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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 948 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN CXI. Indra.

1.BRING forth your sacred song ye prudent singers, even as are the thoughts of human beings. Let us draw Indra with true deeds anear us: he loves our songs, the Hero, and is potent.

2.The hymn shone brightly from the seat of worship: to the kine came the Bull, the Heifer’s Offipring With mighty bellowing hath he arisen, and hath pervaded even the spacious regions.

3.Indra knows, verily, how to hear our singing, for he, victorious, made a path for Sūrya. He made the Cow, and be became the Sovran of Heaven, primeval, matchless, and unshaken.

4.Praised by Aṅgirases, Indra demolished with might the works of the great watery monster Full many regions, too, hath he pervaded, and by his truth supported earth’s foundation.

5.The counterpart of heaven and earth is Indra: he knoweth all libations, slayeth Śuṣṇa. The vast sky with the Sun hath he extended, and, best otpillars, stayed it with a pillar.

6.The Vṛtra-slaver with his bolt felled Vṛtra: the magic of the godless, waxen mighty, Here hast thou, Bold Assailant, boldly conquered. Yea, then thine arms, O Maghavan, were potent.

7.When the Dawns come attendant upon Sūrya their rays discover wealth of divers colours. The Star of heaven is seen as ’twere approaching: none knoweth aught of it as it departeth.

8.Far have they gone, the first of all these waters, the waters that flowed forth when Indra sent them. Where is their spring, and where is their foundation? Where now, ye Waters, is your inmost centre?

9.Thou didst free rivers swallowed by the Dragon; and rapidly they set themselves in motion, Those that were loosed and those that longed for freedom. Excited now to speed they run unresting.

10.Yearning together they have sped to Sindhu: the Fort-destroyer, praised, of old, hath loved them. Indra, may thy terrestrial treasures reach us, and our full songs of joy approach thy dwelling.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn keep calling Indra a Bull and Fort-destroyer?

The hymn uses images like Bull and Fort-destroyer to name Indra by his powers: the Bull signals strength, virility, and abundance (bringing kine and waters), while Fort-destroyer points to his role as the warrior who shatters obstacles like Vṛtra and frees rivers. Those epithets gather his functions—provider of fertility and breaker of constriction—into memorable, almost ritual titles the singers can invoke when they offer song and libation.

This language echoes other Rig Veda passages where a god’s many names stand for acts and relationships; compare Mandala 1 where Indra’s deeds—slaying Vṛtra, releasing waters—are given as reasons to praise him. The hymn’s repeated titles keep attention on what the community needs: cattle, waters, and the cosmic order Indra secures.

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.