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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 975 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN CXXXVIII. Indra.

1.ALLIED with thee in friendship, Indra, these, thy priests, remembering Holy Law, rent Vṛtra limb from limb, When they bestowed the Dawns and let the waters flow, and when thou didst chastise dragons at Kutsa’s call.

2.Thou sentest forth productive powers, clavest the hills, thou dravest forth the kine, thou drankest pleasant meath. Thou gavest increase through this Tree’s surpassing might. The Sun shone by the hymn that sprang from Holy Law.

3.In the mid-way of heaven the Sun unyoked his car: the Ārya found a match to meet his Dam foe. Associate with Ṛjiśvan Indra overthrew the solid forts of Pipru, conjuring Asura.

4.He boldly cast down forts which none had e’er assailed: unwearied he destroycd the godless treasure-stores. Like Sun and Moon he took the stronghold’s wealth away, and, praised in song, demolished foes with flashing dart.

5.Armed with resistless weapons, with vast power to cleave, the Vṛtra-slayer whets his darts and deals fordi wounds. Bright Uṣas was afraid of Indra’s slaughtering bolt: she went upon her way and left her chariot there.

6.These are thy famous exploits, only thine, when thou alone hast left the other reft of sacrifice. Thou in the heavens hast set the ordering of the Moons: the Father bears the felly portioned out by thee.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn say Indra 'rent Vṛtra limb from limb' and 'gavest increase through this Tree'?

The hymn credits Indra with cosmic, agricultural, and social ordering: by slaying Vṛtra he released the waters and Dawns, which let “the waters flow” and restored fertility so people could prosper. The image of tearing Vṛtra “limb from limb” dramatizes a decisive liberation that makes rain, kine, and sacrificial wealth possible.

Calling Indra the giver of increase “through this Tree” links that liberation to a world-structuring source of growth; the Tree stands for life and sacrificial power that the god amplifies. Compare Rig Veda Mandala 1 and the Śatapatha Brāhmana, where Indra’s act similarly unlocks rivers and cosmic order and thereby secures sacrificial and social abundance.

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