Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.87 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.
Hark! The thunderbolt is raised in thy hand, O Indra! It burneth with the fire of thy will. No foe can withstand its descent. No fortress wall can turn it aside. It striketh down the wicked and the proud as the axe striketh down the tree.
Thy steeds are the swiftest in all the heavens. They are coloured like bay, like the red earth after the rain. When thou dost mount thy chariot, they spring forward with a bound that shaketh the very earth. The wind cannot keep pace with them; the eagle cannot match their flight. They carry thee across the sky in pursuit of thy enemies.
Generous giver! Thou givest to those who worship thee. Thy gifts are as abundant as the stars in the night sky. To the warrior who calleth upon thee, thou givest strength and courage. To the priest who offereth the soma, thou givest wisdom and insight. To the poor man who cryeth unto thee, thou givest sustenance and hope.
The demons fear thy name. The wicked tremble when they hear thy chariot wheels approaching. The Asuras hide themselves in the depths of the earth, hoping to escape thy wrath. But there is no hiding-place from thee, O lord of might. Thy eye seeth all things; thy hand reacheth everywhere.
Accept our praise, O mighty one! We have kindled the fires of the sacrifice upon the altar. We have pressed the soma; it floweth like water. We have prepared the oblation. Hear us and come unto us! Let thy blessing rain down upon us like the torrents that follow the thunderbolt!
Thou art worthy of all honour. Thy deeds are sung in every land. Thy name is spoken with reverence by all who dwell upon the earth.
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.87
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.
dyumnī vāṁ stomo aśvinā krivir na seka ā gatam |
madhvaḥ sutasya sa divi priyo narā pātaṁ gaurāv iveriṇe || 1 ||
pibataṁ gharmam madhumantam aśvinā barhiḥ sīdataṁ narā |
tā mandasānā manuṣo duroṇa ā ni pātaṁ vedasā vayaḥ || 2 ||
ā vāṁ viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ priyamedhā ahūṣata |
tā vartir yātam upa vṛktabarhiṣo juṣṭaṁ yajñaṁ diviṣṭiṣu || 3 ||
pibataṁ somam madhumantam aśvinā barhiḥ sīdataṁ sumat |
tā vāvṛdhānā upa suṣṭutiṁ divo gantaṁ gaurāv iveriṇam || 4 ||
ā nūnaṁ yātam aśvināśvebhiḥ pruṣitapsubhiḥ |
dasrā hiraṇyavartanī śubhas patī pātaṁ somam ṛtāvṛdhā || 5 ||
vayaṁ hi vāṁ havāmahe vipanyavo viprāso vājasātaye |
tā valgū dasrā purudaṁsasā dhiyāśvinā śruṣṭy ā gatam || 6 ||
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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