RIG VEDA

HYMN LXXX. Indra.

1. DOWN to the stream a maiden came, and found the Soma by the way.
Bearing it to her home she said, For Indra will I press thee out, for Sakra will I press thee out.

2. Thou roaming yonder, little man, beholding every house in turn,
Drink thou this Soma pressed with teeth, accompanied with grain and curds, with cake of meal and song of praise.

3. Fain would we learn to know thee well, nor yet can we attain to thee.
Still slowly and in gradual drops, O Indu, unto Indra flow.

4. Will he not help and work for us? Will he not make us wealthier?
Shall we not, hostile to our lord, unite ourselves to Indra now?

5. O Indra, cause to sprout again three places, these which I declare,-
My father’s head, his cultured field, and this the part below my waist.

6. Make all of these grow crops of hair, you cultivated field of ours,
My body, and my father’s head.

7. Cleansing Apala, Indra! thrice, thou gavest sunlike skin to her,
Drawn, Satakratu! through the hole of car, of wagon, and of yoke.


HYMN LXXXI. Indra

1. INVITE ye Indra with a song to drink your draught of Soma juice,
All-conquering Satakratu, most munificent of all who live.

2. Lauded by many, much-invoked, leader of song, renowned of old:
His name is Indra, tell it forth.

3. Indra the Dancer be to us the giver of abundant strength:
May he, the mighty, bring it near.

4. Indra whose jaws are strong hath drunk of worshipping Sudaksa’s draught,
The Soma juice with barley mixt.

5. Call Indra loudly with your songs of praise to drink the Soma juice.
For this is what augments his stiength.

6. When he hath drqnk its gladdening drops, the God with vigour of a God
Hath far surpassed all things that are.

7. Thou speedest down to succour us this ever-conquering God of yours,
Him who is drawn to all our songs

8. The Warrior not to he restrained, the Soma-drinker ne’er o’erthrown,
The Chieftain of resistless might.

9. O Indra, send us riches, thou Omniscient, worthy of our praise:
Help us in the decisive fray.

10. Even thence, O 1ndra, come to us with food that gives a hundred powers,
With food that gives a thousand powers.

11. We sought the wisdom of the wise. Sakra, Kine-giver, Thunder-armed!
May we with steeds o’ercome in fight.

12. We make thee, Satakratu, find enjoyment in the songs we sing.
Like cattle in the pasture lands.

13. For, Satakratu, Thunder-armed, all that we craved, as men are wont,
All that we hoped, have we attained.

14. Those, Son of Strength, are come to thee who cherish wishes in their hearts
O Indra, none excelleth thee.

15. So, Hero, guard us with thy care, with thy most liberal providence,
Speedy, and terrible to foes.

16. O Satakratu Indra, now rejoice with that carouse of thine
Which is most splendid of them all

17. Even, Indra, that carouse which slays the Vrtras best, most widely famed,
Best giver of thy power and might.

18. For that which is thy gift we know, true Soma-drinker, Thunder-armed,
Mighty One, amid all the folk.

19. For Indra, Lover of Carouse, loud be our songs about the juice:
Let poets sing the song of praise.

20. We summon Indra to the draught, irl whom all glories rest, in whom
The seven communities rejoice.

21. At the Trikadrukas the Gods span sacrifice that stirs the mind:
Let our songs aid and prosper it.

22. Let the drops pass within thee as the rivers flow into the sea:
O fndra, naught excelleth thee.

23. Thou, wakeful Hero, by thy might hast taken food of Soma juice,
Which, Indra, is within thee now.

24. O Indra, Vrtra-slayer, let Soma be ready for thy maw,
The drops be ready for thy forms.

25. Now Srutakaksa sings his song that cattle and the steed may come,
That Indra’s very self may come.

26. Here, Indra, thou art ready by our Soma juices shed for thee,
Sakra, at hand that thou mayst give.

27. Even from far away our songs reach thee, O Caster of the Stone:
May we come very close to thee.

28. For so thou art the hero’s Friend, a Hero, too, art thou, and strong:
So may thine heart be won to us.

29. So hath the offering, wealthiest Lord, been paid by all the worshippers:
So dwell thou, Indra, even with me.

30. Be not thou like a slothfid priest, O Lord of spoil and wealth: rejoice
In the pressed Soma blent with milk.

31. O Indra, let not ill designs surround us in the sunbeams’ light:
This may we gain with thee for Friend.

32. With thee to help us, Indra, let us answer all our enemies:
For thou art ours and we are thine.

33 Indra, the poets and thy friends, faithful to thee, shall loudly sing
Thy praises as they follow thee.


HYMN LXXXII. Indra.

