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CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

DATE DUE

um-rf^m-.T^

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AiKCl’IskN ■^ .

^< Dr— ri 996

GAYLORD

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

I Cornell University Library

I PK 3016.A2E58 1922

Hymns from the Rigveda .
3 1924 023 014 750

Cornell University
Library

The original of tliis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023014750

THE HERITAGE OF INDIA SERIES

Joint
Editors

The Right Reverend V. S. Azariah,

Bishop of Dornakal.
J.N. Farquhar, M.A., D.Litt. (Oxon.).

Already published.

The Heart of Buddhism. K. J. Saunders, M.A.

Asoka. J. M. Macphail, M.A., M.D.

Indian Painting. Principal Pkrcy Brown, Calcutta.

Kanarese Literature. 2nd ed. E. P. RiCB, B.A.

The Saihkhya System. A. Berriedale Keith, D.C.L.,

D.Litt.
Psalms of Maratha Saints. Nicol Macnicol, M.A., D.Litt.
A History of Hindi Literature. F. E. Keay, M.A.
The Karma-Mimamsa. A. Berrihdale Keith, D.C.L.,

D.Litt.
Hymns of the Tamil Saivite Saints. F. Kingsbury, B.A.,

and G. E. Phillips, M.A.
Rabindranath Tagore. E. J. Thompson, B.A., M.C.

Subjects proposed and volumes under preparation.

SANSKRIT AND PALI LITERATURE.
Anthology of Mahayana Literature.
Selections from the Upanishads.
Scenes from the Ramayana.
Selections from the Mahabharata.

THE PHILOSOPHIES.

An Introduction to Hindu Philosophy. J. N. Farquhar and

Principal John McKenzie, Bombay.
The Philosophy of the Upanishads.
Sankara’s Vedanta. A. K Sharma, M.A., Patiala.
Ramanuja’s Vedanta.
The Buddhist System.

FINE ART AND MUSIC.

Indian Architecture. R. L. Ewing, B.A., Madras.

Indian Sculpture.

The Minor Arts. Principal Percy Brown, Calcutta

11

Indian Coins. C. J. Brown, M.A., Lucknow.
Burmese Art and Artistic Crafts. Principai, Morris,
Insein, Burma.”

BIOGRAPHIES OF EMINENT INDIANS.

Gautama Buddha. K. J. Saunders, M.A., Berkeley, Cali-
fornia.
Ramanuja.

Akbar. F. V. Slack, M.A., Calcutta.
Tulsi Das.

VERNACULAR LITERATURE.

The Kurral. H. A. Popley, B.A., Madras, and K. T. Paul,

B.A., Calcutta.
Hymns of the Alvars. J. S. M. Hooper, M.A., Nagari.
Tulsl Das’s Ramayana in Miniature. G. J. Dann, M.A.,

(Oxon.), Patna.
Hymns of Bengali Singers. E. J. Thompson, B.A., M.C.,

Bankura.
Kanarese Hymns. Miss Butler, B.A., Bangalore.

HISTORIES OF VERNACXH^AR LITERATURE.
Bengali. C. S. Patbrson, M.A., Calcutta.
Gujarati.

Marathi. Nicol Macnicol, M.A., D.Litt., Poona.
Tamil. Francis Kingsbury, B.A., Bangalore.
Telugu. P. Chenchiah, M.A., Madras, and Raja Bhujanga

Rao, Ellore.
Malayalam. T. K. Joseph, B.A., L.T., Trivandriim.
Urdu. B. Ghoshal, M.A., Bhopal.
Burmese. Prof. Tung Pe, Rangoon.
Sinhalese.

NOTABLE INDIAN PEOPLES.
The Rajputs.

The Syrian Christians. K. C. Mammen Mapillai, AUeppey.
The Sikhs.

VARIOUS.

Modern Folk Tales.

Indian Village Government.

Poems by Indian Women. Mrs. N. Macnicol.

Classical Sanskrit Literature.

Indian Temple Legends. K. T. Paul, B.A., Calcutta.

Indian Astronomy and Chronology. Dewan Bahadur L. D.

Swamikannu Pillai, Madras.
The Languages of India. Prof. R. L. Turner, London.

EDITORIAL PREFACE

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are honourable, whatso-
ever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and
if there be any praise, think on these things.”

