Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.95 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.
O Indra, breaker of the dark! Thou who dost rend asunder the veil of night and callest forth the Dawn upon her way! Thy thunderbolt pierceth the clouds; thy voice shaketh the heavens; thy might transformeth darkness into light.
At thy coming, the demons flee. The asuras scatter in terror. The evil powers that lurk in shadow dare not stand before thee. For thou art the mighty one, the warrior supreme, the god whose very name maketh our foes tremble.
Release for us, O Indra, the light that hath been hidden. Break the bonds that hold back the sun. Let the rays of morning break forth and illumine all the earth. Let no darkness remain to hide the wicked or to harbor fear in the hearts of the faithful.
Thou art the lord of dawn, O Indra. Thou art the keeper of the light. It is thy hand that openeth the gates of the east, that permitteth the sun to rise, that guideth the morning star to its place in the sky.
For this, we praise thee. For this, we sing thy songs. For this, we offer unto thee the pressed Soma and our most heartfelt devotion.
Grant us, O Indra, the blessings of light. Drive away the darkness from our hearts. Scatter the demons that would harm us. Strengthen us with thy power so that we may face each new day with courage and with hope.
Let thy thunderbolt be our protection. Let thy might be our shield. Let thy generosity flow forth upon us like the waters of the flood. And let the light that thou dost bring continue to shine upon us all our days.
This is our prayer, O mighty god. This is our praise. Accept it, and grant us thy favor forevermore.
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.95
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.
ā tvā giro rathīr ivāsthuḥ suteṣu girvaṇaḥ |
abhi tvā sam anūṣatendra vatsaṁ na mātaraḥ || 1 ||
ā tvā śukrā acucyavuḥ sutāsa indra girvaṇaḥ |
pibā tv a1syāndhasa indra viśvāsu te hitam || 2 ||
pibā somam madāya kam indra śyenābhṛtaṁ sutam |
tvaṁ hi śaśvatīnām patī rājā viśām asi || 3 ||
śrudhī havaṁ tiraścyā indra yas tvā saparyati |
suvīryasya gomato rāyas pūrdhi mahām̐ asi || 4 ||
indra yas te navīyasīṁ giram mandrām ajījanat |
cikitvinmanasaṁ dhiyam pratnām ṛtasya pipyuṣīm || 5 ||
tam u ṣṭavāma yaṁ gira indram ukthāni vāvṛdhuḥ |
purūṇy asya pauṁsyā siṣāsanto vanāmahe || 6 ||
eto nv indraṁ stavāma śuddhaṁ śuddhena sāmnā |
śuddhair ukthair vāvṛdhvāṁsaṁ śuddha āśīrvān mamattu || 7 ||
indra śuddho na ā gahi śuddhaḥ śuddhābhir ūtibhiḥ |
śuddho rayiṁ ni dhāraya śuddho mamaddhi somyaḥ || 8 ||
indra śuddho hi no rayiṁ śuddho ratnāni dāśuṣe |
śuddho vṛtrāṇi jighnase śuddho vājaṁ siṣāsasi || 9 ||
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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