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Rig Veda · 500 of 1027
Mandala 6: HYMN LIX. Indra-Agni.
1.I WILL declare, while juices flow, the manly deeds that ye have done: Your Fathers, enemies of Gods, were smitten down, and, Indra-Agni, ye survive.
2.Thus, Indra-Agnip verily your greatness merits loftiest praise, Sprung from one common Father, brothers, twins are ye; your Mother is in every place.
3.These who delight in flowing juice, like fellow horses at their food, Indra and Agni, Gods armed with the thunderbolt, we call this day to come with help.
4.Indra and Agni, Friends of Law, served with rich gifts, your speech is kind To him who praises you while these libations flow: that man, O Gods, ye ne’er consume.
5.What mortal understands, O Gods, Indra and Agni, this your way? One of you, yoking Steeds that move to every side, advances in your common car.
6.First, Indra-Agni, hath this Maid come footless unto those with feet. Stretching her head and speaking loudly with her tongue, she hath gone downward thirty steps.
7.E’en now, O Indra-Agni, men hold in their arms and stretch their bows. Desert us not in this great fray, in battles for the sake of kine.
8.The foeman’s sinful enmities, Indra and Agni, vex me sore. Drive those who hate me far away, and keep them distant from the Sun.
9.Indra and Agni, yours are all the treasures of the heavens and earth. Here give ye us the opulence that prospers every living man.
10.O Indra-Agni, who accept the laud, and hear us for our praise, Come near us, drawn by all our songs, to drink of this our Soma juice.
Asked of Guide
Why does this hymn keep addressing Indra and Agni together as one deity pair?
The hymn presents Indra and Agni as a twin, sharing a single origin: “Sprung from one common Father, brothers, twins are ye; your Mother is in every place.” The poets call them a unified force in ritual action and battle—yoking steeds, riding a “common car,” drinking the same Soma—so the pairing signals joint agency in protection, sacrifice, and patronage of law.
This pairing also reflects Vedic ritual logic where fire (Agni) and storm/hero (Indra) cooperate to receive offerings and secure prosperity. Compare Mandala 1 hymns where Agni bears the gods’ gifts and Indra wins wealth; together they guarantee that libations reach heaven and favors return to worshippers.
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