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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 935 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN XCVIII. The Gods.

1.COME, be thou Mitra, Varuṇa, or Pūṣan, come, O Bṛhaspati, to mine oblation: With Maruts, Vasus, or Ādityas, make thou Parjanya pour for Santanu his rain-drops.

2.The God, intelligent, the speedy envoy whom thou hast sent hath come to me, Devapi: Address thyself to me and turn thee hither within thy lips will I put brilliant language.

3.Within my mouth, Bṛhaspati, deposit speech lucid, vigorous, and free from weakness, Thereby to win for Santanu the rain-fall. The meath-rich drop from heaven hath passed within it.

4.Let the sweet drops descend on us, O Indra: give us enough to lade a thousand wagons. Sit to thy Hotar task; pay worship duly, and serve the Gods, Devapi, with oblation.

5.Knowing the God’s good-will, Devapi, Ṛṣi, the son of Rstisena, sate as Hotar. He hath brought down from heaven’s most lofty summit the ocean of the rain, celestial waters.

6.Gathered together in that highest ocean, the waters stood by deities obstructed. They burried down set free by Arstisena, in gaping clefts, urged onward by Devapi.

7.When as chief priest for Santanu, Devapi, chosen for Hotar’s duty, prayed beseeching, Graciously pleased Bṛhaspati vouchsafed him a voice that reached the Gods and won the waters.

8.O Agni whom Devapi Arstisena, the mortal man, hath kindled in his glory, Joying in him with all the Gods together, urge on the sender of the rain, Parjanya.

9.All ancient Ṛṣis with their songs approached thee, even thee, O Much-invoked, at sacrifices. We have provided wagon-loads in thousands: come to the solemn rite, Lord of Red Horses.

10.The wagon-loads, the nine-and-ninety thousand, these have been offered up to thee, O Agni. Hero, with these increase thy many bodies, and, stimulated, send us rain from heaven.

11.Give thou these ninety thousand loads, O Agni, to Indra, to the Bull, to be his portion. Knowing the paths which Deities duly travel, set mid the Gods in heaven Aulana also.

12.O Agni, drive afar our foes, our troubles chase malady away and wicked demons. From this air-ocean, from the lofty heavens, send down on us a mighty flood of waters.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn keep asking Agni and the gods to send rain for Santanu?

The hymn is a ritual plea: Devapi the Hotar asks Agni, Indra, Parjanya and other deities to release the celestial waters so Santanu will receive rain. The repeated offers—“wagon-loads, the nine-and-ninety thousand”—and requests for Agni to “give these ninety thousand loads… to Indra” frame the sacrifice as a concrete exchange that mobilizes divine favor.

This chapter stages the priestly function described elsewhere in the Rigveda: a Hotar’s eloquence and offerings bridge humans and gods to secure fertility and well‑being. For a parallel, see Mandala 1 where Indra is likewise entreated with libations and hymnic speech to bring rain and victory.

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