Hymn to Indra
Rigveda V.32 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.
The great serpent Vṛtra reared his thousand-headed form against the sky. From his fangs came poison; from his maw came shadow. He barred the waters in his coils, and the rivers ceased to flow. The sun grew dim. All creatures withered.
Then came Indra, the slayer of dragons. Thou didst seize the Vajra in both hands, O mighty one, and thy shoulders grew broad as the heavens. Thy voice became as thunder rolling across the wastes. Thy eyes blazed with fire ancient and dreadful.
Thou didst approach the serpent where he lay coiled upon the peak. Vṛtra hissed and struck, his fangs like spears of iron. But thou wast swifter. Thou didst leap, and the Vajra sang through the air. It struck the coils; it shattered the head. The great worm writhed and fell.
From his body burst the waters—torrents upon torrents! The rivers remembered their courses and rushed toward the sea. The sun broke free and climbed again into the vault. All growing things rejoiced. The cattle lowed in gladness. Men lifted their faces to the light.
O Indra, champion of cosmic order! Thou hast slain the evil that would swallow all things. Thou hast restored the courses of nature. The Veda singeth of thy victory forever. We pour the soma and raise the hymn. Thy name shall not perish from the earth, O slayer of Vṛtra. Where there is darkness and despair, we shall call upon thee, and thou wilt come.
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.32
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.
adardar utsam asṛjo vi khāni tvam arṇavān badbadhānām̐ aramṇāḥ |
mahāntam indra parvataṁ vi yad vaḥ sṛjo vi dhārā ava dānavaṁ han || 1 ||
tvam utsām̐ ṛtubhir badbadhānām̐ araṁha ūdhaḥ parvatasya vajrin |
ahiṁ cid ugra prayutaṁ śayānaṁ jaghanvām̐ indra taviṣīm adhatthāḥ || 2 ||
tyasya cin mahato nir mṛgasya vadhar jaghāna taviṣībhir indraḥ |
ya eka id apratir manyamāna ād asmād anyo ajaniṣṭa tavyān || 3 ||
tyaṁ cid eṣāṁ svadhayā madantam miho napātaṁ suvṛdhaṁ tamogām |
vṛṣaprabharmā dānavasya bhāmaṁ vajreṇa vajrī ni jaghāna śuṣṇam || 4 ||
tyaṁ cid asya kratubhir niṣattam amarmaṇo vidad id asya marma |
yad īṁ sukṣatra prabhṛtā madasya yuyutsantaṁ tamasi harmye dhāḥ || 5 ||
tyaṁ cid itthā katpayaṁ śayānam asūrye tamasi vāvṛdhānam |
taṁ cin mandāno vṛṣabhaḥ sutasyoccair indro apagūryā jaghāna || 6 ||
ud yad indro mahate dānavāya vadhar yamiṣṭa saho apratītam |
yad īṁ vajrasya prabhṛtau dadābha viśvasya jantor adhamaṁ cakāra || 7 ||
tyaṁ cid arṇam madhupaṁ śayānam asinvaṁ vavram mahy ādad ugraḥ |
apādam atram mahatā vadhena ni duryoṇa āvṛṇaṅ mṛdhravācam || 8 ||
ko asya śuṣmaṁ taviṣīṁ varāta eko dhanā bharate apratītaḥ |
ime cid asya jrayaso nu devī indrasyaujaso bhiyasā jihāte || 9 ||
ny asmai devī svadhitir jihīta indrāya gātur uśatīva yeme |
saṁ yad ojo yuvate viśvam ābhir anu svadhāvne kṣitayo namanta || 10 ||
ekaṁ nu tvā satpatim pāñcajanyaṁ jātaṁ śṛṇomi yaśasaṁ janeṣu |
tam me jagṛbhra āśaso naviṣṭhaṁ doṣā vastor havamānāsa indram || 11 ||
evā hi tvām ṛtuthā yātayantam maghā viprebhyo dadataṁ śṛṇomi |
kiṁ te brahmāṇo gṛhate sakhāyo ye tvāyā nidadhuḥ kāmam indra || 12 ||
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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