Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.89 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.
There is no god like unto thee, O Indra! Thou art the unfailing champion, the friend who never abandoneth those who trust in him. When the righteous calleth upon thee, thou dost come. When the warrior invoketh thy name before the battle, thou art there. Thy word is as sure as the rising of the sun; thy promise is as certain as the flowing of the rivers.
Never hath any worshipper of thine been cast down by despair. Never hath any man who trusted in thy might been brought low by his enemies. Even when the odds are great and the foes are many, even when the darkness seemeth to overwhelm the light, thy faithful ones do not falter. For they know that thou art mighty, and that thy strength cannot be measured against the strength of any mortal creature.
In the time of battle, thy aid is mighty. Thy thunderbolt striketh down the ranks of the enemy like a shepherd striketh down the wolves that threaten his flock. Thy chariot rideth over the battle-field like the storm rideth over the land. Thy voice is heard above the clash of swords and the roar of war, calling forth courage from the hearts of thy warriors.
In the time of peace, thy blessings are no less great. Thou sendest the rains that water the fields and make the crops grow. Thou givest health to the bodies of men and animals. Thou guardest their homes from every harm. Thou protecteth them from sickness and from calamity. The man who hath won thy favour liveth in security and in abundance.
Therefore do we call upon thee, O mighty Indra, in both peace and war, in times of plenty and times of want. Hear our voices! Feel the intensity of our devotion! Know that we seek not only thy favours, but thy presence, thy companionship, thy eternal alliance!
Accept our praise and our prayers. Stand ever at the side of those who worship thee with sincere hearts. Never allow us to be forsaken or forgotten in the hour of our need.
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.89
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.
bṛhad indrāya gāyata maruto vṛtrahaṁtamam |
yena jyotir ajanayann ṛtāvṛdho devaṁ devāya jāgṛvi || 1 ||
apādhamad abhiśastīr aśastihāthendro dyumny ābhavat |
devās ta indra sakhyāya yemire bṛhadbhāno marudgaṇa || 2 ||
pra va indrāya bṛhate maruto brahmārcata |
vṛtraṁ hanati vṛtrahā śatakratur vajreṇa śataparvaṇā || 3 ||
abhi pra bhara dhṛṣatā dhṛṣanmanaḥ śravaś cit te asad bṛhat |
arṣantv āpo javasā vi mātaro hano vṛtraṁ jayā svaḥ || 4 ||
yaj jāyathā apūrvya maghavan vṛtrahatyāya |
tat pṛthivīm aprathayas tad astabhnā uta dyām || 5 ||
tat te yajño ajāyata tad arka uta haskṛtiḥ |
tad viśvam abhibhūr asi yaj jātaṁ yac ca jantvam || 6 ||
āmāsu pakvam airaya ā sūryaṁ rohayo divi |
gharmaṁ na sāman tapatā suvṛktibhir juṣṭaṁ girvaṇase bṛhat || 7 ||
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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