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• Preface
• Introduction
• Errata
• Vedic Hymns
• Agnİ
• Savitṛ́
• MarÚtas
• VİṢṆu
• Dyá̄vĀ-pṚthiví̄
• Índra
• RudrÁ
• Apá̄Ṃ NÁpĀt
• MitrÁ
• Bṛ́haspÁti
• UṢÁs
• AgnÍ
• ParjÁnya
• PŪṢÁn
• Á̄pas
• Mitrá̄-vÁruṆĀ
• Sú̄rya
• AŚvÍnĀ
• VÁruṆa
• MaṆḌŪkĀs
• VÍŚve Devá̄Ḥ
• SÓma
• Funeral Hymn
• PitÁras
• Hymn of the Gambler
• PÚruṢa
• Rá̄trĪ
• Hymn of Creation
• YamÁ
• Vá̄ta
• Vocabulary
• Abbreviations

ÍNDRA

Indra is invoked alone in about one-fourth of the hymns of the RV., far more than are addressed to any other deity; for he is the favourite national god of the Vedic people. He is more anthropomorphic on the physical side, and more invested with mythological imagery, than any other member of the pantheon. He is primarily a god of the thunderstorm who vanquishes the demons of drought or darkness, and sets free the waters or wins the light. He is secondarily the god of battle who aids the victorious Āryan in overcoming his aboriginal foes.

His physical features, such as body and head, are often referred to; after he has drunk Soma he agitates his jaws and his beard; and his belly is many times mentioned in connexion with his great powers of drinking Soma. Being tawny (hári) in colour, he is also tawny-haired and tawny-bearded. His arms are especially often referred to because they wield the thunderbolt (vájra). which, mythologically representing the lightning stroke, is his exclusive weapon. This bolt was fashioned for him by Tvaṣṭṛ, being made of iron (āyasá), golden, tawny, sharp, many-pointed, sometimes spoken of as a stone or rock. Several epithets, compounds or derivatives of vájra, such as vájra-bāhu bearing the bolt in his arm and vajrín wielder of the bolt are almost without exception applied to him. Sometimes he is described as armed with bow and arrows; he also carries a hook (aṅkuśá).

Having a golden car, drawn by two tawny steeds (hárī), he is a car-fighter (ratheṣṭhâ̄). Both his car and his steeds were fashioned by the Ṛbhus, the divine artificers.

As Indra is more addicted to Soma than any of the other gods, the common epithet ‘Soma-drinker’ (Somapá̄) is characteristic of him. This beverage stimulates him to carry out his warlike deeds; thus for the slaughter of Vṛtra he is said to have drunk three lakes of Soma. One whole hymn (x. 119) is a monologue in which Indra, intoxicated with Soma, boasts of his greatness and his might.

Indra is often spoken of as having been born, and two whole hymns deal with the subject of his birth. His father, the same as Agni’s, appears to be Dyaus; but the inference from other passages is that he is Tvaṣṭṛ, the artificer among the gods. Agni is called Indra’s twin brother, and Pūṣan (vi. 54) is also his brother. His wife, who is often mentioned, is Indrāṇī. Indra is associated with various other deities. The Maruts (i. 85) are his chief allies, who constantly help him in his conflicts. Hence the epithet Marútvant accompanied by the Maruts is characteristic of him. Agni is the god most often conjoined with him as a dual divinity. Indra is also often coupled with Varuṇa (vii. 86) and Vāyu, god of Wind, less often with Soma (viii. 48), Bṛhaspati (iv. 50), Pūṣan, and Viṣṇu.

Indra is of vast size; thus it is said that he would be equal to the earth even if it were ten times as large as it is. His greatness and power are constantly dwelt on: neither gods nor men have attained to the limit of his might; and no one like him is known among the gods. Thus various epithets such as śakrá and śácīvant mighty, śácīpáti lord of might, śatákratu having a hundred powers, are characteristic of him.

