Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.129 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.
Indra, thou art mighty! Thou art strengthened by the song of the singers. Thy power groweth with each verse we do pronounce. Hear now the cries of the warriors! Hear the calls of those who do invoke thy name!
The soma floweth. The sacred juice is pressed from the plant. We drink it as thou drinkest it, O Indra! At the touch of the soma, thy strength doth swell like the monsoon waters. Thy muscles do become as iron. Thy sinews do become as the cords of the mighty bow. Thy mind becometh clear and sharp.
With the soma flowing through thy veins, thou art invincible! What enemy dare stand before thee? What foe can withstand thy might? Thou dost seize the thunderbolt in thy hand. Thou raiseth it high. The very air trembles at thy gesture. And then thou bringest it down with a force that shaketh the mountains!
The demons flee at thy coming. The wicked cowering creatures that do dwell in darkness scatter like chaff before the wind. Thou art the great champion, the slayer of Vṛtra, the one who hath released the waters and caused them to flow freely across the earth.
O Indra, accept our soma! Drink deeply and be strengthened! Listen to our songs of praise! They are sung with hearts full of devotion and voices full of power! Come to us in our time of need. Stand beside us when we go forth to battle. Grant us victory! Grant us strength! Grant us the blessings that come only from thee!
Colophon
Rigveda I.129 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.129
sadyaś cit tam abhiṣṭaye karo vaśaś ca vājinam |
sāsmākam anavadya tūtujāna vedhasām imāṁ vācaṁ na vedhasām || 1 ||
yaḥ śūraiḥ sva1ḥ sanitā yo viprair vājaṁ tarutā |
tam īśānāsa iradhanta vājinam pṛkṣam atyaṁ na vājinam || 2 ||
indrota tubhyaṁ tad dive tad rudrāya svayaśase |
mitrāya vocaṁ varuṇāya saprathaḥ sumṛḻīkāya saprathaḥ || 3 ||
asmākam brahmotaye 'vā pṛtsuṣu kāsu cit |
nahi tvā śatruḥ starate stṛṇoṣi yaṁ viśvaṁ śatruṁ stṛṇoṣi yam || 4 ||
neṣi ṇo yathā purānenāḥ śūra manyase |
viśvāni pūror apa parṣi vahnir āsā vahnir no accha || 5 ||
svayaṁ so asmad ā nido vadhair ajeta durmatim |
ava sraved aghaśaṁso 'vataram ava kṣudram iva sravet || 6 ||
durmanmānaṁ sumantubhir em iṣā pṛcīmahi |
ā satyābhir indraṁ dyumnahūtibhir yajatraṁ dyumnahūtibhiḥ || 7 ||
svayaṁ sā riṣayadhyai yā na upeṣe atraiḥ |
hatem asan na vakṣati kṣiptā jūrṇir na vakṣati || 8 ||
sacasva naḥ parāka ā sacasvāstamīka ā |
pāhi no dūrād ārād abhiṣṭibhiḥ sadā pāhy abhiṣṭibhiḥ || 9 ||
ojiṣṭha trātar avitā rathaṁ kaṁ cid amartya |
anyam asmad ririṣeḥ kaṁ cid adrivo ririkṣantaṁ cid adrivaḥ || 10 ||
hantā pāpasya rakṣasas trātā viprasya māvataḥ |
adhā hi tvā janitā jījanad vaso rakṣohaṇaṁ tvā jījanad vaso || 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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