
The Rig Veda Book 5 - Verses 31 to 40

HYMN XXXI. Indra.
1. MAGHAVAN Indra turns his chariot downward,
the strength-displaying car which he hath mounted.
Even as
a herdsman driveth forth his cattle, he goeth, first, uninjured,
fain for treasure.
2. Haste to us, Lord of Bays; be not ungracious:
visit us, lover of gold-hued oblation.
There is naught else
better than thou art, Indra: e'en to the wifeless hast thou
given spouses.
3 When out of strength arose the strength
that conquers, Indra displayed all powers that he possesses.
Forth from the cave he drove the milky mothers, and with the
light laid bare investing darkness.
4. Anus have wrought
a chariot for thy Courser, and Tvastar, Much-invoked! thy bolt
that glitters.
The Brahmans with their songs exalting Indra
increased his strength that he might slaughter Ahi.
5 When
heroes sang their laud to thee the Hero, Indra! and stones and
Aditi accordant,
Without or steed or chariot were the fellies
which, sped by Indra, rolled upon the Dasytis.
6 I will declare
thine exploits wrought aforetime, and, Maghavan, thy deeds of
late achievement,
When, Lord of Might, thou sunderedst earth
and heaven, winning for man the moistly-gleaming waters.
7 This is thy deed, e'en this, Wonderful! Singer! that, slaying
Ahi, here thy strength thou showedst,
Didst check and stay
e'en gusna's wiles and magic, and, drawing nigh, didst chase
away the Dasytis.
8 Thou, Indra, on the farther bank forYadu
and Turvaga didst stay the gushing waters.
Ye both assailed
the fierce: thou barest Kutsa: when Gods and Usana came to you
together.
9 Let the steeds bring you both, Indra and Kutsa,
borne on the chariot within hearing-distance.
Ye blew him
from the waters, from his dwelling, and chased the darkness
from the noble's spirit.
10 Even this sage hath come looking
for succour even to Vata's docile harnessed horses.
Here
are the Maruts, all, thy dear companions: prayers have increased
thy power and might, O Indra.
11 When night was near its
close he carried forward e'en the Sun's chariot backward in
its running.
Etaga brought his wheel and firmly stays it:
setting it eastward he shall give us courage.
12 This Indra,
O ye men, hath come to see you, seeking a friend who hath expressed
the Soma.
The creaking stone is laid upon the altar, and
the Adhvaryus come to turn it quickly.
13 Let mortals who
were happy still be happy; let them not come to sorrow, O Immortal.
Love thou the pious, and to these thy people-with whom may we
be numbered-give thou vigour.
HYMN XXXII. Indra.
1.THE well thou clavest, settest free the fountains,
and gavest rest to floods that were obstructed.
Thou, Indra,
laying the great mountain open, slaying the Danava, didst loose
the torrents.
2 The fountain-depths obstructed in their seasons,
thou, Thunderer! madest flow, the mountain's udder.
Strong
Indra, thou by slaying e'en the Dragon that lay extended there
hast shown thy vigour.
3 Indra with violence smote down the
weapon,
yea, even of that wild and mighty creature.
Although
he deemed himself alone unequalled, another had been born e'en
yet more potent.
4 Him, whom the heavenly food of these delighted,
child of the mist, strong waxing, couched in darkness,
Him
the bolt-hurling Thunderer with his lightning smote down and
slew, the Danava's wrath-fire, Susna.
5 Though he might ne'er
be wounded still his vitals felt that, the God's bolt, which
his powers supported,
When, after offered draughts, Strong
Lord, thou laidest him, fain to battle, in the pit in darkness.
6 Him as he lay there huge in length extended, still waxing
in the gloom which no sun lightened,
Him, after loud-voiced
threats, the Hero Indra, rejoicing in the poured libation, slaughtered.
7 When 'gainst the mighty Danava his weapon Indra uplifted,
power which none could combat,
When at the hurling of his
bolt he smote him, he made him lower than all living creatures.
8 The fierce God seized that huge and restless coiler, insatiate,
drinker of the sweets, recumbent,
And with his mighty weapon
in his dwelling smote down the footless evil-speaking ogre.