The essential myth forming the basis of his nature is described with extreme frequency and much variation. Exhilarated by Soma and generally escorted by the Maruts, he attacks the chief demon of drought, usually called Vṛtra, but often also the serpent (áhi). Heaven and Earth tremble when the mighty combat takes place. With his bolt he shatters Vṛtra who encompasses the waters, hence receiving the exclusive epithet apsu-jít conquering in the waters. The result of the conflict, which is regarded as being constantly renewed, is that he pierces the mountain and sets free the waters pent up like imprisoned cows. The physical elements in the conflict are nearly always the bolt, the mountain, waters or rivers, while lightning, thunder, cloud, rain are seldom directly named. The waters are often terrestrial, but also often aerial and celestial. The clouds are the mountains (párvata, girí), on which the demons lie or dwell, or from which Indra casts them down, or which he cleaves to release the waters. Or the cloud is a rock (ádri) which encompasses the cows (as the waters are sometimes called), and from which he releases them. Clouds, as containing the waters, figure as cows also; they further appear under the names of udder (ú̄dhar), spring (útsa), cask (kávandha), pail (kóśa). The clouds, moreover, appear as the fortresses (púras) of the aerial demons, being described as moving, autumnal, made of iron or stone, and as 90, 99, or 100 in number. Indra shatters them and is characteristically called the ‘fort-destroyer’ (pūrbhíd). But the chief and specific epithet of Indra is ‘Vṛtra-slayer’ (Vṛtra-hán), owing to the essential importance, in the myth, of the fight with the demon. In this fight the Maruts are his regular allies, but Agni, Soma, and Viṣṇu also often assist him. Indra also engages in conflict with numerous minor demons; sometimes he is described as destroying demons in general, the Rakṣases or the Asuras.

With the release of the waters is connected the winning of light, sun, and dawn. Thus Indra is invoked to slay Vṛtra and to win the light. When he had slain Vṛtra, releasing the waters for man, he placed the sun visibly in the heavens. The sun shone forth when Indra blew the serpent from the air. There is here often no reference to the Vṛtra fight. Indra is then simply said to find the light; he gained the sun or found it in the darkness, and made a path for it. He produces the dawn as well as the sun; he opens the darkness with the dawn and the sun. The cows mentioned along with the sun and dawn, or with the sun alone, as found, released, or won by Indra, are here probably the morning beams, which are elsewhere compared with cattle coming out of their dark stalls. Thus when the dawns went to meet Indra, he became the lord of the cows; when he overcame Vṛtra he made visible the cows of the nights. There seems to be a confusion between the restoration of the sun after the darkness of the thunderstorm, and the recovery of the sun from the darkness of night at dawn. The latter feature is probably an extension of the former. Indra’s connexion with the thunderstorm is in a few passages divested of mythological imagery, as when he is said to have created the lightnings of heaven and to have directed the action of the waters downwards. With the Vṛtra-fight, with the winning of the cows and of the sun, is also connected the gaining of Soma. Thus when Indra drove the serpent from the air, there shone forth fires, the sun, and Soma; he won Soma at the same time as the cows.

Great cosmic actions are often attributed to Indra. He settled the quaking mountains and plains. He stretches out heaven and earth like a hide; he holds asunder heaven and earth as two wheels are kept apart by the axle; he made the non-existent into the existent in a moment. Sometimes the separation and support of heaven and earth are described as a result of Indra’s victory over a demon who held them together.

As the destroyer of demons in combat, Indra is constantly invoked by warriors. As the great god of battle he is more frequently called upon than any other deity to help the Aryans in their conflicts with earthly enemies. He protects the Aryan colour and subjects the black skin. He dispersed 50,000 of the black race. He subjected the Dasyus to the Aryan, and gave land to the Aryan.

More generally Indra is praised as the protector, helper, and friend of his worshippers. He is described as bestowing on them wealth, which is considered the result of victories. His liberality is so characteristic that the frequent attribute maghávan bountiful is almost exclusively his.

Besides the central myth of the Vṛtra-fight, several minor stories are connected with Indra. In various passages he is described as shattering the car of Uṣas, goddess of Dawn (iv. 51); this trait is probably based on the notion of Indra’s bringing the sun when kept back by the delaying dawn. He is also said to have stopped the steeds of the Sun, apparently by causing the latter to lose a wheel of his car. Indra is further associated with the myth of the winning of Soma; for it is to him that the eagle brings the draught of immortality from the highest heaven. Another myth is the capture by Indra, with the help of Saramā, of the cows confined in a cave by demons called Paṇis.

Various stories which, though mixed with mythological elements, probably have an historical basis, are told of Indra’s having fought in aid of individual protégés, such as king Sudās, against terrestrial foes.

