Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.38 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.
Remember, O Indra, the day when thou drankest the soma and thy strength grew beyond measure! Remember how thou didst rise up in fury and grasp thy thunderbolt. Remember how the demon Vṛtra fled before thee, coiling upon himself in fear.
Remember how thou didst smite him, how the serpent burst open, how the waters poured forth! All of creation rejoiced at that deed. The gods sang thy praises; the mortals cried out in thanksgiving. That was thy glory, O lord—that was the moment when all things understood thy might.
Remember, too, the dāsas whom thou didst slay! The fortresses thou didst break, the enemies thou didst scatter! How they fled before thy chariot! How their wealth became the spoil of thy faithful! These deeds are written upon the very fabric of the world; they shall never be forgotten.
We sing these deeds now, O Indra, not merely to praise thee—though praise is thy due—but to move thee to action. Hear what thou hast done; remember thy power; awaken again to thy former glory! If thou couldst slay Vṛtra in ancient times, why canst thou not slay our enemies now?
If thou couldst break the fortresses of the wicked then, why canst thou not break them now? Art thou grown weary, O lord? Art thou sleeping? Nay, we cannot believe it! Thou art eternal; thy power knoweth no weariness. Therefore we remind thee of thy deeds.
Rise up, O Indra! Let thy thunderbolt blaze again! Slay the demons that threaten us; break the fortresses of our foes; grant us victory and plunder! Do now as thou hast done before, and we shall sing thy praises till the end of the world!
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.38
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.
apād ita ud u naś citratamo mahīm bharṣad dyumatīm indrahūtim |
panyasīṁ dhītiṁ daivyasya yāmañ janasya rātiṁ vanate sudānuḥ || 1 ||
dūrāc cid ā vasato asya karṇā ghoṣād indrasya tanyati bruvāṇaḥ |
eyam enaṁ devahūtir vavṛtyān madrya1g indram iyam ṛcyamānā || 2 ||
taṁ vo dhiyā paramayā purājām ajaram indram abhy anūṣy arkaiḥ |
brahmā ca giro dadhire sam asmin mahām̐ś ca stomo adhi vardhad indre || 3 ||
vardhād yaṁ yajña uta soma indraṁ vardhād brahma gira ukthā ca manma |
vardhāhainam uṣaso yāmann aktor vardhān māsāḥ śarado dyāva indram || 4 ||
evā jajñānaṁ sahase asāmi vāvṛdhānaṁ rādhase ca śrutāya |
mahām ugram avase vipra nūnam ā vivāsema vṛtratūryeṣu || 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).
🌲