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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 15 of 1027

Mandala 1: HYMN XV. Ṛtu.

1.O INDRA drink the Soma juice with Ṛtu; let the cheering drops Sink deep within, which settle there.

2.Drink from the Purifier’s cup, Maruts, with Ṛtu; sanctify The rite, for ye give precious gifts.

3.O Neṣṭar, with thy Dame accept our sacrifice; with Ṛtu drink, For thou art he who giveth wealth.

4.Bring the Gods, Agni; in the three appointed places set them down: Surround them, and with Ṛtu drink.

5.Drink Soma after the Ṛtus, from the Brāhmaṇa’s bounty: undissolved, O Indra, is thy friendship’s bond.

6.Mitra, Varuṇa, ye whose ways are firm—a Power that none deceives—, With Ṛtu ye have reached the rite.

7.The Soma-pressers, fain for wealth, praise the Wealth-giver in the rite, In sacrifices praise the God.

8.May the Wealth-giver grant to us riches that shall be far renowned. These things we gain, among the Gods.

9.He with the Ṛtu fain would drink, Wealth-giver, from the Neṣṭar’s bowl. Haste, give your offering, and depart.

10.As we this fourth time, Wealth-giver, honour thee with the Ṛtus, be A Giver bountiful to us.

11.Drink ye the meath, O Aśvins bright with flames, whose acts are pure, who with Ṛtus accept the sacrifice.

12.With Ṛtu, through the house-fire, thou, kind Giver, guidest sacrifice: Worship the Gods for the pious man.

Asked of Guide

Why does every verse keep calling the gods to drink 'with Ṛtu'?

Ṛtu appears as the ritual season or fitting measure that makes the offering proper; each verse invites a deity to accept the sacrifice precisely ‘with Ṛtu’ because the rite must be taken in its due time and form. The repeated phrase frames the act of drinking Soma or meath as participation in an ordered, timely cosmic practice rather than a casual gift.

The hymn also links Ṛtu to the Brāhmaṇa and the house-fire, tying seasonal and liturgical correctness to priestly procedure and domestic worship; verse 5 says, ‘Drink Soma after the Ṛtus, from the Brāhmaṇa’s bounty,’ and verse 12 places Ṛtu ‘through the house-fire.’ This emphasis on right time and rite echoes themes in the Gṛhyasūtras, which insist on precise performance occasions for sacrificial acts.

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