9 Who may arrest his strength or cheek his vigour? Alone, resistless,
he bears off all riches.
Even these Twain, these Goddesses,
through terror of Indra's might, retire from his dominion.
10 E'en the Celestial Axe bows down before him, and the Earth,
lover-like, gives way to Indra.
As he imparts all vigour
to these people, straightway the folk bend them to him the Godlike.
11 I hear that thou wast born sole Lord of heroes of the Five
Races, famed among the people.
As such my wishes have most
lately grasped him, invoking Indra both at eve and morning.
12 So, too, I hear of thee as in due season urging to action
and enriching singers.
What have thy friends received from
thee, the Brahmans who, faithful, rest their hopes on thee,
O Indra?
HYMN XXXIII. Indra.
1. GREAT praise to Indra, great and strong mid
heroes, I ponder thus, the feeble to the Mighty,
Who with
his band shows favour to this people, when lauded, in the fight
where spoil is gathered.
2 So made attentive by our hymns,
Steer! Indra! thou fastenedst the girth of thy Bay Coursers,
Which, Maghavan, at thy will thou drivest hither. With these
subdue for us the men who hate us.
3 They were not turned
to us-wtrd, lofty Indra! while yet through lack of prayer they
stood unharnessed.
Ascend this chariot, thou whose hand wields
thunder, and draw the rein, O Lord of noble horses.
4 Thou,
because many lauds are thine, O Indra, wast active warring in
the fields
for cattle.
For Surya in his own abode thou,
Hero, formedst in fights even a Dasa's nature.
5 Thine are
we, Indra; thine are all these people, conscious of might, whose
cars are set in motion.
Some hero come to us, O Strong as
Ahi beauteous in war, to be invoked like Bhaga.
6 Strength
much to be desired is in thee, Indra: the Immortal dances forth
his hero exploits.
Such, Lord of Treasure, give us splendid
riches. I praise the Friend's gift, his whose wealth is mighty.
7 Thus favour us, O Indra, with ihy succour; Hero, protect the
bards who sing thy praises.
Be friendly in the fray to those
who offer the skin of beautiful and well-pressed Soma.
8
And these ten steeds which Trasadasyu gives me, the goldrich
chief, the son of Purukutsa,
Resplendent in their brightness
shall convey me. Gairiksita willed it and so came I hither.
9 And these, bestowed as sacrificial guerdon, the powerful tawny
steeds of Marutasva;
And thousands which kind Cyavatana gave
me, abundantly bestowed for my adornment.
10 And these commended
horses, bright and active, by Dhvanya son of Laksmana presented,
Came unto me, as cows into the Rsi Samvarana's stall, with magnitude
of riches.
HYMN XXXIV. Indra.
1. BOUNDLESS and wasting not, the heavenly food
of Gods goes to the foeless One, doer of wondrous deeds.
Press out, make ready, offer gifts with special zeal to him
whom many laud, accepter of the prayer.
2 He who filled full
his belly with the Soma's juice, Maghavan, was delighted with
the meath's sweet draught,
When Usana, that he might slay
the monstrous beast, gave him the mighty weapon with a thousand
points.
3 Illustrious is the man whoever presseth out Soma
for him in sunshine or in cloud and rain.
The mighty Maghavan
who is the sage's Friend advanceth more and more his beauteous
progeny.
4 The Strong God doth not flee away from him whose
sire, whose mother or whose brother he hath done to death.
He, the Avenger, seeketh this man's offered gifts: this God,
the source of riches, doth not flee from sin.
5 He seeks
no enterprise with five or ten to aid, nor stays with him who
pours no juice though prospering well.
The Shaker conquers
or slays in this way or that, and to the pious gives a stable
full of kine.
6 Exceeding strong in war he stays the chariot
wheel, and, hating him who pours not, prospers him who pours.
Indra the terrible, tamer of every man, as Arya leads away the
Dasa at his will.
7 He gathers up for plunder all the niggard
s gear: excellent wealth he gives to him who offers gifts.
Not even in wide stronghold may all the folk stand firm who
have provoked to anger his surpassing might.
