Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.63 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. He, the ancient seer of the mighty ones, anointed himself with his powers; through his doors Manu the father adorned his devotions among the gods.
2. Now the pressing-stones, soma on their backs, have taken their seat at the measure of heaven — the hymns and the sacred word are to be recited.
3. Indra, knowing, opened up the cows for the Aṅgirases — I praise that mighty deed of his.
4. Indra, as of old the strengthener of poets, the carrier of speech — kind and favoring, let him come to us for help at the offering of this hymn.
5. And now indeed, O Indra, following your purpose, the worshippers who seek their boon cry out in praise; the hymns have roared out their strength for the giving of the cattle-pen.
6. In Indra are all heroic deeds, done and yet to be done — he whom the hymns know as lord of the sacrifice.
7. When the people of the five tribes sent up their cries to Indra, he struck down, by his might, the arrogance of the hostile man — that is his dominion.
8. This is your hymn of praise: you performed those mighty deeds; you furthered the course of the wheel.
9. This bull strode far across the flood, to live; he took it up like grain for the cattle.
10. Holding fast to that, seeking your help, endowed with skill, may we be strong for the strengthening of him who comes with the Maruts.
11. Mightily, O hero, with the singers we cry aloud for the timely rite; may we conquer, O Indra, with you as our ally.
12. May the Rudras be with us in their bounty, and the mountains too, of one accord in the slaying of Vṛtra and in the call to battle. What is granted to him who recites and praises — may the gods, with Indra foremost, protect us.
Translator's note: several words in this hymn are rare or of uncertain sense and are rendered conservatively — venaḥ (verse 1, "seer," literally "the longing/yearning one," an old epithet of uncertain precise force); vyodana (verse 9, "the flood," a rare compound of disputed meaning); parvatāsaḥ (verse 12, "the mountains," here likely a byname for the Maruts rather than literal mountains); and barhaṇā (verse 7, "by his might"), whose exact nuance is debated among grammarians.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.63 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.63
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.
sa pūrvyo mahānāṁ venaḥ kratubhir ānaje |
yasya dvārā manuṣ pitā deveṣu dhiya ānaje || 1 ||
divo mānaṁ not sadan somapṛṣṭhāso adrayaḥ |
ukthā brahma ca śaṁsyā || 2 ||
sa vidvām̐ aṅgirobhya indro gā avṛṇod apa |
stuṣe tad asya pauṁsyam || 3 ||
sa pratnathā kavivṛdha indro vākasya vakṣaṇiḥ |
śivo arkasya homany asmatrā gantv avase || 4 ||
ād ū nu te anu kratuṁ svāhā varasya yajyavaḥ |
śvātram arkā anūṣatendra gotrasya dāvane || 5 ||
indre viśvāni vīryā kṛtāni kartvāni ca |
yam arkā adhvaraṁ viduḥ || 6 ||
yat pāñcajanyayā viśendre ghoṣā asṛkṣata |
astṛṇād barhaṇā vipo3 'ryo mānasya sa kṣayaḥ || 7 ||
iyam u te anuṣṭutiś cakṛṣe tāni pauṁsyā |
prāvaś cakrasya vartanim || 8 ||
asya vṛṣṇo vyodana uru kramiṣṭa jīvase |
yavaṁ na paśva ā dade || 9 ||
tad dadhānā avasyavo yuṣmābhir dakṣapitaraḥ |
syāma marutvato vṛdhe || 10 ||
baḻ ṛtviyāya dhāmna ṛkvabhiḥ śūra nonumaḥ |
jeṣāmendra tvayā yujā || 11 ||
asme rudrā mehanā parvatāso vṛtrahatye bharahūtau sajoṣāḥ |
yaḥ śaṁsate stuvate dhāyi pajra indrajyeṣṭhā asmām̐ avantu devāḥ || 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).