Rig Veda · 7 of 1027
Mandala 1: HYMN VII. Indra.
1.INDRA the singers with high praise, Indra reciters with their lauds, Indra the choirs have glorified.
2.Indra hath ever close to him his two bay steeds and word-yoked car, Indra the golden, thunder-armed.
3.Indra hath raised the Sun on high in heaven, that he may see afar: He burst the mountain for the kine.
4.Help us, O Indra, in the frays, yea, frays, where thousand spoils are gained, With awful aids, O awful One.
5.In mighty battle we invoke Indra, Indra in lesser fight, The Friend who bends his bolt at fiends.
6.Unclose, our manly Hero, thou for ever bounteous, yonder cloud, For us, thou irresistible.
7.Still higher, at each strain of mine, thunder-armed Indra’s praises rise: I find no laud worthy of him.
8.Even as the bull drives on the herds, he drives the people with his might, The Ruler irresistible:
9.Indra who rules with single sway men, riches, and the fivefold race Of those who dwell upon the earth.
10.For your sake from each side we call Indra away from other men: Ours, and none others’, may he be.
Asked of Guide
Why does this hymn keep calling Indra “thunder-armed” and portray him as a herdsman and warrior?
The hymn presents Indra as the force that orders both sky and society: “thunder-armed” names his power over the storm and the cosmic bolt, while images of driving herds and bursting mountains show him as the active protector who secures cattle, people, and riches. These paired images tie divine might to everyday goods and survival—rain, cattle, plunder—so praising Indra is practical as well as devotional.
This blending of martial and pastoral roles appears across the Rig Veda where gods are praised for delivering tangible benefits; see Hymn I.32 where similar language links the storm-god’s strength to communal well-being. The poem calls for exclusive allegiance—“Ours, and none others’ ”—because claiming Indra’s favor meant claiming his protection in both battle and bounty.
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