Hymn to Indra and Agni
Rigveda VIII.40 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. Indra and Agni, you two overpowering ones, grant us wealth well — wealth by which we might overcome even firm strongholds in the clashes of battle, as Agni consumes the woods, as the wind drives on. Let our rivals be brought low.
2. We do not turn away from you two; rather we worship Indra, mightiest man among men. May he come to us at some time with his horse — may he come to win the prize, may he come to win the sacrificial gift. Let our rivals be brought low.
3. For those two, Indra and Agni, dwell at the center of the contests. And the two of them, wise ones skilled in poetic power, when questioned, grant full understanding to one who seeks their friendship — O heroes. Let our rivals be brought low.
4. Sing out to Indra and Agni, as Nabhāka did, with a worshipful hymn — the two in whose lap this whole world is held, this sky, this great earth, and all wealth besides. Let our rivals be brought low.
5. Send forth sacred hymns to Indra and Agni, as Nabhāka did — the two who threw open the seven-founded flood, barred aslant, Indra ruling there by his strength. Let our rivals be brought low.
6. Cut off, as in the old days, the power of the Dāsa — tangled like a creeping vine — destroy it. May we, together with Indra, divide up his gathered wealth among us. Let our rivals be brought low.
7. When these people call out to Indra and Agni with this far-reaching hymn, may we, with our own men, overcome those who war against us, may we prevail over those who would harm us. Let our rivals be brought low.
8. The two bright ones who rise up from the sky, day by day — the rivers flow onward, carried along, obeying the command of Indra and Agni, the two who freed them from their bondage. Let our rivals be brought low.
9. Many are your acts of grace, Indra, and many your praises, O son of Hinva, lord of tawny horses — the abundant gifts of a hero's wealth that now bring our hymns to fulfillment. Let our rivals be brought low.
10. Sharpen him with well-formed hymns — the fierce, mighty warrior worthy of praise — he who by his strength splits open the eggs of Śuṣṇa; may he win the sun-lit waters. Let our rivals be brought low.
11. Sharpen him — the true, mighty warrior of good sacrifice, who comes at the right season — he who, with his goats, splits open the carried-off eggs of Śuṣṇa, winning the sun-lit waters. Let our rivals be brought low.
12. Thus, in a new way — as our forefathers did, as Mandhātṛ did, as the Aṅgirases did — this hymn has been spoken to Indra and Agni. Protect us with your threefold shelter; may we become masters of wealth.
Translator's note: the refrain closing verses 1–11, "nabhantām anyake same," is rendered "let our rivals be brought low" — literally something like "let the other, equal ones collapse/perish," a stock formula in this group of Kāṇva hymns. In verse 9, "sūno hinvasya" is kept literally as "O son of Hinva," a name otherwise unknown to the translator. In verse 11, "ajaiḥ" ("with goats" or "with his goats") is genuinely obscure in context and is rendered conservatively rather than resolved.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.40 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda VIII.40
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.
indrāgnī yuvaṁ su naḥ sahantā dāsatho rayim |
yena dṛḻhā samatsv ā vīḻu cit sāhiṣīmahy agnir vaneva vāta in nabhantām anyake same || 1 ||
nahi vāṁ vavrayāmahe 'thendram id yajāmahe śaviṣṭhaṁ nṛṇāṁ naram |
sa naḥ kadā cid arvatā gamad ā vājasātaye gamad ā medhasātaye nabhantām anyake same || 2 ||
tā hi madhyam bharāṇām indrāgnī adhikṣitaḥ |
tā u kavitvanā kavī pṛcchyamānā sakhīyate saṁ dhītam aśnutaṁ narā nabhantām anyake same || 3 ||
abhy arca nabhākavad indrāgnī yajasā girā |
yayor viśvam idaṁ jagad iyaṁ dyauḥ pṛthivī mahy u1pasthe bibhṛto vasu nabhantām anyake same || 4 ||
pra brahmāṇi nabhākavad indrāgnibhyām irajyata |
yā saptabudhnam arṇavaṁ jihmabāram aporṇuta indra īśāna ojasā nabhantām anyake same || 5 ||
api vṛśca purāṇavad vratater iva guṣpitam ojo dāsasya dambhaya |
vayaṁ tad asya sambhṛtaṁ vasv indreṇa vi bhajemahi nabhantām anyake same || 6 ||
yad indrāgnī janā ime vihvayante tanā girā |
asmākebhir nṛbhir vayaṁ sāsahyāma pṛtanyato vanuyāma vanuṣyato nabhantām anyake same || 7 ||
yā nu śvetāv avo diva uccarāta upa dyubhiḥ |
indrāgnyor anu vratam uhānā yanti sindhavo yān sīm bandhād amuñcatāṁ nabhantām anyake same || 8 ||
pūrvīṣ ṭa indropamātayaḥ pūrvīr uta praśastayaḥ sūno hinvasya harivaḥ |
vasvo vīrasyāpṛco yā nu sādhanta no dhiyo nabhantām anyake same || 9 ||
taṁ śiśītā suvṛktibhis tveṣaṁ satvānam ṛgmiyam |
uto nu cid ya ojasā śuṣṇasyāṇḍāni bhedati jeṣat svarvatīr apo nabhantām anyake same || 10 ||
taṁ śiśītā svadhvaraṁ satyaṁ satvānam ṛtviyam |
uto nu cid ya ohata āṇḍā śuṣṇasya bhedaty ajaiḥ svarvatīr apo nabhantām anyake same || 11 ||
evendrāgnibhyām pitṛvan navīyo mandhātṛvad aṅgirasvad avāci |
tridhātunā śarmaṇā pātam asmān vayaṁ syāma patayo rayīṇām || 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).