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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 133 of 1027

Mandala 1: HYMN CXXXIII. Indra.

1.WITH sacrifice I purge both earth and heaven: I burn up great she-fiends who serve not Indra, Where throttled by thy hand the foes were slaughtered, and in the pit of death lay pierced and mangled.

2.O thou who castest forth the stones crushing the sorceresses’ heads, Break them with thy wide-spreading foot, with thy wide-spreading mighty foot.

3.Do thou, O Maghavan, beat off these sorceresses’ daring strength. Cast them within the narrow pit. within the deep and narrow pit.

4.Of whom thou hast ere now destroyed thrice-fifty with thy fierce attacks. That deed they count a glorious deed, though small to thee, a glorious deed.

5.O Indra, crush and bray to bits the fearful fiery-weaponed fiend: Strike every demon to the ground.

6.Tear down the mighty ones. O Indra, hear thou us. For heaven hath glowed like earth in fear, O Thunder-armed, as dreading fierce heat, Thunder-armed! Most Mighty mid the Mighty Ones thou speedest with strong bolts of death, Not slaying men, unconquered Hero with the brave, O Hero, with the thrice-seven brave.

7.The pourer of libations gains the home of wealth, pouring his gift conciliates hostilities, yea, the hostilities of Gods. Pouring, he strives, unchecked and strong, to win him riches thousandfold. Indra gives lasting wealth to him who pours forth gifts, yea, wealth he gives that long shall last.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn ask Indra to destroy sorceresses and enemies so violently?

The hymn appeals to Indra as a warrior who secures cosmic order by smashing hostile powers: sorceresses, fiends and “fearful fiery-weaponed” demons are pictured as threats to both heaven and earth, and ritual praise calls him to cast them into the “deep and narrow pit.” The violent images signal a communal need for protection and purification, the rite’s way of remaking safety by naming enemies and invoking decisive force.

The poem then links that martial protection to ritual reciprocity: the pourer of libations wins lasting wealth because gift and sacrifice restore friendly relations among humans and gods, and Indra rewards the sacrificer with riches. This pairing of martial deliverance and sacrificial gain echoes themes in the Aitareya and other early Vedic hymns where divine victory and sacrificial exchange sustain cosmic and social order.

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