Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.130 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! O lord of cosmic deeds! Thou hast done what no other god could do. Hear now the recitation of thy mighty works! These are the tales that shall be sung forever in the halls of men.
In the beginning of time, when the world was young and the powers of chaos did reign, thou didst come forth as the champion. The demon Vṛtra, that serpent of drought and darkness, did coil himself around the mountains and the waters, holding them captive. The world grew parched. The rivers ceased to flow. All living things cried out in thirst and despair.
Then thou, O Indra, didst gird thyself with strength! Thou didst drink the soma deep. Thy power swelled within thee like a great tide. Thou took'st up the thunderbolt and didst hurl thyself at the demon. The sky did shake with the tumult of thy battle! Lightning did flash! Thunder did roar! The earth did tremble beneath thy feet!
And lo, thou didst slay Vṛtra! Thou didst smite him even unto death! The serpent's body did split asunder, and the waters that he had held captive came flooding forth! The rivers began to flow again! The earth drank deep! All the lands were made fertile and green once more!
Thus thou, O Indra, didst open the cave of the waters and release them for the benefit of all mankind. Thou didst break the power of evil. Thou didst triumph over the forces of destruction. Forever shall thy name be remembered! Forever shall thy deeds be celebrated! Accept our praise, O mighty one!
Colophon
Rigveda I.130 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.130
havāmahe tvā vayam prayasvantaḥ sute sacā |
putrāso na pitaraṁ vājasātaye maṁhiṣṭhaṁ vājasātaye || 1 ||
madāya haryatāya te tuviṣṭamāya dhāyase |
ā tvā yacchantu harito na sūryam ahā viśveva sūryam || 2 ||
vrajaṁ vajrī gavām iva siṣāsann aṅgirastamaḥ |
apāvṛṇod iṣa indraḥ parīvṛtā dvāra iṣaḥ parīvṛtāḥ || 3 ||
saṁvivyāna ojasā śavobhir indra majmanā |
taṣṭeva vṛkṣaṁ vanino ni vṛścasi paraśveva ni vṛścasi || 4 ||
ita ūtīr ayuñjata samānam artham akṣitam |
dhenūr iva manave viśvadohaso janāya viśvadohasaḥ || 5 ||
śumbhanto jenyaṁ yathā vājeṣu vipra vājinam |
atyam iva śavase sātaye dhanā viśvā dhanāni sātaye || 6 ||
atithigvāya śambaraṁ girer ugro avābharat |
maho dhanāni dayamāna ojasā viśvā dhanāny ojasā || 7 ||
manave śāsad avratān tvacaṁ kṛṣṇām arandhayat |
dakṣan na viśvaṁ tatṛṣāṇam oṣati ny arśasānam oṣati || 8 ||
uśanā yat parāvato 'jagann ūtaye kave |
sumnāni viśvā manuṣeva turvaṇir ahā viśveva turvaṇiḥ || 9 ||
sa no navyebhir vṛṣakarmann ukthaiḥ purāṁ dartaḥ pāyubhiḥ pāhi śagmaiḥ |
divodāsebhir indra stavāno vāvṛdhīthā ahobhir iva dyauḥ || 10 ||
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).
🌲