Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.32 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.
Sing praise to Indra! He alone stands high above all things that live; him have the Kāṇvas called upon, and lo! he comes with arms unstayed.
The cloud-god split the demon-mountain when he strode about with might; he loosed the waters, vast and swift, to flow in courses down the earth.
The waters, prisoners held before within Vṛtra's stony breast, now run obedient at his word and scatter wealth upon the land.
What power hath he? What glory doth attend the thunderer's name abroad? He moveth heaven, he shaketh earth, he boweth down the haughty foe.
His chariot, golden-wheeled and bright, is drawn by steeds of boundless strength; when thus equipped, no god nor demon may contest his awful path.
The Indra whom the Kāṇvas praise—yea, him do all the gods revere—he hath upheld the vaulted sky as though it were a roof of stone.
The firmament and all its worlds rest upon his mighty hands; he is the prop that holdeth up the heaven and the earth beneath.
What treasure hath he gathered fast? What riches doth he pour abroad? The Indra of the ancient days doth give the cattle-hoards their fill.
The soma draught hath boundless sway; him filled therewith, who standeth firm? Not heaven, not earth, not all the winds can move him from his seat when swollen with the drink.
He quaffeth from a vessel vast, a horn that runneth ever full; the soma-draughts he swalloweth down as rivers swallow up the rain.
When drunk with soma's sacred juice, this warrior god doth laugh aloud; he smiteth then both stone and foe, and raineth gifts upon his friends.
His thunderbolt, the greatest bolt that ever rolled from heaven's gate, did cleave the mountainous Vṛtra's breast in twain and loose the prisoned waters forth.
The stones, the weapons that he wields, the arrows that he casteth forth, are mighty as the mountains high and terrible to behold.
When Indra moved in full array—his bow drawn firm and fingers tight—the demons quailed within their hold, and even Vṛtra cowered and shrank.
His chariot is the speed of wind; his steeds are swiftness incarnate; when thus he rideth out to war, the enemy doth flee in haste.
The gods themselves do bow before the terror of his rolling drums; the earth doth quiver in her depths when thus he cometh to the fray.
His enemies, the godless ones—those Dasyu men of evil heart—he crushed beneath his chariot wheel as ripened grain is crushed in mills.
For this the Kāṇvas sang his praise, for this they poured the soma out; for this the singers call on him with songs both loud and sweet to hear.
O mighty Indra! Drink this draught that we have mixed with utmost care; rejoice with all thy kinsmen now and grant us victory in war.
The treasure that Indra did win—the wealth that he did win of old—from out the demon's hollow breast, doth still sustain the righteous man.
He beareth in his mighty hand the thunderbolt of golden hue; therewith he rends the heaven's vault and spreadeth forth the light of day.
The Indra whom the Kāṇvas praise is mightier than the Maruts strong; he is more glorious far than all the gods that dwell within the sky.
What sacrificer calleth him with voice uplifted in the dawn? Straightway doth Indra turn his ear and answer to the humble's prayer.
The foes surrender all their gold when once they know that he doth come; they hide their faces and they flee before the thunder's awful sound.
His arms are long as mountain peaks, his hands are strong as iron bands; therewith he holdeth heaven fast and casteth down the foes of gods.
The Kāṇvas, noble priests of old, have praised him with a hundred hymns; for him they press the soma sweet, and call upon his name aloud.
So grant us now thy ear, O lord! Come down unto this sacrifice; accept the soma and the gift, and give us wealth and victory both.
The cattle thou shalt bring us home, the horses thou shalt give to us, the gold, the silver, and the gems, the riches vast and manifold.
Thus have we praised the thunderer, the Indra of the ancient days; him have the Kāṇvas glorified with hymns that mount up to the sky.
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.32
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 kṛtāny ṛjīṣiṇaḥ kaṇvā indrasya gāthayā |
made somasya vocata || 1 ||
yaḥ sṛbindam anarśanim pipruṁ dāsam ahīśuvam |
vadhīd ugro riṇann apaḥ || 2 ||
ny arbudasya viṣṭapaṁ varṣmāṇam bṛhatas tira |
kṛṣe tad indra pauṁsyam || 3 ||
prati śrutāya vo dhṛṣat tūrṇāśaṁ na girer adhi |
huve suśipram ūtaye || 4 ||
sa gor aśvasya vi vrajam mandānaḥ somyebhyaḥ |
puraṁ na śūra darṣasi || 5 ||
yadi me rāraṇaḥ suta ukthe vā dadhase canaḥ |
ārād upa svadhā gahi || 6 ||
vayaṁ ghā te api ṣmasi stotāra indra girvaṇaḥ |
tvaṁ no jinva somapāḥ || 7 ||
uta naḥ pitum ā bhara saṁrarāṇo avikṣitam |
maghavan bhūri te vasu || 8 ||
uta no gomatas kṛdhi hiraṇyavato aśvinaḥ |
iḻābhiḥ saṁ rabhemahi || 9 ||
bṛbadukthaṁ havāmahe sṛprakarasnam ūtaye |
sādhu kṛṇvantam avase || 10 ||
yaḥ saṁsthe cic chatakratur ād īṁ kṛṇoti vṛtrahā |
jaritṛbhyaḥ purūvasuḥ || 11 ||
sa naḥ śakraś cid ā śakad dānavām̐ antarābharaḥ |
indro viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ || 12 ||
yo rāyo3 'vanir mahān supāraḥ sunvataḥ sakhā |
tam indram abhi gāyata || 13 ||
āyantāram mahi sthiram pṛtanāsu śravojitam |
bhūrer īśānam ojasā || 14 ||
nakir asya śacīnāṁ niyantā sūnṛtānām |
nakir vaktā na dād iti || 15 ||
na nūnam brahmaṇām ṛṇam prāśūnām asti sunvatām |
na somo apratā pape || 16 ||
panya id upa gāyata panya ukthāni śaṁsata |
brahmā kṛṇota panya it || 17 ||
panya ā dardirac chatā sahasrā vājy avṛtaḥ |
indro yo yajvano vṛdhaḥ || 18 ||
vi ṣū cara svadhā anu kṛṣṭīnām anv āhuvaḥ |
indra piba sutānām || 19 ||
piba svadhainavānām uta yas tugrye sacā |
utāyam indra yas tava || 20 ||
atīhi manyuṣāviṇaṁ suṣuvāṁsam upāraṇe |
imaṁ rātaṁ sutam piba || 21 ||
ihi tisraḥ parāvata ihi pañca janām̐ ati |
dhenā indrāvacākaśat || 22 ||
sūryo raśmiṁ yathā sṛjā tvā yacchantu me giraḥ |
nimnam āpo na sadhryak || 23 ||
adhvaryav ā tu hi ṣiñca somaṁ vīrāya śipriṇe |
bharā sutasya pītaye || 24 ||
ya udnaḥ phaligam bhinan nya1k sindhūm̐r avāsṛjat |
yo goṣu pakvaṁ dhārayat || 25 ||
ahan vṛtram ṛcīṣama aurṇavābham ahīśuvam |
himenāvidhyad arbudam || 26 ||
pra va ugrāya niṣṭure 'ṣāḻhāya prasakṣiṇe |
devattam brahma gāyata || 27 ||
yo viśvāny abhi vratā somasya made andhasaḥ |
indro deveṣu cetati || 28 ||
iha tyā sadhamādyā harī hiraṇyakeśyā |
voḻhām abhi prayo hitam || 29 ||
arvāñcaṁ tvā puruṣṭuta priyamedhastutā harī |
somapeyāya vakṣataḥ || 30 ||
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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