Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.171 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.
By Agastya, the great sage, do we sing reconciliation
To the Maruts, those storm-gods, after the great dispute is ended,
And peace hath been restored 'tween the warring deities once more.
O Maruts, ye whose hearts did burn with righteous anger,
Ye who did rage 'gainst Indra in the battle terrible,
Ye who did raise your spears against the lord of heaven,
Hear now the words of peace that Agastya doth utter forth.
The discord hath been settled, the quarrel hath been healed,
For Indra and the Maruts have come to understanding clear,
That they are mighty both, and that their power combined doth shake the cosmos,
And that together they are stronger far than either one alone.
Let there be no more enmity 'tween the gods celestial,
Let there be no more strife that doth disrupt the cosmic order,
For when the gods do war 'mongst themselves, the world below doth suffer,
The mortals are afflicted, and the crops do wither on the vine.
So Maruts, lay down your weapons, cool the fire of your anger,
Acknowledge now that Indra is your lord and chief in battle,
Yet know that he doth honor you, doth recognize your power,
And doth hold you in the highest regard and deepest respect.
Come now, rejoin the council of the gods most high,
Ride forth once more beside Indra in the cosmic struggle,
Let your strength and his strength flow together as one mighty torrent,
That shall sweep away all evil and restore the sacred order.
The priests do make the sacrifice, do press the soma sweet,
Do kindle up the sacred fire that riseth toward the sky,
And we do sing this hymn of peace in voices loud and clear,
That the gods might hear the prayers of mortal hearts below.
So be it settled now and forever more:
Let the Maruts and Indra be united in their purpose,
Let their quarrels be forgotten, let their enmity be healed,
Let them ride together through the heavens bright and vast,
That all creation may flourish and be blessed by their accord.
Agastya doth declare: The reconciliation is complete,
The gods are at peace, the cosmos is restored to order,
And we mortals do rejoice and give our thanks eternal
For the wisdom that doth heal and the strength that doth preserve.
Colophon
Rigveda I.171 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.171
prati va enā namasāham emi sūktena bhikṣe sumatiṁ turāṇām |
rarāṇatā maruto vedyābhir ni heḻo dhatta vi mucadhvam aśvān || 1 ||
eṣa vaḥ stomo maruto namasvān hṛdā taṣṭo manasā dhāyi devāḥ |
upem ā yāta manasā juṣāṇā yūyaṁ hi ṣṭhā namasa id vṛdhāsaḥ || 2 ||
stutāso no maruto mṛḻayantūta stuto maghavā śambhaviṣṭhaḥ |
ūrdhvā naḥ santu komyā vanāny ahāni viśvā maruto jigīṣā || 3 ||
asmād ahaṁ taviṣād īṣamāṇa indrād bhiyā maruto rejamānaḥ |
yuṣmabhyaṁ havyā niśitāny āsan tāny āre cakṛmā mṛḻatā naḥ || 4 ||
yena mānāsaś citayanta usrā vyuṣṭiṣu śavasā śaśvatīnām |
sa no marudbhir vṛṣabha śravo dhā ugra ugrebhiḥ sthaviraḥ sahodāḥ || 5 ||
tvam pāhīndra sahīyaso nṝn bhavā marudbhir avayātaheḻāḥ |
supraketebhiḥ sāsahir dadhāno vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 6 ||
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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