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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 553 of 1027

Mandala 7: HYMN XXXVII. Viśvedevas.

1.LET your best-bearing car that must be lauded, ne’er injured, bring you Vājas and Ṛbhukṣans. Fill you, fair-helmeted! with mighty Soma, thrice-mixed, at our libations to delight you.

2.Ye who behold the light of heaven, Ṛbhukṣans, give our rich patrons unmolested riches. Drink, heavenly-natured. at our sacrifices, and give us bounties for the hymns we sing you.

3.For thou, O Bounteous One, art used to giving, at parting treasure whether small or ample. Filled full are both thine arms with great possessions: thy goodness keeps thee not from granting riches.

4.Indra, high-famed, as Vāja and Ṛbhukṣans, thou goest working, singing to the dwelling. Lord of Bay Steeds, this day may we Vasisthas offer our prayers to thee and bring oblations.

5.Thou winnest swift advancement for thy servant, through hymns, Lord of Bay Steeds, which thou hast favoured. For thee with friendly succour have we battled, and when, O Indra, wilt thou grant us riches?

6.To us thy priests a home, as ’twere, thou givest: when, Indra wilt thou recognize our praises? May thy strong Steed, through our ancestral worship, bring food and wealth with heroes to our dwelling.

7.Though Nirrti the Goddess reigneth round him, Autumns with food in plenty come to Indra. With three close Friends to length of days he cometh, he whom men let not rest at home in quiet.

8.Promise us gifts, O Savitar: may riches come unto us in Parvata’s full bounty. May the Celestial Guardian still attend us. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn ask Indra, Vāja and Ṛbhukṣans for riches and protection repeatedly?

The hymn addresses Indra under several names—Vāja, Ṛbhukṣans, Lord of Bay Steeds—to call on his manifold powers: bestowing wealth, victory in battle, and household prosperity. The poets describe offerings (thrice-mixed Soma, libations) and ask that the god, “used to giving,” grant riches and a guarded dwelling as reciprocal returns for their hymns and rites.

This repeated petition frames the ritual economy between rishi and deity: praise and sacrifice produce tangible favors—food, heroes, long life—backed by images like the steed and Parvata’s bounty. This practical reciprocity echoes themes in other Vedic hymns such as the Tenth Mandala’s requests to Indra, where sacrifice secures the warrior’s prizes and social well-being.

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