Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.6 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, thou lord of the thunderbolt! Thy bolt is terrible to behold; it pierceth through the mountains and the clouds. With it thou hast shattered the demon Śuṣṇa and all his strongholds; with it thou dost defend the righteous and smite the wicked.
The bolt was forged in the workshop of the gods; it was tempered in the waters of creation. None can withstand its power; none can escape its stroke. Thou alone art worthy to wield such a weapon, O mighty king.
The serpent Vṛtra lay coiled about the waters, holding them captive. Thou didst hurl thy thunderbolt against him and he was shattered like pottery upon a stone. The waters burst forth; they rushed down the mountains in torrents. Thou hast freed them, O Indra, and all creation hath rejoiced.
With thy bolt thou defendest the righteous man from the wicked; thou protectest the faithful from their enemies. The demons flee before thee; the asuras tremble at thy coming. O Indra, with thy thunderbolt, come to our aid.
The bolt is thy right hand; thy left hand holdeth the reins of thy steeds. On thy head blazeth the crown of glory; upon thy breast shineth the ornament of victory. Thou ridest forth in thy chariot drawn by the tawny horses, and all the world trembleth at thy approach.
We pray unto thee, O wielder of the bolt! Grant us thy protection in battle; grant us victory over our foes. Let thy power defend us from all harm; let thy might be as a wall about us. O Indra, hear our prayer and be our helper in all things.
Colophon
Rigveda I.6 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.6
yuñjanti bradhnam aruṣaṁ carantam pari tasthuṣaḥ |
rocante rocanā divi || 1 ||
yuñjanty asya kāmyā harī vipakṣasā rathe |
śoṇā dhṛṣṇū nṛvāhasā || 2 ||
ketuṁ kṛṇvann aketave peśo maryā apeśase |
sam uṣadbhir ajāyathāḥ || 3 ||
ād aha svadhām anu punar garbhatvam erire |
dadhānā nāma yajñiyam || 4 ||
vīḻu cid ārujatnubhir guhā cid indra vahnibhiḥ |
avinda usriyā anu || 5 ||
devayanto yathā matim acchā vidadvasuṁ giraḥ |
mahām anūṣata śrutam || 6 ||
indreṇa saṁ hi dṛkṣase saṁjagmāno abibhyuṣā |
mandū samānavarcasā || 7 ||
anavadyair abhidyubhir makhaḥ sahasvad arcati |
gaṇair indrasya kāmyaiḥ || 8 ||
ataḥ parijmann ā gahi divo vā rocanād adhi |
sam asminn ṛñjate giraḥ || 9 ||
ito vā sātim īmahe divo vā pārthivād adhi |
indram maho vā rajasaḥ || 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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