8 When Indra
Maghavan hath marked two wealthy men fighting for beauteous
cows with all their followers,
He who stirs all things takes
one as his close ally, and, Shaker, with his Heroes, sends the
kine to him.
9 Agni! I laud the liberal Agnivesi, Satri the
type and standard of the pious.
May the collected waters
yield him plenty, and his be powerful and bright dominion.
HYMN XXXV. Indra.
1. INDRA, for our assistance bring that most
effectual power of thine,
Which conquers men for us, and
wins the spoil, invincible in fight.
2 Indra, whatever aids
be thine, four be they, or, O Hero, three,
Or those of the
Five Tribes of men, bring quickly all that help to us.
3
The aid most excellent of thee the Mightiest hitherward we call,
For thou wast born with hero might, conquering, Indra, with
the Strong.
4 Mighty to prosper us wast thou born, and mighty
is the strength thou hast.
In native power thy soul is firm:
thy valour, Indra, slays a host.
5 O Satakratu, Lord of Strength,
O Indra, Caster of the Stone.
With all thy chariot's force
assail the man who shows himself thy foe.
6 For, Mightiest
Vrtra-slayer, thee, fierce, foremost among many, folk
Whose
sacred grass is trimmed invite to battle where the spoil is
won.
7 Indra, do thou protect our car that mingles foremost
in the fights,
That bears its part in every fray, invincible
and seeking spoil.
8 Come to us, Indra, and protect our car
with thine intelligence.
May we, O Mightiest One, obtain
excellent fame at break of day, and meditate our hymn at dawn.
HYMN XXXVI. Indra.
1. MAY Indra come to us, he who knows rightly
to give forth treasures from his store of riches.
Even as
a thirsty steer who roams the deserts may he drink eagerly the
milked-out Soma.
2 Lord of Bay Horses, Hero, may the Soma
rise to thy cheeks and jaws like mountain-ridges.
May we,
O King, as he who driveth coursers, all joy in thee with hymns,
invoked of many!
3 Invoked of many, Caster of the Stone my
heart quakes like a rolling wheel for fear of penury.
Shall
not Puruvasu the singer give thee praise, O ever-prospering
Maghavan, mounted on thy car?
4 Like the press-stone is this
thy praiser, Indra. Loudly he lifts his voice with strong endeavour.
With thy left hand, O Maghavan, give us riches: with thy right,
Lord of Bays, be not reluctant.
5 May the strong Heaven make
thee the Strong wax stronger: Strong, thou art borne by thy
two strong Bay Horses.
So, fair of cheek, with mighty chariot,
mighty, uphold us, strong-willed, thunderarmed, in battle.
6 Maruts, let all the people in obeisance bow down before this
youthful Srutaratha,
Who, rich in steeds, gave me two dark
red horses together with three hundred head of cattle.
HYMN XXXVII. Indra.
1. BEDEWED with holy oil and meetly worshipped,
the Swift One vies with Surya's beam in splendour.
For him
may mornings dawn without cessation who saith, Let us press
Soma out for Indra.
2 With kindled fire and strewn grass
let him worship, and, Soma-presser, sing with stones adjusted:
And let the priest whose press-stones ring forth loudly, go
down with his oblation to the river.
3 This wife is coming
near who loves her husband who carries to his home a vigorous
consort.
Here may his car seek fame, here loudly thunder,
and his wheel make a thousand revolutions.
4 No troubles
vex that King in whose home Indra drinks the sharp Soma juice
with milk commingled.
With heroes he drives near, he slays
the foeman: Blest, cherishing that name, he guards his people.
5 May he support in peace and win in battle: he masters both
the hosts that meet together.
Dear shall he be to Surya,
dear to Agni, who with pressed Soma offers gifts to India.
HYMN XXXVIII. Indra.
1. WIDE, Indra Satakratu, spreads the bounty
of thine ample grace:
So, Lord of fair dominion, Friend of
all men, give us splendid wealth.
2 The food which, Mightiest
Indra, thou possessest worthy of renown
Is bruited as most
widely famed, invincible, O Golden-hued!
