Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.6 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. Great is Indra, mighty in strength, like a rain-cloud heavy with rain; he has grown strong through the praise-songs of his child.
2. When the priests, bearers of the offering, fulfilling the offspring of truth, carry their gifts forward — the inspired singers, borne by the strength of truth.
3. When the Kāṇvas made Indra, through their praise-songs, the one who accomplishes the sacrifice, they proclaimed him their own weapon.
4. Before his fury all the clans, all the peoples, bow down, as the rivers bow to the ocean.
5. This was his strength, that blazed forth, when Indra rolled the two world-halves together like a hide.
6. He split open the head of raging Vṛtra with the hundred-jointed thunderbolt, the bull-strong one.
7. These hymns we roar out, our thoughts foremost among the inspired, flashing like the flame of Agni.
8. When, though hidden, our thoughts blazed forth of themselves, the Kāṇvas moved in the stream of truth.
9. May we win that wealth, O Indra, rich in cattle and in horses, and offer our sacred word for first recognition.
10. I have grasped wisdom from my father, the wisdom of truth; I have been born like the sun.
11. With ancient thought I adorn my songs, in the manner of the Kāṇvas, by which Indra gains his vigor.
12. Whether the seers have praised you, Indra, or have not praised you — grow strong through my praise, well-praised one.
13. When his fury roared out, breaking Vṛtra joint by joint, he set the waters flowing to the sea.
14. You struck your steadfast thunderbolt down upon Śuṣṇa the Dasyu, Indra; for you, fierce one, are renowned as the bull.
15. Neither the heavens held Indra by their strength, nor the mid-air regions the thunderbolt-wielder, nor the earths.
16. He who held back your great waters, standing firm against them — him you struck down at the feet.
17. He who seized hold of these two great, joined world-halves — him, Indra, you hid away in darkness.
18. Whether the disciplined Bhṛgus have praised you, Indra, or others have praised you — hear my call alone, fierce one.
19. These your dappled cows, Indra, milk out ghee as their offering, swollen with the milk of truth.
20. The waters that carried your seed about them, Indra, as they surround the sun by fixed order.
21. You alone, lord of might, the Kāṇvas have strengthened with their hymn; you, the pressed drops of Soma.
22. Yours, Indra, is the leadership and the glory, wielder of the pressing-stone; the sacrifice is stretched out for you.
23. Bring us, Indra, great nourishment — break it open like a fortress rich in cattle — and offspring of good strength.
24. And that wealth of fine horses, Indra, which shone out foremost among the Nāhuṣa peoples.
25. You have stretched out over the cattle-pen like the sun watching close by, when, Indra, you show us mercy.
26. When, seeking strength, Indra, you rule far and wide over the settled peoples, great, boundless in might.
27. You, the wide-ranging one, the oblation-bearing clans call upon for help, with their Soma-drops.
28. In the hidden folds of the mountains, and where the rivers meet, the inspired one was born through insight.
29. From there the wise one looks down upon the ocean from the heights, from where the surging stream stirs.
30. Then indeed they see the light of the ancient seed at dawn, when it is kindled beyond, by day.
31. All the Kāṇvas, Indra, strengthen your thought and your manly power, and, mightiest one, your bull-strength.
32. Accept this well-made praise of mine, Indra; favor me well, and increase my thought.
33. And with sacred words, you who have grown mighty, thunderbolt-wielder, we the inspired have fashioned this for you, that we may live.
34. The Kāṇvas have roared out toward you, like waters running down a slope, their thought seeking to win Indra.
35. The hymns have made Indra strong, as the rivers make the ocean strong — he whose fury none opposes, unaging.
36. Come to us from afar with your two desired bay steeds; drink, Indra, this pressed Soma.
37. You alone, best slayer of Vṛtra, the people, having strewn the sacred grass, call upon for the winning of the prize.
38. Both world-halves turn after you as a wheel turns after the racing steed Etaśa; the pressed drops of Soma follow after you.
