Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.104 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.
At midday when the sun doth climb most high, and light doth flood across the brilliant sky, we gather now to pour the soma sweet, and lay our offerings at the sacred seat.
O Indra, hear us at this blessed hour, accept the drink of thy eternal power. The priests have pressed the herb with careful hands; the juice doth flow in consecrated lands. We mix the milk and water with the mead, and lift to thee this most exalted deed.
Come now, O strong one, to our fire's light; drink deep of what we offer here this night. The soma stimulates thy warrior heart; it maketh thee invincible and smart. With every draught thy courage doth increase, thy valor swells, thy enemies release.
We have prepared the cup, we have made ready all for thee, the lord most mighty and most heady. The festival is here, the stones are set, the altar glows where we shall never let the flames die down till thou art satisfied.
O thou who ridest in the midday pride, come taste what we have labored to provide. The pressing-stones have crushed the soma herb; its golden essence is thy just desert. This is the drink that maketh gods most strong, that driveth back the chaos and the wrong.
We praise thee, Indra, now at this high time, when all the cosmos standeth in its prime. The sun at zenith, and thy power most great — accept our gift, O lord of every state.
Grant us the victory in our coming fight; make all our enemies to take to flight. Let our great cattle multiply and grow; upon our fields let all the waters flow.
Colophon
Rigveda I.104 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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda I.104
yoniṣ ṭa indra niṣade akāri tam ā ni ṣīda svāno nārvā |
vimucyā vayo 'vasāyāśvān doṣā vastor vahīyasaḥ prapitve || 1 ||
o tye nara indram ūtaye gur nū cit tān sadyo adhvano jagamyāt |
devāso manyuṁ dāsasya ścamnan te na ā vakṣan suvitāya varṇam || 2 ||
ava tmanā bharate ketavedā ava tmanā bharate phenam udan |
kṣīreṇa snātaḥ kuyavasya yoṣe hate te syātām pravaṇe śiphāyāḥ || 3 ||
yuyopa nābhir uparasyāyoḥ pra pūrvābhis tirate rāṣṭi śūraḥ |
añjasī kuliśī vīrapatnī payo hinvānā udabhir bharante || 4 ||
prati yat syā nīthādarśi dasyor oko nācchā sadanaṁ jānatī gāt |
adha smā no maghavañ carkṛtād in mā no magheva niṣṣapī parā dāḥ || 5 ||
sa tvaṁ na indra sūrye so apsv anāgāstva ā bhaja jīvaśaṁse |
māntarām bhujam ā rīriṣo naḥ śraddhitaṁ te mahata indriyāya || 6 ||
adhā manye śrat te asmā adhāyi vṛṣā codasva mahate dhanāya |
mā no akṛte puruhūta yonāv indra kṣudhyadbhyo vaya āsutiṁ dāḥ || 7 ||
mā no vadhīr indra mā parā dā mā naḥ priyā bhojanāni pra moṣīḥ |
āṇḍā mā no maghavañ chakra nir bhen mā naḥ pātrā bhet sahajānuṣāṇi || 8 ||
arvāṅ ehi somakāmaṁ tvāhur ayaṁ sutas tasya pibā madāya |
uruvyacā jaṭhara ā vṛṣasva piteva naḥ śṛṇuhi hūyamānaḥ || 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).
🌲