Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.32 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.
Lo, the twain are come—the steeds beneath his will, called forth by our seeing, by our spell-born thought.
They draw near to the suitors, who sit in rows before the rite, among their brethren in longing.
Indra shall find delight in both our gifts, when he sets his eye upon the soma’s stalk.
O thou much-lauded Indra, thou ridest through the shining halls of heaven, and o’er the earthly fields, through the windsome middle-air.
Swift are they who bear thee straight to the rite in but a blink— may they cast down the stingy tongues that prattle vainly.
This, yea this alone, I deem more wondrous than any marvel: that the son doth know by heart the very birth of sire and dam.
The bride leads the groom through the clamoring throng; for him alone is the glad bridal array made ready.
I muse on that dear seat, the fated place, to which the kine shall go as to a wedding feast.
There shall the mother of the herd, most wise, go forth— she who counsels well— and with her, the sevenfold folk of song.
The god-seeker hath left his track upon the path to thee.
He that outstrippeth all, Indra alone, rideth with the Rudras or with the deathless kind, among whom age is but a gift and not a taking.
Pour ye sweet mead all about for your friends.
The warden of the gods’ own law made known to me that he who once lay hidden in the waters now is raised—
Agni, now set in place.
Because far-seeing Indra kept thee in his gaze, by his leading am I come, O flame-born one.
For he who knew not the land sought wisdom of the land-wise, and guided by the knower, he went forth.
This is the fruit of teaching: to find the straight and rightful road.
Only today he drew his breath anew—
all these days he waited, veiled, drinking his mother’s milk in hush.
Old age hath touched the youth at last.
The wrath is past; the kind one now turns his face with grace.
Let us work deeds of goodly fate in giving, O wooden bowl, O Kuruśravaṇa, thou of name renowned.
Let this be the gift we set for thee, O bounteous spirits— and this soma, this sweet draught I bear not in hand, but in heart.
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.32
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.
pra su gmantā dhiyasānasya sakṣaṇi varebhir varām̐ abhi ṣu prasīdataḥ |
asmākam indra ubhayaṁ jujoṣati yat somyasyāndhaso bubodhati || 1 ||
vīndra yāsi divyāni rocanā vi pārthivāni rajasā puruṣṭuta |
ye tvā vahanti muhur adhvarām̐ upa te su vanvantu vagvanām̐ arādhasaḥ || 2 ||
tad in me chantsad vapuṣo vapuṣṭaram putro yaj jānam pitror adhīyati |
jāyā patiṁ vahati vagnunā sumat puṁsa id bhadro vahatuḥ pariṣkṛtaḥ || 3 ||
tad it sadhastham abhi cāru dīdhaya gāvo yac chāsan vahatuṁ na dhenavaḥ |
mātā yan mantur yūthasya pūrvyābhi vāṇasya saptadhātur ij janaḥ || 4 ||
pra vo 'cchā ririce devayuṣ padam eko rudrebhir yāti turvaṇiḥ |
jarā vā yeṣv amṛteṣu dāvane pari va ūmebhyaḥ siñcatā madhu || 5 ||
nidhīyamānam apagūḻham apsu pra me devānāṁ vratapā uvāca |
indro vidvām̐ anu hi tvā cacakṣa tenāham agne anuśiṣṭa āgām || 6 ||
akṣetravit kṣetravidaṁ hy aprāṭ sa praiti kṣetravidānuśiṣṭaḥ |
etad vai bhadram anuśāsanasyota srutiṁ vindaty añjasīnām || 7 ||
adyed u prāṇīd amamann imāhāpīvṛto adhayan mātur ūdhaḥ |
em enam āpa jarimā yuvānam aheḻan vasuḥ sumanā babhūva || 8 ||
etāni bhadrā kalaśa kriyāma kuruśravaṇa dadato maghāni |
dāna id vo maghavānaḥ so astv ayaṁ ca somo hṛdi yam bibharmi || 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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