Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VII.20 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 was born fierce, self-empowered, for heroic deeds, a maker of works, manly — since he was about to act. Coming as a young man, with his aids, to the seat of men, Indra is our protector, even from great wrongdoing.
2. Indra, grown strong, is the slayer of Vṛtra; the hero has indeed helped his praiser with his aid. He is the maker of room for Sudās; again and again he has become the giver of wealth to the one who brings offerings.
3. A warrior unmatched, a stirrer of the fray, fierce in combat, a hero all-conquering, unconquered from birth — Indra, of his own strength, scattered the armies; then he struck down every one who set himself against him as an enemy.
4. You, Indra, mighty one, have filled both world-halves with your greatness, through your powers. Indra, lord of bay steeds, setting his bolt in place, has spoken out amid the soma-draughts, in his exultations.
5. The bull begot a bull for battle; the woman too bore him, the manly one. He who is army-leader among men, a caster of missiles — the warrior, the seeker of cattle, is bold.
6. That man never stumbles, never comes to harm, who seeks to win over Indra's terrible mind. He who through sacrifices offers homage-gifts to Indra — he rules in wealth, guardian of truth, born of truth.
7. When you, Indra, the elder, striving to help the younger, gave your gift to the lesser one — you alone, immortal, have spread around, far and wide; wondrous one, bring us wondrous wealth.
8. Whoever, dear to you, Indra, brings you offering — let him be your sole friend, O wielder of the stone. May we rejoice greatly in this favor of yours, sheltered, unharmed, under the protection of men.
9. This song of praise has roared out, your bull; and the singer too, O bounteous one, has cried aloud. Desire for wealth has come upon your praiser; you indeed, O mighty Śakra, grant us goods.
10. Grant us, Indra, that nourishment devoted to you, and that which the bounteous ones themselves send forth. May your power be truly good for your praiser; may you all protect us always with blessings.
Translator's note: verse 7 (pary āsīta dūram ā) and verse 5 (senānīr adha nṛbhyo astīnaḥ) contain compact, ambiguous phrasing; both are rendered conservatively, following the most literal sense of the words rather than a smoothed paraphrase.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.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 VII.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.
ugro jajñe vīryāya svadhāvāñ cakrir apo naryo yat kariṣyan |
jagmir yuvā nṛṣadanam avobhis trātā na indra enaso mahaś cit || 1 ||
hantā vṛtram indraḥ śūśuvānaḥ prāvīn nu vīro jaritāram ūtī |
kartā sudāse aha vā u lokaṁ dātā vasu muhur ā dāśuṣe bhūt || 2 ||
yudhmo anarvā khajakṛt samadvā śūraḥ satrāṣāḍ januṣem aṣāḻhaḥ |
vy āsa indraḥ pṛtanāḥ svojā adhā viśvaṁ śatrūyantaṁ jaghāna || 3 ||
ubhe cid indra rodasī mahitvā paprātha taviṣībhis tuviṣmaḥ |
ni vajram indro harivān mimikṣan sam andhasā madeṣu vā uvoca || 4 ||
vṛṣā jajāna vṛṣaṇaṁ raṇāya tam u cin nārī naryaṁ sasūva |
pra yaḥ senānīr adha nṛbhyo astīnaḥ satvā gaveṣaṇaḥ sa dhṛṣṇuḥ || 5 ||
nū cit sa bhreṣate jano na reṣan mano yo asya ghoram āvivāsāt |
yajñair ya indre dadhate duvāṁsi kṣayat sa rāya ṛtapā ṛtejāḥ || 6 ||
yad indra pūrvo aparāya śikṣann ayaj jyāyān kanīyaso deṣṇam |
amṛta it pary āsīta dūram ā citra citryam bharā rayiṁ naḥ || 7 ||
yas ta indra priyo jano dadāśad asan nireke adrivaḥ sakhā te |
vayaṁ te asyāṁ sumatau caniṣṭhāḥ syāma varūthe aghnato nṛpītau || 8 ||
eṣa stomo acikradad vṛṣā ta uta stāmur maghavann akrapiṣṭa |
rāyas kāmo jaritāraṁ ta āgan tvam aṅga śakra vasva ā śako naḥ || 9 ||
sa na indra tvayatāyā iṣe dhās tmanā ca ye maghavāno junanti |
vasvī ṣu te jaritre astu śaktir yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 10 ||
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).