Hymn to Indra
Rigveda II.41 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.
O Indra, mighty bull-god, king of the gods! O Varuṇa, lord of the cosmic waters and the keeper of oath and law! O Bṛhaspati, lord of prayer and of priestly wisdom! We call upon ye three together in this sacred moment.
Indra, thou art the conqueror of demons, the slayer of Vṛtra, the winner of battles. Thy strength is without equal. Thy courage is without flaw. Thou art the protector of those who call upon thee in their distress. Hear us now, O Indra, and grant us victory over our enemies. Make us strong as thou art strong. Give us the fury of the tempest and the courage of the bull.
Varuṇa, thou art the keeper of the cosmic order, the lord who bindeth all creatures with his laws both seen and unseen. Thou watchest with thy ten thousand eyes. No secret is hidden from thee. No oath is unheard by thee. Grant us the wisdom to live in accordance with thy law. Grant us the strength to keep our promises. Make us righteous in all our dealings.
Bṛhaspati, O lord of prayer, O master of the sacred word! Thou whose speech hath power to move the gods and to reshape the world! Thou who knowest the secret names and the hidden meanings! Grant us the eloquence to speak truth. Grant us the wisdom to choose the right words. Let our prayers be pleasing to the divine powers.
Together, ye three are perfect. Indra giveth us strength; Varuṇa giveth us justice; Bṛhaspati giveth us the words to ask for what we need. Hear us now, O ye three great ones!
We sing also of Sarasvatī, best of mothers, best of rivers, best of goddesses. Thou floweth with grace and with abundance. Thou nourishest all who dwell upon thy banks. Grant us thy blessings, O sacred river. Flow through our hearts as thou floweth through the earth. Make us fertile, make us eloquent, make us wise.
Accept our Soma, O ye divine ones. Make us prosper in all our works.
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.41
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.
vāyo ye te sahasriṇo rathāsas tebhir ā gahi |
niyutvān somapītaye || 1 ||
niyutvān vāyav ā gahy ayaṁ śukro ayāmi te |
gantāsi sunvato gṛham || 2 ||
śukrasyādya gavāśira indravāyū niyutvataḥ |
ā yātam pibataṁ narā || 3 ||
ayaṁ vām mitrāvaruṇā sutaḥ soma ṛtāvṛdhā |
mamed iha śrutaṁ havam || 4 ||
rājānāv anabhidruhā dhruve sadasy uttame |
sahasrasthūṇa āsāte || 5 ||
tā samrājā ghṛtāsutī ādityā dānunas patī |
sacete anavahvaram || 6 ||
gomad ū ṣu nāsatyāśvāvad yātam aśvinā |
vartī rudrā nṛpāyyam || 7 ||
na yat paro nāntara ādadharṣad vṛṣaṇvasū |
duḥśaṁso martyo ripuḥ || 8 ||
tā na ā voḻham aśvinā rayim piśaṅgasaṁdṛśam |
dhiṣṇyā varivovidam || 9 ||
indro aṅga mahad bhayam abhī ṣad apa cucyavat |
sa hi sthiro vicarṣaṇiḥ || 10 ||
indraś ca mṛḻayāti no na naḥ paścād aghaṁ naśat |
bhadram bhavāti naḥ puraḥ || 11 ||
indra āśābhyas pari sarvābhyo abhayaṁ karat |
jetā śatrūn vicarṣaṇiḥ || 12 ||
viśve devāsa ā gata śṛṇutā ma imaṁ havam |
edam barhir ni ṣīdata || 13 ||
tīvro vo madhumām̐ ayaṁ śunahotreṣu matsaraḥ |
etam pibata kāmyam || 14 ||
indrajyeṣṭhā marudgaṇā devāsaḥ pūṣarātayaḥ |
viśve mama śrutā havam || 15 ||
ambitame nadītame devitame sarasvati |
apraśastā iva smasi praśastim amba nas kṛdhi || 16 ||
tve viśvā sarasvati śritāyūṁṣi devyām |
śunahotreṣu matsva prajāṁ devi didiḍḍhi naḥ || 17 ||
imā brahma sarasvati juṣasva vājinīvati |
yā te manma gṛtsamadā ṛtāvari priyā deveṣu juhvati || 18 ||
pretāṁ yajñasya śambhuvā yuvām id ā vṛṇīmahe |
agniṁ ca havyavāhanam || 19 ||
dyāvā naḥ pṛthivī imaṁ sidhram adya divispṛśam |
yajñaṁ deveṣu yacchatām || 20 ||
ā vām upastham adruhā devāḥ sīdantu yajñiyāḥ |
ihādya somapītaye || 21 ||
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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