Hymn to Indra and Agni
Rigveda VII.93 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. Accept today, Indra and Agni, slayers of Vṛtra, this bright hymn newly born. I call on you both, so easy to summon — you two are the best at once granting strength to the one who desires it.
2. Be gain-bringing, mighty ones, growing together, grown strong through your might. Ruling over wealth and abundant pasture, join us to a strength that is mighty and vigorous.
3. When the strong ones come to the sacred gathering with their prayers, seeking your favor, like racehorses closing on the goal — those men, Indra and Agni, are the ones calling on you.
4. The inspired poet, seeking your favor with songs, prays for glorious wealth, the foremost share. Indra and Agni, slayers of Vṛtra, wielders of the mighty bolt, carry us further with new gifts.
5. When the two great rivals, gleaming in form, strive against each other in the battle for heroes — slay outright, with the help of the god-loving, soma-pressing people, the one who does not honor the gods in the assembly.
6. Come well to this soma-pressing of ours, Indra and Agni, for your goodwill. You have surely never overlooked us — may I turn to you again and again with constant gifts of strength.
7. You, Agni, kindled by this homage, speak on our behalf to Mitra, Varuṇa, and Indra. Whatever offense we have committed, forgive it graciously; let Aryaman and Aditi loosen us from it.
8. With these eager offerings, Agni, may we obtain strength together with you two. Let not Indra, Viṣṇu, or the Maruts look away from us. Protect us always, all of you, with your blessings.
Translator's note: verse 5 is difficult — "mahī mithatī spardhamāne" (the two great rivals contending) is rendered conservatively as a battle image; the identity of the two contending powers is not specified in the Sanskrit. In verse 8, "āśuṣāṇāsa" (rendered "eager") describes the offerings/offerers as zealous or hastening; the exact nuance is uncertain.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.93 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.93
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.
śuciṁ nu stomaṁ navajātam adyendrāgnī vṛtrahaṇā juṣethām |
ubhā hi vāṁ suhavā johavīmi tā vājaṁ sadya uśate dheṣṭhā || 1 ||
tā sānasī śavasānā hi bhūtaṁ sākaṁvṛdhā śavasā śūśuvāṁsā |
kṣayantau rāyo yavasasya bhūreḥ pṛṅktaṁ vājasya sthavirasya ghṛṣveḥ || 2 ||
upo ha yad vidathaṁ vājino gur dhībhir viprāḥ pramatim icchamānāḥ |
arvanto na kāṣṭhāṁ nakṣamāṇā indrāgnī johuvato naras te || 3 ||
gīrbhir vipraḥ pramatim icchamāna īṭṭe rayiṁ yaśasam pūrvabhājam |
indrāgnī vṛtrahaṇā suvajrā pra no navyebhis tirataṁ deṣṇaiḥ || 4 ||
saṁ yan mahī mithatī spardhamāne tanūrucā śūrasātā yataite |
adevayuṁ vidathe devayubhiḥ satrā hataṁ somasutā janena || 5 ||
imām u ṣu somasutim upa na endrāgnī saumanasāya yātam |
nū cid dhi parimamnāthe asmān ā vāṁ śaśvadbhir vavṛtīya vājaiḥ || 6 ||
so agna enā namasā samiddho 'cchā mitraṁ varuṇam indraṁ voceḥ |
yat sīm āgaś cakṛmā tat su mṛḻa tad aryamāditiḥ śiśrathantu || 7 ||
etā agna āśuṣāṇāsa iṣṭīr yuvoḥ sacābhy aśyāma vājān |
mendro no viṣṇur marutaḥ pari khyan 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).