Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.16 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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. Let the singer praise forth Indra, sovereign of the peoples, with new hymns — the hero, subduer of men, most bountiful.
2. In whom all hymns of praise delight, and all things that seek glory, as the waters' flow delights in the sea.
3. I seek to win him with fair praise — the highest king, effective in battle, the mighty prize-winner — for great gains.
4. Whose exhilarations are unfailing, deep, wide, victorious, eager, in the winning of heroic strength.
5. Him indeed they call as advocate in the contests where the stakes are laid out; those for whom Indra is called, they win.
6. Him indeed the peoples exalt with mighty deeds, him with deeds accomplished — this Indra, the maker of room for us.
7. Indra is the sacred word, Indra is the seer, Indra is manifold, much-invoked — great, with great powers.
8. He is worthy of praise, he worthy to be called upon, true, strong, of mighty deeds — though he stands alone, he overpowers all.
9. Him with chants, him with sāman melodies, him with gāyatrī verses — the peoples, the settled tribes, strengthen Indra.
10. The leader toward greater good, the maker of light in battles, who has conquered the foes in the fight.
11. May he, the bounteous, much-invoked Indra, carry us safely across, as if by boat, past all our foes.
12. So you, O Indra, favor us with strength and with a way forward, and lead us toward your favor.
Translator's note: verse 6's "varivaskṛt" is a compound meaning something like "maker of wide room" or "granter of relief/freedom," rendered here as "maker of room for us." Verse 11's "papriḥ" is an epithet of uncertain precise sense, here read as "bounteous" (from a root meaning "to fill"). Verse 10's "yudhāmitrān" is read as "amitrān" (foes) qualified by "yudhā" (in the fight), following the standard word-division.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.16 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 VIII.16
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.
pra samrājaṁ carṣaṇīnām indraṁ stotā navyaṁ gīrbhiḥ |
naraṁ nṛṣāham maṁhiṣṭham || 1 ||
yasminn ukthāni raṇyanti viśvāni ca śravasyā |
apām avo na samudre || 2 ||
taṁ suṣṭutyā vivāse jyeṣṭharājam bhare kṛtnum |
maho vājinaṁ sanibhyaḥ || 3 ||
yasyānūnā gabhīrā madā uravas tarutrāḥ |
harṣumantaḥ śūrasātau || 4 ||
tam id dhaneṣu hiteṣv adhivākāya havante |
yeṣām indras te jayanti || 5 ||
tam ic cyautnair āryanti taṁ kṛtebhiś carṣaṇayaḥ |
eṣa indro varivaskṛt || 6 ||
indro brahmendra ṛṣir indraḥ purū puruhūtaḥ |
mahān mahībhiḥ śacībhiḥ || 7 ||
sa stomyaḥ sa havyaḥ satyaḥ satvā tuvikūrmiḥ |
ekaś cit sann abhibhūtiḥ || 8 ||
tam arkebhis taṁ sāmabhis taṁ gāyatraiś carṣaṇayaḥ |
indraṁ vardhanti kṣitayaḥ || 9 ||
praṇetāraṁ vasyo acchā kartāraṁ jyotiḥ samatsu |
sāsahvāṁsaṁ yudhāmitrān || 10 ||
sa naḥ papriḥ pārayāti svasti nāvā puruhūtaḥ |
indro viśvā ati dviṣaḥ || 11 ||
sa tvaṁ na indra vājebhir daśasyā ca gātuyā ca |
acchā ca naḥ sumnaṁ neṣi || 12 ||
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).