Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IV.24 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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.
Thou art the champion, O Indra! In every battle thou hast proven victorious. No foe hath stood before thee and lived to boast of it. Thou art the undefeated warrior, the lord of triumph, the eternal victor.
When the chariot wheels of thy enemies roll toward thee, thou breakest them beneath thy foot as though they were brittle wood. When their warriors raise their weapons, thou scatterest them like leaves before a gale. When their leaders cry out their orders, their own men flee in terror, knowing that resistance is futile.
Thy strength knoweth no equal among the gods. The very fierceness of thy countenance causeth the bravest warrior to quail. Thy battle-cry shaketh the earth. Thy thunderbolt singeth through the air like the song of death itself.
None have conquered thee because thou art unconquerable. None have wounded thee because thy skin is harder than stone, harder than iron, harder than any substance known to man or god. Thou wearest the wounds of thy enemies upon them, not upon thyself.
In the assembly of the gods, thy seat is highest. Thou drinkest first of the soma. The other deities yield to thy counsel. When thou speakest, all listen in silence. When thou commandest, all obey without question.
Yet thou art not cruel in thy victory, O mighty one. Thou givest honor to those brave warriors who fall before thy thunderbolt. Thou art magnanimous in triumph, gracious to those who surrender, merciful to those who acknowledge thy supremacy.
Therefore do we mortals, who cannot match thee in strength, honor thee with our offerings and our hymns. We recognize thy mastery. We acknowledge thy supremacy. We submit ourselves to thy will, trusting that thy power shall protect us from all harm.
Champion of the gods! Victor in every battle! Let thy favor rest upon us!
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 IV.24
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.
kā suṣṭutiḥ śavasaḥ sūnum indram arvācīnaṁ rādhasa ā vavartat |
dadir hi vīro gṛṇate vasūni sa gopatir niṣṣidhāṁ no janāsaḥ || 1 ||
sa vṛtrahatye havyaḥ sa īḍyaḥ sa suṣṭuta indraḥ satyarādhāḥ |
sa yāmann ā maghavā martyāya brahmaṇyate suṣvaye varivo dhāt || 2 ||
tam in naro vi hvayante samīke ririkvāṁsas tanvaḥ kṛṇvata trām |
mitho yat tyāgam ubhayāso agman naras tokasya tanayasya sātau || 3 ||
kratūyanti kṣitayo yoga ugrāśuṣāṇāso mitho arṇasātau |
saṁ yad viśo 'vavṛtranta yudhmā ād in nema indrayante abhīke || 4 ||
ād id dha nema indriyaṁ yajanta ād it paktiḥ puroḻāśaṁ riricyāt |
ād it somo vi papṛcyād asuṣvīn ād ij jujoṣa vṛṣabhaṁ yajadhyai || 5 ||
kṛṇoty asmai varivo ya itthendrāya somam uśate sunoti |
sadhrīcīnena manasāvivenan tam it sakhāyaṁ kṛṇute samatsu || 6 ||
ya indrāya sunavat somam adya pacāt paktīr uta bhṛjjāti dhānāḥ |
prati manāyor ucathāni haryan tasmin dadhad vṛṣaṇaṁ śuṣmam indraḥ || 7 ||
yadā samaryaṁ vy aced ṛghāvā dīrghaṁ yad ājim abhy akhyad aryaḥ |
acikradad vṛṣaṇam patny acchā duroṇa ā niśitaṁ somasudbhiḥ || 8 ||
bhūyasā vasnam acarat kanīyo 'vikrīto akāniṣam punar yan |
sa bhūyasā kanīyo nārirecīd dīnā dakṣā vi duhanti pra vāṇam || 9 ||
ka imaṁ daśabhir mamendraṁ krīṇāti dhenubhiḥ |
yadā vṛtrāṇi jaṅghanad athainam me punar dadat || 10 ||
nū ṣṭuta indra nū gṛṇāna iṣaṁ jaritre nadyo3 na pīpeḥ |
akāri te harivo brahma navyaṁ dhiyā syāma rathyaḥ sadāsāḥ || 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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