No section of the population of India can afford to
neglect her ancient heritage. In her literature, philo-
sophy, art, and regulated life there is much that is
worthless, much also that is distinctly unhealthy ; yet
the treasures of knowledge, wisdom, and beauty which
they contain are too precious to be lost. Every citizen
of India needs to use them, if he is to be a cul-
tured modern Indian. This is as true of the Christian,
the Muslim, the Zoroastrian as of the Hindu. But,
while the heritage of India has been largely explored
by scholars, and the results of their toil are laid out for
us in their books, they cannot be said to be really
available for the ordinary man. The volumes are in
most cases expensive, and are often technical and
difficult. Hence this series of cheap books has been
planned by a group of Christian men, in order that
every educated Indian, whether rich or poor, may be
able to find his way into the treasures of India’s past.
Many Europeans, both in India and elsewhere, will
doubtless be glad to use the series.

The utmost care is being taken by the General
Editors in selecting writers, and in passing manuscripts
for the press. To every book two tests are rigidly
applied : everything must be scholarly, and everything
must be sympathetic. The purpose is to bring the
best out of the ancient treasuries, so that it may be
known, enjoyed, and used.

THE HERITAGE OF INDIA SERIES

HYMNS FROM THE
RIGVEDA

Selected and Metrically Translated

BY

A. A. MACDONELL, M.A., Ph.D., Hon. LL.D.

BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
AND FELLOW OF BALLIOL COLLEGE.

ASSOCIATION PRESS

(Y.M.CA.)
S, RUSSELL STREET, CALCUTTA

LONDON: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

^■x

l;”””^
–^i

g;

”^o.

P^c^S^

The Right of Translation is Reserved.

X

C.’v.^

PREFACE

This little book contains a selection of forty hymns
from the Rigveda, translated in verse corresponding
as nearly as is possible in English to the original
metres. I have endeavoured to make the rendering
as close as the use of verse will admit. Prose
would have been more exact if I had had in view the
requirements of linguistic students, but the general
reader, to whom the spirit of the original hymns is the
important thing, would have lost the means of appre-
ciating, to some extent at least, the poetic beauty of the
Vedic metres which form a considerable element in the
literary charm of the hymns.

Although there are four Vedas, this selection of
hymns has been made exclusively from the oldest and
most important, the Rigveda. From it the other three
have largely borrowed their matter, containing other-
wise little that would be of interest in this selection.

The chief metres are here reproduced, and each of
the most important gods is represented by at least one
hymn. Of the comparatively few hymns not addressed
to deities, I have also chosen a certain number dealing
with cosmogony and eschatology, social life and magical
ideas. This volume thus furnishes an epitome of the
Rigveda, the earliest monument of Indian thought, the
source from which the poetical and religious literature
of India has in great part been derived and developed
during a period of more than three thousand years.

4 HYMNS FROM THE VEDAS

The Introduction supplies a brief sketch of the form
and contents of the Rigveda, enabling the reader to
understand more fully the early thought of which these
hymns are the outcome. There is, moreover, prefixed
to each hymn a short account of the deity addressed or
the subject dealt with. Without this supplementary
aid, many notions of a mental atmosphere so far
removed from those of our own time would be
hardly intelligible. In the absence of footnotes, some
passages may nevertheless seem obscure. Those who
have any doubts as to the meaning of such may find it
useful to refer to my Vedic Reader (Oxford, 1917),
which supplies an exact prose rendering of about half
the hymns in the present volume, together with full
explanatory notes.

CONTENTS

Preface . .
Introduction

Pagb.

