Hymn to Indra and the Ṛbhus
Rigveda VII.37 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. May your best-carrying, unimpaired chariot bring you here to be praised, full of strength, O Ṛbhukṣans (Indra and the Ṛbhus); at the pressings, fill yourselves with the triple-pressed, great somas in exhilaration, O fair-jawed ones.
2. You indeed place an unimpaired treasure among the generous patrons, O sun-seeing Ṛbhukṣans; self-sufficient, drink together at the sacrifices; apportion gifts to us through our hymns.
3. For you have proclaimed a gift, O bounteous one, in the distribution of wealth both great and small; both your hands are full with riches — your generosity does not withhold bounty.
4. You, Indra, self-glorious Ṛbhukṣan, effective as a prize-winner, go home chanting. May we now be your worshippers, we the Vasiṣṭhas, composing sacred hymns, O lord of the bay horses.
5. You are a winner of gains for the worshipper as well, O tawny-horsed one, through the devotions by which you have been zealous. May we now prosper through your allied help — when, Indra, will you favor us with riches?
6. You lodge us, as an ordainer would — when, Indra, will you heed our words? By our outstretched prayer, bring home wealth rich in good sons; let the swift, prize-winning steed carry nourishment down to us.
7. He over whom even the goddess Nirṛti has power — may abundant, rich years reach Indra. The one of threefold kinship approaches old age, whom mortals make one without a dwelling.
8. To us, O Savitṛ, let praiseworthy bounties come; let riches come at the gift of Parvata. May the heavenly guardian always accompany us. May you all ever protect us with blessings.
Translator's note: Verse 7 is genuinely obscure in the Sanskrit. "tribandhuḥ" ("the one of threefold kinship/bond") and "asvaveśam" ("without a dwelling," literally "without entry into a house") are rendered here conservatively as literal as the words allow; their precise referents are unclear. Verse 8's closing line ("yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ," "may you all ever protect us with blessings") is a standard formula addressed to the gods collectively, which likely explains why this hymn was earlier mislabeled as addressed to the Viśvedevas — the hymn's body (verses 1–6) is addressed to Indra as Ṛbhukṣan, lord of the Ṛbhus, and verse 8 turns to Savitṛ and Parvata.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.37 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.37
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.
ā vo vāhiṣṭho vahatu stavadhyai ratho vājā ṛbhukṣaṇo amṛktaḥ |
abhi tripṛṣṭhaiḥ savaneṣu somair made suśiprā mahabhiḥ pṛṇadhvam || 1 ||
yūyaṁ ha ratnam maghavatsu dhattha svardṛśa ṛbhukṣaṇo amṛktam |
saṁ yajñeṣu svadhāvantaḥ pibadhvaṁ vi no rādhāṁsi matibhir dayadhvam || 2 ||
uvocitha hi maghavan deṣṇam maho arbhasya vasuno vibhāge |
ubhā te pūrṇā vasunā gabhastī na sūnṛtā ni yamate vasavyā || 3 ||
tvam indra svayaśā ṛbhukṣā vājo na sādhur astam eṣy ṛkvā |
vayaṁ nu te dāśvāṁsaḥ syāma brahma kṛṇvanto harivo vasiṣṭhāḥ || 4 ||
sanitāsi pravato dāśuṣe cid yābhir viveṣo haryaśva dhībhiḥ |
vavanmā nu te yujyābhir ūtī kadā na indra rāya ā daśasyeḥ || 5 ||
vāsayasīva vedhasas tvaṁ naḥ kadā na indra vacaso bubodhaḥ |
astaṁ tātyā dhiyā rayiṁ suvīram pṛkṣo no arvā ny uhīta vājī || 6 ||
abhi yaṁ devī nirṛtiś cid īśe nakṣanta indraṁ śaradaḥ supṛkṣaḥ |
upa tribandhur jaradaṣṭim ety asvaveśaṁ yaṁ kṛṇavanta martāḥ || 7 ||
ā no rādhāṁsi savitaḥ stavadhyā ā rāyo yantu parvatasya rātau |
sadā no divyaḥ pāyuḥ siṣaktu yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 8 ||
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).