Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.38 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.
At this bright and dreadful call to arms, O Indra, when the war-cry rings out full loud, come to our aid.
Stand with us when the kine are to be seized, when warriors glittering with gold grow bold, and shafts fly forth in every quarter—
when the hour is come to lay low men of greater name.
At our hearth, uncover for us a wealth in flocks— a flood of cattle, famed and fair.
When thou dost win, O strong one, let us feast with thee.
As we yearn for it, so make it—thou art good and giving.
Whosoever, without god, Dāsa or Ārya, doth look upon us with a mind for strife— bring them low, O Indra much-lauded.
Let them fall easily before thee, and with thee let us strike them down in the press of war.
Who is called upon by few, and who by multitudes— who findeth wide room even in narrow straits when the hour is come to strike the mighty— that one, who today shall be the devourer and victor, that famed and lofty man—let us turn him to our side; may Indra lean to us for help.
For I have heard of thee, O Indra:
thou art tightly drawn like a bow, unbending in wrath, and thou dost rouse even the weak to strength,
O bull among gods.
Break loose from Kutsa’s hold—come forth!
Shall such a one as thou be held back by the stones that bind his loins?
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.38
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.
asmin na indra pṛtsutau yaśasvati śimīvati krandasi prāva sātaye |
yatra goṣātā dhṛṣiteṣu khādiṣu viṣvak patanti didyavo nṛṣāhye || 1 ||
sa naḥ kṣumantaṁ sadane vy ūrṇuhi goarṇasaṁ rayim indra śravāyyam |
syāma te jayataḥ śakra medino yathā vayam uśmasi tad vaso kṛdhi || 2 ||
yo no dāsa āryo vā puruṣṭutādeva indra yudhaye ciketati |
asmābhiṣ ṭe suṣahāḥ santu śatravas tvayā vayaṁ tān vanuyāma saṁgame || 3 ||
yo dabhrebhir havyo yaś ca bhūribhir yo abhīke varivovin nṛṣāhye |
taṁ vikhāde sasnim adya śrutaṁ naram arvāñcam indram avase karāmahe || 4 ||
svavṛjaṁ hi tvām aham indra śuśravānānudaṁ vṛṣabha radhracodanam |
pra muñcasva pari kutsād ihā gahi kim u tvāvān muṣkayor baddha āsate || 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).
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