Hymn to Indra
Rigveda V.30 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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 Indra, thy strength is beyond measure! In thy arms thou hast grasped the very destiny of the world and molded it according to thy will. What other power could do such a thing? What other god commands the reverence that thou commandest?
Thou art the bull among the gods, the mightiest of all the immortals. The other gods defer to thee; they recognize thy preeminence. When there is a difficult task that requireth great strength, they call upon thee. When the cosmic order threateneth to collapse into chaos, thou raisest thy hand and all is set right again.
We mortals delight in thy bounty, O Indra. Thou sendest the rains that make our fields green and fertile. Thou sendest the abundance that filleth our granaries and our treasuries. We are wealthy because of thy generosity. We are healthy because of thy protection. We are alive because of thy constant vigilance against the forces of destruction.
The young warrior prayeth to thee before he goeth into battle, O mighty one. He knoweth that thy blessing will give him courage and strength. His enemies will flee before him. His sword-arm will be guided true. His chariot will move swiftly across the battlefield. In thy favor, there is victory; in thy disfavor, there is only defeat and death.
Yet thou art also the god of abundance and pleasure, O Indra. After the battle is won, thou drinkest the soma in celebration. Thou revels in the ecstasy of the feast. Thou laughest with the camaraderie of the other gods. Thou knowest both the discipline of war and the joy of celebration. In this, thou art the complete god—warrior and reveler, destroyer and creator, fierce and generous.
We honor thy dual nature, O powerful one. We praise thy strength and thy abundance. Grant us the warrior's courage when we must face our enemies. Grant us the farmer's prosperity when we must tend our fields. Make us strong in thy image, O Indra, that we might live well and die bravely.
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 V.30
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.
kva1 sya vīraḥ ko apaśyad indraṁ sukharatham īyamānaṁ haribhyām |
yo rāyā vajrī sutasomam icchan tad oko gantā puruhūta ūtī || 1 ||
avācacakṣam padam asya sasvar ugraṁ nidhātur anv āyam icchan |
apṛccham anyām̐ uta te ma āhur indraṁ naro bubudhānā aśema || 2 ||
pra nu vayaṁ sute yā te kṛtānīndra bravāma yāni no jujoṣaḥ |
vedad avidvāñ chṛṇavac ca vidvān vahate 'yam maghavā sarvasenaḥ || 3 ||
sthiram manaś cakṛṣe jāta indra veṣīd eko yudhaye bhūyasaś cit |
aśmānaṁ cic chavasā didyuto vi vido gavām ūrvam usriyāṇām || 4 ||
paro yat tvam parama ājaniṣṭhāḥ parāvati śrutyaṁ nāma bibhrat |
ataś cid indrād abhayanta devā viśvā apo ajayad dāsapatnīḥ || 5 ||
tubhyed ete marutaḥ suśevā arcanty arkaṁ sunvanty andhaḥ |
ahim ohānam apa āśayānam pra māyābhir māyinaṁ sakṣad indraḥ || 6 ||
vi ṣū mṛdho januṣā dānam invann ahan gavā maghavan saṁcakānaḥ |
atrā dāsasya namuceḥ śiro yad avartayo manave gātum icchan || 7 ||
yujaṁ hi mām akṛthā ād id indra śiro dāsasya namucer mathāyan |
aśmānaṁ cit svarya1ṁ vartamānam pra cakriyeva rodasī marudbhyaḥ || 8 ||
striyo hi dāsa āyudhāni cakre kim mā karann abalā asya senāḥ |
antar hy akhyad ubhe asya dhene athopa praid yudhaye dasyum indraḥ || 9 ||
sam atra gāvo 'bhito 'navanteheha vatsair viyutā yad āsan |
saṁ tā indro asṛjad asya śākair yad īṁ somāsaḥ suṣutā amandan || 10 ||
yad īṁ somā babhrudhūtā amandann aroravīd vṛṣabhaḥ sādaneṣu |
puraṁdaraḥ papivām̐ indro asya punar gavām adadād usriyāṇām || 11 ||
bhadram idaṁ ruśamā agne akran gavāṁ catvāri dadataḥ sahasrā |
ṛṇaṁcayasya prayatā maghāni praty agrabhīṣma nṛtamasya nṛṇām || 12 ||
supeśasam māva sṛjanty astaṁ gavāṁ sahasrai ruśamāso agne |
tīvrā indram amamanduḥ sutāso 'ktor vyuṣṭau paritakmyāyāḥ || 13 ||
aucchat sā rātrī paritakmyā yām̐ ṛṇaṁcaye rājani ruśamānām |
atyo na vājī raghur ajyamāno babhruś catvāry asanat sahasrā || 14 ||
catuḥsahasraṁ gavyasya paśvaḥ praty agrabhīṣma ruśameṣv agne |
gharmaś cit taptaḥ pravṛje ya āsīd ayasmayas tam v ādāma viprāḥ || 15 ||
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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