The attributes of Indra are chiefly those of physical superiority and rule over the physical world. He is energetic and violent in action, an irresistible fighter, an inexhaustible lavisher of the highest goods on mankind, but at the same time sensual and immoral in various ways, such as excess in eating and drinking, and cruelty in killing his own father Tvaṣṭṛ. He forms a marked contrast to Varuṇa, the other great universal monarch of the RV., who wields passive and peaceful sway, who uniformly applies the laws of nature, who upholds moral order, and whose character displays lofty ethical features.

The name of Indra is pre-Indian; for it occurs in the Avesta as that of a demon; the term verethraghna (= Vṛtrahán) is also found there as the designation of the God of Victory, though unconnected with Indra. Thus it seems likely that there was already in the Indo-Iranian period a god resembling the Vṛtra-slaying Indra of the RV. The etymology of the word is doubtful, but its radical portion ind may be connected with that in índ-u drop.

ii. 12. Metre: Triṣṭubh.

See Page Number 45, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 1

  yó jātá evá prathamó mánasvān
• devó devá̄n krátunā paryábhūṣat;
• yásya śúṣmād ródasī ábhyasetāṃ
• nṛmṇásya mahná̄: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

The chief wise god who as soon as born surpassed the gods in power; before whose vehemence the two worlds trembled by reason of the greatness of his valour: he, O men, is Indra.

evá: see p. 224, 2. mánas-vān: note that the suffix vān is not separated in the Pada text, as it is in pavítra-vān (i. 160, 3); had the Sandhi of the word, however, been máno-vān it would have been analysed as mánaḥ५vān. devó devá̄n: cp. i. 1, 5 c. paryábhūṣat: the exact meaning of the vb. pári bhūṣ is somewhat uncertain here, but as the greatness of Indra is especially emphasized in this hymn, surpass seems the most probable. Sāyaṇa explains it here as encompassed with protection; in the AV. as ruled over; in the TS. as surpassed. ródasī: the Pragṛhya ī of duals is not shortened in pronunciation before vowels (p. 437, f. n. 3). ábhyasetām: ipf. of bhyas = bhī be afraid of, with abl. (p. 316, b). mahná̄: inst. of mahán greatness(cp. p. 458, 2). The refrain sá, janāsa, Índraḥ ends every stanza (except the last) of this hymn; similarly víśvasmād Índra úttaraḥ ends all the twenty-three stanzas of x. 86.

See Page Number 45, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 2

  yáḥ pṛthiví̄ṃ vyáthamānām ádṛṃhad,
• yáḥ párvatān prákupitāṁ̆ áramṇāt,
• yố antárikṣaṃ vimamé várīyo,
• yó dyá̄m ástabhnāt: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Who made firm the quaking earth, who set at rest the agitated mountains; who measures out the air more widely, who supported heaven: he, O men, is Indra.

yás: note that every Pāda of this stanza, as well as of nearly every other stanza of this hymn, begins with a form of the relative prn. corresponding to the sá of the refrain. The cosmic deeds of Indra in all the three divisions of the universe, earth, air, and heaven, are here described. áramṇāt: ipf. of ram set at rest. vimamé várīyas (cpv. of urú, 103, 2 a): here the cpv. is used predicatively, extended so as to be wider; cp. vi. 69, 5, where it is said of Indra and Viṣṇu: ‘ye made the air wider and stretched out the spaces for us to live.’ dyá̄m: acc. of dyó sky. ástabhnāt: ipf. of stabh prop; in this and the preceding stanza the ipf. of narration is used throughout excepting vimamé (a form of constant occurrence, cp. 154, 1. 3; 160, 4): cp. 213 d(p. 343).

See Page Number 45, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 3

  yó hatvá̄him áriṇāt saptá síndhūn,
• yó gá̄ udá̄jad apadhá̄ Valásya,
• yó áśmanor antár agníṃ jajá̄na,
• saṃvṛ́k samátsu: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Who having slain the serpent released the seven streams, who drove out the cows by the unclosing of Vala, who between two rocks has produced fire, victor in battles: he, O men, is Indra.

