Hymn to Indra and Pūṣan, with a Gift-Praise for King Kuruṅga
Rigveda VIII.4 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. Whether you are called, Indra, by men from the east, the west, the north, or below — everywhere you are greatly impelled by men; you are among the Ānava people, you are the champion among the Turvaśa.
2. Or when among Ruma, Ruśama, and Śyāvaka you rejoice together in splendor, Indra — the Kaṇvas, bearing praise-songs, hold you fast with their sacred words. Come, Indra.
3. As a thirsting wild buffalo goes to a pool of still water — come quickly to our nearness, to our closeness; drink well, together, among the Kaṇvas.
4. Let the soma-drops delight you, bountiful Indra, for the sake of bounty toward the one who presses it. You seized the soma and drank it from the two bowls — that pressed, foremost draft — and that strength you now hold.
5. By force he forged strength; by might he broke down fury. All your attacking enemies, Indra, O youthful one, have bowed down like trees.
6. He who has reached you with praise is accompanied, as if by a thousand young warriors; he makes his son outstanding in valor, and offers homage with words of reverence.
7. May we not fear, may we not tire, in friendship with you, the mighty one. Great is your bull-like deed, worth witnessing — may we see you master Turvaśa and Yadu.
8. Along the left flank he has settled; like a rutting bull, his vigor does not fail. The milch-cows, mingled with honey, with the sweetness of the bee — come quickly, hasten here, and drink.
9. Your friend, Indra, is one who has horses, a chariot, cows, and fine form. He is accompanied by strengthening vigor; ever shining, he goes forth to the assembly.
10. Like a thirsting antelope, come to the drinking-place; drink soma at your pleasure. Pouring down, bountiful one, day after day, you hold the mightiest strength.
11. O Adhvaryu priest, make the soma flow — Indra wishes to drink. Now he has yoked his two mighty bay steeds, and the slayer of Vṛtra has arrived.
12. The worshipping man himself takes note of wherever you satisfy yourself with soma. This is your fitting food, well-prepared — come to it, hasten forth, and drink.
13. For him who stands in the chariot, O Adhvaryu priests, press the soma for Indra. Over the tawny one the pressing-stones gleam forth, as they press at the rite of the worshipper.
14. Toward the tawny one, well-loved, the two mighty bay steeds shall carry Indra to the sacred works. May your steeds, the glory of the rite, bring you here toward us, to the soma-pressing.
15. We choose Pūṣan as our ally, rich in abundant wealth. O mighty one, much-invoked, help us with insight, toward strength and wealth, O releaser.
16. Sharpen us like a razor between two hands; grant us wealth, O releaser. In you is that easily-found, radiant wealth for us — for whatever mortal you impel.
17. I turn to you, Pūṣan, to be guided; I turn to praise you, O glowing one. I do not wish distance from that; O good one, I sing this praise for the vigorous chant.
18. The cows go forth to their pasture, wherever it be; that, O glowing immortal, is our lasting possession. Be our protector, Pūṣan, be kind to us, most generous one, for the winning of strength.
19. We have called to mind the abundant gift of a hundred horses from Kuruṅga at the sacrifices — the gifts of the brilliant, fortunate king, among the Turvaśa people.
20. By insight, the vigorous son of Kaṇva made his gains, together with the heaven-aspiring Priyamedhas. Sixty thousand — along the Nirmajā I, the sage, drove forth the herds of cattle.
21. Even the trees have rejoiced for me at this coming near. They give out cattle abundantly, they give out horses abundantly.
Translator's note: Several phrases resist certainty. Verse 6's "yavīyudhā" ("as if by a thousand young warriors") is an unusual compound rendered conservatively. Verse 8 as a whole is obscure in its syntax; the rendering keeps the bull and honey imagery without forcing a tighter sense than the Sanskrit supports. Verse 13's and 14's "bradhnasya"/"bradhnaṁ" ("the tawny one") may be an epithet for the sun, a place, or a divine figure — left untranslated as a description rather than resolved to a proper name. Verse 17's "pajrāya sāmne" is left as "the vigorous chant," since Pajra is elsewhere a clan name and may carry that sense here. Verse 20's "nirmajām" is treated as a place name (a river or ford) rather than translated as a common noun, and the grammatical subject shifts between "the son of Kaṇva" and "I, the sage" in a way the Sanskrit itself does not fully resolve.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.4 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.4
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.
