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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 657 of 1027

Mandala 8: HYMN XXXVII. Indra.

1.THIS prayer, and those who shed the juice, in wars with Vṛtra thou holpest, Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy succours. O Vṛtra-slayer, from libation poured at noon, drink of the Soma juice, thou blameless Thunderer.

2.Thou mighty Conqueror of hostile armaments, O Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy saving help.

3.Sole Ruler, thou art Sovran of this world of life, O Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy saving help.

4.Thou only sunderest these two consistent worlds, O Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy saving help.

5.Thou art the Lord supreme o’er rest and energy, O Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy saving help.

6.Thou helpest one to power, and one thou hast not helped, O Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy saving aid.

7.Hear thou Śyāvāśva while he sings to thee, as erst thou heardest Atri when he wrought his holy rites. Indra, thou only gavest Trasadasyu aid in the fierce fight with heroes, strengthening his powers.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn repeat “O Indra, Lord of Strength, with all thy saving help”?

The hymn uses that repeated refrain to fix the devotee’s plea and to celebrate Indra’s consistent role: war‑winner, sunderer of worlds, and sovereign of power. Each line names an aspect of Indra’s action—helping in battles, granting rule, separating worlds—and the refrain returns the petition to him as “Lord of Strength.”

This pattern mirrors other Rig Veda hymns where a recurring vocative binds diverse epithets into a single invocation; compare Mandala 1, Hymn 32, which also strings Indra’s feats into a litany anchored by a repeated address. The refrain makes the poem a ritual formula as much as praise, suitable for Soma libation and wartime invocation.

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