HYMN LXVI. Indra.

Rig Veda, tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], at sacred-texts.com

HYMN LXVI. Indra.

1. SCARCELY was Śatakratu, born when of his Mother he inquired,
Who are the mighty? Who are famed?
2. Then Śavasī declared to him Aurṇavābha, Ahīśuva:
Son, these be they thou must o’erthrow
3 The Vṛtra-slayer smote them all as spokes are hammered into naves:
The Dasyu-killer waxed in might.
4 Then Indra at a single draught drank the contents of thirty pails,
Pails that were filled with Soma juice.
5 Indra in groundless realms of space pierced the Gandharva through, that he
Might make Brahmans' strength increase.
6 Down from the mountains Indra shot hither his well-directed shaft:
He gained the ready brew of rice.
7 One only is that shaft of thine, with thousand feathers, hundred barbs,
Which, Indra, thou hast made thy friend.
8 Strong as the Ṛbhus at thy birth, therewith to those who praise thee, men,
And women, bring thou food to eat.
9 By thee these exploits were achieved, the mightiest deeds, abundantly:
Firm in thy heart thou settest them.
10 All these things Viṣṇu brought, the Lord of ample stride whom thou hadst sent-
A hundred buffaloes, a brew of rice and milk: and Indra, slew the ravening boar
11 Most deadly is thy bow, successful, fashioned well: good is thine arrow, decked with gold.
Warlike and well equipped thine arms are, which increase sweetness for him who drinks the sweet.