Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IV.26 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.
I am Indra! I am the wielder of the thunderbolt, the king of all the gods, the lord of the sky itself. There is none like me in all the worlds. I have conquered my enemies. I have slain the serpent. I have held aloft the heavens.
I became a falcon, soaring swift and terrible above the mountains. My wings bore me through the sky. My eyes could see all that transpired upon the earth. In that form, I descended upon my foes and tore them with my talons.
I am the storm-god! I bring the rain when the earth is parched. I thunder across the heavens, and the sound of my passage shaketh the very foundations of existence. I am the lightning that striketh without warning, the hail that punisheth the wicked, the wind that carryeth away the dust of my enemies.
I am the giver of life! The waters that nourish all creatures flow from the victory I won. The cattle that feed mankind exist because I slew the demons that would have destroyed them. The crops that ripen in the field prosper because I maintain the order of the seasons.
I am mighty beyond measure! My arm knoweth no weakness. My will knoweth no obstacle. When I commandeth, the gods obey. When I move, the mountains tremble. When I speak, the thunder carrieth my words to the distant reaches of creation.
I have slain a thousand demons. I have broken a hundred strongholds. I have conquered every foe that hath dared to challenge my supremacy. Yet I am not filled with pride, for my deeds are done in service of the cosmic order.
I am Indra, and I am eternal. I have always existed, and I shall exist forever. My glory fadeth not. My power diminisheth not. I am the eternal victor, the unchanging king, the lord of all the worlds.
Hear me now, and tremble before my name!
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.26
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.
aham manur abhavaṁ sūryaś cāhaṁ kakṣīvām̐ ṛṣir asmi vipraḥ |
ahaṁ kutsam ārjuneyaṁ ny ṛñje 'haṁ kavir uśanā paśyatā mā || 1 ||
aham bhūmim adadām āryāyāhaṁ vṛṣṭiṁ dāśuṣe martyāya |
aham apo anayaṁ vāvaśānā mama devāso anu ketam āyan || 2 ||
aham puro mandasāno vy airaṁ nava sākaṁ navatīḥ śambarasya |
śatatamaṁ veśyaṁ sarvatātā divodāsam atithigvaṁ yad āvam || 3 ||
pra su ṣa vibhyo maruto vir astu pra śyenaḥ śyenebhya āśupatvā |
acakrayā yat svadhayā suparṇo havyam bharan manave devajuṣṭam || 4 ||
bharad yadi vir ato vevijānaḥ pathoruṇā manojavā asarji |
tūyaṁ yayau madhunā somyenota śravo vivide śyeno atra || 5 ||
ṛjīpī śyeno dadamāno aṁśum parāvataḥ śakuno mandram madam |
somam bharad dādṛhāṇo devāvān divo amuṣmād uttarād ādāya || 6 ||
ādāya śyeno abharat somaṁ sahasraṁ savām̐ ayutaṁ ca sākam |
atrā puraṁdhir ajahād arātīr made somasya mūrā amūraḥ || 7 ||
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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