3
7

HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

I. Hymn of Creation : x, 129

II. Hymn to Varuna : vii, 88

III. Hymn to Mitra : iii, 59 . .

IV. Hymn to Mitra and Varuna
V. Hymn to the Adityas : ii, 27

VI. Hymn to Surya : i, 115

VII. Hymn to Surya : i, 50

VIII. Hymn to Pcsan : i, 42

IX. Hymn to Savitar : vi, 71

X. Hymn to Vi^nb-; i, 154

XI. Hymn to U§as : i, 92

XII. Hymn to U§as : i, 113

XIII. Hymn to Ratri : x, 127

XIV. Hymn to the ASvins: vii, 71
XV. Hymn to Indra : i, 32

XVI. Hymn to Indra : ii, 12

XVII. Hymn to Indra and Varuna: vii

XVIII. Hymn to Parjanya : v, 83

XIX. Hymn to Rudra : ii, 33

XX. Hymn to the Maruts : viii, 7
XXI. Hymn to Vat a : x, 168

XXII. Hymn to Apas : Waters : vii, 49

61

83

19
21
23
25
27
29
30
31
33
35
36
38′
40
42
47
48
50
52
55
58
62
63

HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

XXIII. Hymn to Abaiji Nap at : ii, 35

XXIV. Hymn to Prthivi : Earth : v, 84 .
XXV. Hymn to Hbavkn and Earth : i, 185

XXVI. Hymn to Agni : i, 1

XXVII. Hymn to Agni : i, 143

XXVIII. Hymn to Agni : vi, 6

XXIX. Hymn to Brhaspati : iv, 50

XXX. Hymn to Soma : viii, 48 . .

XXXI. Hymn to AranyanT, Forbst Nymph: x, 146

XXXII. Wedding Hymn : x, 85

XXXIII. Punbral Hymn : x, 14

XXXIV. FuNBRAL Praybr : X, 18 . .
XXXV. The Gambler : x, 34

XXXVI. Thb Pursuit of Gain : ix, 112

XXXVII. Hymn to Speech : x, 71 . .

XXXVIII. In Praise of Charity : x, 117

XXXIX. Sarama and the Pajsiis : x, 108

XL The Frog Hymn : vii, 103
Index

64
66
67
72
73
74
76
79
81
82*

85 –

86 –
88
90

91 •
92
94
95
97

INTRODUCTION

Of the four Vedas which constitute the earHest stage
of Indian literature, the Rigveda is by far the most
ancient and important. The exact period when its
hymns were composed is a matter of conjecture. All
that can be said is that the oldest of them cannot date
from later than the thirteenth century B.C., because cer-
tain phases of literature subsequent to the Vedas are
pre-supposed by Buddhism, which arose in the sixth
century B.C. On the other hand, the most ancient
part of the Avesta, which can hardly be older than 800
B.C., is linguistically very close to the Rigveda: it is
therefore unreasonable to assume that the Indians
separated from the Iranians more than 500 years earlier,
or about 1300 B.C.

When the Indo-Aryans entered the north-west of
India, they brought with them a religion in which the
gods were mostly personified powers of nature. A
few of these, such as Dyaus, “Heaven,” and Usas,
Dawn, ‘ ‘ come down from Indo-European times ; others,
such as Mitra, Varuna, and Indra, from the Indo-Iranian
age ; while yet others were the creation of Aryans on
Indian soil. They also brought with them the cult of
fire and of Soma, as well as skill in composing religious
poems in several metres. The purpose of these ancient
hymns was to propitiate the gods by laudations that
accompanied offerings of melted butter poured on the
sacrificial fire and of the juice of the Soma plant
deposited in vessels on the sacrificial grass. The
hymns which have been preserved in the Rigveda from
the early period of the Indo-Aryan invasion, were al-
most exclusively composed by a hereditary priesthood.
They were handed down in different families by

8 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

memory, not by writing, which can hardly have been
introduced into India before 700 B.C. These family
groups of hymns were gradually brought together till,
with successive additions, they assumed the earliest
collected form of the Rigveda. Then followed, about
600 B.C., the constitution of the Samhita text, which
did not in any way alter the wording of the collected
hymnSj-but only subjected the text to certain euphonic
rules prevalent at that time, by which vowels are either
contracted or changed into semi-vowels, and the vowel
a is often dropped, so that the metre is constantly
obscured. Soon after this work was completed, extra-
ordinary precautions were taken to preserve from
corruption or loss the sacred text thus fixed. The
earliest expedient of this kind was the Pada or ” word “
text, in which all the words of the Samhita text are
separated and given in their original form, unaffected
by euphonic rules, and in which most compounds, as
well as some derivatives and inflected forms, are
analysed. This text, virtually the earliest commentary
on the Rigveda, was followed by other and more
complex methods of reciting the text, and by various
Indexes, which enumerate the initial words of every
hymn, stating the number of stanzas in each hymn,
their deities and their metres, for the entire Rigveda.
By these means the text of the Rigveda has been handed
down for 2,500 years with a fidelity that is unparalleled
in any other literature.

