Rig Veda · 483 of 1027
Mandala 6: HYMN XLII. Indra.
1.BRING sacrificial gifts to him, Omniscient, for he longs to drink, The Wanderer who comes with speed, the Hero ever in the van.
2.With Soma go ye nigh to him chief drinker of the Soma’s juice: With beakers to the Impetuous God, to Indra with the drops effused.
3.What time, with Soma, with the juice effused, ye come before the God, Full wise he knows the hope of each, and, Bold One, strikes this foe and that.
4.To him, Adhvaryu! yea, to him give offerings of the juice expressed. Will he not keep us safely from the spiteful curse of each presumptuous high-born foe?
Asked of Guide
Why do the hymns keep asking to bring Soma and beakers to Indra?
The hymn calls for bringing Soma and beakers because Indra is pictured as the chief drinker and the one who gains strength and mind from Soma: “chief drinker of the Soma’s juice” and “Full wise he knows the hope of each.” The ritual offering is meant to empower him to act on worshippers’ behalf, striking down enemies and keeping worshippers “safely from the spiteful curse.”
This chapter treats Soma as both a physical sacrificial substance and a means of communication: by offering Soma the priests approach “the Omniscient” and the “Wanderer who comes with speed.” That functional link between offering and divine action echoes what Sayana and later commentators emphasize about Vedic ritual effectiveness.
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