Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.96 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. For him the Dawns lengthened their journey; for Indra the nights ran on like eloquent waves. For him the seven mother-waters stood ready; the rivers stood good-fording, for men to cross.
2. Pierced through, even by a trembling weapon, were the thrice-seven ridges, the joined peaks of the mountains. Neither god nor mortal could equal what the swollen bull has done.
3. Indra's mace of metal is firmly set; in Indra's arms is the greatest strength. In his head sit Indra's powers, unrivalled; they were pressing on toward renown close at hand.
4. I consider you worthy of worship among the worshipful; I consider you the shaker of the unshakable. I consider you, Indra, the banner of warriors; I consider you the bull of the peoples.
5. When you take up in your arms, Indra, the mace that shakes down fury, to slay the serpent — the mountains roared out, the cows lowed out, the sacred formulas reached toward Indra.
6. Let us praise him, who has begotten all these beings that are younger than himself. May we win friendship with Indra through our songs; may we approach the bull with homage.
7. Fleeing from Vṛtra's roar, all the gods who were your friends abandoned you. Let your friendship, Indra, be with the Maruts — then you will win all these battles.
8. Thrice sixty Maruts, worthy of worship, growing strong like shining herds, have strengthened you. We come to you as they do; grant us our portion. May we honor your might with this offering.
9. Sharp is the weapon, the battle-line of the Maruts — who, Indra, dares stand against your mace? The weaponless demons, the godless ones — scatter them away with your wheel, O Ṛjīśin.
10. To the great, mighty, powerful one send a well-wrought hymn, to the most gracious one, for cattle. Offer abundant songs to Indra, who is borne along by songs — for your own good; surely he will take notice.
11. To the far-reaching one who is carried by praise-hymns, send your thought — as if by a raft carry it to the far shore of the rivers. Reach with your prayer to the very self of the renowned, the most cherished one; surely he will take notice.
12. Discern what will please Indra from you; sing a good hymn, seek him with homage. Draw near, O singer, do not merely cry out — make your voice heard; surely he will take notice.
13. The black drop settled down upon the Aṁśumatī, advancing with ten thousand. Indra, with his power, overcame him as he raged; the manly-hearted one cast off his allies.
14. I saw the drop moving off in a distant place, in a bend of the river Aṁśumatī, settled there black like a cloud. I urge you on, O mighty ones — fight in the battle!
15. Then the drop, in the lap of the Aṁśumatī, held its body, blazing fierce. The godless tribes advanced against it; Indra, with Bṛhaspati as his ally, overcame them.
16. Being born, you at once became, Indra, an enemy to those seven who had no enemy before. You found heaven and earth hidden away; you brought the joy of battle to the far-reaching worlds.
17. You, O mace-wielder, boldly struck down that matchless power with your mace. You brought down Śuṣṇa with your deadly weapons; you, Indra, by your might found the cows.
18. You, O bull of the peoples, became the mighty slayer of the obstructing foes. You released the rivers that had been dammed up; you conquered the waters that had a Dāsa for their lord.
19. He is the one of good resolve who delights in the pressed soma, whose fury none surpasses, who is rich as day itself. He who alone performs manly deeds — him, and no other, they call the Vṛtra-slayer.
20. He, Indra the Vṛtra-slayer, sustainer of the peoples — let us call on him, worthy of invocation, with fitting praise. He is our helper, the bounteous one, our advocate; he is the giver of strength and of glorious renown.
21. He, Indra the Vṛtra-slayer, mighty lord — as soon as born he became worthy of invocation, performing many manly deeds. Like soma when drunk, he is to be called upon by his friends.
Translator's note: Verses 13–15 describe a "black drop" (kṛṣṇa drapsa) at the river Aṁśumatī, understood by tradition as a dark-skinned warrior-leader with a ten-thousand-strong host defeated by Indra; the passage is compressed and its precise historical referent is uncertain, so it is rendered here conservatively, close to the Sanskrit images. Verse 3's "eṣanta śrutyā upāke" and verse 19's "anuttamanyur yo aheva revān" are likewise terse and admit more than one reading; both are given in their most literal sense.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.96 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.96
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.