The Rigveda had 1,017 hymns with a total of about
10,600 stanzas, which give an average of slightly over
10 stanzas to each hymn. If printed continuously like
prose in Roman characters, the Samhita text would fill
an octavo volume of 600 pages of 33 lines each. It has
been calculated that the Rigveda is equal in bulk to the
extant poems of Homer. The Rigveda is divided into
ten books {mandala, ” cycle “) and hymns (sukia). This
division is a historical one, which shows how the collec-
tion came into being. Of the ten books, six (ii-vii) are
homogeneous in character, the hymns in each of them
having been composed by poets of the same family.

ARRANGEMENT AND LANGUAGE 9

The method of arrangement in these ‘ ‘ family books ‘ ‘ is
uniform, each of them being similarly divided into
groups addressed to different gods. On the other
hand, books i,viii, and x were not each composed by a
distinct family of seers, while the unity of the groups
of which they consist depends on their being the work
of different individual seers. Book ix differs from the
rest by being addressed to one and the same deity, Soma,
and by its groups being based on identity of metre, not
of authorship. Internal evidence shows that the col-
lection grew up in the following manner. The “family
books ‘ ‘ formed the nucleus. Then the second half of
book i was prefixed ; the eighth book was next placed at
the end, and the first half of book i at the very begin-
ning. The ninth book was formed by extracting all the
Soma hymns from the family books, and all but three
(which invoke Soma only in his general character),
from books i and viii, and placing them as a collection
for the use of the ritual Soma priest at the end of
book viii. Book x was the final addition, both its
language and its subject-matter showing that it is later
than the other books. Moreover, both its position at
the end and the fact that the number of its hymns
(191) is brought up to that of book i, indicate its supple-
mentary character.

The hymns of the Rigveda are composed in the
earliest stage of that ancient literary language, of
which the latest, or classical Sanskrit, was stereotyped
by the grammar of Panini at the end of the fourth
century B.C. It differs from the latter about as much
as Homeric from Attic Greek. It has a much greater
variety of forms, especially in the verb, than Sanskrit.
The language of the Rigveda also differs from Sanskrit
in its accent, which, like that of ancient Greek, is of
a musical nature, depending on the pitch of the voice,
and is marked throughout the hymns. This accent has
in Sanskrit been changed not only to a stress accent,
but has shifted its position, depending now on quantity,
and is no longer marked. The Vedic accent occupies
a very important position in Comparative Philology,

10 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

while the Sanskrit accent, being secondary, has no
value of this kind. It may be affirmed with certainty
that no student can understand Sanskrit historically
without knowing the language of the Vedas.

The hymns of the Rigveda are without exception
metrical. Their stanzas generally consist of four verses
or lines, but also often of three and sometimes of five.
The line, which forms the metrical unit, usually has
eight, eleven, or twelve syllables. A stanza generally
consists of lines of the same type ; but some of the
rarer metres are formed by combining lines of different
length. The line has a quantitative rhythm in which
short and long syllables alternate, being generally of
the iambic type. Only the rhythm of the last four or
five syllables of the line is rigidly determined, and the
lines of eleven and twelve syllables have also a caesura,
which comes after the fourth or the fifth syllable. The
prevailing scheme of the octosyllabic line is : 1 — ^ _ |
^ — ■^~. That of the eleven syllable line is either

{a) –“–, ^ ^ -]–. –,0V (6)1- 1-1, ^^\ 1,

the chief difference between these two being that the
caesura comes after the fourth syllable in the former
and after the fifth in the latter. This metre ends
trochaically (- — ..-) . The twelve-syllable line is simi-
larly constructed, “but, as it is extended by one syllable,
it receives an iambic rhythm at the end ( « _ v. _).
There are some fifteen metres, but only about seven of
these are at all frequent. By far the most common are
the Tristubh (4 X 11 syllables) , the Gayatri (3 X 8), and
the Jagati (4X12), which together furnish two-thirds
of the total number of stanzas in the Rigveda.
Usually a hymn of the Rigveda consists of stanzas in the
same metre throughout. A typical departure from this
rule is to mark the conclusion of a hymn with a stanza in
a different metre.

