Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.81 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. Now, Indra, grasp for us a rich, wondrous prize — with your right hand, great-handed one.
2. For we know you as mighty in deed, mighty in giving, mighty in bounty, mighty in measure, through your help.
3. For neither gods nor mortals hold back you, hero, when you mean to give — no more than they hold back a fearsome bull.
4. Come now, let us praise Indra, lord of wealth, the self-ruling king; may he not fail us in his bounty.
5. May he sing out praise, may he draw near singing, may he hear the chant being sung to him; may he approach us with bounty.
6. Bring to us with your right hand, reach toward us with your left; Indra, do not cut us off from wealth.
7. Step forward, boldly bring, bold one, the wealth of the man among people who withholds his offering.
8. Indra, whatever prize is yours to win together with the inspired singers — win that well together with us.
9. Your prizes are for us, swift as a single day, all-radiant, and they are quickly roused by our wishes.
Translator's note: verse 3's "gām" (literally "cow") is rendered "bull" to preserve the sense of a powerful animal none dare restrain; the Sanskrit word covers cattle of either sex. Verse 7's "vedaḥ" is rendered "wealth" (a possession won or found), not "knowledge." Verse 9's "vaśaiḥ" (wishes, desires) and "jarante" (they are roused/quickened, from the root meaning to wake) are read together as Indra's gifts answering the worshippers' desires.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.81 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.81
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.
ā tū na indra kṣumantaṁ citraṁ grābhaṁ saṁ gṛbhāya |
mahāhastī dakṣiṇena || 1 ||
vidmā hi tvā tuvikūrmiṁ tuvideṣṇaṁ tuvīmagham |
tuvimātram avobhiḥ || 2 ||
nahi tvā śūra devā na martāso ditsantam |
bhīmaṁ na gāṁ vārayante || 3 ||
eto nv indraṁ stavāmeśānaṁ vasvaḥ svarājam |
na rādhasā mardhiṣan naḥ || 4 ||
pra stoṣad upa gāsiṣac chravat sāma gīyamānam |
abhi rādhasā jugurat || 5 ||
ā no bhara dakṣiṇenābhi savyena pra mṛśa |
indra mā no vasor nir bhāk || 6 ||
upa kramasvā bhara dhṛṣatā dhṛṣṇo janānām |
adāśūṣṭarasya vedaḥ || 7 ||
indra ya u nu te asti vājo viprebhiḥ sanitvaḥ |
asmābhiḥ su taṁ sanuhi || 8 ||
sadyojuvas te vājā asmabhyaṁ viśvaścandrāḥ |
vaśaiś ca makṣū jarante || 9 ||
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).