Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.135 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.
O Vāyu and Indra, divine pair! O wind and warrior, swift and strong! Ye are complementary powers, the breath and the thunderbolt, the invisible and the manifest. Together ye do accomplish great deeds that neither could accomplish alone.
Vāyu, thou dost ride ahead, spreading the clouds and announcing the approach of thy companion. Indra followeth, bringing the thunder and the lightning. When they meet, the whole sky is alive with power! The winds do howl! The rains do pour down! The earth doth drink deeply and is made fertile!
Vāyu, thou art the guide and the herald. Indra, thou art the warrior and the lord. Vāyu, thy touch is gentle as the caress of a lover's hand. Indra, thy touch is as the blow of the warrior's club. Vāyu, thou dost inspire poetry and song in the hearts of men. Indra, thou dost inspire courage and the will to conquer.
Together, ye do ride across the heavens in thy golden chariots! The earth trembles at thy coming! The waters flow at thy command! The crops grow tall in the fields! The herds multiply! The people prosper under thy rule!
O Vāyu and Indra, we call upon you both! Let thy blessings fall upon us like the rains of the monsoon! Let thy power protect us from our enemies! Let thy wisdom guide us in all our deeds! Grant us prosperity and victory! Grant us long life and many children! Grant us the blessings that come from thy divine partnership!
Colophon
Rigveda I.135 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.135
tubhyaṁ hi pūrvapītaye devā devāya yemire |
pra te sutāso madhumanto asthiran madāya kratve asthiran || 1 ||
tavāyam bhāga āyuṣu somo deveṣu hūyate |
vaha vāyo niyuto yāhy asmayur juṣāṇo yāhy asmayuḥ || 2 ||
tavāyam bhāga ṛtviyaḥ saraśmiḥ sūrye sacā |
adhvaryubhir bharamāṇā ayaṁsata vāyo śukrā ayaṁsata || 3 ||
pibatam madhvo andhasaḥ pūrvapeyaṁ hi vāṁ hitam |
vāyav ā candreṇa rādhasā gatam indraś ca rādhasā gatam || 4 ||
teṣām pibatam asmayū ā no gantam ihotyā |
indravāyū sutānām adribhir yuvam madāya vājadā yuvam || 5 ||
ete vām abhy asṛkṣata tiraḥ pavitram āśavaḥ |
yuvāyavo 'ti romāṇy avyayā somāso aty avyayā || 6 ||
ati vāyo sasato yāhi śaśvato yatra grāvā vadati tatra gacchataṁ gṛham indraś ca gacchatam |
vi sūnṛtā dadṛśe rīyate ghṛtam ā pūrṇayā niyutā yātho adhvaram indraś ca yātho adhvaram || 7 ||
atrāha tad vahethe madhva āhutiṁ yam aśvattham upatiṣṭhanta jāyavo 'sme te santu jāyavaḥ |
sākaṁ gāvaḥ suvate pacyate yavo na te vāya upa dasyanti dhenavo nāpa dasyanti dhenavaḥ || 8 ||
dhanvañ cid ye anāśavo jīrāś cid agiraukasaḥ |
sūryasyeva raśmayo durniyantavo hastayor durniyantavaḥ || 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).
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