Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.33 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.
The thunderer hath arisen now, the mighty god with awful name; lo! he doth shake the world about and tremble all the earth beneath.
No obstacle can bar his way—no wall, no fort, no mountain high; when he advanceth to the charge, all things are scattered unto dust.
His thunderbolt, that golden bolt, doth split the clouds and rend the air; the lightning-flash that follows him doth light the darkness of the world.
What enemy hath ever stood before the wrath of his advance? What demon, what proud-hearted foe, remained and faced him on the field?
He is the lord of all the Five—the people that do dwell upon the earth; the Aryans all do bow to him, and pray unto his name in fear.
The soma cup that standeth there, most great, most noble, runneth deep; when Indra drinketh from the bowl, his power increaseth yet again.
The draught transformeth him entire; he groweth mighty in his mind; his arms expand like mountain-walls, his voice doth thunder without cease.
In heaven he sits upon his throne, surveying all things from on high; no creature dares to cross his path, no movement escapeth from his eye.
The arrows that he shooteth forth fly swift as birds upon the wing; wherever they are aimed abroad, the mark doth fall and lie in death.
His chariot, golden-wheeled and bright, goeth rumbling through the sky; the earth quakes in her deepest depths when thus he rideth out to war.
What treasure doth he hoard at home? What riches doth he pour abroad? The gifts of Indra never cease—they flow like rivers in the spring.
When Indra drinketh of the draught and filleth full his mighty frame, the gods do tremble at his side, and demons flee before his face.
The Five Peoples all together call upon his name in prayer; they cry to him for aid in need, for victory in every strife.
His enemies, the godless ones, those wretched Dasyu-men of old, did perish utterly before the terror of his wrath sublime.
The mountains trembled and they shook, the very heavens cracked in twain, when he did speak his awful word and move against the foe in might.
His thunderbolt is unconquerable—no god, no demon can withstand; when he did hurl it forth at last, the enemy was crushed beneath.
The watchers of the mortal folk do call on him with prayers and praise; for he is guard and sentinel, the keeper of all living things.
Accept this soma that we bring, accept our hymns both loud and sweet; rejoice in all these offerings made, and grant us triumph in the fray.
Give unto us the strength of ten, the courage of a hundred strong; make firm our legs, make hard our arms, when we do march upon the foe.
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.33
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.
vayaṁ gha tvā sutāvanta āpo na vṛktabarhiṣaḥ |
pavitrasya prasravaṇeṣu vṛtrahan pari stotāra āsate || 1 ||
svaranti tvā sute naro vaso nireka ukthinaḥ |
kadā sutaṁ tṛṣāṇa oka ā gama indra svabdīva vaṁsagaḥ || 2 ||
kaṇvebhir dhṛṣṇav ā dhṛṣad vājaṁ darṣi sahasriṇam |
piśaṅgarūpam maghavan vicarṣaṇe makṣū gomantam īmahe || 3 ||
pāhi gāyāndhaso mada indrāya medhyātithe |
yaḥ sammiślo haryor yaḥ sute sacā vajrī ratho hiraṇyayaḥ || 4 ||
yaḥ suṣavyaḥ sudakṣiṇa ino yaḥ sukratur gṛṇe |
ya ākaraḥ sahasrā yaḥ śatāmagha indro yaḥ pūrbhid āritaḥ || 5 ||
yo dhṛṣito yo 'vṛto yo asti śmaśruṣu śritaḥ |
vibhūtadyumnaś cyavanaḥ puruṣṭutaḥ kratvā gaur iva śākinaḥ || 6 ||
ka īṁ veda sute sacā pibantaṁ kad vayo dadhe |
ayaṁ yaḥ puro vibhinatty ojasā mandānaḥ śipry andhasaḥ || 7 ||
dānā mṛgo na vāraṇaḥ purutrā carathaṁ dadhe |
nakiṣ ṭvā ni yamad ā sute gamo mahām̐ś carasy ojasā || 8 ||
ya ugraḥ sann aniṣṭṛtaḥ sthiro raṇāya saṁskṛtaḥ |
yadi stotur maghavā śṛṇavad dhavaṁ nendro yoṣaty ā gamat || 9 ||
satyam itthā vṛṣed asi vṛṣajūtir no 'vṛtaḥ |
vṛṣā hy ugra śṛṇviṣe parāvati vṛṣo arvāvati śrutaḥ || 10 ||
vṛṣaṇas te abhīśavo vṛṣā kaśā hiraṇyayī |
vṛṣā ratho maghavan vṛṣaṇā harī vṛṣā tvaṁ śatakrato || 11 ||
vṛṣā sotā sunotu te vṛṣann ṛjīpinn ā bhara |
vṛṣā dadhanve vṛṣaṇaṁ nadīṣv ā tubhyaṁ sthātar harīṇām || 12 ||
endra yāhi pītaye madhu śaviṣṭha somyam |
nāyam acchā maghavā śṛṇavad giro brahmokthā ca sukratuḥ || 13 ||
vahantu tvā ratheṣṭhām ā harayo rathayujaḥ |
tiraś cid aryaṁ savanāni vṛtrahann anyeṣāṁ yā śatakrato || 14 ||
asmākam adyāntamaṁ stomaṁ dhiṣva mahāmaha |
asmākaṁ te savanā santu śaṁtamā madāya dyukṣa somapāḥ || 15 ||
nahi ṣas tava no mama śāstre anyasya raṇyati |
yo asmān vīra ānayat || 16 ||
indraś cid ghā tad abravīt striyā aśāsyam manaḥ |
uto aha kratuṁ raghum || 17 ||
saptī cid ghā madacyutā mithunā vahato ratham |
eved dhūr vṛṣṇa uttarā || 18 ||
adhaḥ paśyasva mopari saṁtarām pādakau hara |
mā te kaśaplakau dṛśan strī hi brahmā babhūvitha || 19 ||
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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