Hymn to Indra
Rigveda I.7 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 lover of the soma draught! The juice hath been pressed and made ready for thee. Come swift as the wind; come eager as the hunter. Drink deeply and let thy power increase with each cup.
The warriors gather round the pressing-stones; their hands do work the mighty levers. Drop after drop the sacred liquid floweth forth, golden as the sun, swift as the eagle's flight. O Indra, how thou lovest this drink! None other pleaseth thee as the soma doth please.
In the waters of the soma thou art born anew; in its embrace thou growest mighty. Thy strength returneth unto thee; thy fire burneth bright. The demon fleeth before thee; the asura is cast down. O Indra, rejoice in thy power!
We have made the offering ready for thee. The soma is pressed and mixed with milk; the hymns are sung; the prayers are raised. Come, O Bull of heaven, and make merry with us. Let thy bounty flow forth like the rivers in flood.
The singers do cry out to thee; the priests do call upon thy name. From all the regions of the earth do the faithful turn their faces toward thee. Thou art the hope of the weak; thou art the strength of the strong. O Indra, grant us thy presence and thy favor.
Ten thousand singers do praise thee; a hundred thousand hearts do cry out unto thee. Thou art the mightiest of all the gods; thou art the lord of lords. Come to our sacrifice and be joyous therein. Make us glad with thy presence; make our offering acceptable.
Colophon
Rigveda I.7 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.7
indram id gāthino bṛhad indram arkebhir arkiṇaḥ |
indraṁ vāṇīr anūṣata || 1 ||
indra id dharyoḥ sacā sammiśla ā vacoyujā |
indro vajrī hiraṇyayaḥ || 2 ||
indro dīrghāya cakṣasa ā sūryaṁ rohayad divi |
vi gobhir adrim airayat || 3 ||
indra vājeṣu no 'va sahasrapradhaneṣu ca |
ugra ugrābhir ūtibhiḥ || 4 ||
indraṁ vayam mahādhana indram arbhe havāmahe |
yujaṁ vṛtreṣu vajriṇam || 5 ||
sa no vṛṣann amuṁ caruṁ satrādāvann apā vṛdhi |
asmabhyam apratiṣkutaḥ || 6 ||
tuñje-tuñje ya uttare stomā indrasya vajriṇaḥ |
na vindhe asya suṣṭutim || 7 ||
vṛṣā yūtheva vaṁsagaḥ kṛṣṭīr iyarty ojasā |
īśāno apratiṣkutaḥ || 8 ||
ya ekaś carṣaṇīnāṁ vasūnām irajyati |
indraḥ pañca kṣitīnām || 9 ||
indraṁ vo viśvatas pari havāmahe janebhyaḥ |
asmākam astu kevalaḥ || 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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