Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.28 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.
Come, mighty Indra, to our sacrifice! We call upon thee with our voices raised.
The pressing-stones are placed; the Soma stalks are laid upon the sacred ground.
We crush them now—hear thou the sound of mortar striking stone!
The golden juice doth flow like honey, sweetened now for thy delight.
O Indra, mightiest of the gods, who drinketh from the Soma cup,
Receive this precious drink we make for thee with all our heart and care.
The ṛṣis of the ancient days did press the Soma in this very way.
Accept this gift as thou hast ever done; come forth and drink with us.
The Soma plant doth grow upon the mountain high, where snow doth lie eternal.
'Twas brought to earth by ancient hands; 'twas carried down from heaven's realm.
When pressed and filtered through the cloth, it becometh draught of gods.
The man who drinketh Soma becomes as one among the immortal powers.
We mix the juice with milk and water, honey-sweet and cold.
The pressing-stones do crush and break the stalks most carefully.
Each drop that floweth is a gift most holy, most divine.
We offer thee this sacred drink—accept it, Indra, lord most strong.
When thou hast drunk the Soma full, thy might shall be increased.
Thy strength shall grow ten thousand-fold; thy power shall shake the sky.
The demons flee before thy face; the Dāsas tremble at thy name.
No foe can stand against thee when thou hast drunk the Soma deep.
Come now and bless this preparation; grant us thy favor and thy grace.
Let not our pressing-work be vain; let not our offering be rejected.
Thou art the giver of all gifts—of strength and victory and fame.
Drink deep of this most precious juice, and shed thy blessings upon us.
Colophon
Rigveda I.28 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.28
yatra grāvā pṛthubudhna ūrdhvo bhavati sotave |
ulūkhalasutānām aved v indra jalgulaḥ || 1 ||
yatra dvāv iva jaghanādhiṣavaṇyā kṛtā |
ulūkhalasutānām aved v indra jalgulaḥ || 2 ||
yatra nāry apacyavam upacyavaṁ ca śikṣate |
ulūkhalasutānām aved v indra jalgulaḥ || 3 ||
yatra manthāṁ vibadhnate raśmīn yamitavā iva |
ulūkhalasutānām aved v indra jalgulaḥ || 4 ||
yac cid dhi tvaṁ gṛhe-gṛha ulūkhalaka yujyase |
iha dyumattamaṁ vada jayatām iva dundubhiḥ || 5 ||
uta sma te vanaspate vāto vi vāty agram it |
atho indrāya pātave sunu somam ulūkhala || 6 ||
āyajī vājasātamā tā hy u1ccā vijarbhṛtaḥ |
harī ivāndhāṁsi bapsatā || 7 ||
tā no adya vanaspatī ṛṣvāv ṛṣvebhiḥ sotṛbhiḥ |
indrāya madhumat sutam || 8 ||
uc chiṣṭaṁ camvor bhara somam pavitra ā sṛja |
ni dhehi gor adhi tvaci || 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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