Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.49 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. Praise Indra, the very bountiful one, on your behalf, so that he is known — the generous lord of abundant wealth, who gives to his praisers as if with a thousandfold gift.
2. Like one with a hundred armies he advances, boldly he strikes down the obstacles for the one who makes offering. Like streams swelling forth from a mountain, the gifts of this much-nourishing god pour out.
3. The pressed soma drops, exhilarating, come to you, O Indra who loves praise. Like waters filling a familiar pool, O wielder of the thunderbolt, O hero, they fill you for your bounty.
4. Drink the faultless, forward-carrying, sweetest of the honeyed drink, so that, growing exhilarated, you may pour gifts out for us, boldly, of your own accord, like a swift one.
5. Let him hasten to our hymn of praise, driven on like a horse by the pressers. O self-powerful one, the milk and the gifts among the Kaṇvas sweeten it for you, Indra.
6. We have approached with reverence the mighty hero, the powerful one of unfailing wealth. Like water poured from a well, O thunderbolt-wielder, our prayers flow toward you, Indra.
7. Whether now, or at the sacrifice, or upon the earth — from there come to our sacrifice with your swift steeds, O great-minded one, O mighty one, with your mighty steeds.
8. Your swift tawny horses, your fast ones, overpowering like the winds — with them you range over the offspring of Manu, with them you go to see the whole light of heaven.
9. We beg of you, Indra, this much favor, rich in cattle — as you helped Medhyātithi, O bounteous one, as you helped Nīpātithi, in the winning of wealth.
10. As for Kaṇva, O bounteous one, as for Trasadasyu, as for Paktha in Daśavraja, as for Gośarya — you won it for Ṛjiśvan, O Indra: wealth rich in cattle and gold.
Translator's note: verses 9–10 name a cluster of figures (Medhyātithi, Nīpātithi, Kaṇva, Trasadasyu, Paktha, Daśavraja, Gośarya, Ṛjiśvan) tied to earlier acts of Indra's generosity. The Sanskrit does not make clear whether each is a person, a clan, or a place, and this translation leaves that ambiguity intact rather than resolving it by guess. In verse 6, "udrīva" is rendered as "like water" (from udan/udra, water), though the same word can also mean "otter"; "like water poured from a well" was kept as the more conservative reading given the surrounding image of flowing prayers.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.49 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.49
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.
abhi pra vaḥ surādhasam indram arca yathā vide |
yo jaritṛbhyo maghavā purūvasuḥ sahasreṇeva śikṣati || 1 ||
śatānīkeva pra jigāti dhṛṣṇuyā hanti vṛtrāṇi dāśuṣe |
girer iva pra rasā asya pinvire datrāṇi purubhojasaḥ || 2 ||
ā tvā sutāsa indavo madā ya indra girvaṇaḥ |
āpo na vajrinn anv okya1ṁ saraḥ pṛṇanti śūra rādhase || 3 ||
anehasam prataraṇaṁ vivakṣaṇam madhvaḥ svādiṣṭham īm piba |
ā yathā mandasānaḥ kirāsi naḥ pra kṣudreva tmanā dhṛṣat || 4 ||
ā naḥ stomam upa dravad dhiyāno aśvo na sotṛbhiḥ |
yaṁ te svadhāvan svadayanti dhenava indra kaṇveṣu rātayaḥ || 5 ||
ugraṁ na vīraṁ namasopa sedima vibhūtim akṣitāvasum |
udrīva vajrinn avato na siñcate kṣarantīndra dhītayaḥ || 6 ||
yad dha nūnaṁ yad vā yajñe yad vā pṛthivyām adhi |
ato no yajñam āśubhir mahemata ugra ugrebhir ā gahi || 7 ||
ajirāso harayo ye ta āśavo vātā iva prasakṣiṇaḥ |
yebhir apatyam manuṣaḥ parīyase yebhir viśvaṁ svar dṛśe || 8 ||
etāvatas ta īmaha indra sumnasya gomataḥ |
yathā prāvo maghavan medhyātithiṁ yathā nīpātithiṁ dhane || 9 ||
yathā kaṇve maghavan trasadasyavi yathā pakthe daśavraje |
yathā gośarye asanor ṛjiśvanīndra gomad dhiraṇyavat || 10 ||
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).