Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.35 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.
Come now, O Indra! Put on thy armor of light; take up thy thunderbolt; mount thy chariot. The enemy gathers at the border; his chariots darken the plain. We have gathered our warriors; we have sharpened our spears. Thou art our leader; lead us forth to triumph!
Make strong our arms, O god of battles! Let our sword-hands be steady; let our aim be true. Fill our hearts with courage that knoweth no fear. Make us like unto the lions and tigers, swift and deadly in the charge. Let our enemies' hearts fail within them at the sight of us.
Thou hast done this before, O mighty one. How many times hath thy hand turned back the foe? How many times hath thy voice rallied the frightened warrior? We remember thy deeds; we sing them in the evening fire. Thou art our model, our teacher, our inspiration.
Thy thunderbolt is mightier than any spear fashioned by mortal hands. Where thy bolt falls, nothing can resist. The strongest fortress crumbles; the bravest warrior falls. Therefore do we fight beneath thy banner, knowing that with thee at our head, we cannot be overcome.
Let the enemy hear the sound of our coming! Let them see the cloud of dust from our chariots! Let them tremble at the thunder of our hooves! When we strike, let it be as the lightning strikes—sudden, terrible, and absolute.
O Indra, grant us this day! Grant us victory that all may sing of it! Grant us glory that shall be remembered by our children's children! Take thy place at the head of our army; raise thy thunderbolt on high; lead us to triumph!
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.35
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.
kadā bhuvan rathakṣayāṇi brahma kadā stotre sahasrapoṣyaṁ dāḥ |
kadā stomaṁ vāsayo 'sya rāyā kadā dhiyaḥ karasi vājaratnāḥ || 1 ||
karhi svit tad indra yan nṛbhir nṝn vīrair vīrān nīḻayāse jayājīn |
tridhātu gā adhi jayāsi goṣv indra dyumnaṁ svarvad dhehy asme || 2 ||
karhi svit tad indra yaj jaritre viśvapsu brahma kṛṇavaḥ śaviṣṭha |
kadā dhiyo na niyuto yuvāse kadā gomaghā havanāni gacchāḥ || 3 ||
sa gomaghā jaritre aśvaścandrā vājaśravaso adhi dhehi pṛkṣaḥ |
pīpihīṣaḥ sudughām indra dhenum bharadvājeṣu suruco rurucyāḥ || 4 ||
tam ā nūnaṁ vṛjanam anyathā cic chūro yac chakra vi duro gṛṇīṣe |
mā nir araṁ śukradughasya dhenor āṅgirasān brahmaṇā vipra jinva || 5 ||
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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