Hymn to Indra
Rigveda III.43 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, unrivaled champion of the cosmos! Who among all the beings that inhabit the three worlds can be compared with thee? Thou standest alone at the pinnacle of power, and all others — whether god or demon, man or beast — are lesser than thee.
The Asuras have mustered their strength against thee, yet they have been cast down. The demons have devised cunning traps and subtle snares, yet thou hast escaped them all. The sorcerers have chanted their dark mantras, seeking to bind thee with spells, yet thou hast broken their enchantments as easily as a strong man breaketh withes of straw.
We have heard the tales of thy victories, and they are without number. Each tale is grander than the last; each deed surpasseth all that came before. It seemeth that there is no limit to thy strength, no end to thy capabilities. Even the ancient seers who recorded the deeds of the gods could scarce find words mighty enough to capture thy glory.
The other gods stand in awe of thee, O lord! Even Varuṇa, the keeper of cosmic order, boweth to thy supreme authority. The Maruts follow thy banner, and the Aśvins carry out thy bidding. The Apsarases dance in thy honor, and the Gandharvas sing thy praise. All creation acknowledgeth thy supremacy.
Yet thou art not merely mighty — thou art also just. Thou protectest those who worship thee with sincere hearts; thou defendest the righteous against the wicked. Thy victories are not mere exhibitions of strength, but the triumph of order over chaos, of light over darkness, of the Devas over the Asuras.
Therefore we bow before thee, O unrivaled one! We acknowledge thy supremacy, and we beg thy favor. Let thy benevolent gaze rest upon us, and grant us the portion of thy strength that we may be worthy of thy protection!
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.43
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.
ā yāhy arvāṅ upa vandhureṣṭhās taved anu pradivaḥ somapeyam |
priyā sakhāyā vi mucopa barhis tvām ime havyavāho havante || 1 ||
ā yāhi pūrvīr ati carṣaṇīr ām̐ arya āśiṣa upa no haribhyām |
imā hi tvā matayaḥ stomataṣṭā indra havante sakhyaṁ juṣāṇāḥ || 2 ||
ā no yajñaṁ namovṛdhaṁ sajoṣā indra deva haribhir yāhi tūyam |
ahaṁ hi tvā matibhir johavīmi ghṛtaprayāḥ sadhamāde madhūnām || 3 ||
ā ca tvām etā vṛṣaṇā vahāto harī sakhāyā sudhurā svaṅgā |
dhānāvad indraḥ savanaṁ juṣāṇaḥ sakhā sakhyuḥ śṛṇavad vandanāni || 4 ||
kuvin mā gopāṁ karase janasya kuvid rājānam maghavann ṛjīṣin |
kuvin ma ṛṣim papivāṁsaṁ sutasya kuvin me vasvo amṛtasya śikṣāḥ || 5 ||
ā tvā bṛhanto harayo yujānā arvāg indra sadhamādo vahantu |
pra ye dvitā diva ṛñjanty ātāḥ susammṛṣṭāso vṛṣabhasya mūrāḥ || 6 ||
indra piba vṛṣadhūtasya vṛṣṇa ā yaṁ te śyena uśate jabhāra |
yasya made cyāvayasi pra kṛṣṭīr yasya made apa gotrā vavartha || 7 ||
śunaṁ huvema maghavānam indram asmin bhare nṛtamaṁ vājasātau |
śṛṇvantam ugram ūtaye samatsu ghnantaṁ vṛtrāṇi saṁjitaṁ dhanānām || 8 ||
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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