Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IV.42 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.
Now comes the great dialogue between Indra and Varuṇa, each proclaiming his supremacy, each boasting of his might and his deeds. Hear them speak!
INDRA: "I am the greatest among the devas, the lord of heaven, the slayer of Vṛtra. My power knoweth no bounds. Have I not shattered the serpent that lay coiled in the mountains? Have I not freed the waters and made them flow to every land? When I strike with my thunderbolt, the very heavens tremble. No god is equal to me; no deva dares to contest my supremacy."
VARUṆA: "Thou speakest of thy deeds, O Indra, and truly they are great. Yet know thou that I am the mightier of the two. For I am the upholder of ṛta, the cosmic order upon which all things depend. Without my vigilance, chaos would reign; the world would dissolve into formlessness. I see all things, knowest all things. No secret is hidden from me, no wrong escapeth my sight. The foundations of the earth rest upon my will."
INDRA: "Thou art mighty in thy way, O Varuṇa, yet thy might is of knowledge and order. Mine is the might of action and victory! When Trasadasyu rode forth into battle, it was I who granted him the power to slay his enemies. Tens of thousands did he destroy through my favour. The mortal warrior who calls upon me is invincible. The god who opposes me is cast down."
VARUṆA: "And yet, O Indra, without the cosmic order that I maintain, thy victories would be hollow and fleeting. The warrior who breaketh the sacred oath may slay his foes, but I shall find him, and I shall bind him with chains that cannot be broken. Ask thyself: which is the greater power — to strike down a foe for a moment, or to maintain the structure of reality itself for all eternity?"
And thus they speak, each proclaiming his greatness, each correct, for both are essential. Neither can exist without the other. Strength without order is chaos; order without strength is weakness. The wise know that both Indra and Varuṇa must be honoured, must be invoked, must be appeased.
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.42
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.
mama dvitā rāṣṭraṁ kṣatriyasya viśvāyor viśve amṛtā yathā naḥ |
kratuṁ sacante varuṇasya devā rājāmi kṛṣṭer upamasya vavreḥ || 1 ||
ahaṁ rājā varuṇo mahyaṁ tāny asuryāṇi prathamā dhārayanta |
kratuṁ sacante varuṇasya devā rājāmi kṛṣṭer upamasya vavreḥ || 2 ||
aham indro varuṇas te mahitvorvī gabhīre rajasī sumeke |
tvaṣṭeva viśvā bhuvanāni vidvān sam airayaṁ rodasī dhārayaṁ ca || 3 ||
aham apo apinvam ukṣamāṇā dhārayaṁ divaṁ sadana ṛtasya |
ṛtena putro aditer ṛtāvota tridhātu prathayad vi bhūma || 4 ||
māṁ naraḥ svaśvā vājayanto māṁ vṛtāḥ samaraṇe havante |
kṛṇomy ājim maghavāham indra iyarmi reṇum abhibhūtyojāḥ || 5 ||
ahaṁ tā viśvā cakaraṁ nakir mā daivyaṁ saho varate apratītam |
yan mā somāso mamadan yad ukthobhe bhayete rajasī apāre || 6 ||
viduṣ ṭe viśvā bhuvanāni tasya tā pra bravīṣi varuṇāya vedhaḥ |
tvaṁ vṛtrāṇi śṛṇviṣe jaghanvān tvaṁ vṛtām̐ ariṇā indra sindhūn || 7 ||
asmākam atra pitaras ta āsan sapta ṛṣayo daurgahe badhyamāne |
ta āyajanta trasadasyum asyā indraṁ na vṛtraturam ardhadevam || 8 ||
purukutsānī hi vām adāśad dhavyebhir indrāvaruṇā namobhiḥ |
athā rājānaṁ trasadasyum asyā vṛtrahaṇaṁ dadathur ardhadevam || 9 ||
rāyā vayaṁ sasavāṁso madema havyena devā yavasena gāvaḥ |
tāṁ dhenum indrāvaruṇā yuvaṁ no viśvāhā dhattam anapasphurantīm || 10 ||
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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