Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.26 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 Indra, god of battles, hear our war-cry,
We march unto the field with shields and spears in hand,
Our enemies draw near with evil intention,
But we do place our trust in thee alone.
II.
The drums do sound the battle's ancient summons,
The warriors gather, eager for the fray,
They sharpen spears and polish bright their armor,
And every heart doth beat with fierce and fighting pride.
III.
O mighty Indra, thou who lovest valor,
Grant unto us the courage of the brave,
Let every sword strike true when raised in battle,
Let every arrow fly swift to its mark.
IV.
We do not fight for gold or lands or riches,
But for the honor of our homes and hearths,
For those we love, for those who trust within us,
For all the things that make life worth the living.
V.
Give us the strength to face the charging horsemen,
Give us the wisdom to command the fight,
Let not our enemies prevail against us,
But turn them back defeated and ashamed.
VI.
The hero who doth fall in righteous battle,
Doth pass into thy glory in the heavens high,
He sitteth at the tables of the immortals,
And drinketh of the soma without end.
VII.
O Indra, send thy blessing down upon us,
Let thy great power flow into our hearts,
That we may face the enemy without fear,
And give to thee the glory of the victory.
VIII.
We offer thee the first fruits of the battle,
The spoils of war, the honor of the day,
Accept our sacrifice, accept our valor,
And grant us triumph as the sun doth triumph o'er the night.
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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda VI.26
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.
śrudhī na indra hvayāmasi tvā maho vājasya sātau vāvṛṣāṇāḥ |
saṁ yad viśo 'yanta śūrasātā ugraṁ no 'vaḥ pārye ahan dāḥ || 1 ||
tvāṁ vājī havate vājineyo maho vājasya gadhyasya sātau |
tvāṁ vṛtreṣv indra satpatiṁ tarutraṁ tvāṁ caṣṭe muṣṭihā goṣu yudhyan || 2 ||
tvaṁ kaviṁ codayo 'rkasātau tvaṁ kutsāya śuṣṇaṁ dāśuṣe vark |
tvaṁ śiro amarmaṇaḥ parāhann atithigvāya śaṁsyaṁ kariṣyan || 3 ||
tvaṁ ratham pra bharo yodham ṛṣvam āvo yudhyantaṁ vṛṣabhaṁ daśadyum |
tvaṁ tugraṁ vetasave sacāhan tvaṁ tujiṁ gṛṇantam indra tūtoḥ || 4 ||
tvaṁ tad uktham indra barhaṇā kaḥ pra yac chatā sahasrā śūra darṣi |
ava girer dāsaṁ śambaraṁ han prāvo divodāsaṁ citrābhir ūtī || 5 ||
tvaṁ śraddhābhir mandasānaḥ somair dabhītaye cumurim indra siṣvap |
tvaṁ rajim piṭhīnase daśasyan ṣaṣṭiṁ sahasrā śacyā sacāhan || 6 ||
ahaṁ cana tat sūribhir ānaśyāṁ tava jyāya indra sumnam ojaḥ |
tvayā yat stavante sadhavīra vīrās trivarūthena nahuṣā śaviṣṭha || 7 ||
vayaṁ te asyām indra dyumnahūtau sakhāyaḥ syāma mahina preṣṭhāḥ |
prātardaniḥ kṣatraśrīr astu śreṣṭho ghane vṛtrāṇāṁ sanaye dhanānām || 8 ||
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).
🌲