Hymn to Indra
Rigveda II.13 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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.
Indra, thou thunderbolt-wielder! In thy hand the Vajra resteth, that weapon of weapons, that tool of cosmic order! When thou raisest it high, the very heavens quake. The demons flee shrieking into the abyss. The mountains themselves lean back in fear.
The serpent Vṛtra lay coiled in darkness, his body stretching across mountains and valleys, his mouth gaping wide to devour the worlds. His scales were harder than steel; his fangs were sharp as lightning. He was the ancient enemy, the demon of drought and chaos, the embodiment of all that would undo the cosmic order.
Yet thou, O Indra, didst stand forth alone to face him! Thou drankest the soma for strength; thou took up the Vajra for thy weapon; thou didst march to the uttermost reaches of the earth where Vṛtra lay sleeping. And when the serpent awoke and rose to strike, thou didst smite him with a blow that echoed through all the worlds!
The body of Vṛtra shattered like a vessel of clay! The rivers poured forth from within him, waters that had been imprisoned since the beginning of time! The sun rose brighter; the crops grew green; the cattle multiplied. The world was made new again through thy mighty deed!
O slayer of Vṛtra! O wielder of the thunderbolt! We praise thy courage and thy strength! Thou art the protector of all created things, the enemy of chaos, the guardian of cosmic order! When thou takest up the Vajra, no power in heaven or earth can stand against thee! Be for us the same fierce protector! Smite down our enemies as thou smotest the serpent! Let thy victory be our victory!
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 II.13
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.
ṛtur janitrī tasyā apas pari makṣū jāta āviśad yāsu vardhate |
tad āhanā abhavat pipyuṣī payo 'ṁśoḥ pīyūṣam prathamaṁ tad ukthyam || 1 ||
sadhrīm ā yanti pari bibhratīḥ payo viśvapsnyāya pra bharanta bhojanam |
samāno adhvā pravatām anuṣyade yas tākṛṇoḥ prathamaṁ sāsy ukthyaḥ || 2 ||
anv eko vadati yad dadāti tad rūpā minan tadapā eka īyate |
viśvā ekasya vinudas titikṣate yas tākṛṇoḥ prathamaṁ sāsy ukthyaḥ || 3 ||
prajābhyaḥ puṣṭiṁ vibhajanta āsate rayim iva pṛṣṭham prabhavantam āyate |
asinvan daṁṣṭraiḥ pitur atti bhojanaṁ yas tākṛṇoḥ prathamaṁ sāsy ukthyaḥ || 4 ||
adhākṛṇoḥ pṛthivīṁ saṁdṛśe dive yo dhautīnām ahihann āriṇak pathaḥ |
taṁ tvā stomebhir udabhir na vājinaṁ devaṁ devā ajanan sāsy ukthyaḥ || 5 ||
yo bhojanaṁ ca dayase ca vardhanam ārdrād ā śuṣkam madhumad dudohitha |
sa śevadhiṁ ni dadhiṣe vivasvati viśvasyaika īśiṣe sāsy ukthyaḥ || 6 ||
yaḥ puṣpiṇīś ca prasvaś ca dharmaṇādhi dāne vy a1vanīr adhārayaḥ |
yaś cāsamā ajano didyuto diva urur ūrvām̐ abhitaḥ sāsy ukthyaḥ || 7 ||
yo nārmaraṁ sahavasuṁ nihantave pṛkṣāya ca dāsaveśāya cāvahaḥ |
ūrjayantyā apariviṣṭam āsyam utaivādya purukṛt sāsy ukthyaḥ || 8 ||
śataṁ vā yasya daśa sākam ādya ekasya śruṣṭau yad dha codam āvitha |
arajjau dasyūn sam unab dabhītaye suprāvyo abhavaḥ sāsy ukthyaḥ || 9 ||
viśved anu rodhanā asya pauṁsyaṁ dadur asmai dadhire kṛtnave dhanam |
ṣaḻ astabhnā viṣṭiraḥ pañca saṁdṛśaḥ pari paro abhavaḥ sāsy ukthyaḥ || 10 ||
supravācanaṁ tava vīra vīrya1ṁ yad ekena kratunā vindase vasu |
jātūṣṭhirasya pra vayaḥ sahasvato yā cakartha sendra viśvāsy ukthyaḥ || 11 ||
aramayaḥ sarapasas tarāya kaṁ turvītaye ca vayyāya ca srutim |
nīcā santam ud anayaḥ parāvṛjam prāndhaṁ śroṇaṁ śravayan sāsy ukthyaḥ || 12 ||
asmabhyaṁ tad vaso dānāya rādhaḥ sam arthayasva bahu te vasavyam |
indra yac citraṁ śravasyā anu dyūn bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 13 ||
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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