Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.45 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.
O Indra, greatest of the gods, accept this final hymn,
This summation of Thy glory and the light that shall not dim—
Thou art the warrior undefeated, lord of every fight,
Thou art the giver of all good, the source of boundless might.
Thy strength is like the mountains vast, unmoved and unconfessed;
Thy wisdom pierceth through the clouds, more pure than all the blessed.
Thy fury is as terrible as lightning in the night;
Thy mercy is as gentle as the morning's golden light.
When mortals gather round the fire and lift the Soma cup,
And offer unto Thee the hymn and bid Thy glory up,
Then Thou dost hear our voices and Thou turnest unto us—
The generous Lord, the victor fierce, the one miraculous.
For thou art justice manifest in all the world of men;
Thou reignest o'er the righteous and Thou punishest their sin.
The wicked trembleth at Thy name; the faithful find in Thee
A father and a guardian most noble, strong, and free.
Thy deeds are writ in heaven's vault with letters made of flame;
All generations yet unborn shall sing Thy holy name.
From age to age the poets sing of Indra's glory bright—
The Thunderer, the Soma-drinker, terror of the night.
So hear us now, O Indra bold, and grant us all our prayer:
Give us the strength to meet our foes, to show them that we dare
To face the world with courage and to stand with righteous pride.
Let Thy protection ever guard us, standing at our side.
Accept our hymns of gratitude, our songs of praise sincere;
O mightiest of gods, we bow—Thou Lord beyond compare!
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.45
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.
ya ānayat parāvataḥ sunītī turvaśaṁ yadum |
indraḥ sa no yuvā sakhā || 1 ||
avipre cid vayo dadhad anāśunā cid arvatā |
indro jetā hitaṁ dhanam || 2 ||
mahīr asya praṇītayaḥ pūrvīr uta praśastayaḥ |
nāsya kṣīyanta ūtayaḥ || 3 ||
sakhāyo brahmavāhase 'rcata pra ca gāyata |
sa hi naḥ pramatir mahī || 4 ||
tvam ekasya vṛtrahann avitā dvayor asi |
utedṛśe yathā vayam || 5 ||
nayasīd v ati dviṣaḥ kṛṇoṣy ukthaśaṁsinaḥ |
nṛbhiḥ suvīra ucyase || 6 ||
brahmāṇam brahmavāhasaṁ gīrbhiḥ sakhāyam ṛgmiyam |
gāṁ na dohase huve || 7 ||
yasya viśvāni hastayor ūcur vasūni ni dvitā |
vīrasya pṛtanāṣahaḥ || 8 ||
vi dṛḻhāni cid adrivo janānāṁ śacīpate |
vṛha māyā anānata || 9 ||
tam u tvā satya somapā indra vājānām pate |
ahūmahi śravasyavaḥ || 10 ||
tam u tvā yaḥ purāsitha yo vā nūnaṁ hite dhane |
havyaḥ sa śrudhī havam || 11 ||
dhībhir arvadbhir arvato vājām̐ indra śravāyyān |
tvayā jeṣma hitaṁ dhanam || 12 ||
abhūr u vīra girvaṇo mahām̐ indra dhane hite |
bhare vitantasāyyaḥ || 13 ||
yā ta ūtir amitrahan makṣūjavastamāsati |
tayā no hinuhī ratham || 14 ||
sa rathena rathītamo 'smākenābhiyugvanā |
jeṣi jiṣṇo hitaṁ dhanam || 15 ||
ya eka it tam u ṣṭuhi kṛṣṭīnāṁ vicarṣaṇiḥ |
patir jajñe vṛṣakratuḥ || 16 ||
yo gṛṇatām id āsithāpir ūtī śivaḥ sakhā |
sa tvaṁ na indra mṛḻaya || 17 ||
dhiṣva vajraṁ gabhastyo rakṣohatyāya vajrivaḥ |
sāsahīṣṭhā abhi spṛdhaḥ || 18 ||
pratnaṁ rayīṇāṁ yujaṁ sakhāyaṁ kīricodanam |
brahmavāhastamaṁ huve || 19 ||
sa hi viśvāni pārthivām̐ eko vasūni patyate |
girvaṇastamo adhriguḥ || 20 ||
sa no niyudbhir ā pṛṇa kāmaṁ vājebhir aśvibhiḥ |
gomadbhir gopate dhṛṣat || 21 ||
tad vo gāya sute sacā puruhūtāya satvane |
śaṁ yad gave na śākine || 22 ||
na ghā vasur ni yamate dānaṁ vājasya gomataḥ |
yat sīm upa śravad giraḥ || 23 ||
kuvitsasya pra hi vrajaṁ gomantaṁ dasyuhā gamat |
śacībhir apa no varat || 24 ||
imā u tvā śatakrato 'bhi pra ṇonuvur giraḥ |
indra vatsaṁ na mātaraḥ || 25 ||
dūṇāśaṁ sakhyaṁ tava gaur asi vīra gavyate |
aśvo aśvāyate bhava || 26 ||
sa mandasvā hy andhaso rādhase tanvā mahe |
na stotāraṁ nide karaḥ || 27 ||
imā u tvā sute-sute nakṣante girvaṇo giraḥ |
vatsaṁ gāvo na dhenavaḥ || 28 ||
purūtamam purūṇāṁ stotṝṇāṁ vivāci |
vājebhir vājayatām || 29 ||
asmākam indra bhūtu te stomo vāhiṣṭho antamaḥ |
asmān rāye mahe hinu || 30 ||
adhi bṛbuḥ paṇīnāṁ varṣiṣṭhe mūrdhann asthāt |
uruḥ kakṣo na gāṅgyaḥ || 31 ||
yasya vāyor iva dravad bhadrā rātiḥ sahasriṇī |
sadyo dānāya maṁhate || 32 ||
tat su no viśve arya ā sadā gṛṇanti kāravaḥ |
bṛbuṁ sahasradātamaṁ sūriṁ sahasrasātamam || 33 ||
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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