Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.53 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.
Behold the chariot of Indra! What glory surroundeth it! The wheels are fashioned of gold and burnished bronze. The axles gleam like stars. The frame is wrought with such cunning that no earthly artisan could have shaped it—surely the gods themselves did build this wondrous car.
What steeds do draw this chariot? Not ordinary horses, O no! These are creatures of divine origin. They are bay-colored, with manes that flow like rivers. Their eyes shine bright as fire. Their hooves strike sparks when they touch the earth. With a single bound they can leap from one summit to another. With a single stride they cross an entire kingdom.
Indra mounteth his chariot with the strength of a bull in his limbs. He taketh the reins in his mighty hands. The steeds sense his presence and prance with eagerness, as though they themselves are eager for battle. They know where Indra leadeth—to glory, to victory, to the triumphant defeat of his enemies.
When the war-cry soundeth, Indra standeth in his chariot. Around him the gods gather—Agni, Vayu, the Maruts, all the divine hosts. They advance together, a terrible army, and the demons flee before them like chaff before the wind.
O Indra, thy chariot is the terror of thy foes! When they hear the rumble of thy wheels, their hearts do fail them. When they see the cloud of dust raised by thy steeds, they scatter in all directions. The mightiest warrior becomes as a child before thee. The fiercest demon becometh as a leaf trembling in the wind.
Yet to us, thy worshippers, the sight of thy chariot bringeth joy and hope. For we know that thou ridest forth for our sake, to defend us from the powers of darkness. Grant us always such a champion, O Indra! Grant that thy chariot shall roll forever in defense of the righteous. Thus do we praise thee and thy wondrous car.
Colophon
Rigveda I.53 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.53
ny ū3 ṣu vācam pra mahe bharāmahe gira indrāya sadane vivasvataḥ |
nū cid dhi ratnaṁ sasatām ivāvidan na duṣṭutir draviṇodeṣu śasyate || 1 ||
duro aśvasya dura indra gor asi duro yavasya vasuna inas patiḥ |
śikṣānaraḥ pradivo akāmakarśanaḥ sakhā sakhibhyas tam idaṁ gṛṇīmasi || 2 ||
śacīva indra purukṛd dyumattama taved idam abhitaś cekite vasu |
ataḥ saṁgṛbhyābhibhūta ā bhara mā tvāyato jarituḥ kāmam ūnayīḥ || 3 ||
ebhir dyubhiḥ sumanā ebhir indubhir nirundhāno amatiṁ gobhir aśvinā |
indreṇa dasyuṁ darayanta indubhir yutadveṣasaḥ sam iṣā rabhemahi || 4 ||
sam indra rāyā sam iṣā rabhemahi saṁ vājebhiḥ puruścandrair abhidyubhiḥ |
saṁ devyā pramatyā vīraśuṣmayā goagrayāśvāvatyā rabhemahi || 5 ||
te tvā madā amadan tāni vṛṣṇyā te somāso vṛtrahatyeṣu satpate |
yat kārave daśa vṛtrāṇy aprati barhiṣmate ni sahasrāṇi barhayaḥ || 6 ||
yudhā yudham upa ghed eṣi dhṛṣṇuyā purā puraṁ sam idaṁ haṁsy ojasā |
namyā yad indra sakhyā parāvati nibarhayo namuciṁ nāma māyinam || 7 ||
tvaṁ karañjam uta parṇayaṁ vadhīs tejiṣṭhayātithigvasya vartanī |
tvaṁ śatā vaṅgṛdasyābhinat puro 'nānudaḥ pariṣūtā ṛjiśvanā || 8 ||
tvam etāñ janarājño dvir daśābandhunā suśravasopajagmuṣaḥ |
ṣaṣṭiṁ sahasrā navatiṁ nava śruto ni cakreṇa rathyā duṣpadāvṛṇak || 9 ||
tvam āvitha suśravasaṁ tavotibhis tava trāmabhir indra tūrvayāṇam |
tvam asmai kutsam atithigvam āyum mahe rājñe yūne arandhanāyaḥ || 10 ||
ya udṛcīndra devagopāḥ sakhāyas te śivatamā asāma |
tvāṁ stoṣāma tvayā suvīrā drāghīya āyuḥ prataraṁ dadhānāḥ || 11 ||
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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