Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IV.34 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.
O Ṛbhus, ye masters of marvels, tell us the deeds of your hands! For your works are spoken of in heaven and upon the earth; your names are lifted high in the halls of the devas. What craft hath begotten such wonders?
One cup ye took and transformed into four, each perfect and complete, yet wrought from the substance of the first. The wood did bend beneath your hands as clay bendeth beneath the potter's touch. You did divide without breaking, create without addition, perfect without flaw. Even Indra himself did marvel at the sight.
But this was not your only labour. In the twilight of days, when your father and mother had grown old and their limbs did tremble with age, ye did approach them with reverence and cunning. Then did ye rejuvenate them, restoring to their bodies the strength of youth, making them whole again as if the years had never touched them. Their hair grew dark, their eyes bright, their step firm as before.
Thus ye proved that the power of the maker reacheth beyond the wrought object into the very sinews of life itself. You did remake not mere substance but the essence of vitality. The devas beheld this and crowned you among the immortals, saying, "These are no longer mortal; they have transcended the bonds of flesh through the alchemy of skill."
See how your fame spreadeth throughout the three worlds! In heaven the Adityas speak your praises; upon earth the wise recall your deeds; below, even the forces of death acknowledge your mastery. Ye are the proof that mortals need not remain mortal if they possess the courage, the wit, and the unwearying hands to remake themselves and all they touch.
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.34
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.
ṛbhur vibhvā vāja indro no acchemaṁ yajñaṁ ratnadheyopa yāta |
idā hi vo dhiṣaṇā devy ahnām adhāt pītiṁ sam madā agmatā vaḥ || 1 ||
vidānāso janmano vājaratnā uta ṛtubhir ṛbhavo mādayadhvam |
saṁ vo madā agmata sam puraṁdhiḥ suvīrām asme rayim erayadhvam || 2 ||
ayaṁ vo yajña ṛbhavo 'kāri yam ā manuṣvat pradivo dadhidhve |
pra vo 'cchā jujuṣāṇāso asthur abhūta viśve agriyota vājāḥ || 3 ||
abhūd u vo vidhate ratnadheyam idā naro dāśuṣe martyāya |
pibata vājā ṛbhavo dade vo mahi tṛtīyaṁ savanam madāya || 4 ||
ā vājā yātopa na ṛbhukṣā maho naro draviṇaso gṛṇānāḥ |
ā vaḥ pītayo 'bhipitve ahnām imā astaṁ navasva iva gman || 5 ||
ā napātaḥ śavaso yātanopemaṁ yajñaṁ namasā hūyamānāḥ |
sajoṣasaḥ sūrayo yasya ca stha madhvaḥ pāta ratnadhā indravantaḥ || 6 ||
sajoṣā indra varuṇena somaṁ sajoṣāḥ pāhi girvaṇo marudbhiḥ |
agrepābhir ṛtupābhiḥ sajoṣā gnāspatnībhī ratnadhābhiḥ sajoṣāḥ || 7 ||
sajoṣasa ādityair mādayadhvaṁ sajoṣasa ṛbhavaḥ parvatebhiḥ |
sajoṣaso daivyenā savitrā sajoṣasaḥ sindhubhī ratnadhebhiḥ || 8 ||
ye aśvinā ye pitarā ya ūtī dhenuṁ tatakṣur ṛbhavo ye aśvā |
ye aṁsatrā ya ṛdhag rodasī ye vibhvo naraḥ svapatyāni cakruḥ || 9 ||
ye gomantaṁ vājavantaṁ suvīraṁ rayiṁ dhattha vasumantam purukṣum |
te agrepā ṛbhavo mandasānā asme dhatta ye ca rātiṁ gṛṇanti || 10 ||
nāpābhūta na vo 'tītṛṣāmāniḥśastā ṛbhavo yajñe asmin |
sam indreṇa madatha sam marudbhiḥ saṁ rājabhī ratnadheyāya devāḥ || 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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