Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.51 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. As, at the sacrifice of Manu, son of Saṃvaraṇa, you drank the pressed soma, O Indra — so too at Nīpātithi's, at Medhyātithi's, O bounteous one, together with Puṣṭigu and Śruṣṭigu.
2. Pārṣadvāṇa's son set Praskaṇva down where he lay, old and cast aside; aided by you, the seer sought to win thousands of cows, a wolf against the Dasyu.
3. He who is not grasped by hymns of praise, who himself drives the seers on — speak to that Indra with a new song of thought, that he, unharmed, may grant us enjoyment.
4. For whom they have chanted the seven-headed, threefold hymn in the highest place — he it was who roared out over all these worlds, and then his manly power was born.
5. He who is the giver of goods to us — that Indra we call. For we know his ever-new favor; may we come to his pen full of cattle.
6. O good one, he to whom you show yourself willing to give — he attains abundance of wealth. We, having pressed the soma, call on you, bounteous Indra, lover of songs.
7. Never are you barren, Indra; you do not fail the one who offers to you. Again and again, more and more, bounteous one, your gift as a god flows on.
8. He who advanced with his might against Kṛvi, striking down Śuṣṇa with his weapons, making him roar — when he propped up and spread out that sky, then the earthly world was born.
9. He whose is this whole world — Ārya, Dāsa, the stranger who guards treasure — even across to the lord Ruśama wealth was scattered all around; for you too that wealth is set flowing.
10. The eager inspired poets have chanted the honey-sweet, ghee-dripping hymn. To us wealth has spread wide, to us the bull-like power; to us the soma-drops are pressed.
Translator's note: Several words are proper names of ancient patrons or rivals of Indra — Nīpātithi, Medhyātithi, Puṣṭigu, Śruṣṭigu, Praskaṇva, Pārṣadvāṇa, Kṛvi, and Ruśama — kept untranslated as names rather than rendered as common nouns. Verse 9's "Ārya, Dāsa, the stranger who guards treasure" (śevadhipā ariḥ) is a compact and somewhat opaque phrase describing the extent of Indra's dominion; it is translated conservatively rather than expanded.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.51 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.51
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.
yathā manau sāṁvaraṇau somam indrāpibaḥ sutam |
nīpātithau maghavan medhyātithau puṣṭigau śruṣṭigau sacā || 1 ||
pārṣadvāṇaḥ praskaṇvaṁ sam asādayac chayānaṁ jivrim uddhitam |
sahasrāṇy asiṣāsad gavām ṛṣis tvoto dasyave vṛkaḥ || 2 ||
ya ukthebhir na vindhate cikid ya ṛṣicodanaḥ |
indraṁ tam acchā vada navyasyā maty ariṣyantaṁ na bhojase || 3 ||
yasmā arkaṁ saptaśīrṣāṇam ānṛcus tridhātum uttame pade |
sa tv i1mā viśvā bhuvanāni cikradad ād ij janiṣṭa pauṁsyam || 4 ||
yo no dātā vasūnām indraṁ taṁ hūmahe vayam |
vidmā hy asya sumatiṁ navīyasīṁ gamema gomati vraje || 5 ||
yasmai tvaṁ vaso dānāya śikṣasi sa rāyas poṣam aśnute |
taṁ tvā vayam maghavann indra girvaṇaḥ sutāvanto havāmahe || 6 ||
kadā cana starīr asi nendra saścasi dāśuṣe |
upopen nu maghavan bhūya in nu te dānaṁ devasya pṛcyate || 7 ||
pra yo nanakṣe abhy ojasā kriviṁ vadhaiḥ śuṣṇaṁ nighoṣayan |
yaded astambhīt prathayann amūṁ divam ād ij janiṣṭa pārthivaḥ || 8 ||
yasyāyaṁ viśva āryo dāsaḥ śevadhipā ariḥ |
tiraś cid arye ruśame parīravi tubhyet so ajyate rayiḥ || 9 ||
turaṇyavo madhumantaṁ ghṛtaścutaṁ viprāso arkam ānṛcuḥ |
asme rayiḥ paprathe vṛṣṇyaṁ śavo 'sme suvānāsa indavaḥ || 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).