Hymn to Indra
Rigveda III.35 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 thunder-lord, O master of the storm! Thy voice is the roar of clouds when they break upon the mountains. Thy chariot wheels roll across the sky, and the lightning crackles beneath thy feet. Thou sittest enthroned in the highest heaven, and from thy throne thou surveyest all the worlds.
The vajra is thy scepter, that terrible weapon fashioned by Tvaṣṭṛ in the smithies of the gods. No metal can withstand it; no shield can turn it aside; no spell can dull its edge. When thou dost raise it, the very air groweth bright as burnished gold. The demons shriek and flee; the mountains bow beneath thy power.
We have beheld thy deeds, O thunder-god! How thou didst cleave the belly of Vṛtra, the foe of the gods. How the waters sprang forth, freed from their prison, and poured down upon the earth in blessing. The five rivers flow to this day because of thy great victory. The rains descend because thou didst break the bondage of the clouds.
Thou art the lord of the sky-realm, the keeper of order, the champion of the Devas. The lesser gods bow before thee; the Asuras tremble at thy name. Thou dost ride forth on days appointed, and thy thunderous chariot shaketh the foundations of the worlds.
We invoke thee, O terrible one! Make thy lightning strike our enemies. Let their fortresses crumble like clay. Let their war-chariots overturn; let their warriors fall, slain by the force of thy wrath. And for us, O Indra, send the rains that make the crops flourish. Let thy storm bring fertility to the land, and let us prosper beneath thy mighty gaze!
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.35
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.
tiṣṭhā harī ratha ā yujyamānā yāhi vāyur na niyuto no accha |
pibāsy andho abhisṛṣṭo asme indra svāhā rarimā te madāya || 1 ||
upājirā puruhūtāya saptī harī rathasya dhūrṣv ā yunajmi |
dravad yathā sambhṛtaṁ viśvataś cid upemaṁ yajñam ā vahāta indram || 2 ||
upo nayasva vṛṣaṇā tapuṣpotem ava tvaṁ vṛṣabha svadhāvaḥ |
grasetām aśvā vi muceha śoṇā dive-dive sadṛśīr addhi dhānāḥ || 3 ||
brahmaṇā te brahmayujā yunajmi harī sakhāyā sadhamāda āśū |
sthiraṁ rathaṁ sukham indrādhitiṣṭhan prajānan vidvām̐ upa yāhi somam || 4 ||
mā te harī vṛṣaṇā vītapṛṣṭhā ni rīraman yajamānāso anye |
atyāyāhi śaśvato vayaṁ te 'raṁ sutebhiḥ kṛṇavāma somaiḥ || 5 ||
tavāyaṁ somas tvam ehy arvāṅ chaśvattamaṁ sumanā asya pāhi |
asmin yajñe barhiṣy ā niṣadyā dadhiṣvemaṁ jaṭhara indum indra || 6 ||
stīrṇaṁ te barhiḥ suta indra somaḥ kṛtā dhānā attave te haribhyām |
tadokase puruśākāya vṛṣṇe marutvate tubhyaṁ rātā havīṁṣi || 7 ||
imaṁ naraḥ parvatās tubhyam āpaḥ sam indra gobhir madhumantam akran |
tasyāgatyā sumanā ṛṣva pāhi prajānan vidvān pathyā3 anu svāḥ || 8 ||
yām̐ ābhajo maruta indra some ye tvām avardhann abhavan gaṇas te |
tebhir etaṁ sajoṣā vāvaśāno3 'gneḥ piba jihvayā somam indra || 9 ||
indra piba svadhayā cit sutasyāgner vā pāhi jihvayā yajatra |
adhvaryor vā prayataṁ śakra hastād dhotur vā yajñaṁ haviṣo juṣasva || 10 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 11 ||
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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