✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
0859 / 1027

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

Rig Veda · 859 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN XXII. Indra.

1.WHERE is famed Indra heard of? With what folk is he renowned to-day as Mitra is,— Who in the home of Ṛṣis and in secret is extolled with song?

2.Even here is Indra famed, and among us this day the glorious Thunderer is praised, He who like Mitra mid the folk hath won complete and full renown.

3.He who is Sovran Lord of great and perfect strength, exerter of heroic might, Who bears the fearless thunder as a father bears his darling son.

4.Harnessing to thy car, as God, two blustering Steeds Of the Wind-God, O Thunderer, That speed along the shining path, thou making ways art glorified.

5.Even to these dark Steeds of Wind thou of thyself hast come to ride, Of which no driver may be found, none, be he God or mortal man.

6.When ye approach, men ask you, thee and Uśanā: Why come ye to our dwelling-place? Why are ye come to mortal man from distant realms of eapth and heaven?

7.O Indra, thou shalt speak us fair: our holy prayer is offered up. We pray to thee for help as thou didst strike the monster Śuṣṇa dead.

8.Around us is the Dasyu, riteless, void of sense, inhuman, keeping alien laws. Baffle, thou Slayer of the foe, the weapon which this Dāsa wields.

9.Hero with Heroes, thou art ours: yea, strong are they whom thou dost help. In many a place are thy full gifts, and men, like vassals, sing thy praise.

10.Urge thou these heroes on to slay the enemy, brave Thunderer! in the fight with swords. Even when hid among the tribes of Sages numerous as stars.

11.Swift come those gifts of thine whose hand is prompt to rend and burn, O Hero Thunder-armed: As thou with thy Companions didst destroy the whole of SuSnia’s brood.

12.Let not thine excellent assistance come to us, O Hero Indra, profitless. May we, may we enjoy the bliss of these thy favours, Thunderer!

13.May those soft impulses of thine, O Indra, be fruitful and innocent to us. May we know these whose treasures are like those of milch-kine, Thunderer!

14.That Earth, through power of knowing things that may be known, handless and footless yet might thrive, Thou slewest, turning to the right, gu;na for every living man.

15.Drink, drink the Soma, Hero Indra; be not withheld as thou art good, O Treasure-giver. Preserve the singers and our liberal princes, and make us wealthy with abundant riches.

Asked of Guide

Why do the Ṛṣis call on Indra to fight the Dasyu and remember his killing of Śuṣṇa here?

The Ṛṣis call on Indra because he is presented as the community’s protector and war-chief whose past deeds guarantee deliverance; they remind him of his slaying of Śuṣṇa as evidence of his “fearless thunder” and as proof he can “baffle… the weapon which this Dāsa wields.” The hymn treats Indra’s past victories as the grounds for ritual petition and for spurring his continued aid to the priests and princes.

Their appeal links cosmic power to local survival: Indra’s harnessed winds and thunder are described alongside concrete needs—help against riteless Dasyus, victory for allied heroes, and gifts of wealth. This use of myth-as-proof resembles how the Rigveda elsewhere frames deities’ remembered feats to justify present offerings, much like the narrative strategy in other Mandala 10 hymns.

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.