Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.50 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.
Thy snortings rise as the roar of a river’s swell; spur thou the rim of the wheel of song.
At thy stirring, three voices arise in strife, as thou mountest the back of the sheep.
Upon the fleece, with stones they drive thee, O tawny one, dear to all, who cleanseth himself, dripping with sweetness.
Cleanse thyself in the stream, through the sieve, thou soul-stirring poet, to rest within the womb of chant.
Cleanse thyself, O most gladdening drop, anointed with kine as with balms, that Indra may drink thee down.
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.50
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.
ut te śuṣmāsa īrate sindhor ūrmer iva svanaḥ |
vāṇasya codayā pavim || 1 ||
prasave ta ud īrate tisro vāco makhasyuvaḥ |
yad avya eṣi sānavi || 2 ||
avyo vāre pari priyaṁ hariṁ hinvanty adribhiḥ |
pavamānam madhuścutam || 3 ||
ā pavasva madintama pavitraṁ dhārayā kave |
arkasya yonim āsadam || 4 ||
sa pavasva madintama gobhir añjāno aktubhiḥ |
indav indrāya pītaye || 5 ||
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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