Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VII.98 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. Adhvaryu priests, pour out the tawny, milked soma-stalk for the bull of the settlements. Indra always comes to the nearer drinking-place — closer than the wild bull's — seeking the pressed soma.
2. The pleasant food you have held since ancient days — day by day you carry forward the drinking of it. Enjoying it with heart and with mind, desiring it, Indra, drink the soma that has been set out.
3. As soon as you were born you drank soma for strength; your mother proclaimed your greatness. Indra, you filled the wide midspace, and by battle you made room for the gods.
4. When you make war on those who think themselves great, may we overcome them together with you — those who prevail by their arms. Or when, surrounded by your warriors, you fight the enemy, Indra, may we win with you that battle that brings renown.
5. Let me proclaim Indra's first deeds, and the new deeds the bounteous one has done — how he overcame the godless powers of deception, and then the soma became his alone.
6. Yours is all this cattle-wealth around us, which you see with the eye of the sun. You alone are the lord of cows, Indra; may we share in the wealth you extend to us.
7. Brihaspati, you and Indra together rule over wealth, both heavenly and earthly. Grant riches to the one who praises you, even to the lowly singer. Protect us always with your blessings.
Translator's note: Verse 1's "gaurād vedīyāṁsam" (a drinking-place "nearer than the wild bull's/gaura's") is a compressed, somewhat obscure image; rendered conservatively here. Verse 7 shifts address from Indra alone to Indra and Brihaspati jointly, which the Sanskrit itself does — not an editorial addition.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.98 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.98
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.
adhvaryavo 'ruṇaṁ dugdham aṁśuṁ juhotana vṛṣabhāya kṣitīnām |
gaurād vedīyām̐ avapānam indro viśvāhed yāti sutasomam icchan || 1 ||
yad dadhiṣe pradivi cārv annaṁ dive-dive pītim id asya vakṣi |
uta hṛdota manasā juṣāṇa uśann indra prasthitān pāhi somān || 2 ||
jajñānaḥ somaṁ sahase papātha pra te mātā mahimānam uvāca |
endra paprāthorv a1ntarikṣaṁ yudhā devebhyo varivaś cakartha || 3 ||
yad yodhayā mahato manyamānān sākṣāma tān bāhubhiḥ śāśadānān |
yad vā nṛbhir vṛta indrābhiyudhyās taṁ tvayājiṁ sauśravasaṁ jayema || 4 ||
prendrasya vocam prathamā kṛtāni pra nūtanā maghavā yā cakāra |
yaded adevīr asahiṣṭa māyā athābhavat kevalaḥ somo asya || 5 ||
tavedaṁ viśvam abhitaḥ paśavya1ṁ yat paśyasi cakṣasā sūryasya |
gavām asi gopatir eka indra bhakṣīmahi te prayatasya vasvaḥ || 6 ||
bṛhaspate yuvam indraś ca vasvo divyasyeśāthe uta pārthivasya |
dhattaṁ rayiṁ stuvate kīraye cid yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 7 ||
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).