Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.4 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 warrior! To thee do we bring our praises. Thou art the Bull, the Lord of the storm; thy voice is the thunder that shaketh the heavens. Accept our offering and hear our prayer.
In times of old thou didst slay the demon Vṛtra who held back the waters. With thy thunderbolt thou didst break the mountain; thou didst release the rivers to flow unto the sea. Thou art the conqueror, the slayer of demons, the protector of all men.
No god is like unto thee in might; no being in heaven or on earth surpasseth thy strength. Thou art the holder of treasures; thou art the lord of all gifts. When we call upon thee, thou dost hear; when we praise thee, thou dost come unto us.
O Indra, with thy hundred aids and thy thousand gifts, be gracious unto us. Strengthen our warriors in battle; give them victory over their foes. Protect our people from all harm; grant us abundance in our herds and in our fields.
The singers do praise thee without ceasing; the priests do offer thee the soma. Come, O Bull of heaven, and drink of the sweet juice we have pressed. Be merry in thy heart; let thy bounty flow forth upon those who honor thee.
Thou art the giver of riches, the lord of prosperity. From thy hand flow forth the waters and the rains. Thou bringest forth the light from darkness; thou ordainest all things according to thy will. O Indra, grant us thy favor and thy blessing evermore.
Colophon
Rigveda I.4 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.4
surūpakṛtnum ūtaye sudughām iva goduhe |
juhūmasi dyavi-dyavi || 1 ||
upa naḥ savanā gahi somasya somapāḥ piba |
godā id revato madaḥ || 2 ||
athā te antamānāṁ vidyāma sumatīnām |
mā no ati khya ā gahi || 3 ||
parehi vigram astṛtam indram pṛcchā vipaścitam |
yas te sakhibhya ā varam || 4 ||
uta bruvantu no nido nir anyataś cid ārata |
dadhānā indra id duvaḥ || 5 ||
uta naḥ subhagām̐ arir voceyur dasma kṛṣṭayaḥ |
syāmed indrasya śarmaṇi || 6 ||
em āśum āśave bhara yajñaśriyaṁ nṛmādanam |
patayan mandayatsakham || 7 ||
asya pītvā śatakrato ghano vṛtrāṇām abhavaḥ |
prāvo vājeṣu vājinam || 8 ||
taṁ tvā vājeṣu vājinaṁ vājayāmaḥ śatakrato |
dhanānām indra sātaye || 9 ||
yo rāyo3 'vanir mahān supāraḥ sunvataḥ sakhā |
tasmā indrāya gāyata || 10 ||
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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