yad indra prāg apāg udaṅ nyag vā hūyase nṛbhiḥ |
simā purū nṛṣūto asy ānave 'si praśardha turvaśe || 1 ||
yad vā rume ruśame śyāvake kṛpa indra mādayase sacā |
kaṇvāsas tvā brahmabhiḥ stomavāhasa indrā yacchanty ā gahi || 2 ||
yathā gauro apā kṛtaṁ tṛṣyann ety averiṇam |
āpitve naḥ prapitve tūyam ā gahi kaṇveṣu su sacā piba || 3 ||
mandantu tvā maghavann indrendavo rādhodeyāya sunvate |
āmuṣyā somam apibaś camū sutaṁ jyeṣṭhaṁ tad dadhiṣe sahaḥ || 4 ||
pra cakre sahasā saho babhañja manyum ojasā |
viśve ta indra pṛtanāyavo yaho ni vṛkṣā iva yemire || 5 ||
sahasreṇeva sacate yavīyudhā yas ta ānaḻ upastutim |
putram prāvargaṁ kṛṇute suvīrye dāśnoti namaüktibhiḥ || 6 ||
mā bhema mā śramiṣmograsya sakhye tava |
mahat te vṛṣṇo abhicakṣyaṁ kṛtam paśyema turvaśaṁ yadum || 7 ||
savyām anu sphigyaṁ vāvase vṛṣā na dāno asya roṣati |
madhvā sampṛktāḥ sāragheṇa dhenavas tūyam ehi dravā piba || 8 ||
aśvī rathī surūpa id gomām̐ id indra te sakhā |
śvātrabhājā vayasā sacate sadā candro yāti sabhām upa || 9 ||
ṛśyo na tṛṣyann avapānam ā gahi pibā somaṁ vaśām̐ anu |
nimeghamāno maghavan dive-diva ojiṣṭhaṁ dadhiṣe sahaḥ || 10 ||
adhvaryo drāvayā tvaṁ somam indraḥ pipāsati |
upa nūnaṁ yuyuje vṛṣaṇā harī ā ca jagāma vṛtrahā || 11 ||
svayaṁ cit sa manyate dāśurir jano yatrā somasya tṛmpasi |
idaṁ te annaṁ yujyaṁ samukṣitaṁ tasyehi pra dravā piba || 12 ||
ratheṣṭhāyādhvaryavaḥ somam indrāya sotana |
adhi bradhnasyādrayo vi cakṣate sunvanto dāśvadhvaram || 13 ||
upa bradhnaṁ vāvātā vṛṣaṇā harī indram apasu vakṣataḥ |
arvāñcaṁ tvā saptayo 'dhvaraśriyo vahantu savaned upa || 14 ||
pra pūṣaṇaṁ vṛṇīmahe yujyāya purūvasum |
sa śakra śikṣa puruhūta no dhiyā tuje rāye vimocana || 15 ||
saṁ naḥ śiśīhi bhurijor iva kṣuraṁ rāsva rāyo vimocana |
tve tan naḥ suvedam usriyaṁ vasu yaṁ tvaṁ hinoṣi martyam || 16 ||
vemi tvā pūṣann ṛñjase vemi stotava āghṛṇe |
na tasya vemy araṇaṁ hi tad vaso stuṣe pajrāya sāmne || 17 ||
parā gāvo yavasaṁ kac cid āghṛṇe nityaṁ rekṇo amartya |
asmākam pūṣann avitā śivo bhava maṁhiṣṭho vājasātaye || 18 ||
sthūraṁ rādhaḥ śatāśvaṁ kuruṅgasya diviṣṭiṣu |
rājñas tveṣasya subhagasya rātiṣu turvaśeṣv amanmahi || 19 ||
dhībhiḥ sātāni kāṇvasya vājinaḥ priyamedhair abhidyubhiḥ |
ṣaṣṭiṁ sahasrānu nirmajām aje nir yūthāni gavām ṛṣiḥ || 20 ||
vṛkṣāś cin me abhipitve arāraṇuḥ |
gām bhajanta mehanāśvam bhajanta mehanā || 21 ||
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).