Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.5 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.
Enkindled, the self-cleansing Lord blazeth forth on every side, a joy-bringer, ever-roaring bull of flame.
As Tanūnapāt, he sharp’neth his horns and darteth through the mid-air, ever-shining, ever-pure.
Meet for hailing is this self-cleansing flame, heaven-bright wealth that beameth out in honeyed streams, in mighty strength.
The tawny one, self-cleansing, casteth the holy grass eastward with strength, and speedeth as a god to gods.
On high, the golden God-Doors swing wide their frames, well-lauded by the self-cleansing fire.
The bull he becometh to the two fair-robed maidens, high and vast—Night and Dawn— as two comely dames decked for delight.
The twin gods with the sight of men, the two Divine Priests, I call— the self-cleansing flame and Indra the Bull.
Let Bhāratī, Sarasvatī, and great Iḍā draw near, three goddesses bright with beauty’s trim, to this our rite for the self-cleansing flame.
Tvaṣṭar, first-born herdsman who goeth before, I summon now to this stead.
The drop is Indra, the tawny bull—
the self-cleansing one is Lord of the Begotten.
O self-cleansing flame, with thy stream of sweetness anoint the Forest-Lord, that tawny thousand-branched, golden-burning tree.
Ye gods all, draw nigh to the cry of svāhā sung by the self-cleansing one:
Vāyu, Br̥haspati, the Sun, Agni, and Indra— with one will, come ye all.
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.5
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.
samiddho viśvatas patiḥ pavamāno vi rājati |
prīṇan vṛṣā kanikradat || 1 ||
tanūnapāt pavamānaḥ śṛṅge śiśāno arṣati |
antarikṣeṇa rārajat || 2 ||
īḻenyaḥ pavamāno rayir vi rājati dyumān |
madhor dhārābhir ojasā || 3 ||
barhiḥ prācīnam ojasā pavamānaḥ stṛṇan hariḥ |
deveṣu deva īyate || 4 ||
ud ātair jihate bṛhad dvāro devīr hiraṇyayīḥ |
pavamānena suṣṭutāḥ || 5 ||
suśilpe bṛhatī mahī pavamāno vṛṣaṇyati |
naktoṣāsā na darśate || 6 ||
ubhā devā nṛcakṣasā hotārā daivyā huve |
pavamāna indro vṛṣā || 7 ||
bhāratī pavamānasya sarasvatīḻā mahī |
imaṁ no yajñam ā gaman tisro devīḥ supeśasaḥ || 8 ||
tvaṣṭāram agrajāṁ gopām puroyāvānam ā huve |
indur indro vṛṣā hariḥ pavamānaḥ prajāpatiḥ || 9 ||
vanaspatim pavamāna madhvā sam aṅgdhi dhārayā |
sahasravalśaṁ haritam bhrājamānaṁ hiraṇyayam || 10 ||
viśve devāḥ svāhākṛtim pavamānasyā gata |
vāyur bṛhaspatiḥ sūryo 'gnir indraḥ sajoṣasaḥ || 11 ||
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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