The first hemistich refers to the two well-known myths, the release of the waters by the conquest of Vṛtra, and the capture of the cows imprisoned by Vala; cp. ii. 14, 2: yó apó vavṛvá̄ṃsaṃ Vṛtráṃ jaghá̄na who slew Vṛtra who had enclosed the waters, and ibid. 3: yó gá̄ udá̄jad, ápa hí Valáṃ váḥ who drove out the cows, for he unclosed Vala. áriṇāt: ipf. of ri release. saptá síndhūn: the seven rivers of the Panjāb. gá̄s: A. pl. of gó cow. ud-á̄jat: ipf. of aj drive. There is some doubt as to the exact interpretation of apadhá̄, a word that occurs here only. In form it can only be an I. s. of apa-dhá̄ (cp. 97, 2). The parallel use of ápa-vṛ in ii. 14, 3 (quoted above) indicates that apa-dhá̄ means the unclosing by Indra of the cave of Vala in which the cows are imprisoned; cp. also i. 11, 5: tváṃ Valásya gómató ’pāvar bílam thou hast unclosed the aperture of Vala rich in cows. The form is explained by Durga, the commentator on the Nirukta, by apadhānena as meaning udghāṭanena Valasya by the unclosing of Vala. Sāyaṇa interprets it as an irregularity for the abl. = from the enclosure of Vala. Valásya: the objective gen. (p. 320, B 1 b) = by opening (the cave of) Vala. áśmanor antár: between two clouds, according to Sāyaṇa; between heaven and earth according to Durga; the allusion is to the lightning form of Agni who in several passages is said to be ‘in the rock’, to be ‘produced from the rock’ and is called ‘son of the rock’ (ádreḥ sūnúḥ).

See Page Number 47, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 4

  yénemá̄ víśvā cyávanā kṛtá̄ni,
• yó dá̄saṃ várṇam ádharaṃ gúhá̄kaḥ;
• śvaghní̄va yó jigīvá̄ṁ̆ lakṣám á̄dad
• aryáḥ puṣṭá̄ni: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

By whom all things here have been made unstable, who has made subject the Dāsa colour and has[ ]made it disappear; who, like a winning gambler the stake, has taken the possessions of the foe: he, O men, is Indra.

imá̄ víśvā: all these things, that is, all things on earth. cyávanā is used predicatively after kṛtá̄ni, just as ádharam is in b after ákar; cp. iv. 30, 22: yás tá̄ víśvāni cicyuṣé who hast shaken the whole world. dá̄saṃ várṇam: the non-Aryan colour (= kṛṣṇáṃ várṇam), the aborigines; note the difference of accent in the substantive dāsá and the adj. dá̄sa. ákar: root ao. of kṛ (148, 1 b), to be construed with both ádharam (make inferior = subject) and gúhā (put in hiding = cause to disappear, drive away). When a final Visarjanīya in the Saṃhitā text represents an etymological r, this is indicated in the Pada text by putting íti after the word and repeating the latter in its pause form: ákar íty ákaḥ. jigīvá̄ṁ̆: pf. pt. of ji win(139, 4); on the Sandhi see 40, 3. Since the normal metre requires ᴗᴗ– after the caesura (p. 441, top), this word was here perhaps metrically pronounced jigivá̄ṁ̆ as it came to be regularly written in B. á̄dat: irr. a ao. (147 a 1) from dā give; though not analysed in the Pada text, it must owing to the sense be = ā-ádat has taken. aryás: gen of arí (99, 3); this word appears to be etymologically a Bv. = having no wealth (ri = rai), either for oneself (whence the sense needy, suppliant) or to bestow on others (whence the sense niggard, foe). [If a single meaning has to be given, devout is misleading, and suppliant should be substituted for it in the Vedic Grammar, p. 81, f. n. 1; 99, 3; and in the Index, p. 473.]

