Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.22 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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.
I.
O mighty Indra, hear us when we call,
Come swift unto us in this hour of need,
We stand in danger, beset by our foes,
Grant us thy strength, thy wisdom, and thy aid.
II.
The enemies gather like wolves round our dwellings,
They sharpen their weapons, they make ready for war,
We look to thee, O thunder-wielder great,
To come and scatter them like leaves before the wind.
III.
What man among us hath thy power and courage?
What mortal can withstand when thou dost raise thy hand?
Thou art our hope, thou art our strength and refuge,
O come to us, O mighty one, and save us from our foes.
IV.
We pour the soma in the proper fashion,
We light the fire and speak the words of prayer,
We call upon thy name with reverent voices,
O hear us, Indra, hear us and come swift.
V.
Thou who hast ever been the friend of mankind,
Who lovest them that call upon thy name,
We are thy worshippers, we are thy people,
Defend us now as thou hast done of old.
VI.
Break thou the weapons of the men that hate us,
Confound their plans and scatter all their strength,
Let thy great hand come down upon our enemies,
And guard us safe within the fort of thy protection.
VII.
We know that thou hast power to overcome all evil,
That none can stand against thy sovereign might,
So we do trust in thee with all our hearts,
And pray that thou wilt grant us thy deliverance.
VIII.
O Indra, come unto us as thou camest
To them of old when they did cry to thee,
Bring us the victory, bring us the triumph,
And let us live to praise thy glory ever.
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 VI.22
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.
ya eka id dhavyaś carṣaṇīnām indraṁ taṁ gīrbhir abhy arca ābhiḥ |
yaḥ patyate vṛṣabho vṛṣṇyāvān satyaḥ satvā purumāyaḥ sahasvān || 1 ||
tam u naḥ pūrve pitaro navagvāḥ sapta viprāso abhi vājayantaḥ |
nakṣaddābhaṁ taturim parvateṣṭhām adroghavācam matibhiḥ śaviṣṭham || 2 ||
tam īmaha indram asya rāyaḥ puruvīrasya nṛvataḥ purukṣoḥ |
yo askṛdhoyur ajaraḥ svarvān tam ā bhara harivo mādayadhyai || 3 ||
tan no vi voco yadi te purā cij jaritāra ānaśuḥ sumnam indra |
kas te bhāgaḥ kiṁ vayo dudhra khidvaḥ puruhūta purūvaso 'suraghnaḥ || 4 ||
tam pṛcchantī vajrahastaṁ ratheṣṭhām indraṁ vepī vakvarī yasya nū gīḥ |
tuvigrābhaṁ tuvikūrmiṁ rabhodāṁ gātum iṣe nakṣate tumram accha || 5 ||
ayā ha tyam māyayā vāvṛdhānam manojuvā svatavaḥ parvatena |
acyutā cid vīḻitā svojo rujo vi dṛḻhā dhṛṣatā virapśin || 6 ||
taṁ vo dhiyā navyasyā śaviṣṭham pratnam pratnavat paritaṁsayadhyai |
sa no vakṣad animānaḥ suvahmendro viśvāny ati durgahāṇi || 7 ||
ā janāya druhvaṇe pārthivāni divyāni dīpayo 'ntarikṣā |
tapā vṛṣan viśvataḥ śociṣā tān brahmadviṣe śocaya kṣām apaś ca || 8 ||
bhuvo janasya divyasya rājā pārthivasya jagatas tveṣasaṁdṛk |
dhiṣva vajraṁ dakṣiṇa indra haste viśvā ajurya dayase vi māyāḥ || 9 ||
ā saṁyatam indra ṇaḥ svastiṁ śatrutūryāya bṛhatīm amṛdhrām |
yayā dāsāny āryāṇi vṛtrā karo vajrin sutukā nāhuṣāṇi || 10 ||
sa no niyudbhiḥ puruhūta vedho viśvavārābhir ā gahi prayajyo |
na yā adevo varate na deva ābhir yāhi tūyam ā madryadrik || 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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