Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.106 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.
Let the new-pressed draughts haste to Indra—the tawny torrents to the Thunder-Bull—drops born of his quickened ear that track the hidden sun.
Here, for Indra’s sake, the gain-bringing wanderer is strained; Soma marks the Victor, as all men ken.
In the rapture of such liquor Indra clutched a ripe handful of wealth and brandished the bullish mace—he who wins all battles in the waters’ realm.
Speed forth, thou wakeful Soma; eddy about for Indra, O brightening drop. Summon the flashing, storm-fleet power that unearths the sun.
For Indra refine thyself to bullish ecstasy, a sight for every eye—thou of a thousand courses, path-carving, wide of gaze.
Sweetest to the gods, surest guide of our way, roar along thy thousand roadways.
Purge thyself in shining streams, O drop, that with new might thou mayest overtake the gods. Honey-rich, take thy seat within our vat, O Soma.
Thy droplets, swimming in the waters, have nerved Indra for delight; the gods have quaffed thee for their deathless share.
Pressed drops, while ye are cleansed, drive riches hither—loosen the skies to rain, set the waters streaming, and light upon the sun.
Soma, wave-borne, races across the sheep’s white fleece—herald of speech, self-purging, ever resounding.
With piercing thought they urge the prize-winner who plays amid the wood and wool; their voices ring toward the three-backed Lord.
Surging toward the tubs as a contest-team for spoil, he pours forth—purified and world-quickening.
The fair fallow Bay speeds across the tufted cloth, showering glory of heroes upon the singers.
Thus cleanse thyself, questing the gods—see how the honey streams leap. Harsh with rasping cry, wheel about the filter on every side.
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.106
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.
indram accha sutā ime vṛṣaṇaṁ yantu harayaḥ |
śruṣṭī jātāsa indavaḥ svarvidaḥ || 1 ||
ayam bharāya sānasir indrāya pavate sutaḥ |
somo jaitrasya cetati yathā vide || 2 ||
asyed indro madeṣv ā grābhaṁ gṛbhṇīta sānasim |
vajraṁ ca vṛṣaṇam bharat sam apsujit || 3 ||
pra dhanvā soma jāgṛvir indrāyendo pari srava |
dyumantaṁ śuṣmam ā bharā svarvidam || 4 ||
indrāya vṛṣaṇam madam pavasva viśvadarśataḥ |
sahasrayāmā pathikṛd vicakṣaṇaḥ || 5 ||
asmabhyaṁ gātuvittamo devebhyo madhumattamaḥ |
sahasraṁ yāhi pathibhiḥ kanikradat || 6 ||
pavasva devavītaya indo dhārābhir ojasā |
ā kalaśam madhumān soma naḥ sadaḥ || 7 ||
tava drapsā udapruta indram madāya vāvṛdhuḥ |
tvāṁ devāso amṛtāya kam papuḥ || 8 ||
ā naḥ sutāsa indavaḥ punānā dhāvatā rayim |
vṛṣṭidyāvo rītyāpaḥ svarvidaḥ || 9 ||
somaḥ punāna ūrmiṇāvyo vāraṁ vi dhāvati |
agre vācaḥ pavamānaḥ kanikradat || 10 ||
dhībhir hinvanti vājinaṁ vane krīḻantam atyavim |
abhi tripṛṣṭham matayaḥ sam asvaran || 11 ||
asarji kalaśām̐ abhi mīḻhe saptir na vājayuḥ |
punāno vācaṁ janayann asiṣyadat || 12 ||
pavate haryato harir ati hvarāṁsi raṁhyā |
abhyarṣan stotṛbhyo vīravad yaśaḥ || 13 ||
ayā pavasva devayur madhor dhārā asṛkṣata |
rebhan pavitram pary eṣi viśvataḥ || 14 ||
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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