Hymn to Indra
Rigveda III.33 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 Vipāś and Śutudrī, ye rivers vast and terrible! Hear me, Viśvāmitra, whom the Devas have made strong. My people march toward the sacrifice, toward the lands beyond; yet ye bar the path with your torrents, your waters swelling fierce and wrathful. I pray thee, O streams born of the mountains, part thy waves and grant us passage. Let not the army perish in thy depths; let not the sacred fire be quenched by thy embrace.
Once we too were as ye are — wild, unchecked, our own law unto ourselves. But now the Devas have spoken, and I am bound to guide my kin to the distant shore where the sacrifice awaits. The soma flows in our veins; the mantras burn upon our tongues. Shall ye — ancient daughters of the high peaks — deny the sacred rite? Shall ye, who water the earth and nourish all that grows, turn hostile to the worshippers of Indra?
The rivers answer: "Viśvāmitra, master of the Veda, holder of the sacred word! We know thy strength; we have heard thy meditations shake the very heavens. The gods themselves have vouched for thee, and the ṛṣis sing thy praise. But we are not mere servants of man's will — we are the breath of Parvatā, the pulse of the world. Yet for thee, O Brahmin of terrible austerity, we shall part our waters. Let thy people cross in safety. We shall open a path through our midst, and not one warrior shall be lost to our depths."
And Viśvāmitra speaks again: "Ye gracious streams, ye goddesses of the waters! I shall remember this kindness. When I reach the distant lands and perform the rites that bind heaven and earth, I shall pour libations in thy honor. Thy names shall be sung in the sacred verses; thy deeds shall be known among all the peoples. And if ever thy children — the rivers of the southern lands — prove hostile to those who do the work of the Devas, I shall turn my power against them, and they shall know the wrath of one who walks with Indra."
Thus the dialogue was sealed. The waters parted; the army crossed. And the story of Viśvāmitra and the Rivers became immortal, sung by every bard who tends the eternal fire.
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.33
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.
pra parvatānām uśatī upasthād aśve iva viṣite hāsamāne |
gāveva śubhre mātarā rihāṇe vipāṭ chutudrī payasā javete || 1 ||
indreṣite prasavam bhikṣamāṇe acchā samudraṁ rathyeva yāthaḥ |
samārāṇe ūrmibhiḥ pinvamāne anyā vām anyām apy eti śubhre || 2 ||
acchā sindhum mātṛtamām ayāsaṁ vipāśam urvīṁ subhagām aganma |
vatsam iva mātarā saṁrihāṇe samānaṁ yonim anu saṁcarantī || 3 ||
enā vayam payasā pinvamānā anu yoniṁ devakṛtaṁ carantīḥ |
na vartave prasavaḥ sargataktaḥ kiṁyur vipro nadyo johavīti || 4 ||
ramadhvam me vacase somyāya ṛtāvarīr upa muhūrtam evaiḥ |
pra sindhum acchā bṛhatī manīṣāvasyur ahve kuśikasya sūnuḥ || 5 ||
indro asmām̐ aradad vajrabāhur apāhan vṛtram paridhiṁ nadīnām |
devo 'nayat savitā supāṇis tasya vayam prasave yāma urvīḥ || 6 ||
pravācyaṁ śaśvadhā vīrya1ṁ tad indrasya karma yad ahiṁ vivṛścat |
vi vajreṇa pariṣado jaghānāyann āpo 'yanam icchamānāḥ || 7 ||
etad vaco jaritar māpi mṛṣṭhā ā yat te ghoṣān uttarā yugāni |
uktheṣu kāro prati no juṣasva mā no ni kaḥ puruṣatrā namas te || 8 ||
o ṣu svasāraḥ kārave śṛṇota yayau vo dūrād anasā rathena |
ni ṣū namadhvam bhavatā supārā adhoakṣāḥ sindhavaḥ srotyābhiḥ || 9 ||
ā te kāro śṛṇavāmā vacāṁsi yayātha dūrād anasā rathena |
ni te naṁsai pīpyāneva yoṣā maryāyeva kanyā śaśvacai te || 10 ||
yad aṅga tvā bharatāḥ saṁtareyur gavyan grāma iṣita indrajūtaḥ |
arṣād aha prasavaḥ sargatakta ā vo vṛṇe sumatiṁ yajñiyānām || 11 ||
atāriṣur bharatā gavyavaḥ sam abhakta vipraḥ sumatiṁ nadīnām |
pra pinvadhvam iṣayantīḥ surādhā ā vakṣaṇāḥ pṛṇadhvaṁ yāta śībham || 12 ||
ud va ūrmiḥ śamyā hantv āpo yoktrāṇi muñcata |
māduṣkṛtau vyenasāghnyau śūnam āratām || 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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