Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VII.31 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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.
Praise be unto Indra, whose strength is without end! Sing loud the hymn of the Thunderer! His arm is mighty; his deeds are glorious. The whole earth doth resound with his fame.
O Bull of Heaven, thou hast scattered all thine enemies! The proud demons do cower before thee. Their strongholds are laid waste; their armies are put to flight. None dare stand against thy fury.
The waters flow at thy command. The rain falleth when thou dost will it. The parched earth doth drink and grow green again. Through thy power, all living things do thrive.
Indra the mighty! Indra the bold! Indra the protector of the righteous! Thy name filleth the mouths of singers in every land. From the highest heaven to the depths of the earth, all do know and revere thy power.
Come unto the sacrifice that hath been prepared for thee! The Soma floweth forth; the butter burneth brightly. Ten thousand hymns do rise unto thee at once. Accept our praise, O mighty one!
The Vasishṭhas do sing thy songs. Their voices are as the voices of eagles crying out across the vast sky. Hear them, O Indra! Be gracious unto them! Let thy bounty never cease!
We call upon thee not for ourself alone, but for all creatures. Give us protection; give us strength; give us the wisdom to walk in righteousness. Thou art the father of all; grant unto us thy fatherly care.
Thy enemies are scattered like dust before the wind. The wicked do perish at thy touch. Yet thou art kind unto those who call upon thee. Be our friend forever, O Indra the mighty!
Let thy lightning flash across the sky! Let thy thunder echo through all the worlds! By thy power, all evil shall be vanquished, and the righteous shall endure forever.
O Bull of Heaven, accept this hymn! Accept the Soma! Accept the prayers of the Vasishṭhas! And may thy reign be eternal and thy bounty without measure!
The heavens declare thy glory; the earth singeth thy praise. All the gods bow down before thee. Thou art the mightiest, the wisest, the most generous of all. Forever and forever may we sing thy name!
Accept our offering, O Indra! Hear our voices! Be our protector and our friend! And may all creatures know the goodness that floweth from thy mighty hand.
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 VII.31
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.
pra va indrāya mādanaṁ haryaśvāya gāyata |
sakhāyaḥ somapāvne || 1 ||
śaṁsed ukthaṁ sudānava uta dyukṣaṁ yathā naraḥ |
cakṛmā satyarādhase || 2 ||
tvaṁ na indra vājayus tvaṁ gavyuḥ śatakrato |
tvaṁ hiraṇyayur vaso || 3 ||
vayam indra tvāyavo 'bhi pra ṇonumo vṛṣan |
viddhī tv a1sya no vaso || 4 ||
mā no nide ca vaktave 'ryo randhīr arāvṇe |
tve api kratur mama || 5 ||
tvaṁ varmāsi saprathaḥ puroyodhaś ca vṛtrahan |
tvayā prati bruve yujā || 6 ||
mahām̐ utāsi yasya te 'nu svadhāvarī sahaḥ |
mamnāte indra rodasī || 7 ||
taṁ tvā marutvatī pari bhuvad vāṇī sayāvarī |
nakṣamāṇā saha dyubhiḥ || 8 ||
ūrdhvāsas tvānv indavo bhuvan dasmam upa dyavi |
saṁ te namanta kṛṣṭayaḥ || 9 ||
pra vo mahe mahivṛdhe bharadhvam pracetase pra sumatiṁ kṛṇudhvam |
viśaḥ pūrvīḥ pra carā carṣaṇiprāḥ || 10 ||
uruvyacase mahine suvṛktim indrāya brahma janayanta viprāḥ |
tasya vratāni na minanti dhīrāḥ || 11 ||
indraṁ vāṇīr anuttamanyum eva satrā rājānaṁ dadhire sahadhyai |
haryaśvāya barhayā sam āpīn || 12 ||
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).
🌲