asmā uṣāsa ātiranta yāmam indrāya naktam ūrmyāḥ suvācaḥ |
asmā āpo mātaraḥ sapta tasthur nṛbhyas tarāya sindhavaḥ supārāḥ || 1 ||
atividdhā vithureṇā cid astrā triḥ sapta sānu saṁhitā girīṇām |
na tad devo na martyas tuturyād yāni pravṛddho vṛṣabhaś cakāra || 2 ||
indrasya vajra āyaso nimiśla indrasya bāhvor bhūyiṣṭham ojaḥ |
śīrṣann indrasya kratavo nireka āsann eṣanta śrutyā upāke || 3 ||
manye tvā yajñiyaṁ yajñiyānām manye tvā cyavanam acyutānām |
manye tvā satvanām indra ketum manye tvā vṛṣabhaṁ carṣaṇīnām || 4 ||
ā yad vajram bāhvor indra dhatse madacyutam ahaye hantavā u |
pra parvatā anavanta pra gāvaḥ pra brahmāṇo abhinakṣanta indram || 5 ||
tam u ṣṭavāma ya imā jajāna viśvā jātāny avarāṇy asmāt |
indreṇa mitraṁ didhiṣema gīrbhir upo namobhir vṛṣabhaṁ viśema || 6 ||
vṛtrasya tvā śvasathād īṣamāṇā viśve devā ajahur ye sakhāyaḥ |
marudbhir indra sakhyaṁ te astv athemā viśvāḥ pṛtanā jayāsi || 7 ||
triḥ ṣaṣṭis tvā maruto vāvṛdhānā usrā iva rāśayo yajñiyāsaḥ |
upa tvemaḥ kṛdhi no bhāgadheyaṁ śuṣmaṁ ta enā haviṣā vidhema || 8 ||
tigmam āyudham marutām anīkaṁ kas ta indra prati vajraṁ dadharṣa |
anāyudhāso asurā adevāś cakreṇa tām̐ apa vapa ṛjīṣin || 9 ||
maha ugrāya tavase suvṛktim preraya śivatamāya paśvaḥ |
girvāhase gira indrāya pūrvīr dhehi tanve kuvid aṅga vedat || 10 ||
ukthavāhase vibhve manīṣāṁ druṇā na pāram īrayā nadīnām |
ni spṛśa dhiyā tanvi śrutasya juṣṭatarasya kuvid aṅga vedat || 11 ||
tad viviḍḍhi yat ta indro jujoṣat stuhi suṣṭutiṁ namasā vivāsa |
upa bhūṣa jaritar mā ruvaṇyaḥ śrāvayā vācaṁ kuvid aṅga vedat || 12 ||
ava drapso aṁśumatīm atiṣṭhad iyānaḥ kṛṣṇo daśabhiḥ sahasraiḥ |
āvat tam indraḥ śacyā dhamantam apa snehitīr nṛmaṇā adhatta || 13 ||
drapsam apaśyaṁ viṣuṇe carantam upahvare nadyo aṁśumatyāḥ |
nabho na kṛṣṇam avatasthivāṁsam iṣyāmi vo vṛṣaṇo yudhyatājau || 14 ||
adha drapso aṁśumatyā upasthe 'dhārayat tanvaṁ titviṣāṇaḥ |
viśo adevīr abhy ā3carantīr bṛhaspatinā yujendraḥ sasāhe || 15 ||
tvaṁ ha tyat saptabhyo jāyamāno 'śatrubhyo abhavaḥ śatrur indra |
gūḻhe dyāvāpṛthivī anv avindo vibhumadbhyo bhuvanebhyo raṇaṁ dhāḥ || 16 ||
tvaṁ ha tyad apratimānam ojo vajreṇa vajrin dhṛṣito jaghantha |
tvaṁ śuṣṇasyāvātiro vadhatrais tvaṁ gā indra śacyed avindaḥ || 17 ||
tvaṁ ha tyad vṛṣabha carṣaṇīnāṁ ghano vṛtrāṇāṁ taviṣo babhūtha |
tvaṁ sindhūm̐r asṛjas tastabhānān tvam apo ajayo dāsapatnīḥ || 18 ||
sa sukratū raṇitā yaḥ suteṣv anuttamanyur yo aheva revān |
ya eka in nary apāṁsi kartā sa vṛtrahā pratīd anyam āhuḥ || 19 ||
sa vṛtrahendraś carṣaṇīdhṛt taṁ suṣṭutyā havyaṁ huvema |
sa prāvitā maghavā no 'dhivaktā sa vājasya śravasyasya dātā || 20 ||
sa vṛtrahendra ṛbhukṣāḥ sadyo jajñāno havyo babhūva |
kṛṇvann apāṁsi naryā purūṇi somo na pīto havyaḥ sakhibhyaḥ || 21 ||
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).