Rig Veda · 472 of 1027
Mandala 6: HYMN XXXI Indra.
1.SOLE Lord of wealth art thou, O Lord of riches: thou in thine hands hast held the people, Indra! Men have invoked thee with contending voices for seed and waters, progeny and sunlight.
2.Through fear of thee, O Indra, all the regions of earth, though naught may move them, shake and tremble. All that is firm is frightened at thy coming, -the earth, the heaven, the mountain, and the forest.
3.With Kutsa, Indra! thou didst conquer Śuṣṇa, voracious, bane of crops, in fight for cattle. In the close fray thou rentest him: thou stolest the Sun’s wheel and didst drive away misfortunes.
4.Thou smotest to the ground the hundred castles, impregnable, of Śambara the Dasyu, When, Strong, with might thou holpest Divodāsa who poured libations out, O Soma-buyer, and madest Bharadvāja rich who praised thee.
5.As such, true Hero, for great joy of battle mount thy terrific car, O Brave and Manly. Come with thine help to me, thou distant Roamer, and, glorious God, spread among men my glory.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Indra both 'Sole Lord of wealth' and a 'distant Roamer'?
The hymn presents Indra as the concrete source of prosperity—“Sole Lord of wealth” who holds people in his hands and grants seed, waters, progeny, and sunlight—so praise invites tangible benefits and protection in battle. It also names him a “distant Roamer” to acknowledge his mobility and unpredictable presence: Indra moves across realms, shakes earth and heaven, and appears in heroic interventions like slaying Śuṣṇa and aiding Divodāsa, so worship requests his arrival and diffusion of glory among men.
This pairing of intimate provision and roaming power matches how the Rig Veda treats gods as both patron and wanderer, similar to how other hymns in Mandala 6 depict deities who must be summoned for their favor. Readers who want a comparative take can look at other Indra hymns in Mandala 6, where his battlefield feats and largesse recur as reasons to invoke him.
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