See Page Number 48, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 5

  yáṃ smā pṛchánti kúha séti ghorám,
• utém āhur náiṣó astí̄ti enam;
• só ’ryáḥ puṣṭí̄r víja ivá̄ mināti.
• śrád asmai dhatta: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

The terrible one of whom they ask ‘where is he’, of whom they also say ‘he is not’; he diminishes the possessions of the niggard like the (player’s) stake. Believe in him: he, O men, is Indra.

smā (p. 250) is metrically lengthened, the second syllable of the Pāda favouring a long vowel (p. 441, top). pṛchánti: pr. of prach. séti for sá íti: the irr. contraction of sá with a following vowel is common (48 a). īm anticipates enam: see p. 220. āhur: pf. of ah say, 139, 4; this vb. not being accented, b has the form of a principal clause, though the almost invariable use of relative clauses in this hymn would lead one to expect that the yám of the first clause would accentuate the second also. só aryás: the initial a, though written, should be dropped; otherwise the irr. contraction víjevá̄ is just possible, but ᴗ– for ᴗᴗ following a caesura after the fifth syllable is rare. 5 c is parallel to 4 c: á̄ mināti to á̄dat; aryáḥ puṣṭí̄ḥ to āryáḥ puṣṭá̄ni; víjaḥ to lakṣám. Uṣas (iv. 51) is in i. 92, 10 described as wearing away the life of mortals, śvaghní̄va kṛtnúr víja á̄minānā diminishing it as a skilful gambler the stakes. mināti: pr. of mī damage. śrád dhatta (2. pl. ipv. of dhā) believe, with dat. (200 A. 1 e). The Pādas a b mention doubts as to the existence of Indra; c implies that he does exist; and d calls for belief in him.

See Page Number 49, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 6

  yó radhrásya coditá̄, yáḥ kṛśásya,
• yó brahmáṇo ná̄dhamānasya kīréḥ;
• yuktágrāvṇo yó avitá̄ suśipráḥ
• sutásomasya: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Who is furtherer of the rich, of the poor, of the suppliant Brahmin singer; who, fair-lipped, is the helper of him that has pressed Somaand has set to work the stones: he, O men, is Indra.

coditá̄ governs the three genitives (the rich, the poor, the priestly poet) of a b, as the three relatives show; while avitá̄ governs that of c. su-śiprás: Bv. cd., p. 455, c a. The exact meaning of śipra is somewhat doubtful, but as it is regularly dual, has the attributive tawny, hári-śipra being parallel to hári-śmaśāru tawny-bearded, and is associated with Indra’s drinking of Soma, it can hardly mean anything but lips or moustaches; it could not well mean jaws which are hánū. yuktá-grāvṇas: of him who has set in motion the stones with which the Soma shoots are pounded.

See Page Number 50, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 7

  yásyá̄śvāsaḥ pradíśi, yásya gá̄vo,
• yásya grá̄mā, yásya víśve ráthāsaḥ;
• yáḥ sú̄riaṃ, yá uṣásaṃ jajá̄na;
• yó̆ apá̄ṃ netá̄: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

In whose control are horses, kine, clans, all chariots; who creates the sun, the dawn; who is the guide of the waters: he, O men, is Indra.

uṣásam: often also uṣá̄sam; du. N. A. uṣásā and uṣá̄sā; N. pl. uṣásas and uṣá̄sas; see 83, 2 a, f. n. 1.

See Page Number 50, Hymn Number 8 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 8

  yáṃ krándasī saṃyatí̄ vihváyete,
• párĕ ávara ubháyā amítrāḥ;
• samānáṃ cid rátham ātasthivá̄ṃsā
• ná̄nā havete: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Whom the two battle-arrays, coming together, call upon divergently, both foes, the farther and the nearer; two having mounted the self-same chariot invoke him separately: he, O men, is Indra.

saṃ-yatí̄: pr. pt. du. n. of sám-i go together. vi-hváyete (from hvā) and ná̄nā havete (from hū, the Samprasāraṇa form of hvā) are synonymous = call on variously; cp. i. 102, 5. 6: ná̄nā hí tvā hávamānā jánā imé these men calling on thee (Indra) variously; and átha jánā ví hvayante siṣāsávaḥ so men call on thee variously, desiring gains. páré ’vara: must be read párĕ ávara, though the succession of five short syllables before the caesura is irregular (p. 440, 4). The second Pāda explains krándasī: ubháyās (never used in the dual) = both groups of foes, that on the farther and that on the nearer side, from the point of view of the speaker; according to Sāyaṇa, the superior and the inferior. samānám contrasted with ná̄nā: two who are on the same chariot, that is, the fighter and the driver, invoke him separately. havete: not being accented must be taken as the vb. of a principal clause; cp. note on 5 b.

