Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.92 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. Sing out to him for yourselves, to Indra drinking of the soma-juice, the all-conquering, hundred-powered, most bounteous of peoples.
2. Much-invoked, much-praised, worthy of song, famed from of old — say his name: "Indra."
3. Indra alone is our giver of great rewards, the leader of men; may the mighty one bend down toward us on bended knee.
4. He drank, O fair-cheeked one, of the potent poured-out juice; Indra drank of the soma mixed with barley.
5. Sing your praise to him, to Indra, for the drinking of soma — for that indeed is what makes him grow strong.
6. Having drunk of these intoxicating draughts, the god, by his own godly might, came to pervade all the worlds.
7. That ever-victorious one of yours, present in all our songs of praise — you set him in motion to help us.
8. The warrior who has no rival, the soma-drinker who cannot be shaken, the hero whose will nothing can resist —
9. Strive, O Indra, to grant us abundant wealth, you who know all things, O worthy of our hymns; help us win the decisive prize.
10. Even from far away, come to us, Indra, with a hundredfold bounty, with a thousandfold store of strength.
11. Let us direct our prayerful thoughts with racing steeds, O mighty one, O breaker-open of the cattle-pens; may we win in battle, O wielder of the thunderbolt.
12. We indeed delight you, O hundred-powered one, in our hymns, as cows delight in their pastures.
13. In all things, through our mortal nature, following our desires, O hundred-powered one, we have come to you, O thunderbolt-wielder, with our hopes.
14. In you indeed, O son of strength, our longing desires have converged; nothing surpasses you, O Indra.
15. O bull, help us with your most bounteous, terrible, swift-rushing power; favor us with insight and with abundance.
16. With that most glorious rapture that is now yours, O hundred-powered Indra, may you now rejoice in your exhilaration.
17. That rapture of yours which is most brilliantly famed, O Indra, which is mightiest to slay Vṛtra, which gives forth the greatest strength —
18. For we know that gift of yours, O wielder of the stone, self-given, O true drinker of soma, O wonder-worker among all peoples.
19. For Indra, for his rapture, let our songs resound around the pressed soma; let the poets sing forth the hymn of praise.
20. He on whom rest all splendors, in whom the seven assemblies rejoice — Indra we call upon at the soma-pressing.
21. At the Trikadruka rites the gods performed the sacrifice that rouses him; let our songs make him grow strong.
22. Let the soma-drops enter into you as rivers flow into the ocean; nothing surpasses you, O Indra.
23. By your greatness, O bull, O ever-wakeful one, you have taken in the draught of soma, which now, O Indra, is in your belly.
24. May the soma be enough for your belly, O Indra, O slayer of Vṛtra; may the soma-drops suffice for your divine domains.
25. Śrutakakṣa sings: enough for the horse, enough for the cow, enough for Indra's domain.
26. For indeed, Indra, you attend fittingly to our pressed soma; enough, O mighty one, for your giving.
27. Even from far away, O wielder of the stone, may our songs reach you; may we come to you as we should.
28. For thus you are one who loves heroes, thus a hero and also steadfast; thus your mind is one that can be won over.
29. Thus, O richly bountiful one, your gift has been granted by all the givers; be then, Indra, at my side.
30. Do not become sluggish, like a neglected prayer, O lord of strength; rejoice in the pressed soma mixed with milk.
31. Do not turn away from us, Indra, when the sun goes into the nights; with you as our ally, may we win that prize.
32. With you indeed, Indra, as our ally, may we answer our rivals; you are ours, and we are yours.
33. You indeed, O Indra — we who are devoted to you, your friends the poets, go about repeatedly praising you.
Translator's note: A few terms resist confident rendering. "Śrutakakṣa" (v. 25) is left as a proper name, though it could instead be read as a descriptive epithet ("renowned-girded one"); "dhāman" (vv. 24–25), covering both "dwelling-place" and "ordinance," is rendered as "domain." "Puraṁdhi" (v. 15) — a term spanning "fullness," "bounty," and a certain goddess-figure of abundance — is given simply as "abundance." These render the sense conservatively rather than claiming false precision.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.92 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.92
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.
