Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.57 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.
Praised with soma be thou, O Indra! We have made the sacred draught for thee, and it awaiteth thy lips. The finest plant, the most precious juice—we have prepared it with care and ritual purity. Come now and taste it!
When thou drinkest the soma, thy greatness doth swell within thee. The intoxication filleth thy limbs with divine power. Thy strength increaseth a thousandfold. Thy courage becometh immeasurable. Thy intelligence pierceth all mysteries. Thou becomest invincible, unstoppable, a force of nature against which no foe can stand.
Yet the soma doth more than strengthen thy body and sharpen thy mind. It doth also open thy heart. When thou hast drunk, thy generosity overfloweth like a river. Thou givest gifts to thy worshippers. Thou grantest boons to those who praise thee. Thou dost show favor to the righteous and rain destruction upon the wicked.
Therefore we make this offering, O Indra! Drink deep of the soma! Let it fill thee to overflowing! And in thy joy and thy strength, remember us. Grant us thy protection. Grant us thy bounty. Grant us a share of thy magnificent power.
In the ancient days, the soma itself was a god—Soma, the god of intoxication and wisdom. But in these later times, Soma hath become the sacred plant, the drink that we mortals prepare for the gods. Yet something of Soma's original godhood remaineth within the draught. When thou drinkest, O Indra, thou art communing with a power as old as creation itself.
We glorify thee in thy soma-intoxication, O mighty one! We praise thee when thy strength is at its greatest and thy generosity floweth forth without measure. Thus do we call upon thee with lifted voices and outstretched hands. Accept our soma! Be pleased with our worship! Grant us thy favor forever.
Colophon
Rigveda I.57 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.57
pra maṁhiṣṭhāya bṛhate bṛhadraye satyaśuṣmāya tavase matim bhare |
apām iva pravaṇe yasya durdharaṁ rādho viśvāyu śavase apāvṛtam || 1 ||
adha te viśvam anu hāsad iṣṭaya āpo nimneva savanā haviṣmataḥ |
yat parvate na samaśīta haryata indrasya vajraḥ śnathitā hiraṇyayaḥ || 2 ||
asmai bhīmāya namasā sam adhvara uṣo na śubhra ā bharā panīyase |
yasya dhāma śravase nāmendriyaṁ jyotir akāri harito nāyase || 3 ||
ime ta indra te vayam puruṣṭuta ye tvārabhya carāmasi prabhūvaso |
nahi tvad anyo girvaṇo giraḥ saghat kṣoṇīr iva prati no harya tad vacaḥ || 4 ||
bhūri ta indra vīrya1ṁ tava smasy asya stotur maghavan kāmam ā pṛṇa |
anu te dyaur bṛhatī vīryam mama iyaṁ ca te pṛthivī nema ojase || 5 ||
tvaṁ tam indra parvatam mahām uruṁ vajreṇa vajrin parvaśaś cakartitha |
avāsṛjo nivṛtāḥ sartavā apaḥ satrā viśvaṁ dadhiṣe kevalaṁ sahaḥ || 6 ||
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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