Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.51 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 All-Gods, unto us—ye manifold and infinite. Be seated at this sacrifice; hear all the words that we do speak.
Indra, thou standest first among the gods; thy deeds are sung by all. Agni, thou burnest in our hearts; thy flames do light the way.
The Maruts, mighty in their strength, do follow at thy heel, O Indra. The winds do blow; the thunder soundeth; the lightning teareth through the dark.
O Soma, thou art bright and pure; thou cleansest all that is unclean. Thou makest bold the timid heart; thou givest power to the weak.
O Vayu, gentle breath divine, thou fillest up the earth and sky. Without thee, nothing doth survive; all living things do gasp for thee.
O Mitra, thou art just and true; O Varuṇa, thou keepest law. Together do ye hold the world; together do ye bind the sky.
O Uṣas, rosy-fingered one, thou drawest back the veil of night. Thy light doth touch the mountains high; thy warmth doth bring the world alive.
The Aśvins, twins so swift and keen, ye heal the wound, ye mend the broken bone. Ye guard the travelers on the road; ye bring them safely to their home.
O Apsarases, fair and bright, ye bless the singers with your song. Ye dwell beside the sacred stream; ye know the secrets of the heart.
O All-Gods, mighty and supreme, we worship you this day and night. Accept our praise, accept our gift, and grant to us thy grace for aye.
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.51
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.
ud u tyac cakṣur mahi mitrayor ām̐ eti priyaṁ varuṇayor adabdham |
ṛtasya śuci darśatam anīkaṁ rukmo na diva uditā vy adyaut || 1 ||
veda yas trīṇi vidathāny eṣāṁ devānāṁ janma sanutar ā ca vipraḥ |
ṛju marteṣu vṛjinā ca paśyann abhi caṣṭe sūro arya evān || 2 ||
stuṣa u vo maha ṛtasya gopān aditim mitraṁ varuṇaṁ sujātān |
aryamaṇam bhagam adabdhadhītīn acchā voce sadhanyaḥ pāvakān || 3 ||
riśādasaḥ satpatīm̐r adabdhān maho rājñaḥ suvasanasya dātṝn |
yūnaḥ sukṣatrān kṣayato divo nṝn ādityān yāmy aditiṁ duvoyu || 4 ||
dyau3ṣ pitaḥ pṛthivi mātar adhrug agne bhrātar vasavo mṛḻatā naḥ |
viśva ādityā adite sajoṣā asmabhyaṁ śarma bahulaṁ vi yanta || 5 ||
mā no vṛkāya vṛkye samasmā aghāyate rīradhatā yajatrāḥ |
yūyaṁ hi ṣṭhā rathyo nas tanūnāṁ yūyaṁ dakṣasya vacaso babhūva || 6 ||
mā va eno anyakṛtam bhujema mā tat karma vasavo yac cayadhve |
viśvasya hi kṣayatha viśvadevāḥ svayaṁ ripus tanvaṁ rīriṣīṣṭa || 7 ||
nama id ugraṁ nama ā vivāse namo dādhāra pṛthivīm uta dyām |
namo devebhyo nama īśa eṣāṁ kṛtaṁ cid eno namasā vivāse || 8 ||
ṛtasya vo rathyaḥ pūtadakṣān ṛtasya pastyasado adabdhān |
tām̐ ā namobhir urucakṣaso nṝn viśvān va ā name maho yajatrāḥ || 9 ||
te hi śreṣṭhavarcasas ta u nas tiro viśvāni duritā nayanti |
sukṣatrāso varuṇo mitro agnir ṛtadhītayo vakmarājasatyāḥ || 10 ||
te na indraḥ pṛthivī kṣāma vardhan pūṣā bhago aditiḥ pañca janāḥ |
suśarmāṇaḥ svavasaḥ sunīthā bhavantu naḥ sutrātrāsaḥ sugopāḥ || 11 ||
nū sadmānaṁ divyaṁ naṁśi devā bhāradvājaḥ sumatiṁ yāti hotā |
āsānebhir yajamāno miyedhair devānāṁ janma vasūyur vavanda || 12 ||
apa tyaṁ vṛjinaṁ ripuṁ stenam agne durādhyam |
daviṣṭham asya satpate kṛdhī sugam || 13 ||
grāvāṇaḥ soma no hi kaṁ sakhitvanāya vāvaśuḥ |
jahī ny a1triṇam paṇiṁ vṛko hi ṣaḥ || 14 ||
yūyaṁ hi ṣṭhā sudānava indrajyeṣṭhā abhidyavaḥ |
kartā no adhvann ā sugaṁ gopā amā || 15 ||
api panthām aganmahi svastigām anehasam |
yena viśvāḥ pari dviṣo vṛṇakti vindate vasu || 16 ||
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).
🌲