Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VI.69 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, mighty king of the gods! O Viṣṇu, vast and all-pervading! To you we send forth our hymn of praise. Ye are mighty in your strength, each in your own way. Indra, thou art the wielder of the thunderbolt, the slayer of demons, the champion of the devas. Viṣṇu, thou dost stride across the three worlds and pervadest all existence with thy presence.
Indra, thou hast drunk the Soma and found thy power thereby increased a thousandfold! Thou hast become the greatest of the immortals through thy valor and thy prowess. No enemy can withstand thy might; no obstacle can bar thy way. Thou art the liberator of the waters and the slayer of Vṛtra the great serpent.
Viṣṇu, thou art the sustainer of all things. Thy steps measure out the boundaries of the worlds. Thou art subtle and mighty, small and great, present everywhere yet invisible to mortal eyes. Thou art the preserver of the sacred order, the upholder of righteousness, the friend of all who dwell in the three realms.
Together, ye form a power that is irresistible. Where Indra strikes with his thunderbolt, Viṣṇu is there to receive and transmit and sustain. Where Viṣṇu spreads his subtle presence, there doth Indra protect with his manifest strength. Ye are as two faces of the same divine reality.
Grant us protection from all harm. Grant us strength in our undertakings. Grant us victory over the forces of chaos and destruction. May we ever stand in awe of your power and in gratitude for your blessings.
Accept our hymn, O great ones, and let your favor rest upon us eternally.
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.69
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.
saṁ vāṁ karmaṇā sam iṣā hinomīndrāviṣṇū apasas pāre asya |
juṣethāṁ yajñaṁ draviṇaṁ ca dhattam ariṣṭair naḥ pathibhiḥ pārayantā || 1 ||
yā viśvāsāṁ janitārā matīnām indrāviṣṇū kalaśā somadhānā |
pra vāṁ giraḥ śasyamānā avantu pra stomāso gīyamānāso arkaiḥ || 2 ||
indrāviṣṇū madapatī madānām ā somaṁ yātaṁ draviṇo dadhānā |
saṁ vām añjantv aktubhir matīnāṁ saṁ stomāsaḥ śasyamānāsa ukthaiḥ || 3 ||
ā vām aśvāso abhimātiṣāha indrāviṣṇū sadhamādo vahantu |
juṣethāṁ viśvā havanā matīnām upa brahmāṇi śṛṇutaṁ giro me || 4 ||
indrāviṣṇū tat panayāyyaṁ vāṁ somasya mada uru cakramāthe |
akṛṇutam antarikṣaṁ varīyo 'prathataṁ jīvase no rajāṁsi || 5 ||
indrāviṣṇū haviṣā vāvṛdhānāgrādvānā namasā rātahavyā |
ghṛtāsutī draviṇaṁ dhattam asme samudraḥ sthaḥ kalaśaḥ somadhānaḥ || 6 ||
indrāviṣṇū pibatam madhvo asya somasya dasrā jaṭharam pṛṇethām |
ā vām andhāṁsi madirāṇy agmann upa brahmāṇi śṛṇutaṁ havam me || 7 ||
ubhā jigyathur na parā jayethe na parā jigye kataraś canainoḥ |
indraś ca viṣṇo yad apaspṛdhethāṁ tredhā sahasraṁ vi tad airayethām || 8 ||
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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