Hymn to Indra
Rigveda IX.98 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 shining Drop, stream unto us the hoard desired of many, that peerless wealth which beareth a thousand gifts, that blaze of might which overmastereth even the noble and renowned.
Pressed and girded in the soft sheep-fleece, thou art as the warrior who buckleth on bright mail within his chariot; driven by the wooden paddle, thou flowest abroad in leaping rills.
Thus stirred, thou windest about the woolly veil, awakened to rapture; erect at the rite, thou farest forth for kine as Agni for his fuel, thy current a seeking flame.
For thou, O godly Juice, art treasure to every devout man; thou makest quest for riches by the thousand, wealth of a hundred shapes.
Grant that we draw nigh unto thy bounties, coveted of multitudes, O noble Vr̥tra-smasher—nearest to thy refreshment, nearest to thy favour, thou whose plenty never faileth.
Self-resplendent art thou, bruised beneath the twin-wielded stones, laved by the twice five sister-streams; dear unto Indra, wave-filled and wondrous sweet.
This gladsome, tawny-bright One they cleanse on every side with the fleece, he that circleth all the gods in company with his heart-uplifting draught.
By his aid the immortals quaff the potion that turneth skill to deed, the joy-giver who hath set high renown among your patrons even as the sun is set on high in heaven.
From you twain, O world-halves, ye goddess-presses yet kind to mortal men, is this Mountain-dwelling God new-born in holy rites; with loud acclaim I hymn him without fail.
O Soma, thou art poured for Indra, the smiter of Vr̥tra, for the noble giver who bestoweth gifts on priests, and for the god who sitteth upon the sacred seat.
Age-old streams of thee have rushed into the filter at dawn’s first breaking, snorting afar the crooked-minded and the witless while yet the morning is young.
Comrades, may we and ye—our fostering patrons—win that shining One who standeth before us with prizes to be claimed; may we secure the lord whose dwelling overflows with gifts.
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.98
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.
abhi no vājasātamaṁ rayim arṣa puruspṛham |
indo sahasrabharṇasaṁ tuvidyumnaṁ vibhvāsaham || 1 ||
pari ṣya suvāno avyayaṁ rathe na varmāvyata |
indur abhi druṇā hito hiyāno dhārābhir akṣāḥ || 2 ||
pari ṣya suvāno akṣā indur avye madacyutaḥ |
dhārā ya ūrdhvo adhvare bhrājā naiti gavyayuḥ || 3 ||
sa hi tvaṁ deva śaśvate vasu martāya dāśuṣe |
indo sahasriṇaṁ rayiṁ śatātmānaṁ vivāsasi || 4 ||
vayaṁ te asya vṛtrahan vaso vasvaḥ puruspṛhaḥ |
ni nediṣṭhatamā iṣaḥ syāma sumnasyādhrigo || 5 ||
dvir yam pañca svayaśasaṁ svasāro adrisaṁhatam |
priyam indrasya kāmyam prasnāpayanty ūrmiṇam || 6 ||
pari tyaṁ haryataṁ harim babhrum punanti vāreṇa |
yo devān viśvām̐ it pari madena saha gacchati || 7 ||
asya vo hy avasā pānto dakṣasādhanam |
yaḥ sūriṣu śravo bṛhad dadhe sva1r ṇa haryataḥ || 8 ||
sa vāṁ yajñeṣu mānavī indur janiṣṭa rodasī |
devo devī giriṣṭhā asredhan taṁ tuviṣvaṇi || 9 ||
indrāya soma pātave vṛtraghne pari ṣicyase |
nare ca dakṣiṇāvate devāya sadanāsade || 10 ||
te pratnāso vyuṣṭiṣu somāḥ pavitre akṣaran |
apaprothantaḥ sanutar huraścitaḥ prātas tām̐ apracetasaḥ || 11 ||
taṁ sakhāyaḥ purorucaṁ yūyaṁ vayaṁ ca sūrayaḥ |
aśyāma vājagandhyaṁ sanema vājapastyam || 12 ||
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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