Rig Veda · 393 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN XXXIX. Indra.
1.STONE-DARTING Indra. Wondrous One, what wealth is richly given from thee, That bounty, Treasure-Finder! bring filling both thy hands, to us.
2.Bring what thou deemest worth the wish, O Indra, that which is in heaven. So may we know thee as thou art, boundless in thy munificence.
3.Thy lofty spirit, far-renowned as fain to give and prompt to win,— With this thou rendest e’en the firm, Stone-Darter! so to gain thee strength.
4.Singers with many songs have made Indra propitious to their fame, Him who is King of human kind, most liberal of your wealthy ones.
5.To him, to Indra must be sung the poet’s word, the hymn of praise. To him, accepter of the prayer, the Atris raise their songs on high, the Atris beautify their songs.
Asked of Guide
Why do the Atris keep singing to Indra and ask for his bounty?
The Atris sing to Indra because he is praised as “most liberal” and a “Treasure-Finder,” the one who gives wealth and strength; their hymns aim to make Indra “propitious to their fame” and to secure his generous gifts. The poem repeatedly invokes his munificence—asking him to “bring filling both thy hands” and to give what he deems worthy—so the songs function as requests that align human need with Indra’s known generosity.
This chapter presents singing as a practical exchange: praise and ritual speech open access to Indra’s power and riches, and poets call him the acceptor of prayer to ensure he hears. That practical dynamic resembles what Max Müller describes in his studies of Vedic ritual language, where hymns operate to elicit divine favor through named attributes and repeated address.
Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.