Hymn to Indra
Rigveda VIII.99 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 thunderbolt flashes bright; the demons scatter in the dark. Thou hast come forth, O mighty Indra, with the roar of thunder shaking all the world.
The waters are released; they flow to where the parched earth doth cry out in thirst. The rains descend; the rivers swell; all creation doth drink deep of life-giving waters.
Thy voice doth echo through the heavens and the earth; Thy power is made known to all. The gods themselves do bow before Thee, mighty Lord of all that moves and lives.
The dragon broken, his great coils do lie scattered and undone. The evil force hath fallen; the good doth triumph and prevail. Thou art the victor, Indra, king of all.
The thunder rolls without ceasing; the lightning cuts through darkness like a sword. All nature doth obey Thy will; the storm doth follow at Thy heels.
We call upon Thee with a voice of power and of truth. Come to us now in this our hour; be present to defend and guard. Accept our praise; be merciful unto us.
The victory is Thine; all lands acknowledge Thy dominion and Thy might. Forever shall Thy name be honored; forever shall Thy deeds be sung in hymn and prayer.
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.99
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.
tvām idā hyo naro 'pīpyan vajrin bhūrṇayaḥ |
sa indra stomavāhasām iha śrudhy upa svasaram ā gahi || 1 ||
matsvā suśipra harivas tad īmahe tve ā bhūṣanti vedhasaḥ |
tava śravāṁsy upamāny ukthyā suteṣv indra girvaṇaḥ || 2 ||
śrāyanta iva sūryaṁ viśved indrasya bhakṣata |
vasūni jāte janamāna ojasā prati bhāgaṁ na dīdhima || 3 ||
anarśarātiṁ vasudām upa stuhi bhadrā indrasya rātayaḥ |
so asya kāmaṁ vidhato na roṣati mano dānāya codayan || 4 ||
tvam indra pratūrtiṣv abhi viśvā asi spṛdhaḥ |
aśastihā janitā viśvatūr asi tvaṁ tūrya taruṣyataḥ || 5 ||
anu te śuṣmaṁ turayantam īyatuḥ kṣoṇī śiśuṁ na mātarā |
viśvās te spṛdhaḥ śnathayanta manyave vṛtraṁ yad indra tūrvasi || 6 ||
ita ūtī vo ajaram prahetāram aprahitam |
āśuṁ jetāraṁ hetāraṁ rathītamam atūrtaṁ tugryāvṛdham || 7 ||
iṣkartāram aniṣkṛtaṁ sahaskṛtaṁ śatamūtiṁ śatakratum |
samānam indram avase havāmahe vasavānaṁ vasūjuvam || 8 ||
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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