Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.22 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.
Where is Indra now renowned? Among what folk is he today held dear, as a trusted friend among men— he who, whether dwelling among seers or hidden from sight, is ever exalted in song?
Here among us is Indra praised. This day he is sung as the bearer of the mace, a match for the hymn— he who, as a friend among tribes, hath won his fame, not in part, but full.
He is the lord of mighty strength, full and unfailing; of manly might he is the master— he who bears the bold mace,
as a father doth bear his dear son.
He, who hath yoked the wild steeds of the Wind— the god who driveth the steeds of the god— runneth in glory down the shining path, loosed on the highways, praised far and wide.
To those very two Wind-horses hast thou come, O Indra, silver-bright, to guide them thyself, steeds for whom no god nor man may be master.
Then Uśanā, beholding your coming, did ask:
“With what cause hast thou come to our house?
From the heights of heaven and the breadth of earth ye are come unto a mortal.” For us, Indra, thou shalt speak, for our sacred rite uplifted.
And we, in turn, entreat this boon:
that thou strike down Śuṣṇa, the unmanly foe.
For he is the Dasyu of no deeds, of no thought, whose ways are strange, whose law is none.
O smasher of strangers, lay low the weapon of this Dāsa.
Be near, O Indra, bold among the bold.
Let thy might be our shield.
In many lands the offerings cry to thee, clamoring like the war-shout in battle.
Thou didst rouse these noble men to shatter the stronghold for the Karpan, O mace-bearing hero, when Śuṣṇa lay hidden.
The wise singers stood beside thee, gathering strength from thy lordly power, as clans draw strength from kin.
All these riches became thine, O Indra,
when thou didst seize his hoard to bestow, O champion with the mace, when thou and thy fellows broke all born of Śuṣṇa.
Let not thy noble powers stray from us,
O champion Indra.
Let each of us stand in favor with thy might, O wielder of the thunder-mace.
Let thy gifts prove true for us—no harm in them— thy blessings, whose worth we would know,
as men know the bounty of milk-cows, O bearer of strength.
Though handless, footless, the Earth grew firm through her deep wisdom, yet thou didst circle thy foe with sacred tread, and strike down Śuṣṇa for all of his days.
Drink, O hero Indra—drink the soma!
Bear us no ill, O lord of goods, for thou art kind.
Guard well the singers and the noble patrons, and enrich us with thy great store.
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.22
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.
kuha śruta indraḥ kasminn adya jane mitro na śrūyate |
ṛṣīṇāṁ vā yaḥ kṣaye guhā vā carkṛṣe girā || 1 ||
iha śruta indro asme adya stave vajry ṛcīṣamaḥ |
mitro na yo janeṣv ā yaśaś cakre asāmy ā || 2 ||
maho yas patiḥ śavaso asāmy ā maho nṛmṇasya tūtujiḥ |
bhartā vajrasya dhṛṣṇoḥ pitā putram iva priyam || 3 ||
yujāno aśvā vātasya dhunī devo devasya vajrivaḥ |
syantā pathā virukmatā sṛjānaḥ stoṣy adhvanaḥ || 4 ||
tvaṁ tyā cid vātasyāśvāgā ṛjrā tmanā vahadhyai |
yayor devo na martyo yantā nakir vidāyyaḥ || 5 ||
adha gmantośanā pṛcchate vāṁ kadarthā na ā gṛham |
ā jagmathuḥ parākād divaś ca gmaś ca martyam || 6 ||
ā na indra pṛkṣase 'smākam brahmodyatam |
tat tvā yācāmahe 'vaḥ śuṣṇaṁ yad dhann amānuṣam || 7 ||
akarmā dasyur abhi no amantur anyavrato amānuṣaḥ |
tvaṁ tasyāmitrahan vadhar dāsasya dambhaya || 8 ||
tvaṁ na indra śūra śūrair uta tvotāso barhaṇā |
purutrā te vi pūrtayo navanta kṣoṇayo yathā || 9 ||
tvaṁ tān vṛtrahatye codayo nṝn kārpāṇe śūra vajrivaḥ |
guhā yadī kavīnāṁ viśāṁ nakṣatraśavasām || 10 ||
makṣū tā ta indra dānāpnasa ākṣāṇe śūra vajrivaḥ |
yad dha śuṣṇasya dambhayo jātaṁ viśvaṁ sayāvabhiḥ || 11 ||
mākudhryag indra śūra vasvīr asme bhūvann abhiṣṭayaḥ |
vayaṁ-vayaṁ ta āsāṁ sumne syāma vajrivaḥ || 12 ||
asme tā ta indra santu satyāhiṁsantīr upaspṛśaḥ |
vidyāma yāsām bhujo dhenūnāṁ na vajrivaḥ || 13 ||
ahastā yad apadī vardhata kṣāḥ śacībhir vedyānām |
śuṣṇam pari pradakṣiṇid viśvāyave ni śiśnathaḥ || 14 ||
pibā-pibed indra śūra somam mā riṣaṇyo vasavāna vasuḥ san |
uta trāyasva gṛṇato maghono mahaś ca rāyo revatas kṛdhī naḥ || 15 ||
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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