See Page Number 51, Hymn Number 9 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 9

  yásmān nárté vijáyante jánāso,
• yáṃ yúdhyamānā ávase hávante;
• yó víśvasya pratimá̄naṃ babhú̄va,[ ]
• yó acyutacyút: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Without whom men do not conquer, whom they when fighting call on for help; who has been a match for every one, who moves the immovable: he, O men, is Indra.

ná ṛté: must be pronounced nárté (19 a). vi-jáyante: pr. of ji conquer. hávante: cp. vihváyete in 8 a. ávase: final dat. (p. 314, B 2). pratimá̄nam: cp. iv. 18, 4: nahí̄ nú asya pratimá̄nam ásti antár jātéṣu utá yé jánitvāḥ for there is no match for him among those who have been born nor those who will be born. acyuta-cyút: cp. 4 a; also iii. 30, 4: tváṃ cyāváyann ácyutāni . . . cárasi thou continuest shaking unshaken things.

See Page Number 52, Hymn Number 10 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 10

  yáḥ śáśvato máhi éno dádhānān
• ámanyamānāñ cháruā jaghá̄na;
• yáḥ śárdhate ná̄nudádāti śṛdhyá̄ṃ,
• yó dásyor hantá̄: sá, janāso, Índraḥ.

Who slays with his arrow the unexpecting many that commit great sin; who forgives not the arrogant man his arrogance, who slays the Dasyu: he, O men, is Indra.

dádhānān: pr. pt. Ā. of dhā. The Sandhi of ān (39) is not applied between Pādas (cp. i. 35, 10 c). ámanyamānān: not thinking scil. that he would slay them; on the Sandhi of n + ś, see 40, 1. śárvā: with his arrow (inst., p. 80); with his characteristic weapon, the vájra, he slays his foes in battle. jaghá̄na: has slain (and still slays) may be translated by the present (213 A a). anudádāti: 3. s. pr. of ánu + dā forgive, with dat. (cp. 200 A f). dásyos̱: of the demon, a term applied to various individual demons, such as Sambara (11 a).

See Page Number 52, Hymn Number 11 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 11

  yáḥ Śámbaraṃ párvateṣu kṣiyántaṃ
• catvāriṃśyá̄ṃ śarádi anvávindat;
• ojāyámānaṃ yố áhiṃ jaghá̄na,
• Dá̄nuṃ śáyānaṃ: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Who in the fortieth autumn found out Śambara dwelling in the mountains; who has slain the serpent as he showed his strength, the son of Dānu, as he lay: he, O men, is Indra.

Śambara, next to Vṛtra, Vala, and Śuṣṇa, is the most frequently mentioned demon foe of Indra, who strikes him down from his mountain. He is often spoken of as possessing many forts. kṣiyántam: see note on i. 154, 2 d. catvāriṃśyá̄m: that is, Indra found him after a very long search, as he was hiding himself. anvávindat: ipf. of 2. vid find. The second hemistich refers to Indra’s slaughter of Vṛtra. ojāyámānam: cp. iii. 32, 11: áhann áhiṃ pariśáyānam árṇa ojāyámānam thou slewest the serpent showing his strength as he lay around the flood. Dá̄num: this is strictly the name of Vṛtra’s mother, here used as a metronymic = Dānava; cp. i. 32, 9: Dá̄nuḥ śaye sahávatsā ná dhenúḥ Dānu lay like a cow with her calf (i. e. Vṛtra). śáyānam: pr. pt. Ā. of śī lie (134, 1 c).

See Page Number 53, Hymn Number 12 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 12

  yáḥ saptáraśmir vṛṣabhás túviṣmān
• avá̄sṛjat sártave saptá síndhūn;
• yó Rauhiṇám ásphurad vájrabāhur
• dyá̄m āróhantaṃ: sá, janāsa, Índráḥ.

The mighty seven-reined bull who let loose the seven streams to flow; who armed with the bolt spurned Rauhiṇa as he scaled heaven: he, O men, is Indra.

The term vṛṣabhá is very often applied to gods, but especially to Indra, as expressing mighty strength and fertility. saptá-raśmis: having seven reins probably means ‘hard to restrain’, ‘irresistible’; Sāyaṇa interprets the cd. to mean ‘having seven kinds of clouds (parjanyās) that shed rain on the earth’. túviṣ-mān: the suffix mant is separated in the Pada text only after vowels, as gó ५ mān; on the Sandhi see 10 a. ava-ásṛjat: ipf. of sṛj emit. sártave: dat. inf. of sṛ flow(p. 192, 4). saptá síndhūn: cp. 3 a and i. 35, 8 b. Rauhiṇám: a demon mentioned in only one other passage of the RV. dyá̄m ā-róhantam: ascending to heaven in order to attack Indra.

