Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VII.24 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. A seat has been made for you, Indra, in the dwelling place; come forth to it with your men, much-invoked one — so that you may be our protector and helper, give us goods, and rejoice in the soma.
2. Your mind is seized, Indra, doubly mighty one: the pressed soma is poured out, the sweet draughts ready. This well-wrought song, streaming forth like milk, carries itself onward — this thought, calling out to Indra.
3. Come to us, from heaven, from earth, O drinker of the soma-lees, to this sacred grass, for the drinking of soma. Let your bay horses carry you, mighty one, toward the exhilarating drink, toward the loud praise-song, for delight.
4. Come to us with all your aids, of one accord, delighting in the sacred word, O you of the bay horses. Warding off harm with your enduring powers, fair-jawed one, bestow on us your bull-strength, Indra.
5. This praise has been set for the great and mighty one, like a racehorse urged on at the chariot-pole. This song entreats you, Indra, for goods; as you set the sky in heaven, set renown upon us.
6. So fill us, Indra, with the choice thing we desire; may we win your great favor. Swell the abundant nourishment, rich in good sons, for the generous givers. Protect us always, all of you, with blessings.
Translator's note: "vāhe" in verse 5 (a bearer/drawer, here the god likened to a racehorse straining at the yoke-pole) and "vāryasya" in verse 6 (the desirable or choice thing, i.e. wealth to be chosen) are compact Vedic terms rendered here for sense rather than word-for-word. The closing line of verse 6 ("yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ") is a stock refrain shared across many Rigvedic hymns, addressed in the plural to the gods generally even though the hymn itself is directed to Indra.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.24 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.24
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.
yoniṣ ṭa indra sadane akāri tam ā nṛbhiḥ puruhūta pra yāhi |
aso yathā no 'vitā vṛdhe ca dado vasūni mamadaś ca somaiḥ || 1 ||
gṛbhītaṁ te mana indra dvibarhāḥ sutaḥ somaḥ pariṣiktā madhūni |
visṛṣṭadhenā bharate suvṛktir iyam indraṁ johuvatī manīṣā || 2 ||
ā no diva ā pṛthivyā ṛjīṣinn idam barhiḥ somapeyāya yāhi |
vahantu tvā harayo madryañcam āṅgūṣam acchā tavasam madāya || 3 ||
ā no viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ sajoṣā brahma juṣāṇo haryaśva yāhi |
varīvṛjat sthavirebhiḥ suśiprāsme dadhad vṛṣaṇaṁ śuṣmam indra || 4 ||
eṣa stomo maha ugrāya vāhe dhurī3vātyo na vājayann adhāyi |
indra tvāyam arka īṭṭe vasūnāṁ divīva dyām adhi naḥ śromataṁ dhāḥ || 5 ||
evā na indra vāryasya pūrdhi pra te mahīṁ sumatiṁ vevidāma |
iṣam pinva maghavadbhyaḥ suvīrāṁ yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 6 ||
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).