Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.61 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. May Indra hear both things — this speech of ours, directed toward him. May the bounteous one, mightiest, come with united thought to drink the soma.
2. Him indeed, the self-ruling bull, the two vessels have fashioned for strength. And you sit down first among the foremost, for your mind desires soma.
3. Drink deeply, O Indra rich in wealth, of the pressed soma-juice. For we know you, O lord of bay steeds, as victorious in battles, bold, unconquerable.
4. O truthful, unfailing, bounteous one, so indeed shall it be, Indra, as you will. May we win your prize, O helmeted one, going quickly with your help, O wielder of the pressing-stone.
5. Grant us your strength well, O Indra, lord of power, with all your aids. Indeed we follow after you, O hero, glorious, wealth-finding, as we follow Bhaga.
6. You are abundant in horses, maker of much cattle, a golden spring, O god. For no one can diminish your giving — whatever I ask of you, bring that.
7. Come indeed, and grant fortune to the one who seeks you, for the winning of wealth. Pour forth abundantly, O bounteous one, for the desire of cattle, and, O Indra, for the desire of horses.
8. You are generous to give many thousands and hundreds of herds. We, poets of inspired speech, singing, have brought Indra the fortress-destroyer here for help.
9. Whether an uninspired man or an inspired poet has honored your word, Indra — he, devoted to you, shall rejoice, O hundred-powered one, O forward-striving, harmless spirit.
10. Mighty-armed, crushing the foe, fortress-destroyer — if he will hear my call — we, desiring wealth, call upon Indra with hymns of praise, the lord of wealth, of a hundred powers.
11. We do not think ourselves wretched, nor niggardly, nor [an uncertain third term], when we make mighty Indra our companion together at the pressed soma.
12. We have yoked the mighty one, victorious in battles, unassailable, who clears our debts. As best of charioteers and as winner, he knows even the swift horse that he alone can overtake.
13. Whatever we fear, Indra, from that make us free of fear. Grant us that, O bounteous one; with your help drive away the haters, strike down the scorners.
14. You indeed, O lord of bounty, are the ordainer of great bounty, of dominion. We, having pressed the soma, call upon you, O bounteous Indra who delights in songs of praise.
15. Indra, the watcher and slayer of Vṛtra, our protector from afar, most excellent — may he guard us at the rear, guard the middle, may he protect us from behind and in front.
16. Guard us, Indra, from behind, from below, from above, from in front, on every side. Keep divine terror far from us; keep the godless weapons far away.
17. Day by day, and every tomorrow, Indra, protect us, and in the time to come as well. And protect all our singers, O lord of the righteous, through the days, by day and by night.
18. The shatterer, hero, bounteous one, mighty in gifts, the ally in valor — both your mighty arms, O hundred-powered one, are the ones that have grasped the thunderbolt.
Translator's note: verse 9's "prācāmanyo ahaṁsana" and verse 11's "jaḻhavaḥ" and verse 12's "ṛṇakātim" and "bhṛmam" are obscure Vedic terms with no settled meaning; they are rendered conservatively above and flagged here rather than guessed at with false confidence.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.61 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.61
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.
ubhayaṁ śṛṇavac ca na indro arvāg idaṁ vacaḥ |
satrācyā maghavā somapītaye dhiyā śaviṣṭha ā gamat || 1 ||
taṁ hi svarājaṁ vṛṣabhaṁ tam ojase dhiṣaṇe niṣṭatakṣatuḥ |
utopamānām prathamo ni ṣīdasi somakāmaṁ hi te manaḥ || 2 ||
ā vṛṣasva purūvaso sutasyendrāndhasaḥ |
vidmā hi tvā harivaḥ pṛtsu sāsahim adhṛṣṭaṁ cid dadhṛṣvaṇim || 3 ||
aprāmisatya maghavan tathed asad indra kratvā yathā vaśaḥ |
sanema vājaṁ tava śiprinn avasā makṣū cid yanto adrivaḥ || 4 ||
śagdhy ū3 ṣu śacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
bhagaṁ na hi tvā yaśasaṁ vasuvidam anu śūra carāmasi || 5 ||
pauro aśvasya purukṛd gavām asy utso deva hiraṇyayaḥ |
nakir hi dānam parimardhiṣat tve yad-yad yāmi tad ā bhara || 6 ||
tvaṁ hy ehi cerave vidā bhagaṁ vasuttaye |
ud vāvṛṣasva maghavan gaviṣṭaya ud indrāśvamiṣṭaye || 7 ||
tvam purū sahasrāṇi śatāni ca yūthā dānāya maṁhase |
ā puraṁdaraṁ cakṛma vipravacasa indraṁ gāyanto 'vase || 8 ||
avipro vā yad avidhad vipro vendra te vacaḥ |
sa pra mamandat tvāyā śatakrato prācāmanyo ahaṁsana || 9 ||
ugrabāhur mrakṣakṛtvā puraṁdaro yadi me śṛṇavad dhavam |
vasūyavo vasupatiṁ śatakratuṁ stomair indraṁ havāmahe || 10 ||
na pāpāso manāmahe nārāyāso na jaḻhavaḥ |
yad in nv indraṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ sacā sute sakhāyaṁ kṛṇavāmahai || 11 ||
ugraṁ yuyujma pṛtanāsu sāsahim ṛṇakātim adābhyam |
vedā bhṛmaṁ cit sanitā rathītamo vājinaṁ yam id ū naśat || 12 ||
yata indra bhayāmahe tato no abhayaṁ kṛdhi |
maghavañ chagdhi tava tan na ūtibhir vi dviṣo vi mṛdho jahi || 13 ||
tvaṁ hi rādhaspate rādhaso mahaḥ kṣayasyāsi vidhataḥ |
taṁ tvā vayam maghavann indra girvaṇaḥ sutāvanto havāmahe || 14 ||
indraḥ spaḻ uta vṛtrahā paraspā no vareṇyaḥ |
sa no rakṣiṣac caramaṁ sa madhyamaṁ sa paścāt pātu naḥ puraḥ || 15 ||
tvaṁ naḥ paścād adharād uttarāt pura indra ni pāhi viśvataḥ |
āre asmat kṛṇuhi daivyam bhayam āre hetīr adevīḥ || 16 ||
adyādyā śvaḥ-śva indra trāsva pare ca naḥ |
viśvā ca no jaritṝn satpate ahā divā naktaṁ ca rakṣiṣaḥ || 17 ||
prabhaṅgī śūro maghavā tuvīmaghaḥ sammiślo viryāya kam |
ubhā te bāhū vṛṣaṇā śatakrato ni yā vajram mimikṣatuḥ || 18 ||
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).