Hymn to Indra
Rigveda X.76 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 stretch me forth toward thee in the first flush of dawn’s feeding light.
Anoint Indra, the Storm-Lords, and the twin world-halves, that day and night, handfast in league, may make each dwelling wide for us as they break forth.
Press this draught as the choicest of draughts.
As a race-horse yoked by guiding hands,
so is the stone held by the hand of the presser.
For it findeth the manly force that overcometh the stranger, and for great treasure’s sake, the presser too is raised to that might, drawn forth from the steed of stone.
For it hath toiled at this very draught, faithful to its calling.
As in days gone by did Indra make the way for Manu to the house of Tvaṣṭar, streaming with kine, adorned with steeds—
there have they heaped rite upon rite.
Break asunder the demons and their ruin.
Set bounds to unmaking. Fend off the slothful drift.
Press forth for us strong sons in wealth.
Lift up the chant that seeketh the gods, ye stones.
To thee, more dreadful than Heaven, more fleet of deed than Vibhvan,
more maddened with soma than the Wind-lord Vāyu, more skillful in the feast than Agni—sing!
Let the noble ones ring aloud for us—
let them press the draught from the stalk— the stones with their heaven-striking cry.
As the greater men draw forth the sweet-honeyed flood for themselves, they cause Earth and Sky to hearken roundabout as the stones cross one another, swift and askew.
The stones, as charioteers, press the draught.
They milk the sap of him who seeketh the kine.
They draw from the udder and pour it forth.
As men of might, they trim the soma, as one doth trim the offering, with their lips.
O ye noble workers, ye have proved the true laborers who press the soma for Indra—ye stones.
All your treasures are for the halls of the gods; all your goods for the one who presseth upon the earth.
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.76
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.
ā va ṛñjasa ūrjāṁ vyuṣṭiṣv indram maruto rodasī anaktana |
ubhe yathā no ahanī sacābhuvā sadaḥ-sado varivasyāta udbhidā || 1 ||
tad u śreṣṭhaṁ savanaṁ sunotanātyo na hastayato adriḥ sotari |
vidad dhy a1ryo abhibhūti pauṁsyam maho rāye cit tarute yad arvataḥ || 2 ||
tad id dhy asya savanaṁ viver apo yathā purā manave gātum aśret |
goarṇasi tvāṣṭre aśvanirṇiji prem adhvareṣv adhvarām̐ aśiśrayuḥ || 3 ||
apa hata rakṣaso bhaṅgurāvataḥ skabhāyata nirṛtiṁ sedhatāmatim |
ā no rayiṁ sarvavīraṁ sunotana devāvyam bharata ślokam adrayaḥ || 4 ||
divaś cid ā vo 'mavattarebhyo vibhvanā cid āśvapastarebhyaḥ |
vāyoś cid ā somarabhastarebhyo 'gneś cid arca pitukṛttarebhyaḥ || 5 ||
bhurantu no yaśasaḥ sotv andhaso grāvāṇo vācā divitā divitmatā |
naro yatra duhate kāmyam madhv āghoṣayanto abhito mithasturaḥ || 6 ||
sunvanti somaṁ rathirāso adrayo nir asya rasaṁ gaviṣo duhanti te |
duhanty ūdhar upasecanāya kaṁ naro havyā na marjayanta āsabhiḥ || 7 ||
ete naraḥ svapaso abhūtana ya indrāya sunutha somam adrayaḥ |
vāmaṁ-vāmaṁ vo divyāya dhāmne vasu-vasu vaḥ pārthivāya sunvate || 8 ||
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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