Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.29 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 Indra, mighty lord of war, we call upon thee in our hour of need!
Our enemies do gather; the Dāsas march against us in the light of day.
Grant us the strength to vanquish them; help us to crush their power.
Thou art the only god who can deliver us from this terrible plight.
The foe doth come with chariot swift, with arrows keen and deadly spears.
Their numbers are as countless as the stars that shine within the night.
We have but few, yet we trust in thee, O Indra, lord most strong.
Give us thy courage; fill our hearts with valor in this dreadful hour.
Strike down our enemies with thy thunderbolt! Slay them with thy mighty hand!
Let none of them escape thy wrath; let all of them fall down.
The brave shall triumph; the cowards shall flee in panic and in shame.
Let our warriors show no fear; let them be fierce as tigers in the fight.
Indra, thou art the lord of battles; thou art the master of the war.
The gods themselves do follow thee when conflict shaketh heaven and earth.
Give us the wisdom to strike true; give us the strength to endure.
Let our weapons pierce the heart of every man who stands against us.
The mothers weep and wait at home for news of how the battle fared.
Grant that their sons and husbands shall return with glory won.
Grant that we shall see again our homes, our herds, our families dear.
O Indra, hear our prayer today; defend us in this desperate fight.
When victory is ours, we shall build thee an altar made of gold.
We shall offer thee the finest bulls, the sweetest Soma ever made.
Thy name shall ring throughout the land; thy deeds shall echo down the ages.
O mighty Indra, lord of hosts, grant us success this very day!
Colophon
Rigveda I.29 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.29
yac cid dhi satya somapā anāśastā iva smasi |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 1 ||
śiprin vājānām pate śacīvas tava daṁsanā |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 2 ||
ni ṣvāpayā mithūdṛśā sastām abudhyamāne |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 3 ||
sasantu tyā arātayo bodhantu śūra rātayaḥ |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 4 ||
sam indra gardabham mṛṇa nuvantam pāpayāmuyā |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 5 ||
patāti kuṇḍṛṇācyā dūraṁ vāto vanād adhi |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 6 ||
sarvam parikrośaṁ jahi jambhayā kṛkadāśvam |
ā tū na indra śaṁsaya goṣv aśveṣu śubhriṣu sahasreṣu tuvīmagha || 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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