Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.55 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, wielder of the Vajra! That thunderbolt which thou bearest is the mightiest weapon ever forged. When thou raisest it above thy head, the sky itself doth quake. When thou dost hurl it forth, nothing can withstand its flight. Mountains crumble before it; fortresses shatter; the very earth doth tremble at its impact.
How was the Vajra made? In what fires was it shaped? What god hath such cunning that he could forge such a weapon? The stories say that Tvaṣṭar the craftsman did beat it upon his anvil. He tempered it in waters vast and deep. He cooled it beneath the gaze of the gods. And when at last it was complete, he gave it into thy hands, saying, "Go now, O Indra. Take this weapon and defend the world."
Thou acceptest it with mighty joy! Thou didst feel its weight and know that it was good. Thou didst swing it round thy head and hear the sound it made—a sound like thunder rolling across the sky. Thou didst hurl it once at the distant mountains as a test, and lo! An entire peak was sundered and cast down.
Now the Vajra is thine constant companion, O Indra. When thou ridest forth in thy chariot, it hangeth at thy side. When thou advancest against thy enemies, thou raisest it aloft and the demons flee in terror, for they know that no defense can withstand it. It has slain countless foes. It has protected countless innocents.
We sing thy praises, O thunderbolt-bearer! Though we mortals can never hope to wield such a weapon, we can honor thee who dost wield it for our sake. Grant that thy Vajra shall always smite our enemies and preserve our people. Guard us with thy mighty weapon. Thus do we praise thee, O Indra, thunderbolt-wielder, mightiest of all gods.
Colophon
Rigveda I.55 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.55
divaś cid asya varimā vi papratha indraṁ na mahnā pṛthivī cana prati |
bhīmas tuviṣmāñ carṣaṇibhya ātapaḥ śiśīte vajraṁ tejase na vaṁsagaḥ || 1 ||
so arṇavo na nadyaḥ samudriyaḥ prati gṛbhṇāti viśritā varīmabhiḥ |
indraḥ somasya pītaye vṛṣāyate sanāt sa yudhma ojasā panasyate || 2 ||
tvaṁ tam indra parvataṁ na bhojase maho nṛmṇasya dharmaṇām irajyasi |
pra vīryeṇa devatāti cekite viśvasmā ugraḥ karmaṇe purohitaḥ || 3 ||
sa id vane namasyubhir vacasyate cāru janeṣu prabruvāṇa indriyam |
vṛṣā chandur bhavati haryato vṛṣā kṣemeṇa dhenām maghavā yad invati || 4 ||
sa in mahāni samithāni majmanā kṛṇoti yudhma ojasā janebhyaḥ |
adhā cana śrad dadhati tviṣīmata indrāya vajraṁ nighanighnate vadham || 5 ||
sa hi śravasyuḥ sadanāni kṛtrimā kṣmayā vṛdhāna ojasā vināśayan |
jyotīṁṣi kṛṇvann avṛkāṇi yajyave 'va sukratuḥ sartavā apaḥ sṛjat || 6 ||
dānāya manaḥ somapāvann astu te 'rvāñcā harī vandanaśrud ā kṛdhi |
yamiṣṭhāsaḥ sārathayo ya indra te na tvā ketā ā dabhnuvanti bhūrṇayaḥ || 7 ||
aprakṣitaṁ vasu bibharṣi hastayor aṣāḻhaṁ sahas tanvi śruto dadhe |
āvṛtāso 'vatāso na kartṛbhis tanūṣu te kratava indra bhūrayaḥ || 8 ||
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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