Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.39 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.
Indra, whom no host hath conquered in the contest of the strong,
Who standeth ever undefeated, never vanquished, never wrong—
Sing we the praise of Him whose arm no foe hath turned aside,
Whose glory spreadeth without end, whose victory none denied.
Behold the warrior-king who rideth forth in terrible array,
Whose chariot blazeth through the clouds and driveth night to day.
Each challenge that the demons hurl against His mighty throne
He casteth down as chaff before the wind—His strength alone!
The Dāsas gathered once their host, ten thousand strong and more,
With spear and arrow, shield and sword, they pressed upon His door.
But Indra laughed and raised His hand, and lo! they fell like rain,
Their remnants scattered far and wide, their glory turned to pain.
No adversary yet hath stood before the Thunderer's gaze;
No foe hath matched His fury or withstood His righteous blaze.
The very mountains bow before His unconquerable might,
And all creation trembleth at the terror of His sight.
O Indra, shield of all the good, destroyer of the base,
Thou whose deeds are infinite, thou whose power none can face—
Accept our hymn of gratitude, our praise without an end,
For thou art strength eternal, thou art warrior and friend.
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.39
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.
mandrasya kaver divyasya vahner vipramanmano vacanasya madhvaḥ |
apā nas tasya sacanasya deveṣo yuvasva gṛṇate goagrāḥ || 1 ||
ayam uśānaḥ pary adrim usrā ṛtadhītibhir ṛtayug yujānaḥ |
rujad arugṇaṁ vi valasya sānum paṇīm̐r vacobhir abhi yodhad indraḥ || 2 ||
ayaṁ dyotayad adyuto vy a1ktūn doṣā vastoḥ śarada indur indra |
imaṁ ketum adadhur nū cid ahnāṁ śucijanmana uṣasaś cakāra || 3 ||
ayaṁ rocayad aruco rucāno3 'yaṁ vāsayad vy ṛ1tena pūrvīḥ |
ayam īyata ṛtayugbhir aśvaiḥ svarvidā nābhinā carṣaṇiprāḥ || 4 ||
nū gṛṇāno gṛṇate pratna rājann iṣaḥ pinva vasudeyāya pūrvīḥ |
apa oṣadhīr aviṣā vanāni gā arvato nṝn ṛcase rirīhi || 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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