Hymn to Indra
Rigveda III.31 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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, liberator supreme, thou who dost burst open the cave of Vala wherein the Paṇis hath hidden away all the cattle and the riches of the world—we celebrate thy glory and thy righteous wrath. The cattle were stolen, carried away into the deepest caverns of the earth, and there they were imprisoned in darkness, their voices crying out in anguish and confusion. The abundance of the earth was locked away. The herds that should have roamed freely were made captive.
Thou didst not tolerate this injustice, O Indra. Thou didst gather thy strength and prepare for battle. The Maruts, thy companions, did gather about thee with wind and storm. Together ye did march upon the cave of Vala, and thou didst raise thy great thunderbolt on high and strike down the gates of that prison.
The stone walls cracked asunder. The barriers fell to ruin. The darkness was broken by thy lightning. And from the cave there poured forth a flood of cattle, stampeding forth into the light, bellowing their joy and their gratitude. The riches that had been hidden were now revealed. The abundance that had been stolen was now returned unto the world.
With this liberation came also the release of Usas, the Dawn, she who had been imprisoned in darkness, prevented from bringing the light of morning unto the world. Now she rides forth in her golden chariot, and each day she bringeth forth the sun and dispelleth the darkness.
O Indra, thine is the power to break open all that imprisoneth the just. Thine is the strength to liberate those who are held captive by greed and malice. We call upon thee now to open the caves that bind us, to shatter the walls that constrain us, to bring forth into light and freedom all that hath been hidden and imprisoned. Be thou our liberator, as thou wast the liberator of the cattle and the liberator of the Dawn.
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 III.31
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.
śāsad vahnir duhitur naptyaṁ gād vidvām̐ ṛtasya dīdhitiṁ saparyan |
pitā yatra duhituḥ sekam ṛñjan saṁ śagmyena manasā dadhanve || 1 ||
na jāmaye tānvo riktham āraik cakāra garbhaṁ sanitur nidhānam |
yadī mātaro janayanta vahnim anyaḥ kartā sukṛtor anya ṛndhan || 2 ||
agnir jajñe juhvā3 rejamāno mahas putrām̐ aruṣasya prayakṣe |
mahān garbho mahy ā jātam eṣām mahī pravṛd dharyaśvasya yajñaiḥ || 3 ||
abhi jaitrīr asacanta spṛdhānam mahi jyotis tamaso nir ajānan |
taṁ jānatīḥ praty ud āyann uṣāsaḥ patir gavām abhavad eka indraḥ || 4 ||
vīḻau satīr abhi dhīrā atṛndan prācāhinvan manasā sapta viprāḥ |
viśvām avindan pathyām ṛtasya prajānann it tā namasā viveśa || 5 ||
vidad yadī saramā rugṇam adrer mahi pāthaḥ pūrvyaṁ sadhryak kaḥ |
agraṁ nayat supady akṣarāṇām acchā ravam prathamā jānatī gāt || 6 ||
agacchad u vipratamaḥ sakhīyann asūdayat sukṛte garbham adriḥ |
sasāna maryo yuvabhir makhasyann athābhavad aṅgirāḥ sadyo arcan || 7 ||
sataḥ-sataḥ pratimānam purobhūr viśvā veda janimā hanti śuṣṇam |
pra ṇo divaḥ padavīr gavyur arcan sakhā sakhīm̐r amuñcan nir avadyāt || 8 ||
ni gavyatā manasā sedur arkaiḥ kṛṇvānāso amṛtatvāya gātum |
idaṁ cin nu sadanam bhūry eṣāṁ yena māsām̐ asiṣāsann ṛtena || 9 ||
sampaśyamānā amadann abhi svam payaḥ pratnasya retaso dughānāḥ |
vi rodasī atapad ghoṣa eṣāṁ jāte niṣṭhām adadhur goṣu vīrān || 10 ||
sa jātebhir vṛtrahā sed u havyair ud usriyā asṛjad indro arkaiḥ |
urūcy asmai ghṛtavad bharantī madhu svādma duduhe jenyā gauḥ || 11 ||
pitre cic cakruḥ sadanaṁ sam asmai mahi tviṣīmat sukṛto vi hi khyan |
viṣkabhnantaḥ skambhanenā janitrī āsīnā ūrdhvaṁ rabhasaṁ vi minvan || 12 ||
mahī yadi dhiṣaṇā śiśnathe dhāt sadyovṛdhaṁ vibhva1ṁ rodasyoḥ |
giro yasminn anavadyāḥ samīcīr viśvā indrāya taviṣīr anuttāḥ || 13 ||
mahy ā te sakhyaṁ vaśmi śaktīr ā vṛtraghne niyuto yanti pūrvīḥ |
mahi stotram ava āganma sūrer asmākaṁ su maghavan bodhi gopāḥ || 14 ||
mahi kṣetram puru ścandraṁ vividvān ād it sakhibhyaś carathaṁ sam airat |
indro nṛbhir ajanad dīdyānaḥ sākaṁ sūryam uṣasaṁ gātum agnim || 15 ||
apaś cid eṣa vibhvo3 damūnāḥ pra sadhrīcīr asṛjad viśvaścandrāḥ |
madhvaḥ punānāḥ kavibhiḥ pavitrair dyubhir hinvanty aktubhir dhanutrīḥ || 16 ||
anu kṛṣṇe vasudhitī jihāte ubhe sūryasya maṁhanā yajatre |
pari yat te mahimānaṁ vṛjadhyai sakhāya indra kāmyā ṛjipyāḥ || 17 ||
patir bhava vṛtrahan sūnṛtānāṁ girāṁ viśvāyur vṛṣabho vayodhāḥ |
ā no gahi sakhyebhiḥ śivebhir mahān mahībhir ūtibhiḥ saraṇyan || 18 ||
tam aṅgirasvan namasā saparyan navyaṁ kṛṇomi sanyase purājām |
druho vi yāhi bahulā adevīḥ svaś ca no maghavan sātaye dhāḥ || 19 ||
mihaḥ pāvakāḥ pratatā abhūvan svasti naḥ pipṛhi pāram āsām |
indra tvaṁ rathiraḥ pāhi no riṣo makṣū-makṣū kṛṇuhi gojito naḥ || 20 ||
adediṣṭa vṛtrahā gopatir gā antaḥ kṛṣṇām̐ aruṣair dhāmabhir gāt |
pra sūnṛtā diśamāna ṛtena duraś ca viśvā avṛṇod apa svāḥ || 21 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 22 ||
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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