Rig Veda · 997 of 1027
Mandala 10: HYMN CLX. Indra.
1.TASTE this strong draught enriched with offered viands: with all thy chariot here unyoke thy Coursers. Let not those other sacrificers stay thee, Indra: these juices shed for thee are ready.
2.Thine is the juice effused, thine are the juices yet to be pressed: our resonant songs invite thee. O Indra, pleased to-day with this libation, come, thou who knowest all and drink the Soma.
3.Whoso, devoted to the God, effuses Soma for him with yearning heart and spirit,— Never doth Indra give away his cattle: for him he makes the lovely Soma famous.
4.He looks with Ioving favour on the mortal who, like a rich man, pours for him the Soma. Maghavan in his bended arm supports him: he slays, unasked, the men who hate devotion.
5.We call on thee to come to us, desirous of goods and spoil, of cattle, and of horses. For thy new love and favour are we present: let us invoke thee, Indra, as our welfare.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn keep inviting Indra to drink Soma here?
The hymn repeatedly summons Indra to drink Soma because the ritual libation activates his favor and power; lines like “Thine is the juice effused” and “come… and drink the Soma” make the offering itself the way to secure his presence. The singers promise devotion and sacrifice so that Indra will bestow wealth, cattle, horses, and protection, a direct exchange between human ritual and divine reward.
This idea of reciprocity appears across the Rig Veda: ritual drink links gods and worshippers and produces concrete blessings, as when line 3 says, “Never doth Indra give away his cattle” to the devoted. For a broader look at this transactional sacrificial logic, see Jan Gonda’s work on Vedic rituals, which traces how libations mobilize divine agency in early Hindu thought.
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