Rig Veda · 471 of 1027
Mandala 6: HYMN XXX. Indra.
1.INDRA hath waxed yet more for hero prowess, alone, Eternal, he bestoweth treasures. Indra transcendeth both the worlds in greatness: one half of him equalleth earth and heaven.
2.Yea, mighty I esteem his Godlike nature: none hindereth what he hath once determined. Near and afar he spread and set the regions, and every day the Sun became apparent.
3.E’en now endures thine exploit of the Rivers, when, Indra, for their floods thou clavest passage. Like men who sit at meat the mountains settled: by thee, Most Wise! the regions were made steadfast.
4.This is the truth, none else is like thee, Indra, no God superior to thee, no mortal. Thou slewest Ahi who besieged the waters, and lettest loose the streams to hurry seaward.
5.Indra, thou breakest up the floods and portals on all sides, and the firmness of the mountain. Thou art the King of men, of all that liveth, engendering at once Sun, Heaven, and Morning.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn say 'one half of him equalleth earth and heaven' about Indra?
The line claims Indra’s greatness by giving his power a cosmic measure: half of him already fills earth and heaven, so his presence alone spans the known cosmos. The hymn ties that image to deeds—he “slew Ahi” and “clavest passage” for rivers—so the phrase shows his authority over both space and life’s necessities.
This chapter treats Indra as a creative, ordering force whose actions make the world stable: he “set the regions,” makes the Sun appear, and “engender[s] at once Sun, Heaven, and Morning.” That concrete role echoes later Vedic readings, notably in the Upanishads where cosmic functions are personified to explain how divine power sustains world-order.
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