Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.152 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.
As war-chief, thy greatness is shown in this:
thou art the sure devourer of foes.
Thy fellow falleth not, nor is he ever overcome.
As chieftain of the folk who giveth peace, breaker of Vr̥tra, scourge of the proud, whose will none withstand—
let the bull Indra go before us, he who drinketh soma, he who maketh men bold and unafraid.
Drive hence the fiend, and the scorner with him; shatter the jaws of Vr̥tra.
O Indra, Vr̥tra-breaker,
break the wrath and war-lust of him who would smite us.
Lay low the haughty, O Indra, on our behalf.
Hold down the hands of them that strive against us.
Whoso lifteth sword ‘gainst us—send him to the sunless deep.
Put far from us the mind of the foe, O Indra— and far the bane-bearing blade of him that would rob.
Stretch thy shield over us in the hour of wrath, and keep the death-dealing spear far from our gate.
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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda X.152
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.
śāsa itthā mahām̐ asy amitrakhādo adbhutaḥ |
na yasya hanyate sakhā na jīyate kadā cana || 1 ||
svastidā viśas patir vṛtrahā vimṛdho vaśī |
vṛṣendraḥ pura etu naḥ somapā abhayaṁkaraḥ || 2 ||
vi rakṣo vi mṛdho jahi vi vṛtrasya hanū ruja |
vi manyum indra vṛtrahann amitrasyābhidāsataḥ || 3 ||
vi na indra mṛdho jahi nīcā yaccha pṛtanyataḥ |
yo asmām̐ abhidāsaty adharaṁ gamayā tamaḥ || 4 ||
apendra dviṣato mano 'pa jijyāsato vadham |
vi manyoḥ śarma yaccha varīyo yavayā vadham || 5 ||
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).
🌲