Rig Veda · 474 of 1027
Mandala 6: HYMN XXXIII. Indra.
1.GIVE us the rapture that is mightiest, Indra, prompt to bestow and swift to aid, O Hero, That wins with brave steeds where brave steeds encounter, and quells the Vṛtras and the foes in battle.
2.For with loud voice the tribes invoke thee, Indra, to aid them in the battlefield of heroes. Thou, with the singers, hast pierced through the Paṇis: the charger whom thou aidest wins the booty.
3.Both races, Indra, of opposing foemen, O Hero, both the Ārya and the Dāsa, Hast thou struck down like woods with well-shot lightnings: thou rentest them in fight, most manly Chieftain!
4.Indra, befriend us with no scanty succour, prosper and aid us, Loved of all that liveth, When, fighting for the sunlight, we invoke thee, O Hero, in the fray, in war’s division.
5.Be ours, O Indra, now and for the future, be graciously inclined and near to help us. Thus may we, singing, sheltered by the Mighty, win many cattle on the day of trial.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn keep asking Indra for swift, mighty help in battle?
The hymn portrays Indra as the decisive ally in war: the Rishis call for “the rapture that is mightiest” and for aid that is “prompt to bestow and swift to aid,” because victory depends on sudden, forceful intervention. Lines about piercing the Paṇis and renting both Ārya and Dāsa “like woods with well-shot lightnings” show they expect Indra to overturn foes quickly and spectacularly.
Asking for generosity and continued presence—“be ours, O Indra, now and for the future” and “sheltered by the Mighty”—ties martial favor to long-term prosperity: protection brings booty and cattle, the social goods of the hymn’s world. This mirrors other Rigveda hymns where divine prowess secures ritual and material success, as in many hymns to Indra in Mandala 1.
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