Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.131 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.
O all-mighty Indra, drive afar thine eastern foes, away with them that rise in the west, send off the northern host, O shield-bearer, and thrust the southern throng to naught— that we may dwell in joy beneath thy wide-spread ward.
Yea, like the tillers with their barley grain, who reap and thresh it by the lore of old— so here, even here, lay thou the wealth
of those who came not to the holy bending of the sacred grass in reverent rite.
For one-horsed carts fare not well on the field, and so hath fame ne’er been won by lone striving.
But the fire-breathed ones, seeking kine, seeking steeds, seeking prize and glory, cleave unto Indra the bull, to strive beside him.
O Aśvins, who drank the surā-soma when ye set it apart with Namuci the dark one, ye aided Indra in his wondrous works,
O fair-faced lords of charm.
As father and mother uplift their child, so did ye, O Aśvins, raise Indra aloft with the skill of your hands and wise-spoken words.
And when thou, strong one, drank the parted draught, Sarasvatī, full of gifts, did heal thee.
Let Indra be our safeguard and our stay, our ready help, our gracious lord of bounty.
Let him cast out hatred; let him make us bold.
May we be crowned with noble men in throng.
Let us abide within the grace of him who is meet to receive the rite.
Beneath his favor may we dwell, well-omened.
Let Indra, strong of shield and hand, keep all spite far from our doors.
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.131
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.
apa prāca indra viśvām̐ amitrān apāpāco abhibhūte nudasva |
apodīco apa śūrādharāca urau yathā tava śarman madema || 1 ||
kuvid aṅga yavamanto yavaṁ cid yathā dānty anupūrvaṁ viyūya |
ihehaiṣāṁ kṛṇuhi bhojanāni ye barhiṣo namovṛktiṁ na jagmuḥ || 2 ||
nahi sthūry ṛtuthā yātam asti nota śravo vivide saṁgameṣu |
gavyanta indraṁ sakhyāya viprā aśvāyanto vṛṣaṇaṁ vājayantaḥ || 3 ||
yuvaṁ surāmam aśvinā namucāv āsure sacā |
vipipānā śubhas patī indraṁ karmasv āvatam || 4 ||
putram iva pitarāv aśvinobhendrāvathuḥ kāvyair daṁsanābhiḥ |
yat surāmaṁ vy apibaḥ śacībhiḥ sarasvatī tvā maghavann abhiṣṇak || 5 ||
indraḥ sutrāmā svavām̐ avobhiḥ sumṛḻīko bhavatu viśvavedāḥ |
bādhatāṁ dveṣo abhayaṁ kṛṇotu suvīryasya patayaḥ syāma || 6 ||
tasya vayaṁ sumatau yajñiyasyāpi bhadre saumanase syāma |
sa sutrāmā svavām̐ indro asme ārāc cid dveṣaḥ sanutar yuyotu || 7 ||
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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