Rig Veda · 391 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN XXXVII. Indra.
1.BEDEWED with holy oil and meetly worshipped, the Swift One vies with Sūrya’s beam in splendour. For him may mornings dawn without cessation who saith, Let us press Soma out for Indra.
2.With kindled fire and strewn grass let him worship, and, Soma-presser, sing with stones adjusted: And let the priest whose press-stones ring forth loudly, go down with his oblation to the river.
3.This wife is coming near who loves her husband who carries to his home a vigorous consort. Here may his car seek fame, here loudly thunder, and his wheel make a thousand revolutions.
4.No troubles vex that King in whose home Indra drinks the sharp Soma juice with milk commingled. With heroes he drives near, he slays the foeman: Blest, cherishing that name, he guards his people.
5.May he support in peace and win in battle: he masters both the hosts that meet together. Dear shall he be to Sūrya, dear to Agni, who with pressed Soma offers gifts to India.
Asked of Guide
Why do the hymns repeatedly call for pressing Soma for Indra's favor?
The hymn links Soma pressing to Indra’s presence and power: “Let us press Soma out for Indra” appears as the ritual act that brings the god near, fuels his victory, and secures prosperity for the worshipper. Ritual details—oil, fire, grass, priest whose “press-stones ring forth loudly,” and carrying the oblation to the river—show the community effort and sensory rites that enact that summons.
Soma functions as both offering and sacred stimulant that confers blessing: drinking “the sharp Soma juice with milk commingled” makes the King invulnerable, allows him to “slay the foeman,” and keeps his people safe. This chapter treats Soma like the sacramental medium that binds deity, king, and ritual together, a theme also central to later Vedic commentaries such as Sayana’s glosses on the Rigveda.
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