Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.131 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 lord of heroic deeds! We call upon thee now, for we are in need of thy strength. Thou art the greatest of warriors. Thou art the most powerful of all the gods. No foe can withstand thee. No enemy can escape thy wrath.
In the ancient days, thou didst walk the earth and didst accomplish mighty deeds. Thou did'st slay the demons and the monsters that threatened mankind. Thou did'st rescue the herds from the thieves and the raiders. Thou did'st protect the weak and the defenseless from the wicked.
O Indra, we call upon thee now! Our enemies grow strong. They threaten our lands and our flocks. They would take what is rightfully ours. They would enslave our people and grind them beneath their heels. But we trust in thee, O mighty one! We know that thou wilt not permit such evil to triumph!
Come forth, O Indra! Gird thyself with thy terrible weapons! Take up the thunderbolt! Let thy eyes flash with divine fury! Let thy roar shake the heavens! March forth against our enemies and smite them down! Let none of them escape thy vengeance!
And when the battle is won, when our enemies lie defeated upon the field, then we shall sing thy praises throughout all the lands! We shall offer thee the finest sacrifices! We shall pour out the soma and kindle the sacred fires! Thy name shall be exalted above all others! The whole world shall know that thou art the greatest of warriors, the lord of heroic deeds, the invincible champion of all mankind!
Colophon
Rigveda I.131 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.131
indraṁ viśve sajoṣaso devāso dadhire puraḥ |
indrāya viśvā savanāni mānuṣā rātāni santu mānuṣā || 1 ||
taṁ tvā nāvaṁ na parṣaṇiṁ śūṣasya dhuri dhīmahi |
indraṁ na yajñaiś citayanta āyavaḥ stomebhir indram āyavaḥ || 2 ||
yad gavyantā dvā janā sva1r yantā samūhasi |
āviṣ karikrad vṛṣaṇaṁ sacābhuvaṁ vajram indra sacābhuvam || 3 ||
śāsas tam indra martyam ayajyuṁ śavasas pate |
mahīm amuṣṇāḥ pṛthivīm imā apo mandasāna imā apaḥ || 4 ||
cakartha kāram ebhyaḥ pṛtanāsu pravantave |
te anyām-anyāṁ nadyaṁ saniṣṇata śravasyantaḥ saniṣṇata || 5 ||
yad indra hantave mṛdho vṛṣā vajriñ ciketasi |
ā me asya vedhaso navīyaso manma śrudhi navīyasaḥ || 6 ||
jahi yo no aghāyati śṛṇuṣva suśravastamaḥ |
riṣṭaṁ na yāmann apa bhūtu durmatir viśvāpa bhūtu durmatiḥ || 7 ||
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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