Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.6 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.
O Soma, thou mighty bull, make thyself pure in the gladdening stream as thou seekest the gods, as thou seekest us, through the wool of the sheep.
Toward this rapture, this joy upon joy, O golden drop, flow forth as Indra— and hasten toward the steeds that win the prize.
Rush thou into the filter of old, into that joy of ages past, and toward the reward of triumph and the name that endureth.
In their course, the drops, the shining drops, have hastened as waters running down a hill.
Purged and bright, they have come unto Indra.
He whom ten maidens tend, as they would a steed fit for the prize, he danceth in the wooden bowl, beyond the sheep's soft fleece.
That bold and sapful draught—blend it with the kine, for rapture’s sake, for the gods that seek, the soma pressed and ready to be seized.
The god for the god—being pressed, he cleanseth himself in the stream for Indra’s sake, when Indra filleth the milk to fullness.
He, the shape of the rite itself, the soma that is pressed, maketh himself pure in swiftness.
He guardeth the craft of the seers of old.
And thus, as thou art purged and seekest Indra, that he may chase delight, O thou most gladsome, thou makest the hidden songs thine own.
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.6
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.
mandrayā soma dhārayā vṛṣā pavasva devayuḥ |
avyo vāreṣv asmayuḥ || 1 ||
abhi tyam madyam madam indav indra iti kṣara |
abhi vājino arvataḥ || 2 ||
abhi tyam pūrvyam madaṁ suvāno arṣa pavitra ā |
abhi vājam uta śravaḥ || 3 ||
anu drapsāsa indava āpo na pravatāsaran |
punānā indram āśata || 4 ||
yam atyam iva vājinam mṛjanti yoṣaṇo daśa |
vane krīḻantam atyavim || 5 ||
taṁ gobhir vṛṣaṇaṁ rasam madāya devavītaye |
sutam bharāya saṁ sṛja || 6 ||
devo devāya dhārayendrāya pavate sutaḥ |
payo yad asya pīpayat || 7 ||
ātmā yajñasya raṁhyā suṣvāṇaḥ pavate sutaḥ |
pratnaṁ ni pāti kāvyam || 8 ||
evā punāna indrayur madam madiṣṭha vītaye |
guhā cid dadhiṣe giraḥ || 9 ||
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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