1. SURYA, thou mountest up to meet the Hero famous for his wealth,
Who hurls the bolt and works for man

2. Him who with might of both his arms brake nine-and-ninety castles down,
Slew Vrtra and smote Ahi dead.

3. This Indra is our gracious Friend. He sends us in a full broad stream
Riches in horses, kine, and corn.

4. Whatever, Vrtra-slayer! thou, Surya, hast risen upon to-day,
Tbat, Indra, all is in thy power.

5. When, Mighty One, Lord of the brave, thou thinkest thus, I shall not die,
That thought of thine is true indeed.

6. Thou, Indra, goest unto all Soma libations shed for thee,
Both far away and near at hand.

7. We make this Indra very strong to strike the mighty Vrtra dead:
A vigorous Hero shall he be.

8. Indra was made for giving, set, most mighty, o’er the joyous draught.
Bright, meet for Soma, famed in song.

9. By song as ’twere, the powerful bolt which none may parry was prepared
Lofty, invincible he grew.

10. Indra, Song-lover, lauded, make even in the wilds fair ways for us,
Whenever, Maghavan, thou wilt.

11. Thou whose commandment and behest of sovran sway none disregards,
Neither audacious man nor God.

12. And both these Goddesses, Earth, Heaven, Lord of the beauteous helm! revere
Thy might which no one may resist.

13. Thou in the black cows and the red and in the cows with spotted skin
This white milk hast deposited.

14. When in their terror all the Gods shrank from the Dragon’s furious might,
Fear of the monster fell on them.

15. Then he was my Defender, then, Invincible, whose foe is not,
The Vrtra-slayer showed his might.

16. Him your best Vrtra-slayer, him the famous Champion of mankind
I urge to great munificence,

17. To come, Much-lauded! Many-named with this same thought that longs for milk,
Whene’er the Soma juice is shed.

18. Much-honoured by libations, may the Vrtra-slayer wake for us:
May Sakra listen to our prayers.

19. O Hero, with that aid dost thou delight us, with what succour bring
Riches to those who worship thee?

20. With whose libation joys the Strong, the Hero with his team who quells
The foe, to drink the Soma juice?

21. Rejoicing in thy spirit bring thousandfold opulence to us:
Enrich thy votary with gifts.

22. These juices with their wedded wives flow to enjoyment lovingly:
To waters speeds the restless one.

23. Presented strengthening gifts have sent Indra away at sacrifice,
With might, onto the cleansing bath.

24. These two who share his feast, Bay Steeds with golden manes, shall bring him to
The banquet that is laid for him.

25. For thee, O Lord of Light, are shed these Soma-drops, and grass is strewn
Bring Indra to his worshippers.

26. May Indra give thee skill, and lights of heaven, wealth to his votary
And priests who praise him: laud ye him.

27. O Satakratu, wondrous strength and all our lauds I bring to thee:
Be gracious to thy worshippers.

28. Bring to us all things excellent, O Satakratu, food and strength:
For, Indra, thou art kind to us.

2§. O Satakratu, bring to us all blessings, all felicity:
Fbr, Indra, thou art kind to us.

30. Bearing the Soma juice we call, best Vrtra-slayer, unto thee:
For, Indra, thou art kind to us.

31. Come, Lord of rapturous, joys, to our libation with thy Bay Steeds, come
To our libation with thy Steeds.

32. Known as best Vrtra-slayer erst, as Indra Satakratu, come
With Bay Steeds to the juice we shed.

33. O Vrtra-slayer, thou art he who drinks these drops of Soma: come
With Bay Steeds to the juice we shed.

34. May Indra give, to aid us, wealth handy that rules the Skilful Ones:
Yea, may the Strong give potent wealth.


HYMN LXXXIII. Maruts.

1. THE Cow, the famous Mother of the wealthy Maruts, pours her milk:
Both horses of the cars are yoked,-

2. She in whose bosom all the Gods, and Sun and Moon for men to see,
Maintain their everlasting Laws.

3. This all the pious sing to us, and sacred poets evermore:
The Maruts to the Soma-draught

4. Here is the Soma ready pressed of this the Maruts drink, of this
Self-luminous the Asvins drink.

5. Of this, moreover, purified, set in three places, procreant,
Drink Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman.

6. And Indra, like the Herald Priest, desirous of the milky juice,
At early morn will quaff thereof.

7. When have the Princes gleamed and shone through waters as through troops of foes’?
When hasten they whose might ispure?

8. What favour do I claim this day of you
great Deities, you who are
Wondrously splendid in yourselves?

9. 1 call, to drink the Soma, those Maruts who spread all realms of earth
And luminous regions of the sky.

10. You, even such, pure in your might, you, O ye Maruts, I invoke
From heaven to drink this Somajuice.

11. The Maruts, those who have sustained and propped the heavens and earth apart,
I call to drink this Soma juice.

12 That vigorous band of Maruts that abidetb in the mountains, I
Invoke to drink this Soma juice.


HYMN LXXXIV. Indra.

1. SONG-LOVER! like a charioteer come songs to thee when Soma flows.
O Indra, they have called to thee as mother-kine unto their calves.

2. Bright juices bitherward have sped thee, Indra, Lover of the Song.
Drink, Indra, of this flowing sap: in every house ’tis set for thee.

3. Drink Soma to inspirit thee, juice, Indra, which the Falcon brought:
For thou art King and Sovran Lord of all the families of men.

4. O Indra, hear Tirasci’s call, the call of him who serveth thee.
Satisfy him with wealth of kine and valiant offspring: Great art thou.

5. For he, O Indra, hath produced for thee the newest gladdening song,
A hymn that springs from careful thought, ancient, and full of sacred truth.

6. That Indra will we laud whom songs and hymns of praise have magnified.
Striving to win, we celebrate his many deeds of hero might.

7. Come now and let us glorify pure Indra with pure Sama hymns.
Let the pure milky draught delight him strengthened by pure songs of praise.

8. O Indra, come thou pure to us, with pure assistance, pure thyself.
Pure, send thou riches down to us, and, meet for Soma, pure, be glad.

9 O Indra, pure, vouchsafe us wealth, and, pure, enrich the worshipper.
Pure, thou dost strike the Vrtras dead, and strivest, pure, to win the spoil.