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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 272 of 1027

Mandala 3: HYMN XXXVIII. Indra.

1.HASTING like some strong courser good at drawing, a thought have I imagined like a workman. Pondering what is dearest and most noble, I long to see the sages full of wisdom.

2.Ask of the sages’ mighty generations firm-minded and devout they framed the heaven. These are thy heart-sought strengthening directions, and they have come to be sky’s upholders.

3.Assuming in this world mysterious natures, they decked the heaven and earth for high dominion, Measured with measures, fixed their broad expanses, set the great worlds apart held firm for safety.

4.Even as he mounted up they all adorned him: self-luminous he travels clothed in splendour. That is the Bull’s, the Asura’s mighty figure: he, omniform, hath reached the eternal waters.

5.First the more ancient Bull engendered offspring; these are his many draughts that lent him vigour. From days of old ye Kings, two Sons of Heaven, by hymns of sacrifice have won dominion.

6.Three seats ye Sovrans, in the Holy synod, many, yea, all, ye honour with your presence. There saw I, going thither in the spirit, Gandharvas in their course with wind-blown tresses.

7.That same companionship of her, the Milch-cow, here with the strong Bull’s divers forms they stablished. Enduing still some new celestial figure, the skilful workers shaped a form around him.

8.Let no one here debar me from enjoying the golden light which Savitar diffuses. He covers both all-fostering worlds with praises even as a woman cherishes her children.

9.Fulfil, ye twain, his work, the Great, the Ancient: as heavenly blessing keep your guard around us. All the wise Gods behold his varied actions who stands erect, whose voice is like a herdsman’s.

10.Call we on Indra, Maghavan, auspicious, best Hero in the fight where spoil is gathered, The Strong, who listens, who gives aid in battles, who slays the Vṛtras, wins and gathers riches.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn keep returning to Bull and Milch-cow images for Indra and the gods?

The hymn uses the Bull and the Milch-cow as living metaphors for cosmic creativity and sustenance: the Bull is the generative force that “engendered offspring” and mounted up to reach “the eternal waters,” while the Milch-cow represents the nourishing companionship that the gods establish around that prime mover. These images tie Indra and the divine assembly to agricultural and pastoral life, making their cosmic actions—measuring the heavens, fixing the world, granting riches—feel like familiar, embodied labors.

The repeated animal figures also mark authority and ritual power: three seats in the “Holy synod,” Gandharvas with “wind-blown tresses,” and hymns of sacrifice show how cultic order grows from those archetypes. For a comparative angle, Mircea Eliade’s work on sacred symbols treats cattle as universal emblems of fertility and cosmic order, which helps explain why the Rig Veda places them at the center of divine governance.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.