Rig Veda · 482 of 1027
Mandala 6: HYMN XLI. Indra.
1.COME gracious to our sacrifice, O Indra: pressed Soma-drops are purified to please thee. As cattle seek their home, so Thunderwielder, come, Indra, first of those who claim our worship.
2.With that well-formed most wide-extending palate, wherewith thou ever drinkest streams of sweetness, Drink thou; the Adhvaryu standeth up before thee: let thy spoil-winning thunderbolt attend thee.
3.This drop, steer-strong and omniform, the Soma, hath been made ready for the Bull, for India. Drink this, Lord of the Bays, thou Strong Supporter, this that is thine of old, thy food for ever.
4.Soma when pressed excels the unpressed Soma, better, for one who knows, to give him pleasure. Come to this sacrifice of ours, O Victor replenish all thy powers with this libation.
5.We call on thee, O Indra: come thou hither: sufficient be the Soma for thy body. Rejoice thee, Śatakratu! in the juices guard us in wars, guard us among our people.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn keep offering Soma to Indra so insistently?
The hymn repeatedly offers Soma because it treats Indra’s presence and power as sustained by the libation: “Drink thou; the Adhvaryu standeth up before thee,” and the Soma is called his “food for ever.” The ritual image is literal and strategic — giving Soma renews Indra’s strength so he will protect the worshippers, “guard us in wars, guard us among our people.”
This chapter makes the sacrificial exchange plain: the ritual pours vitality into a divine agent whose thunderbolt and prowess secure human ends. Compare Hymn 1.32, which similarly links Soma-offering with Indra’s victorious deeds, showing a consistent Vedic logic that ritual feeding produces divine action.
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