pāntam ā vo andhasa indram abhi pra gāyata |
viśvāsāhaṁ śatakratum maṁhiṣṭhaṁ carṣaṇīnām || 1 ||
puruhūtam puruṣṭutaṁ gāthānya1ṁ sanaśrutam |
indra iti bravītana || 2 ||
indra in no mahānāṁ dātā vājānāṁ nṛtuḥ |
mahām̐ abhijñv ā yamat || 3 ||
apād u śipry andhasaḥ sudakṣasya prahoṣiṇaḥ |
indor indro yavāśiraḥ || 4 ||
tam v abhi prārcatendraṁ somasya pītaye |
tad id dhy asya vardhanam || 5 ||
asya pītvā madānāṁ devo devasyaujasā |
viśvābhi bhuvanā bhuvat || 6 ||
tyam u vaḥ satrāsāhaṁ viśvāsu gīrṣv āyatam |
ā cyāvayasy ūtaye || 7 ||
yudhmaṁ santam anarvāṇaṁ somapām anapacyutam |
naram avāryakratum || 8 ||
śikṣā ṇa indra rāya ā puru vidvām̐ ṛcīṣama |
avā naḥ pārye dhane || 9 ||
ataś cid indra ṇa upā yāhi śatavājayā |
iṣā sahasravājayā || 10 ||
ayāma dhīvato dhiyo 'rvadbhiḥ śakra godare |
jayema pṛtsu vajrivaḥ || 11 ||
vayam u tvā śatakrato gāvo na yavaseṣv ā |
uktheṣu raṇayāmasi || 12 ||
viśvā hi martyatvanānukāmā śatakrato |
aganma vajrinn āśasaḥ || 13 ||
tve su putra śavaso 'vṛtran kāmakātayaḥ |
na tvām indrāti ricyate || 14 ||
sa no vṛṣan saniṣṭhayā saṁ ghorayā dravitnvā |
dhiyāviḍḍhi puraṁdhyā || 15 ||
yas te nūnaṁ śatakratav indra dyumnitamo madaḥ |
tena nūnam made madeḥ || 16 ||
yas te citraśravastamo ya indra vṛtrahantamaḥ |
ya ojodātamo madaḥ || 17 ||
vidmā hi yas te adrivas tvādattaḥ satya somapāḥ |
viśvāsu dasma kṛṣṭiṣu || 18 ||
indrāya madvane sutam pari ṣṭobhantu no giraḥ |
arkam arcantu kāravaḥ || 19 ||
yasmin viśvā adhi śriyo raṇanti sapta saṁsadaḥ |
indraṁ sute havāmahe || 20 ||
trikadrukeṣu cetanaṁ devāso yajñam atnata |
tam id vardhantu no giraḥ || 21 ||
ā tvā viśantv indavaḥ samudram iva sindhavaḥ |
na tvām indrāti ricyate || 22 ||
vivyaktha mahinā vṛṣan bhakṣaṁ somasya jāgṛve |
ya indra jaṭhareṣu te || 23 ||
araṁ ta indra kukṣaye somo bhavatu vṛtrahan |
araṁ dhāmabhya indavaḥ || 24 ||
aram aśvāya gāyati śrutakakṣo araṁ gave |
aram indrasya dhāmne || 25 ||
araṁ hi ṣma suteṣu ṇaḥ someṣv indra bhūṣasi |
araṁ te śakra dāvane || 26 ||
parākāttāc cid adrivas tvāṁ nakṣanta no giraḥ |
araṁ gamāma te vayam || 27 ||
evā hy asi vīrayur evā śūra uta sthiraḥ |
evā te rādhyam manaḥ || 28 ||
evā rātis tuvīmagha viśvebhir dhāyi dhātṛbhiḥ |
adhā cid indra me sacā || 29 ||
mo ṣu brahmeva tandrayur bhuvo vājānām pate |
matsvā sutasya gomataḥ || 30 ||
mā na indrābhy ā3diśaḥ sūro aktuṣv ā yaman |
tvā yujā vanema tat || 31 ||
tvayed indra yujā vayam prati bruvīmahi spṛdhaḥ |
tvam asmākaṁ tava smasi || 32 ||
tvām id dhi tvāyavo 'nunonuvataś carān |
sakhāya indra kāravaḥ || 33 ||
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).