Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.100 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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.
Among the gods, O mighty Indra, Thou dost hold a place supreme and unquestioned. Thy sovereignty is absolute; no god doth challenge Thy authority or Thy right.
The lesser deities do gather 'round and pay their homage unto Thee with songs of praise. They know Thy power; they understand Thy strength. All order flows from Thee, O Lord of all.
Yet we who are but mortals dare to raise our voice in hymn to Thee. We understand, as much as mortal minds are able to comprehend, the greatness of Thy being and Thy deed.
Thou art the keeper of the cosmic law; the one who doth maintain the order of all worlds. Without Thee chaos would return; the demons would once more rise up in darkness and in pride.
We sing to Thee to give Thee thanks for all the blessings that Thou dost bestow. For health and strength, for wealth and children, for the joy of living beneath Thy watchful gaze.
The singer who doth raise this hymn doth do so with full knowledge of his own unworthiness. Yet Thou art gracious, mighty Lord; Thou dost accept the praise of those who lift their voice with honest heart.
Thy relationship with the other gods doth show the truth of Thy supremacy. They serve Thee willingly, not from fear, but from the recognition of Thy worthy place at the apex of the divine hierarchy.
Vāyu, the Wind, doth serve Thee. The Maruts, wild and free, do bow before Thy will. The Aśvins, the Ribhus, and the other gods all defer to Thee, O mighty one.
When Thou dost speak, all listen. When Thou dost will, all obey. This is not oppression; this is the natural order of a cosmos rightly organized and justly governed.
We do defend Thy supremacy against all who might question or deny it. We proclaim to all the world that Thou art worthy of the place Thou holdest, that Thy power is just and right.
The sacrifice that we do make is made in recognition of Thy sovereignty and Thy might. We offer up the finest of our possessions; we raise our voices in the highest praise.
Accept this hymn, O Indra, as a small token of the vast and infinite respect and admiration that all the worlds do hold toward Thee.
Grant unto us the wisdom to understand Thy ways and to live in harmony with the cosmic order that Thou dost maintain. Let us be just and righteous as we are able, so that we might worthy be of Thy continued favor and protection.
So do we end this hymn in Thy great honor, O Indra, supreme among the gods, unquestioned in Thy sovereignty, worthy of all praise and devotion without measure or end.
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 VIII.100
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.
ayaṁ ta emi tanvā purastād viśve devā abhi mā yanti paścāt |
yadā mahyaṁ dīdharo bhāgam indrād in mayā kṛṇavo vīryāṇi || 1 ||
dadhāmi te madhuno bhakṣam agre hitas te bhāgaḥ suto astu somaḥ |
asaś ca tvaṁ dakṣiṇataḥ sakhā me 'dhā vṛtrāṇi jaṅghanāva bhūri || 2 ||
pra su stomam bharata vājayanta indrāya satyaṁ yadi satyam asti |
nendro astīti nema u tva āha ka īṁ dadarśa kam abhi ṣṭavāma || 3 ||
ayam asmi jaritaḥ paśya meha viśvā jātāny abhy asmi mahnā |
ṛtasya mā pradiśo vardhayanty ādardiro bhuvanā dardarīmi || 4 ||
ā yan mā venā aruhann ṛtasyam̐ ekam āsīnaṁ haryatasya pṛṣṭhe |
manaś cin me hṛda ā praty avocad acikradañ chiśumantaḥ sakhāyaḥ || 5 ||
viśvet tā te savaneṣu pravācyā yā cakartha maghavann indra sunvate |
pārāvataṁ yat purusambhṛtaṁ vasv apāvṛṇoḥ śarabhāya ṛṣibandhave || 6 ||
pra nūnaṁ dhāvatā pṛthaṅ neha yo vo avāvarīt |
ni ṣīṁ vṛtrasya marmaṇi vajram indro apīpatat || 7 ||
manojavā ayamāna āyasīm atarat puram |
divaṁ suparṇo gatvāya somaṁ vajriṇa ābharat || 8 ||
samudre antaḥ śayata udnā vajro abhīvṛtaḥ |
bharanty asmai saṁyataḥ puraḥprasravaṇā balim || 9 ||
yad vāg vadanty avicetanāni rāṣṭrī devānāṁ niṣasāda mandrā |
catasra ūrjaṁ duduhe payāṁsi kva svid asyāḥ paramaṁ jagāma || 10 ||
devīṁ vācam ajanayanta devās tāṁ viśvarūpāḥ paśavo vadanti |
sā no mandreṣam ūrjaṁ duhānā dhenur vāg asmān upa suṣṭutaitu || 11 ||
sakhe viṣṇo vitaraṁ vi kramasva dyaur dehi lokaṁ vajrāya viṣkabhe |
hanāva vṛtraṁ riṇacāva sindhūn indrasya yantu prasave visṛṣṭāḥ || 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).
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