Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.37 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.
We call upon the Maruts, the storm gods mighty and swift!
The children of Rudra, the companions of Indra in every battle!
Come forth with your thunder; come forth with your lightning and your rain.
Ye riders of the tempest; ye breakers of the clouds; hear our prayer!
The Maruts do ride through the sky with armor bright as molten gold.
Their hair doth stream behind them like the wind that roareth through the trees.
They shout in voices terrible; the very heavens shake and quake.
When they pass over, the earth doth tremble; the mountains bow before them.
The lightning that doth flash and crack is the weapon of the Maruts bright.
The thunder that doth roll and boom is their voice calling unto mortals.
The rain that falleth from the clouds doth nourish all the crops below.
Without the Maruts' violent storm, the world would wither up and die.
Ye are the brothers of the wind; ye dance upon the wings of gale.
Ye are the wielders of the storm; ye masters of the raging tempest.
No enemy can stand against you; no foe can withstand your wrath.
Yet to the righteous man who calls, ye are as kindly guardians.
The Maruts ride in companies, hundreds strong or even more.
Each one beareth lightning-spears; each one rideth upon wind.
They follow where Indra leadeth them in his conquering campaigns.
Together they do crush the demon; together they protect the world.
When drought doth threaten all the land, we call upon the Maruts' aid.
Come now with thy precious rain; refresh the weary, thirsty earth.
Come now with thy wind and storm; bring life-giving moisture from the sky.
O Maruts fierce and mighty, hear us, and grant us thy blessing.
Colophon
Rigveda I.37 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.37
krīḻaṁ vaḥ śardho mārutam anarvāṇaṁ ratheśubham |
kaṇvā abhi pra gāyata || 1 ||
ye pṛṣatībhir ṛṣṭibhiḥ sākaṁ vāśībhir añjibhiḥ |
ajāyanta svabhānavaḥ || 2 ||
iheva śṛṇva eṣāṁ kaśā hasteṣu yad vadān |
ni yāmañ citram ṛñjate || 3 ||
pra vaḥ śardhāya ghṛṣvaye tveṣadyumnāya śuṣmiṇe |
devattam brahma gāyata || 4 ||
pra śaṁsā goṣv aghnyaṁ krīḻaṁ yac chardho mārutam |
jambhe rasasya vāvṛdhe || 5 ||
ko vo varṣiṣṭha ā naro divaś ca gmaś ca dhūtayaḥ |
yat sīm antaṁ na dhūnutha || 6 ||
ni vo yāmāya mānuṣo dadhra ugrāya manyave |
jihīta parvato giriḥ || 7 ||
yeṣām ajmeṣu pṛthivī jujurvām̐ iva viśpatiḥ |
bhiyā yāmeṣu rejate || 8 ||
sthiraṁ hi jānam eṣāṁ vayo mātur niretave |
yat sīm anu dvitā śavaḥ || 9 ||
ud u tye sūnavo giraḥ kāṣṭhā ajmeṣv atnata |
vāśrā abhijñu yātave || 10 ||
tyaṁ cid ghā dīrgham pṛthum miho napātam amṛdhram |
pra cyāvayanti yāmabhiḥ || 11 ||
maruto yad dha vo balaṁ janām̐ acucyavītana |
girīm̐r acucyavītana || 12 ||
yad dha yānti marutaḥ saṁ ha bruvate 'dhvann ā |
śṛṇoti kaś cid eṣām || 13 ||
pra yāta śībham āśubhiḥ santi kaṇveṣu vo duvaḥ |
tatro ṣu mādayādhvai || 14 ||
asti hi ṣmā madāya vaḥ smasi ṣmā vayam eṣām |
viśvaṁ cid āyur jīvase || 15 ||
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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