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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 394 of 1027

Mandala 5: HYMN XL. Indra. Sūrya. Atri.

1.COME thou to what the stones have pressed, drink Soma, O thou Soma’s Lord, Indra best Vṛtra-slayer Strong One, with the Strong.

2.Strong is the stone, the draught is strong, strong is this Soma that is pressed, Indra, best Vṛtra-slayer, Strong One with the Strong.

3.As strong I call on thee the Strong, O Thunder-armed, with various aids, Indra, best Vṛtra-slayer, Strong One with the Strong.

4.Impetuous, Thunderer, Strong, quelling the mighty, King, potent, Vṛtra-slayer, Soma-drinker, May he come hither with his yoked Bay Horses; may Indra gladden him at the noon libation.

5.O Sūrya, 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 Sūrya 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 Varuṇa 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 Sūrya, 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.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn praise Atri for restoring Sūrya after Svarbhanu's darkness?

The hymn credits Atri because he discovered and revealed Sūrya hidden by Svarbhanu’s magic, saying “Atri discovered Sūrya concealed in gloom.” It frames Atri’s ritual action—setting the press-stones, offering prayers—as the decisive means by which the Sun’s eye was re-established and the Asura’s arts “vanish.”

Praising Atri links ritual power to cosmic order: human priestly work undoes demonic obstruction and restores daylight. This theme echoes the Aitareya and other Rigvedic hymns where a sage’s worship secures divine function and communal wellbeing.

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.