Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.173 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.
I have brought thee hither—abide among us.
Stand fast, and do not waver.
Let all the kindreds seek thee;
let thy kingship not be loosed nor fall away.
Dwell thou here and move not—
be unshaken as the steadfast hill.
As Indra, stand firm in this place;
here, uphold thy crown and rule.
This man hath Indra upheld—
made steadfast by a steadfast gift.
For him shall Soma bear true witness, for him shall Brahmanaspati give word.
Heaven is steadfast, and steadfast the earth; steadfast these mountains round about.
Steadfast is all that liveth and moveth, and steadfast now is this king of the clans.
Let King Varuṇa make thee firm, and God Br̥haspati likewise.
Let both Indra and Agni hold thee in thy kingship—firmly!
We lay hand on the steadfast soma with a steadfast gift.
And now shall Indra cause the clans to bring their due to thee alone.
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.173
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.
ā tvāhārṣam antar edhi dhruvas tiṣṭhāvicācaliḥ |
viśas tvā sarvā vāñchantu mā tvad rāṣṭram adhi bhraśat || 1 ||
ihaivaidhi māpa cyoṣṭhāḥ parvata ivāvicācaliḥ |
indra iveha dhruvas tiṣṭheha rāṣṭram u dhāraya || 2 ||
imam indro adīdharad dhruvaṁ dhruveṇa haviṣā |
tasmai somo adhi bravat tasmā u brahmaṇas patiḥ || 3 ||
dhruvā dyaur dhruvā pṛthivī dhruvāsaḥ parvatā ime |
dhruvaṁ viśvam idaṁ jagad dhruvo rājā viśām ayam || 4 ||
dhruvaṁ te rājā varuṇo dhruvaṁ devo bṛhaspatiḥ |
dhruvaṁ ta indraś cāgniś ca rāṣṭraṁ dhārayatāṁ dhruvam || 5 ||
dhruvaṁ dhruveṇa haviṣābhi somam mṛśāmasi |
atho ta indraḥ kevalīr viśo balihṛtas karat || 6 ||
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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