A Hymn of Maṇḍala 4
Rigveda IV.39 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.
See how Dadhikrā mounts the field of battle, his whole body quivering with the energy of conflict! The drums do sound; the war-cry raiseth itself to heaven; and there cometh the divine steed, his nostrils wide, his mane streaming in the wind of his own passage. The ground shaketh; the very air trembleth at his approach.
He chargeth through the ranks of enemies as a flame through dry grass, unstoppable and all-consuming. The foe breaketh before him like the shore breaketh before the wave. His hooves crush the weapons of the fallen; his body beareth no mark of harm, for he is consecrated and protected by the gods themselves. No lance can pierce his hide; no curse can weaken his limbs.
Listen to the thunder of those hooves! Each strike upon the earth is as a hammer-blow upon the anvil of creation. The sound echoes through the valleys, up into the mountains, across the plains — it is the very heartbeat of victory made audible. The warriors who ride upon him feel his power flowing into their own bodies, and their courage knoweth no bounds.
Dadhikrā seeketh not to flee but to advance, ever forward, ever deeper into the fray. His eyes are fixed upon the foe; his intent is steadfast and unwavering. When the battle reacheth its climax, when lesser horses would falter and lesser warriors would despair, Dadhikrā burneth with redoubled fury. His speed increaseth; his strength floweth undiminished.
O mighty steed, horse of the gods, bringer of victory! Accept now the hymn of those who honour thy name and thy deeds. Carry us to triumph; make our enemies' courage fail; let the sound of thy hooves be the last thing heard by those who stand against us. Be thou the instrument of our righteousness, and let thy power prove the justice of our cause.
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.39
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.
āśuṁ dadhikrāṁ tam u nu ṣṭavāma divas pṛthivyā uta carkirāma |
ucchantīr mām uṣasaḥ sūdayantv ati viśvāni duritāni parṣan || 1 ||
mahaś carkarmy arvataḥ kratuprā dadhikrāvṇaḥ puruvārasya vṛṣṇaḥ |
yam pūrubhyo dīdivāṁsaṁ nāgniṁ dadathur mitrāvaruṇā taturim || 2 ||
yo aśvasya dadhikrāvṇo akārīt samiddhe agnā uṣaso vyuṣṭau |
anāgasaṁ tam aditiḥ kṛṇotu sa mitreṇa varuṇenā sajoṣāḥ || 3 ||
dadhikrāvṇa iṣa ūrjo maho yad amanmahi marutāṁ nāma bhadram |
svastaye varuṇam mitram agniṁ havāmaha indraṁ vajrabāhum || 4 ||
indram ived ubhaye vi hvayanta udīrāṇā yajñam upaprayantaḥ |
dadhikrām u sūdanam martyāya dadathur mitrāvaruṇā no aśvam || 5 ||
dadhikrāvṇo akāriṣaṁ jiṣṇor aśvasya vājinaḥ |
surabhi no mukhā karat pra ṇa āyūṁṣi tāriṣat || 6 ||
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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