaś cin nu te maghavann abhiṣṭau naraḥ śaṁsanty ukthaśāsa ukthā |
ye te havebhir vi paṇīm̐r adāśann asmān vṛṇīṣva yujyāya tasmai || 9 ||
ete stomā narāṁ nṛtama tubhyam asmadryañco dadato maghāni |
teṣām indra vṛtrahatye śivo bhūḥ sakhā ca śūro 'vitā ca nṛṇām || 10 ||
nū indra śūra stavamāna ūtī brahmajūtas tanvā vāvṛdhasva |
upa no vājān mimīhy upa stīn yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 11 ||
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).