Rig Veda · 542 of 1027
Mandala 7: HYMN XXVI. Indra.
1.SOMA unpressed ne’er gladdened liberal Indra, no juices pressed without a prayer have pleased him. I generate a laud that shall delight him, new and heroic, so that he may hear us.
2.At every laud the Soma gladdens Indra: pressed juices please him as each psalm is chanted, What time the priests with one united effort call him to aid, as sons invoke their father.
3.These deeds he did; let him achieve new exploits, such as the priests declare at their libations. Indra hath taken and possessed all castles, like as one common husband doth his spouses.
4.Even thus have they declared him. Famed is Indra as Conqueror, sole distributer of treasures; Whose many succours come in close succession. May dear delightful benefits attend us.
5.Thus, to bring help to men, Vasiṣṭha laudeth Indra, the peoples’ Hero, at libation. Bestow upon us strength and wealth in thousands. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn stress pressing Soma with prayer before it pleases Indra?
The hymn says “SOMA unpressed ne’er gladdened liberal Indra,” making the act of ritual pressing inseparable from addressed devotion: the priests “with one united effort call him to aid,” and the pressed juice is effective only as part of that liturgical calling. The verse locates power in the communal, voiced offering—Soma’s potency is realized when the rite names and summons Indra through praise and libation.
This chapter treats ritual as productive speech: lauds and libations generate the god’s response, asking him to “achieve new exploits” and to distribute “treasures.” That same operative language appears in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which describes ritual formulae and speech as means by which the world and its benefits are brought into being.
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.