Rig Veda · 719 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN VII. Praskaṇva’s Gift.
1.GREAT, verily, is Indra’s might. I have beheld, and hither comes Thy bounty, Dasyave-vrka!
2.A hundred oxen white of hue are shining like the stars in heaven, So tall, they seem to prop the sky.
3.Bamboos a hundred, a hundred dogs, a hundred skins of beasts well-tanned, A hundred tufts of Balbaja, four hundred red-hued mares are mine.
4.Blest by the Gods, Kinvayanas! be ye who spread through life on life: Like horses have ye stridden forth.
5.Then men extolled the team of seven not yet full-grown, its fame is great. The dark mares rushed along the paths, so that no eye could follow them.
Asked of Guide
Why does the poem list so many hundreds of horses, oxen, and dogs as Indra's gifts?
The hymn records lavish gifts to Indra as a way to show his greatness and the community’s prosperity; the repeating numbers—“a hundred oxen,” “a hundred dogs,” “four hundred red-hued mares”—work like a catalogue of wealth presented to the god. The list frames bounty as both material and cosmic: animals “shining like the stars” and horses that “seem to prop the sky” tie domestic wealth to cosmic order.
This inventory also marks ritual reciprocity: offerings and praise secure divine favor, which appears elsewhere in the Rig Veda where generosity and sacrifice bind humans and gods (compare many hymns in Mandala 1 that praise Indra for spoils and strength). The closing image of the seven steeds and “dark mares” racing emphasizes that these gifts empower movement, victory, and fame that spread through the people.
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