Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.61 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, mightiest among the gods! The mountains trembled at thy voice. The darkness fled when thou didst hurl thy thunderbolt against the demon-hosts. Vritra the serpent, that foul obstruction, lay crushed beneath thy weapon—the waters broke forth in ecstasy, flowing toward the sea in endless torrents.
Thou hast won the sun, O lord of battles. Thou hast seized the soma from the cave where demons kept it hidden. The cattle cry out in joy—herds multiplied beyond counting—for thou hast freed them from the Paṇis' grasp. No foe dare stand before thee, Indra the unconquerable.
The heavens acknowledge thy sovereignty. The earth trembles at thy footfall. When thou dost march in war, the very stones break asunder. The gods themselves bow down before thy might, for none hath conquered as thou hast conquered. The rains obey thy summons; the winds bend to thy will.
With thee do mortals win their battles. With thee do the priests chant their hymns of power. Thou hast granted them the sacrifice, the sacred soma, the eternal wisdom of the Ṛṣis. In thy hand rests the destiny of men—both the weak and the strong.
Come now, O Indra, to our soma-feast! Drink deep of the pressed juice, and let thy generosity flow forth upon us. Grant us victory over our enemies. Grant us increase of cattle and increase of sons. Grant us long life and the blessings of the gods. We sing thy praises now and ever, O Indra the Golden, O Indra the Unconquered!
Colophon
Rigveda I.61 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.61
asmā id u pra tavase turāya prayo na harmi stomam māhināya |
ṛcīṣamāyādhrigava oham indrāya brahmāṇi rātatamā || 1 ||
asmā id u praya iva pra yaṁsi bharāmy āṅgūṣam bādhe suvṛkti |
indrāya hṛdā manasā manīṣā pratnāya patye dhiyo marjayanta || 2 ||
asmā id u tyam upamaṁ svarṣām bharāmy āṅgūṣam āsyena |
maṁhiṣṭham acchoktibhir matīnāṁ suvṛktibhiḥ sūriṁ vāvṛdhadhyai || 3 ||
asmā id u stomaṁ saṁ hinomi rathaṁ na taṣṭeva tatsināya |
giraś ca girvāhase suvṛktīndrāya viśvaminvam medhirāya || 4 ||
asmā id u saptim iva śravasyendrāyārkaṁ juhvā3 sam añje |
vīraṁ dānaukasaṁ vandadhyai purāṁ gūrtaśravasaṁ darmāṇam || 5 ||
asmā id u tvaṣṭā takṣad vajraṁ svapastamaṁ svarya1ṁ raṇāya |
vṛtrasya cid vidad yena marma tujann īśānas tujatā kiyedhāḥ || 6 ||
asyed u mātuḥ savaneṣu sadyo mahaḥ pitum papivāñ cārv annā |
muṣāyad viṣṇuḥ pacataṁ sahīyān vidhyad varāhaṁ tiro adrim astā || 7 ||
asmā id u gnāś cid devapatnīr indrāyārkam ahihatya ūvuḥ |
pari dyāvāpṛthivī jabhra urvī nāsya te mahimānam pari ṣṭaḥ || 8 ||
asyed eva pra ririce mahitvaṁ divas pṛthivyāḥ pary antarikṣāt |
svarāḻ indro dama ā viśvagūrtaḥ svarir amatro vavakṣe raṇāya || 9 ||
asyed eva śavasā śuṣantaṁ vi vṛścad vajreṇa vṛtram indraḥ |
gā na vrāṇā avanīr amuñcad abhi śravo dāvane sacetāḥ || 10 ||
asyed u tveṣasā ranta sindhavaḥ pari yad vajreṇa sīm ayacchat |
īśānakṛd dāśuṣe daśasyan turvītaye gādhaṁ turvaṇiḥ kaḥ || 11 ||
asmā id u pra bharā tūtujāno vṛtrāya vajram īśānaḥ kiyedhāḥ |
gor na parva vi radā tiraśceṣyann arṇāṁsy apāṁ caradhyai || 12 ||
asyed u pra brūhi pūrvyāṇi turasya karmāṇi navya ukthaiḥ |
yudhe yad iṣṇāna āyudhāny ṛghāyamāṇo niriṇāti śatrūn || 13 ||
asyed u bhiyā girayaś ca dṛḻhā dyāvā ca bhūmā januṣas tujete |
upo venasya joguvāna oṇiṁ sadyo bhuvad vīryāya nodhāḥ || 14 ||
asmā id u tyad anu dāyy eṣām eko yad vavne bhūrer īśānaḥ |
praitaśaṁ sūrye paspṛdhānaṁ sauvaśvye suṣvim āvad indraḥ || 15 ||
evā te hāriyojanā suvṛktīndra brahmāṇi gotamāso akran |
aiṣu viśvapeśasaṁ dhiyaṁ dhāḥ prātar makṣū dhiyāvasur jagamyāt || 16 ||
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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