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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 296 of 1027

Mandala 3: HYMN LXII. Indra and Others.

1.YOUR well-known prompt activities aforetime needed no impulse from your faithful servant. Where, Indra-Varuṇa, is now that glory wherewith ye brought support to those who loved you?

2.This man, most diligent, seeking after riches, incessantly invokes you for your favour. Accordant, Indra-Varuṇa, with Maruts, with Heaven and Earth, hear ye mine invocation.

3.O Indra-Varuṇa, ours be this treasure ours be wealth, Maruts, with full store of heroes. May the Varūtrīs with their shelter aid us, and Bhāratī and Hotrā with the Mornings.

4.Be pleased! with our oblations, thou loved of all Gods, Bṛhaspati: Give wealth to him who brings thee gifts.

5.At sacrifices, with your hymns worship the pure Bṛhaspati— I pray for power which none may bend—

6.The Bull of men, whom none deceive, the wearer of each shape at will, Bṛhaspati Most Excellent.

7.Divine, resplendent Pūṣan, this our newest hymn of eulogy, By us is chanted forth to thee.

8.Accept with favour this my song, be gracious to the earnest thought, Even as a bridegroom to his bride.

9.May he who sees all living things, see, them together at a glance,— May he, may Pūṣan be our help.

10.May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God: So May he stimulate our prayers.

11.With understanding, earnestly, of Savitar the God we crave Our portion of prosperity.

12.Men, singers worship Savitar the God with hymn and holy rites, Urged by the impulse of their thoughts.

13.Soma who gives success goes forth, goes to the gathering place of Gods, To seat him at the seat of Law.

14.To us and to our cattle may Soma give salutary food, To biped and to quadruped.

15.May Soma, strengthening our power of life, and conquering our foes, In our assembly take his seat.

16.May Mitra-Varuṇa, sapient Pair, bedew our pasturage with oil, With meatb the regions of the air.

17.Far-ruling, joyful when adored, ye reign through majesty of might, With pure laws everlastingly.

18.Lauded by Jamadagni’s song, sit in the place of holy Law:

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn invoke so many gods together—Indra, Varuṇa, Pūṣan, Savitar, Soma, Bṛhaspati?

The hymn gathers several deities because it seeks comprehensive support for prosperity, protection, and ritual success; each god is named for a specific function—Indra-Varuṇa for power and protection, Pūṣan and Savitar for guidance and glory, Soma for vitality, and Bṛhaspati for sacred speech and law. The worshipper strings these invocations into a single petition so the community’s sacrifices and oblations secure “wealth…full store of heroes” and right order in life and rites.

This practice mirrors how the Rig Veda composes communal ritual: multiple gods operate as complementary forces rather than rivals, and the hymn’s recurring legal and sacrificial language (“seat of Law,” “at sacrifices”) recalls the role of Bṛhaspati and the brāhmaṇa-motif found elsewhere in the Vedas.

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