Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.175 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.
Hail to Indra the soma-drinker, he who doth partake of the sacred liquor sweet,
And through that drinking doth become empowered beyond all measure to wage the cosmic battle.
The priests do prepare the soma with utmost care and reverence,
They do crush it with the stones, they do press it through the cloth of wool,
They do mix it with the milk and with the barley's sweetened drink,
And the liquid golden flows like the rivers in the days of creation.
This soma is not merely drink, but the very essence of immortal life itself,
'Tis the nectar of the gods, the elixir that doth grant eternal power,
'Tis the distillation of all wisdom and all strength concentrated into a single draught.
When Indra doth drink the soma, his eyes do blaze with lightning's fury,
His body doth become as firm as adamant, as strong as the mountains high,
His voice doth roar forth thunder that doth shake the very pillars of the world,
And his courage riseth up within him like a tide that cannot be contained.
The soma filleth him with power to accomplish deeds impossible and marvelous,
To slay the demons that do dwell in chaos and in darkness deep,
To protect the righteous and the good from all the evil forces ranged 'gainst them,
To ensure that order and the law do triumph o'er the wild confusion.
Indra drinks and is transformed, becoming more than mortal god could be,
His strength doth multiply a thousandfold, his speed doth increase beyond measure,
His intellect doth sharpen till he knoweth all the secrets hidden in the cosmos,
And his will doth become as immovable as the earth itself.
In that state of heightened power, Indra doth go forth to battle,
His enemies do flee before him, for they know they cannot stand 'gainst him,
His victories are assured, his triumph is inevitable and certain,
For none can match the strength of Indra when the soma hath empowered him.
Yet Indra doth not drink merely for his own aggrandizement and glory,
He drinketh that he might be strengthened to fulfill his sacred duty,
To protect all the worlds and all the beings dwelling therein,
To maintain the cosmic order and the sacred law eternal.
So we do sing of Indra the soma-drinker, mighty and empowered,
We do praise him for his strength and his courage unshakeable,
We do thank him for his protection and his vigilance eternal,
And we do ask him to continue drinking of that sacred nectar sweet,
That he might remain forever able to defend us from all harm and danger.
Colophon
Rigveda I.175 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.175
matsy apāyi te mahaḥ pātrasyeva harivo matsaro madaḥ |
vṛṣā te vṛṣṇa indur vājī sahasrasātamaḥ || 1 ||
ā nas te gantu matsaro vṛṣā mado vareṇyaḥ |
sahāvām̐ indra sānasiḥ pṛtanāṣāḻ amartyaḥ || 2 ||
tvaṁ hi śūraḥ sanitā codayo manuṣo ratham |
sahāvān dasyum avratam oṣaḥ pātraṁ na śociṣā || 3 ||
muṣāya sūryaṁ kave cakram īśāna ojasā |
vaha śuṣṇāya vadhaṁ kutsaṁ vātasyāśvaiḥ || 4 ||
śuṣmintamo hi te mado dyumnintama uta kratuḥ |
vṛtraghnā varivovidā maṁsīṣṭhā aśvasātamaḥ || 5 ||
yathā pūrvebhyo jaritṛbhya indra maya ivāpo na tṛṣyate babhūtha |
tām anu tvā nividaṁ johavīmi 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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