Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.120 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
This was the first among all that breathe, whence was born the mighty one of ringing, manful soul.
New-born, he melteth down his foes, while all his friends lift voice in cheer.
Waxing in strength with rising force, that much-might one striketh fear in the Dāsa’s heart.
When thou takest both quick and still things as thy prize, thy fellows roar as one at the feasting of soma, at the mirthful rite.
All hearts incline to thee, yea, though thy fellows be double or thrice in count.
“Send forth the sweeter than sweet, with the sweet.
With honey strive for yon honeyed prize.” For in such words do seers, at each glad rite, stir thee to triumph with their praise.
Draw tight thy mightier bow, bold one—let not the wizards of dark craft beguile thee.
Through thee, our hearts leap high in battle, for lo, we behold many strifes yet to come.
My voice doth awaken thy weapons; my sacred word whetteth thy soul.
I sing of him who is fit for song, the many-shaped craftsman, mightiest of the sons of Apta.
He shall break the seven Dānus with his growing power; he shall lay low the throngs that stand against him.
Thou hast laid this gift, both near and far, in the dwelling where thy hand did lend its aid.
Thou stilled the two that once were fleet—Heaven and Earth—and roused full many a work thereafter.
Br̥haddiva crieth aloud these hallowed words to Indra: “First was he to seize the sun; his hand ruleth o’er the wide-fold of the sovereign herd, and all his doors he opened by his own will.” Thus Br̥haddiva, son of Atharvan, spoke unto his very self—that self being Indra.
The stainless maidens who cleave to their mother sped him on with swelling strength, and made him full of might.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.120
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
tad id āsa bhuvaneṣu jyeṣṭhaṁ yato jajña ugras tveṣanṛmṇaḥ |
sadyo jajñāno ni riṇāti śatrūn anu yaṁ viśve madanty ūmāḥ || 1 ||
vāvṛdhānaḥ śavasā bhūryojāḥ śatrur dāsāya bhiyasaṁ dadhāti |
avyanac ca vyanac ca sasni saṁ te navanta prabhṛtā madeṣu || 2 ||
tve kratum api vṛñjanti viśve dvir yad ete trir bhavanty ūmāḥ |
svādoḥ svādīyaḥ svādunā sṛjā sam adaḥ su madhu madhunābhi yodhīḥ || 3 ||
iti cid dhi tvā dhanā jayantam made-made anumadanti viprāḥ |
ojīyo dhṛṣṇo sthiram ā tanuṣva mā tvā dabhan yātudhānā durevāḥ || 4 ||
tvayā vayaṁ śāśadmahe raṇeṣu prapaśyanto yudhenyāni bhūri |
codayāmi ta āyudhā vacobhiḥ saṁ te śiśāmi brahmaṇā vayāṁsi || 5 ||
stuṣeyyam puruvarpasam ṛbhvam inatamam āptyam āptyānām |
ā darṣate śavasā sapta dānūn pra sākṣate pratimānāni bhūri || 6 ||
ni tad dadhiṣe 'varam paraṁ ca yasminn āvithāvasā duroṇe |
ā mātarā sthāpayase jigatnū ata inoṣi karvarā purūṇi || 7 ||
imā brahma bṛhaddivo vivaktīndrāya śūṣam agriyaḥ svarṣāḥ |
maho gotrasya kṣayati svarājo duraś ca viśvā avṛṇod apa svāḥ || 8 ||
evā mahān bṛhaddivo atharvāvocat svāṁ tanva1m indram eva |
svasāro mātaribhvarīr ariprā hinvanti ca śavasā vardhayanti ca || 9 ||
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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