3 O Darter of the
Stone, the powers which readily obey thy will,-
Divinities,
both thou and they, ye rule, to guard them, earth and heaven.
4 And from whatever power of thine, O Vrtra-slayer, it may be,
Bring thou to us heroic strength: thou hast a man's regard for
us.
5 In thy protection, with these aids of thine, O Lord
of Hundred Powers,
Indra, may we be guarded well, Hero, may
we be guarded well.
HYMN XXXIX. Indra.
1. STONE-DARTING Indra. Wondrous One, what wealth
is richly given from thee,
That bounty, Treasure-Finder!
bring filling both thy hands, to us.
2 Bring what thou deemest
worth the wish, O Indra, that which is in heaven.
So may
we know thee as thou art, boundless in thy munificence.
3
Thy lofty spirit, far-renowned as fain to give and prompt to
win,-
With this thou rendest e'en the firm, Stone-Darter!
so to gain thee strength.
4 Singers with many songs have
made Indra propitious to their fame,
Him who is King of human
kind, most liberal of your wealthy ones.
5 To him, to Indra
must be sung the poet's word, the hymn of praise.
To him,
accepter of the prayer, the Atris raise their songs on high,
the Atris beautify their songs.
HYMN XL. Indra. Surya. Atri.
1. COME thou to what the stones have pressed,
drink Soma, O thou Soma's Lord,
Indra best Vrtra-slayer Strong
One, with the Strong.
2 Strong is the stone, the draught
is strong, strong is this Soma that is pressed,
Indra, best
Vrtra-slayer, Strong One with the Strong.
3 As strong I call
on thee the Strong, O Thunder-armed, with various aids,
Indra,
best Vrtra-slayer, Strong One with the Strong.
4 Impetuous,
Thunderer, Strong, quelling the mighty, King, potent, Vrtra-slayer,
Soma-drinker,
May he come hither with his yoked Bay Horses;
may Indra gladden him at the noon libation.
5 O Surya, when
the Asura's descendant Svarbhanu, pierced thee through and through
with darkness,
All creatures looked like one who is bewildered,
who knoweth not the place where he is standing.
6 What time
thou smotest down Svarbhanu's magic that spread itself beneath
the sky, O Indra,
By his fourth sacred prayer Atri disoovered
Surya concealed in gloom that stayed his function.
7 Let
not the oppressor with this dread, through anger swallow me
up, for I am thine, O Atri.
Mitra art thou, the sender of
true blessings: thou and King Varuna be both my helpers.
8 The Brahman Atri, as he set the press-stones, serving the
Gods with praise and adoration,
Established in the heaven
the eye of Surya, and caused Svarbhanu's magic arts to vanish.
9 The Atris found the Sun again, him whom Svarbhanu of the brood
Of Asuras had pierced with gloom. This none besides had power
to do.
Suggestions for Further Reading
- The Rig Veda translation by Griffith, Introduction
- Hymns of the Sama veda translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
- Yajur Veda: The Veda Of The Black Yajus School
- Hymns Of The Atharva-Veda
- Anugita English Translation
- THE Sanatsugâtîya, A Spiritual Dialogue
- Dharmashastras, the Sacred Law Books of Hindus
- The Hindu Dharmashastras, Subject Index
- The Grihya Sutras, The Vedic Domestic Ritual Texts
- The Sankhya Sutras of Kapila, Index page
- Translation of Upanishads by Swami Paramananda, Index
- A History Of Indian Philosophy - Chapter Index
- The Upanishads translated by Max Muller
- Vedic Reader for Students
- The Bhagavad-gita in a nutshell
- Essays On Dharma
- Esoteric Mystic Hinduism
- Introduction to Hinduism
- Hindu Way of Life
- Essays On Karma
- Hindu Rites and Rituals
- The Origin of The Sanskrit Language
- Symbolism in Hinduism
- Essays on The Upanishads
- Concepts of Hinduism
- Essays on Atman
- Hindu Festivals
- Spiritual Practice
- Right Living
- Yoga of Sorrow
- Happiness
- Mental Health
- Concepts of Buddhism
- General Essays
Source: An English translation of the Vedas by Ralph T.H. Griffith, 1896.