Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.49 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 gave the choicest gift unto the singer, and made the sacred speech a might for mine own use.
I stirred the heart of the sacrificer;
and in every strife I laid low the foes who made no offering.
Among the gods they gave me the name of Indra— me, known to the children of the sky, the earth, and the waters.
I took for mine the swift, pale bays, the bull-like pair who follow not the laws of others; boldly I laid hold of the mace, that token of power.
For the poet’s sake, I pierced the veil with my thrusts; I stood by Kutsa in the hour of need.
I, destroyer of Śuṣṇa, bore the slayer’s weapon in hand, and gave not the noble name to the Dasyu, who was unworthy.
To the Vetasus I was as a father, that they might prevail.
Tugra and Smadibha I brought beneath Kutsa’s yoke.
I gave myself to serve the will of the sacrificer— and when I rose for Tuji’s sake, none dared lay hand on his beloved things.
I brought Mr̥gaya low beneath Śrutarvan, when the rite was rightly set and he yielded to me.
I bowed the vassal for Āyu, and Paḍgr̥bhi I made to serve the house of Savya.
Navavāstva, he of lofty chariots, I upheld in strength— I, the breaker of Vr̥tra and all that bars the way.
For him I waxed great, and by the sacred measure I spread.
I carved out realms of light on the farthest edge of the open air.
I ride with the steeds of the Sun, swift as light, borne in my might by the Etaśas.
When Manu presses soma and declares it for me, even the strong Dāsa I shall cast aside with my spear.
I am the breaker of the seven;
greater am I than Nahus of old.
Through my strength I made Turvaśa and Yadu known among men.
I struck one low with my might and lifted ninety-nine to pride.
I, the bull, stayed the seven rushing streams, that ran wild upon the earth.
With steadfast heart I crossed the floods, and through battle, found the way for Manu to go forth.
I seized within them that which even Tvaṣṭar never bound— gleaming milk, longed-for, within the bellies of kine; the honey of all honeys, the soma in its swelling, its mingling with milk, shining and divine.
Thus did I, Indra, draw gods and men unto me.
With the stirrings of my will I moved them— for I give truly, and my bounty is no lie.
All these deeds of thine the mighty ones still sing, O lord of the pale bays, whose glory is thine own.
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.49
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.
ahaṁ dāṁ gṛṇate pūrvyaṁ vasv aham brahma kṛṇavam mahyaṁ vardhanam |
aham bhuvaṁ yajamānasya coditāyajvanaḥ sākṣi viśvasmin bhare || 1 ||
māṁ dhur indraṁ nāma devatā divaś ca gmaś cāpāṁ ca jantavaḥ |
ahaṁ harī vṛṣaṇā vivratā raghū ahaṁ vajraṁ śavase dhṛṣṇv ā dade || 2 ||
aham atkaṁ kavaye śiśnathaṁ hathair ahaṁ kutsam āvam ābhir ūtibhiḥ |
ahaṁ śuṣṇasya śnathitā vadhar yamaṁ na yo rara āryaṁ nāma dasyave || 3 ||
aham piteva vetasūm̐r abhiṣṭaye tugraṁ kutsāya smadibhaṁ ca randhayam |
aham bhuvaṁ yajamānasya rājani pra yad bhare tujaye na priyādhṛṣe || 4 ||
ahaṁ randhayam mṛgayaṁ śrutarvaṇe yan mājihīta vayunā canānuṣak |
ahaṁ veśaṁ namram āyave 'karam ahaṁ savyāya paḍgṛbhim arandhayam || 5 ||
ahaṁ sa yo navavāstvam bṛhadrathaṁ saṁ vṛtreva dāsaṁ vṛtrahārujam |
yad vardhayantam prathayantam ānuṣag dūre pāre rajaso rocanākaram || 6 ||
ahaṁ sūryasya pari yāmy āśubhiḥ praitaśebhir vahamāna ojasā |
yan mā sāvo manuṣa āha nirṇija ṛdhak kṛṣe dāsaṁ kṛtvyaṁ hathaiḥ || 7 ||
ahaṁ saptahā nahuṣo nahuṣṭaraḥ prāśrāvayaṁ śavasā turvaśaṁ yadum |
ahaṁ ny a1nyaṁ sahasā sahas karaṁ nava vrādhato navatiṁ ca vakṣayam || 8 ||
ahaṁ sapta sravato dhārayaṁ vṛṣā dravitnvaḥ pṛthivyāṁ sīrā adhi |
aham arṇāṁsi vi tirāmi sukratur yudhā vidam manave gātum iṣṭaye || 9 ||
ahaṁ tad āsu dhārayaṁ yad āsu na devaś cana tvaṣṭādhārayad ruśat |
spārhaṁ gavām ūdhaḥsu vakṣaṇāsv ā madhor madhu śvātryaṁ somam āśiram || 10 ||
evā devām̐ indro vivye nṝn pra cyautnena maghavā satyarādhāḥ |
viśvet tā te harivaḥ śacīvo 'bhi turāsaḥ svayaśo gṛṇanti || 11 ||
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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