Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.101 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 9 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.
With victory already won upon the sacred stalk, the tawny draught is pressed to quicken joy; pierce afar, good comrades, the long-tongued cur that would lap the offering dry.
Forth he streams in a stainless torrent—the shining drop—like a sure-footed charger that never faileth of his course.
Him, the Soma faint of flame, do men of finest wit, their thought spread wide on every side, urge to the rite with ringing stones.
Most honey-sweet libations, strained and gladdening to Indra, have sped in filtered floods; speed ye, O rapturous draughts, straightway unto the gods.
“Lo, the drop cleanseth himself for Indra!”—so spake the heavenly throng. The Lord of Speech goeth forth to wage his quest, wielding all dominion by his might.
With a thousand shining channels he makes himself pure—an ocean that sets our utterance afloat—Soma, treasure-lord, fast friend of Indra, from day to day.
Here is Pūṣan, here Wealth and Fortune: Soma, rushing through his cleansing, beholdeth the twain world-halves as sovereign of creation.
Together the dear kine low unto him, fain for delight; self-purging drops carve out their covert paths.
Draw hither the mightiest—Indra—O self-cleansing one, the famed in song, who overleaps the five wide realms, and with whom we shall win rich spoil.
The Soma drops, our flawless guides, refine themselves—helpers abounding in wisdom, tracers of the Sun—while the stones press them forth.
Crushed by the strikers, splendid upon the cowhide, the wealth-finders roar from every quarter, bearing refreshment unto us.
These clarified juices, keen to inspiration, curd-blent, gleam like rising suns—restless yet steadfast in the golden ghee.
Even as a mortal hearkeneth to speech, so hath the unfed dog grown fond of the stalk’s sweet talk; drive off the niggard cur, as the Bhṛgus smote the Striker.
Their kinsman hath folded himself in a milk-white mantle for pleasure, as a child in twin arms; he hasteth like a lover to a maid, to rest within the womb.
A hero is he, translating craft to deed, who hath stayed asunder the twin worlds; the tawny draught hath wrapped him in the filter, a sage to bide within the womb.
Soma is purified on the sheep-soft fleece and the cow’s spread hide; ever he roareth—a tawny, bull-strong bay—on his destined way to meet with Indra.
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 IX.101
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.
purojitī vo andhasaḥ sutāya mādayitnave |
apa śvānaṁ śnathiṣṭana sakhāyo dīrghajihvyam || 1 ||
yo dhārayā pāvakayā pariprasyandate sutaḥ |
indur aśvo na kṛtvyaḥ || 2 ||
taṁ duroṣam abhī naraḥ somaṁ viśvācyā dhiyā |
yajñaṁ hinvanty adribhiḥ || 3 ||
sutāso madhumattamāḥ somā indrāya mandinaḥ |
pavitravanto akṣaran devān gacchantu vo madāḥ || 4 ||
indur indrāya pavata iti devāso abruvan |
vācas patir makhasyate viśvasyeśāna ojasā || 5 ||
sahasradhāraḥ pavate samudro vācamīṅkhayaḥ |
somaḥ patī rayīṇāṁ sakhendrasya dive-dive || 6 ||
ayam pūṣā rayir bhagaḥ somaḥ punāno arṣati |
patir viśvasya bhūmano vy akhyad rodasī ubhe || 7 ||
sam u priyā anūṣata gāvo madāya ghṛṣvayaḥ |
somāsaḥ kṛṇvate pathaḥ pavamānāsa indavaḥ || 8 ||
ya ojiṣṭhas tam ā bhara pavamāna śravāyyam |
yaḥ pañca carṣaṇīr abhi rayiṁ yena vanāmahai || 9 ||
somāḥ pavanta indavo 'smabhyaṁ gātuvittamāḥ |
mitrāḥ suvānā arepasaḥ svādhyaḥ svarvidaḥ || 10 ||
suṣvāṇāso vy adribhiś citānā gor adhi tvaci |
iṣam asmabhyam abhitaḥ sam asvaran vasuvidaḥ || 11 ||
ete pūtā vipaścitaḥ somāso dadhyāśiraḥ |
sūryāso na darśatāso jigatnavo dhruvā ghṛte || 12 ||
pra sunvānasyāndhaso marto na vṛta tad vacaḥ |
apa śvānam arādhasaṁ hatā makhaṁ na bhṛgavaḥ || 13 ||
ā jāmir atke avyata bhuje na putra oṇyoḥ |
saraj jāro na yoṣaṇāṁ varo na yonim āsadam || 14 ||
sa vīro dakṣasādhano vi yas tastambha rodasī |
hariḥ pavitre avyata vedhā na yonim āsadam || 15 ||
avyo vārebhiḥ pavate somo gavye adhi tvaci |
kanikradad vṛṣā harir indrasyābhy eti niṣkṛtam || 16 ||
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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