39. Rejoice well, bright one, and at Śaryaṇāvat, Indra; be gladdened by the hymn of Vivasvat.
40. Growing strong in the sky, the bull, the thunderbolt-wielder, has roared aloud — the slayer of Vṛtra, greatest drinker of Soma.
41. For you are the seer, first-born, sole ruler by your strength; Indra, you seek out wealth without ceasing.
42. May a hundred bay steeds, sleek of back, carry you to our pressed Soma, to the offering.
43. This ancient hymn, swollen with honey and ghee, the Kāṇvas have strengthened with their praise-song.
44. Let the mortal choose Indra alone among the very mighty, at the sacrifice; let him choose Indra, seeking gain, for help.
45. May the two bay steeds, praised by Priyamedha, widely-praised one, bring you here for the drinking of Soma.
46. I have received a hundred gifts from Tirindira, a thousand from Parśu — the bounties of the Yadu people.
47. Three hundred horses, ten thousand cattle, they gave for the Pajra clan's song.
48. The lofty one has reached up to heaven, giving camels yoked four together, surpassing the Yadu people in fame.
Translator's note: several phrases resist a confident rendering and are kept deliberately literal rather than smoothed into certainty — "vatsasya" in verse 1 (rendered "his child," possibly a proper name or term of affection for the worshipper); "prasvaḥ ... garbham" in verse 20 (the waters and the "seed" they carry, an image left as literal as the Sanskrit allows); "vipānaḥ" in verse 29 (rendered "surging stream," a term of uncertain precise sense); "svarṇara" in verse 39 (rendered "bright one"); and "kakuha" in verse 48 (rendered "the lofty one"). Verses 46–48 are the hymn's closing gift-praise (dānastuti), naming the poet's patrons — Tirindira, Parśu, and the Pajra and Yadu peoples — whose identities are known only from this and similar Rigvedic references.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.6 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.6
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.
mahām̐ indro ya ojasā parjanyo vṛṣṭimām̐ iva |
stomair vatsasya vāvṛdhe || 1 ||
prajām ṛtasya piprataḥ pra yad bharanta vahnayaḥ |
viprā ṛtasya vāhasā || 2 ||
kaṇvā indraṁ yad akrata stomair yajñasya sādhanam |
jāmi bruvata āyudham || 3 ||
sam asya manyave viśo viśvā namanta kṛṣṭayaḥ |
samudrāyeva sindhavaḥ || 4 ||
ojas tad asya titviṣa ubhe yat samavartayat |
indraś carmeva rodasī || 5 ||
vi cid vṛtrasya dodhato vajreṇa śataparvaṇā |
śiro bibheda vṛṣṇinā || 6 ||
imā abhi pra ṇonumo vipām agreṣu dhītayaḥ |
agneḥ śocir na didyutaḥ || 7 ||
guhā satīr upa tmanā pra yac chocanta dhītayaḥ |
kaṇvā ṛtasya dhārayā || 8 ||
pra tam indra naśīmahi rayiṁ gomantam aśvinam |
pra brahma pūrvacittaye || 9 ||
aham id dhi pituṣ pari medhām ṛtasya jagrabha |
ahaṁ sūrya ivājani || 10 ||
aham pratnena manmanā giraḥ śumbhāmi kaṇvavat |
yenendraḥ śuṣmam id dadhe || 11 ||
