Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.23 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.
Sing we of Indra the warrior-king,
Whose deeds are sung from heaven down to earth,
Whose strength doth overflow all bounds and measures,
The slayer of demons, the friend of the gods.
II.
In battle doth he shine like the sun ascending,
His form doth gleam with light more bright than lightning,
The darts of his enemies flee away before him,
As shadows flee when the sun doth rise at dawn.
III.
His chariot is drawn by horses that obey no rein,
Swift as the wind, strong as the very storm itself,
Behind him ride the Maruts, shouting their war-cry,
While mortals tremble at the sound and shout of war.
IV.
What foe hath stood against him and not fallen?
What demon hath resisted his great strength?
He crusheth them like potter crusheth clay,
And scattereth them like the chaff before the winnower.
V.
O warrior-king, accept our praises now,
See how we honor thee with song and prayer,
We know thy deeds, we tell thy mighty victories,
O Indra, greatest of all gods and men.
VI.
The wise do gather to hear tales of thy achievements,
The mothers tell their children of thy fame,
From generation unto generation passeth
The memory of thy glory and thy wondrous deeds.
VII.
Grant us, O mighty one, thy warrior spirit,
That we may stand in battle strong and brave,
Let thy great strength flow through our mortal bodies,
And make us worthy of thy constant care.
VIII.
O Indra, thou whom all the deities honor,
Accept our offering, accept our song of praise,
Let us walk ever in the light of thy protection,
And live as those whom thou dost favor well.
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.23
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.
suta it tvaṁ nimiśla indra some stome brahmaṇi śasyamāna ukthe |
yad vā yuktābhyām maghavan haribhyām bibhrad vajram bāhvor indra yāsi || 1 ||
yad vā divi pārye suṣvim indra vṛtrahatye 'vasi śūrasātau |
yad vā dakṣasya bibhyuṣo abibhyad arandhayaḥ śardhata indra dasyūn || 2 ||
pātā sutam indro astu somam praṇenīr ugro jaritāram ūtī |
kartā vīrāya suṣvaya u lokaṁ dātā vasu stuvate kīraye cit || 3 ||
ganteyānti savanā haribhyām babhrir vajram papiḥ somaṁ dadir gāḥ |
kartā vīraṁ naryaṁ sarvavīraṁ śrotā havaṁ gṛṇataḥ stomavāhāḥ || 4 ||
asmai vayaṁ yad vāvāna tad viviṣma indrāya yo naḥ pradivo apas kaḥ |
sute some stumasi śaṁsad ukthendrāya brahma vardhanaṁ yathāsat || 5 ||
brahmāṇi hi cakṛṣe vardhanāni tāvat ta indra matibhir viviṣmaḥ |
sute some sutapāḥ śaṁtamāni rāṇḍyā kriyāsma vakṣaṇāni yajñaiḥ || 6 ||
sa no bodhi puroḻāśaṁ rarāṇaḥ pibā tu somaṁ goṛjīkam indra |
edam barhir yajamānasya sīdoruṁ kṛdhi tvāyata u lokam || 7 ||
sa mandasvā hy anu joṣam ugra pra tvā yajñāsa ime aśnuvantu |
preme havāsaḥ puruhūtam asme ā tveyaṁ dhīr avasa indra yamyāḥ || 8 ||
taṁ vaḥ sakhāyaḥ saṁ yathā suteṣu somebhir īm pṛṇatā bhojam indram |
kuvit tasmā asati no bharāya na suṣvim indro 'vase mṛdhāti || 9 ||
eved indraḥ sute astāvi some bharadvājeṣu kṣayad in maghonaḥ |
asad yathā jaritra uta sūrir indro rāyo viśvavārasya dātā || 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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