See Page Number 54, Hymn Number 13 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 13

  Dyá̄vā cid asmai Pṛthiví̄ namete;
• śúṣmāc cid asya párvatā bhayante;
• yáḥ somapá̄ nicitó vájrabāhur,
• yó vájrahastaḥ: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Even Heaven and Earth bow down before him; before his vehemence even the mountains are afraid. Who is known as the Somadrinker, holding the bolt in his arm, who holds the bolt in his hand: he, O men, is Indra.

Dyá̄vā . . . Pṛthiví̄: the two members of Devatā-dvandvas are here, as often, separated by other words (186 A 1). asmai: dat. with nam bow(cp. 200 A 1 k,p. 311). bháyante: see note on i. 85, 8 c. śúṣmād: cp. 1 c. soma-pá̄s (97, 2): predicative nom., (196 b) ni-citás: on the accent see p. 462, f. n. 4.

See Page Number 54, Hymn Number 14 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 14

  yáḥ sunvántam ávati, yáḥ pácantaṃ,
• yáḥ śáṃsantaṃ, yáḥ śaśamānám ūtí̄;
• yásya bráhma várdhanaṃ, yásya sómo,
• yásyedáṃ rá̄dhaḥ: sá, janāsa, Índraḥ.

Who with his aid helps him that presses Soma, him that bakes, him that offers praise, him that has prepared the sacrifice; whom prayer, whom Soma, whom this gift strengthens: he, O men, is Indra.

sunvántam: all the participles in a and b refer to some act of worship: pressing Soma; baking sacrificial cakes, &c.; praising the gods; having prepared the sacrifice. śaśamānám: explained by Sāyaṇa as stotraṃ kurvāṇam offering a Stotra; by the Naighaṇṭuka, iii. 14, as arcantam singing; by the Nirukta, vi. 8, as śaṃsamānam praising. ūtí̄: contracted inst. of ūtí (p. 80) to be construed with ávati; cp. i. 185, 4: ávasā ávantī helping with aid. várdhanam: to be taken predicatively with each of the three subjects bráhma, sómas, rá̄dhas, of whom prayer, &c. is the strengthening, that is, whom prayer, &c. strengthens; yásya being an objective gen. (p. 320, B 1 b). idáṃ rá̄dhas this gift = this sacrificial offering.

See Page Number 55, Hymn Number 15 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 15

  yáḥ sunvaté pácate dudhrá á̄ cid
• vá̄jaṃ dárdarṣi, sá kílāsi satyáḥ.
• vayáṃ ta, Indra, viśváha priyá̄saḥ,
• suví̄rāso vidátham á̄ vadema.

As he who, most fierce, enforces booty for him that presses and him that bakes, thou indeed art true. We ever dear to thee, O Indra, with strong sons, would utter divine worship.

This concluding stanza is the only one that does not end with the refrain sá, jánāsa, Índraḥ. Instead, the poet, changing from the 3. to the 2. prs., substitutes at the end of b the words sá kíla_ᴗasi satyáḥ as such thou art indeed true = to be depended on (cp. note on satyám in i. 1, 6 c); while c and d are a prayer ending with an adaptation of the favourite refrain of the Gautamas, the poets of the second Maṇḍala: bṛhád vadema vidáthe suví̄rāḥ we would, accompanied by strong sons, speak aloud at divine worship. á̄ cid: perhaps better taken as emphasizing dudhrás (cp. p. 216) than with dárdarṣi (int. of dṝ). te: gen. with priyá̄sas (p. 322, C). vidátham: the etymology and precise sense of this word have been much discussed. There can now be hardly any doubt that it is derived from the root vidh worship, and that it means divine worship, scarcely distinguishable from yajñá, of which it is given as a synonym in Naighaṇṭuka, iii. 17; cp. note on i. 85, 1.

[P. 48,]head-line, for i. 12, 4 read ii. 12, 4.

[P. 51, line 31,]for yó read yố.