Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.54 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.
To thy mighty name, O bounteous one, the two world-halves in fear did cry.
Thou didst uphold the gods, thou didst lay low the might of the Dāsa, as likewise thou didst work thy strength for the kin of men, O Indra.
When thou didst roam, grown full in limb and frame, declaring thy strength among the folk, that was thy cunning feat, which men do name as battle; neither now nor in the days of yore hath any found thy match.
What seer, ere we, hath ever reached the bound of all thy greatness— in that thou brought forth thy mother and thy father,
Heaven and Earth, in one moment, from thine own self?
Four are the lordly names that bear thy mark— unerring are they, as the names of the strong buffalo.
These thou knowest full well, through which thy deeds are done, O thou who givest freely.
Thou hast claimed all good things for thine alone— those that stand in the sun, and those that hide in shadow.
Turn not away from my longing, O liberal lord; thou art he who hearkeneth, and he who giveth, Indra.
Who set light within the light? Who joined the sweet with the sweetness?
Lo, a dear and strengthening word is now spoken unto Indra by Br̥haduktha, shaper of holy song.
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.54
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.
tāṁ su te kīrtim maghavan mahitvā yat tvā bhīte rodasī ahvayetām |
prāvo devām̐ ātiro dāsam ojaḥ prajāyai tvasyai yad aśikṣa indra || 1 ||
yad acaras tanvā vāvṛdhāno balānīndra prabruvāṇo janeṣu |
māyet sā te yāni yuddhāny āhur nādya śatruṁ nanu purā vivitse || 2 ||
ka u nu te mahimanaḥ samasyāsmat pūrva ṛṣayo 'ntam āpuḥ |
yan mātaraṁ ca pitaraṁ ca sākam ajanayathās tanva1ḥ svāyāḥ || 3 ||
catvāri te asuryāṇi nāmādābhyāni mahiṣasya santi |
tvam aṅga tāni viśvāni vitse yebhiḥ karmāṇi maghavañ cakartha || 4 ||
tvaṁ viśvā dadhiṣe kevalāni yāny āvir yā ca guhā vasūni |
kāmam in me maghavan mā vi tārīs tvam ājñātā tvam indrāsi dātā || 5 ||
yo adadhāj jyotiṣi jyotir antar yo asṛjan madhunā sam madhūni |
adha priyaṁ śūṣam indrāya manma brahmakṛto bṛhadukthād avāci || 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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