ye tvām indra na tuṣṭuvur ṛṣayo ye ca tuṣṭuvuḥ |
mamed vardhasva suṣṭutaḥ || 12 ||
yad asya manyur adhvanīd vi vṛtram parvaśo rujan |
apaḥ samudram airayat || 13 ||
ni śuṣṇa indra dharṇasiṁ vajraṁ jaghantha dasyavi |
vṛṣā hy ugra śṛṇviṣe || 14 ||
na dyāva indram ojasā nāntarikṣāṇi vajriṇam |
na vivyacanta bhūmayaḥ || 15 ||
yas ta indra mahīr apaḥ stabhūyamāna āśayat |
ni tam padyāsu śiśnathaḥ || 16 ||
ya ime rodasī mahī samīcī samajagrabhīt |
tamobhir indra taṁ guhaḥ || 17 ||
ya indra yatayas tvā bhṛgavo ye ca tuṣṭuvuḥ |
mamed ugra śrudhī havam || 18 ||
imās ta indra pṛśnayo ghṛtaṁ duhata āśiram |
enām ṛtasya pipyuṣīḥ || 19 ||
yā indra prasvas tvāsā garbham acakriran |
pari dharmeva sūryam || 20 ||
tvām ic chavasas pate kaṇvā ukthena vāvṛdhuḥ |
tvāṁ sutāsa indavaḥ || 21 ||
taved indra praṇītiṣūta praśastir adrivaḥ |
yajño vitantasāyyaḥ || 22 ||
ā na indra mahīm iṣam puraṁ na darṣi gomatīm |
uta prajāṁ suvīryam || 23 ||
uta tyad āśvaśvyaṁ yad indra nāhuṣīṣv ā |
agre vikṣu pradīdayat || 24 ||
abhi vrajaṁ na tatniṣe sūra upākacakṣasam |
yad indra mṛḻayāsi naḥ || 25 ||
yad aṅga taviṣīyasa indra prarājasi kṣitīḥ |
mahām̐ apāra ojasā || 26 ||
taṁ tvā haviṣmatīr viśa upa bruvata ūtaye |
urujrayasam indubhiḥ || 27 ||
upahvare girīṇāṁ saṁgathe ca nadīnām |
dhiyā vipro ajāyata || 28 ||
ataḥ samudram udvataś cikitvām̐ ava paśyati |
yato vipāna ejati || 29 ||
ād it pratnasya retaso jyotiṣ paśyanti vāsaram |
paro yad idhyate divā || 30 ||
kaṇvāsa indra te matiṁ viśve vardhanti pauṁsyam |
uto śaviṣṭha vṛṣṇyam || 31 ||
imām ma indra suṣṭutiṁ juṣasva pra su mām ava |
uta pra vardhayā matim || 32 ||
uta brahmaṇyā vayaṁ tubhyam pravṛddha vajrivaḥ |
viprā atakṣma jīvase || 33 ||
abhi kaṇvā anūṣatāpo na pravatā yatīḥ |
indraṁ vananvatī matiḥ || 34 ||
indram ukthāni vāvṛdhuḥ samudram iva sindhavaḥ |
anuttamanyum ajaram || 35 ||
ā no yāhi parāvato haribhyāṁ haryatābhyām |
imam indra sutam piba || 36 ||
tvām id vṛtrahantama janāso vṛktabarhiṣaḥ |
havante vājasātaye || 37 ||
anu tvā rodasī ubhe cakraṁ na varty etaśam |
anu suvānāsa indavaḥ || 38 ||
mandasvā su svarṇara utendra śaryaṇāvati |
matsvā vivasvato matī || 39 ||
vāvṛdhāna upa dyavi vṛṣā vajry aroravīt |
vṛtrahā somapātamaḥ || 40 ||
ṛṣir hi pūrvajā asy eka īśāna ojasā |
indra coṣkūyase vasu || 41 ||
asmākaṁ tvā sutām̐ upa vītapṛṣṭhā abhi prayaḥ |
śataṁ vahantu harayaḥ || 42 ||
imāṁ su pūrvyāṁ dhiyam madhor ghṛtasya pipyuṣīm |
kaṇvā ukthena vāvṛdhuḥ || 43 ||
indram id vimahīnām medhe vṛṇīta martyaḥ |
indraṁ saniṣyur ūtaye || 44 ||
arvāñcaṁ tvā puruṣṭuta priyamedhastutā harī |
somapeyāya vakṣataḥ || 45 ||
śatam ahaṁ tirindire sahasram parśāv ā dade |
rādhāṁsi yādvānām || 46 ||
trīṇi śatāny arvatāṁ sahasrā daśa gonām |
daduṣ pajrāya sāmne || 47 ||
ud ānaṭ kakuho divam uṣṭrāñ caturyujo dadat |
śravasā yādvaṁ janam || 48 ||
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).