Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.34 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.
Being urged, being driven, the drop doth spring forth in full stream, breaking strongholds asunder with its might.
Pressed for Indra and Vāyu, for Varuṇa and the storm-born Maruts, for Viṣṇu doth Soma hasten with force.
The bull, ruled by bulls, they press with stone; with cunning hands they draw forth its milk.
It becometh the steed for Trita to tend, the draught of rapture for Indra; the tawny one is smeared with forms of milk.
They, whose mother is Pr̥śni, do milk their beloved gift— that which is dearest unto them—unto the upper face of truth.
These steadfast songs, in one flow, rush toward him; and lowing aloud, he maketh the milk kine to low in answer.
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.34
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.
pra suvāno dhārayā tanendur hinvāno arṣati |
rujad dṛḻhā vy ojasā || 1 ||
suta indrāya vāyave varuṇāya marudbhyaḥ |
somo arṣati viṣṇave || 2 ||
vṛṣāṇaṁ vṛṣabhir yataṁ sunvanti somam adribhiḥ |
duhanti śakmanā payaḥ || 3 ||
bhuvat tritasya marjyo bhuvad indrāya matsaraḥ |
saṁ rūpair ajyate hariḥ || 4 ||
abhīm ṛtasya viṣṭapaṁ duhate pṛśnimātaraḥ |
cāru priyatamaṁ haviḥ || 5 ||
sam enam ahrutā imā giro arṣanti sasrutaḥ |
dhenūr vāśro avīvaśat || 6 ||
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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