Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.101 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Indra, the storm-king and champion of the gods, slayer of Vṛtra, lord of thunder and rain. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Sing, O my soul, to Indra crowned with gold, to him whose arm doth break the demon's hold. The strong one, mighty in the midday heat, hath drunk the Soma sweet, and grown complete.
With soma cups we call upon the king, the lord of storms, the thunder-wielder strong. His stallions race across the sky with fire; his roar doth shake the earth and lift hearts higher. The vajra gleams within his grasping hand — by it he hath destroyed what evil plann'd.
The mountains tremble at his voice; the clouds obey his choice. He drinks the sacred juice and spreads his might o'er all the world from morn to falling night. His belly swells with soma's mystic power; he grows most mighty in that blessed hour.
O thou who art the thunderer and bold, the keeper of the treasures manifold! Grant us the riches that thy hand doth hold. Increase our cattle, make our seeds take root. Give us strong sons to bring forth virtuous fruit.
We priests have pressed the soma for thy sake, and poured the mead into the sacred lake. Accept our offerings, O mighty one; let thy great deeds be sung, thy victories won. Come to our fires, drink deep of what we pour; grant us thy blessings evermore.
Through three expanses thou dost stretch thy form — the earth below, the sky, the mighty storm. Thy hundredfold dominion is secure; thy glory shineth bright, eternal, pure. We mortals here below do sing thy praise, and lift our voices through our nights and days.
Colophon
Rigveda I.101 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Indra, the storm-king and champion of the gods, slayer of Vṛtra, lord of thunder and rain. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.101
pra mandine pitumad arcatā vaco yaḥ kṛṣṇagarbhā nirahann ṛjiśvanā |
avasyavo vṛṣaṇaṁ vajradakṣiṇam marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 1 ||
yo vyaṁsaṁ jāhṛṣāṇena manyunā yaḥ śambaraṁ yo ahan piprum avratam |
indro yaḥ śuṣṇam aśuṣaṁ ny āvṛṇaṅ marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 2 ||
yasya dyāvāpṛthivī pauṁsyam mahad yasya vrate varuṇo yasya sūryaḥ |
yasyendrasya sindhavaḥ saścati vratam marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 3 ||
yo aśvānāṁ yo gavāṁ gopatir vaśī ya āritaḥ karmaṇi-karmaṇi sthiraḥ |
vīḻoś cid indro yo asunvato vadho marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 4 ||
yo viśvasya jagataḥ prāṇatas patir yo brahmaṇe prathamo gā avindat |
indro yo dasyūm̐r adharām̐ avātiran marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 5 ||
yaḥ śūrebhir havyo yaś ca bhīrubhir yo dhāvadbhir hūyate yaś ca jigyubhiḥ |
indraṁ yaṁ viśvā bhuvanābhi saṁdadhur marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 6 ||
rudrāṇām eti pradiśā vicakṣaṇo rudrebhir yoṣā tanute pṛthu jrayaḥ |
indram manīṣā abhy arcati śrutam marutvantaṁ sakhyāya havāmahe || 7 ||
yad vā marutvaḥ parame sadhasthe yad vāvame vṛjane mādayāse |
ata ā yāhy adhvaraṁ no acchā tvāyā haviś cakṛmā satyarādhaḥ || 8 ||
tvāyendra somaṁ suṣumā sudakṣa tvāyā haviś cakṛmā brahmavāhaḥ |
adhā niyutvaḥ sagaṇo marudbhir asmin yajñe barhiṣi mādayasva || 9 ||
mādayasva haribhir ye ta indra vi ṣyasva śipre vi sṛjasva dhene |
ā tvā suśipra harayo vahantūśan havyāni prati no juṣasva || 10 ||
marutstotrasya vṛjanasya gopā vayam indreṇa sanuyāma vājam |
tan no mitro varuṇo māmahantām aditiḥ sindhuḥ pṛthivī uta dyauḥ || 11 ||
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).
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