Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.62 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.
In ancient days, when chaos reigned and the Paṇis held dominion over all, thou didst descend, O Indra, with thy mighty bow. The caves wherein they hoarded cattle—those dark abysses filled with stolen gold—thou didst breach with lightning fury.
The cattle, long imprisoned in shadow, beheld the light of day. They lowed in ecstasy at thy coming, for thou art their liberator, their strength, their glory made manifest in bone and sinew. The Paṇis fled before thee, wailing. Their sorceries availed them not. Their enchantments shattered like clay beneath thy thunderbolt.
Thou didst restore the herds to mortals—to the Ṛṣis who sing thy praise, to the priests who kindle the sacred fire, to the warriors who follow thy banner. The cows pour forth their milk in abundance. The bulls grow strong and fearless. All the world knows that Indra hath won them back from the darkness.
But not by force alone didst thou prevail, great one. Thy wisdom guided thee. Thy cunning pierced the veil of illusion. The Paṇis thought themselves secure in their caverns, but thou hearest all things. Thou seest into the most hidden places.
Therefore do we call upon thee now, O Indra the Liberator! As thou didst free the cattle from the demon-host, so free us from fear and want. Grant us increase. Grant us victory. Grant us the vision to see through deception, and the strength to cast down those who would enslave us. Thou art our protector, our champion, our lord eternal!
Colophon
Rigveda I.62 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.62
pra manmahe śavasānāya śūṣam āṅgūṣaṁ girvaṇase aṅgirasvat |
suvṛktibhiḥ stuvata ṛgmiyāyārcāmārkaṁ nare viśrutāya || 1 ||
pra vo mahe mahi namo bharadhvam āṅgūṣyaṁ śavasānāya sāma |
yenā naḥ pūrve pitaraḥ padajñā arcanto aṅgiraso gā avindan || 2 ||
indrasyāṅgirasāṁ ceṣṭau vidat saramā tanayāya dhāsim |
bṛhaspatir bhinad adriṁ vidad gāḥ sam usriyābhir vāvaśanta naraḥ || 3 ||
sa suṣṭubhā sa stubhā sapta vipraiḥ svareṇādriṁ svaryo3 navagvaiḥ |
saraṇyubhiḥ phaligam indra śakra valaṁ raveṇa darayo daśagvaiḥ || 4 ||
gṛṇāno aṅgirobhir dasma vi var uṣasā sūryeṇa gobhir andhaḥ |
vi bhūmyā aprathaya indra sānu divo raja uparam astabhāyaḥ || 5 ||
tad u prayakṣatamam asya karma dasmasya cārutamam asti daṁsaḥ |
upahvare yad uparā apinvan madhvarṇaso nadya1ś catasraḥ || 6 ||
dvitā vi vavre sanajā sanīḻe ayāsyaḥ stavamānebhir arkaiḥ |
bhago na mene parame vyomann adhārayad rodasī sudaṁsāḥ || 7 ||
sanād divam pari bhūmā virūpe punarbhuvā yuvatī svebhir evaiḥ |
kṛṣṇebhir aktoṣā ruśadbhir vapurbhir ā carato anyānyā || 8 ||
sanemi sakhyaṁ svapasyamānaḥ sūnur dādhāra śavasā sudaṁsāḥ |
āmāsu cid dadhiṣe pakvam antaḥ payaḥ kṛṣṇāsu ruśad rohiṇīṣu || 9 ||
sanāt sanīḻā avanīr avātā vratā rakṣante amṛtāḥ sahobhiḥ |
purū sahasrā janayo na patnīr duvasyanti svasāro ahrayāṇam || 10 ||
sanāyuvo namasā navyo arkair vasūyavo matayo dasma dadruḥ |
patiṁ na patnīr uśatīr uśantaṁ spṛśanti tvā śavasāvan manīṣāḥ || 11 ||
sanād eva tava rāyo gabhastau na kṣīyante nopa dasyanti dasma |
dyumām̐ asi kratumām̐ indra dhīraḥ śikṣā śacīvas tava naḥ śacībhiḥ || 12 ||
sanāyate gotama indra navyam atakṣad brahma hariyojanāya |
sunīthāya naḥ śavasāna nodhāḥ prātar makṣū dhiyāvasur jagamyāt || 13 ||
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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