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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 904 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN LXVII. Bṛhaspati.

1.THIS holy hymn, sublime and sevenheaded, sprung from eternal Law, our sire discovered. Ayasya, friend of all men, hath engendered the fourth hymn as he sang his laud to Indra.

2.Thinking aright, praising eternal Order, the sons of Dyaus the Asura, those heroes, Aṅgirases, holding the rank of sages, first honoured sacrifice’s holy statute.

3.Girt by his friends who cried with swanlike voices, bursting the stony barriers of the prison, Bṛhaspati spake in thunder to the cattle, and uttered praise and song when he had found them.

4.Apart from one, away from two above him, he drave the kine that stood in bonds of falsehood. Bṛhaspati, seeking light amid the darkness, drave forth the bright cows: three he made apparent.

5.When he had cleft the lairs and western castle, he cut off three from him who held the waters. Bṛhaspati discovered, while he thundered like Dyaus, the dawn, the Sun, the cow, the lightning.

6.As with a hand, so with his roaring Indra cleft Vala through, the guardian of the cattle. Seeking the milk-draught with sweatshining comrades he stole the Paṇi’s kine and left him weeping.

7.He with bright faithful Friends, winners of booty, hath rent the milker of the cows asunder. Bṛhaspati with wild boars strong and mighty, sweating with heat, hath gained a rich possession.

8.They, longing for the kine, with faithful spirit incited with their hymns the Lord of cattle. Bṛhaspati freed the radiant cows with comrades self-yoked, averting shame from one another.

9.In our assembly with auspicious praises exalting him who roareth like a lion, Maywe, in every fight where heroes conquer, rejoice in strong Bṛhaspati the Victor.

10.When he had won him every sort of booty and gone to heaven and its most lofty mansions, Men praised Bṛhaspati the Mighty, bringing the light within their mouths from sundry places.

11.Fulfil the prayer that begs for vital vigour: aid in your wonted manner even the humble. Let all our foes be turned and driven backward. Hear this, O Heaven and Earth, ye All-producers.

12.Indra with mighty strength cleft asunder the head of Arbuda the watery monster, Slain Ahi, and set free the Seven Rivers. O Heaven and Earth, with all the Gods protect us.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn keep calling Bṛhaspati a herder who frees cows and wins booty?

The chapter presents Bṛhaspati as a divine hero who recovers stolen cattle—“drave forth the bright cows” and “freed the radiant cows”—so his role is that of a sacred protector of prosperity and order. These cattle episodes symbolize restoring cosmic wealth and rightness: the theft and recovery dramatize a victory over chaos, as when he “cut off three from him who held the waters.”

This image fits Rig Veda patterns where gods act in pastoral terms to describe cosmic acts, like Indra cleaving Vala to free cows in other hymns. The chapter’s closing plea—“Hear this, O Heaven and Earth, ye All-producers”—connects the herding motif to public ritual requests for vigor and protection.

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