The religion of the Rigveda is mainly concerned
with the worship of gods that are largely personifica-
tions of the powers of nature. The hymns are pre-
dominantly invocations of these gods, being meant to
accompany the oblation of Soma juice and the fire-

THE GODS 11

sacrifice of melted butter. The religion of the Veda is
thus essentially a polytheistic one, but it receives a
pantheistic colouring in a few of the latest hymns of the
Rigveda. The gods are stated to number thirty-three,
a figure which, of course, does not include groups like the
Maruts or Storm-gods. The gods are regarded as hav-
ing had a beginning, but not as having all come into
being at the same time ; for earlier gods are occasion-
ally referred to, and some deities are described as the
offspring of others. They are considered to have been
mortal at first ; for they are said to have acquired im-
mortality by drinking Soma or as a gift of Agni and
Savitar. The gods are human in appearance. Their
bodily parts are often merely illustrative of the pheno-
mena of nature which they represent. Thus the tongue
and the limbs of the fire-god, Agni, merely denote his
flames. Some of the gods are warriors, especially
Indra ; others are priests, especially Agni and Brhaspati.
All of them drive through the air in cars, drawn chiefly
by horses, but sometimes by other animals. Their
favourite food consists in milk, butter, grain, and the
flesh of sheep, goats and cattle. They receive it in the
sacrifice, which is either conveyed to them in heaven by
Agni, or which they come in their cars to enjoy on the
litter of grass prepared for them. Their favourite
drink is the intoxicating juice of the Soma plant. Their
abode is heaven, the third heaven, or the highest step
of Visnu, where, cheered by draughts of Soma, they
live a life of bliss.

The most prominent attribute of the gods is power :
they regulate the order of nature and overcome the
mighty forces of evil ; they hold sway over all crea-
tures ; no one can thwart their laws or live beyond the
time they appoint ; and the fulfilment of desires de-
pends on them. The gods are also benevolent and
bestow welfare on mankind, Rudra being the only one
showing injurious traits. They are “true” and ” not
deceitful “; friends and protectors of the honest and
righteous, but punishers of sin and guilt. As in most
cases the gods of the Rigveda have not yet become

12 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

detached from their physical basis, they are indefinite
and lacking in individuality. Having many qualities,
such as power, brilliance, benevolence, and wisdom, in
common with others, each god* has very few distinctive
traits. This vagueness is increased by the practice of
invoking deities in couples, when both gods share
characteristics that properly belong to one alone.
When nearly every quality can thus be ascribed to
every god, the identification of one deity with another
becomes easy. Several such identifications actually
appear in the Rigveda. The idea even occurs in more
than one late hymn, that various deities are but
different forms of a single god. This idea, however,
never developed into monotheism. Finally, in other
late hymns we find the deities, Aditi and Prajapati,
identified not only with all the gods, but with nature as
well. This brings us to the beginnings of that panthe-
ism which became characteristic of later Indian thought
in the form of the Vedanta philosophy.

The most convenient classification of the Vedic gods
is in accordance with the threefold division of the uni-
verse, into heaven, air and earth, found in the Rigveda
itself^ The celestial deities are Dyaus, Varuma, Mitra,
the Adityas, Siirya, Savitar, Pusan, Visnu, the Asvins,
U§as and Ratri. The deities of the atmosphere are
Indra, Rudra, the Maruts, Vayu or Vata, Apam Napat,
Parjanya, Apas. The terrestrial deities are Prthivi,
Agni, Brhaspati and Soma. Among these are included
tertain rivers, the Sindhu (Indus), the Vipas (Bias),
the Sutudri (Sutlej) and the Sarasvatl. All these are
personified and invoked. The personfication goes
farthest in the case of Sarasvati, though the connexion
of the goddess with the river is never lost sight of.

Alongside of the great nature gods there arose during
the period of the Rigveda a class of abstract deities of
two types. The first and earlier seems to have started
from epithets which were applicable to one or more
older deities, but which became detached and acquired
an independent character as the want of a god exercis-
ing the particular activity in question began to be felt.

CLASSES OF GODS 13

Some of these names denote an agent (formed with
the suffix tar). Such is Dhatar, otherwise an epithet
of Indra, appearing’ as an independent deity, the creator
of heaven and earth, sun and moon. The only agent
god of this kind at all often mentioned in the Rigveda,
though never invoked in an entire hymn, is Tvastar,
the “Artificer,” the most skilled of workmen, who
fashioned the bolt of Indra and a new drinking cup
for the gods. A few other abstract deities, whose
names, compound in form, originally epithets of
older gods, represent the supreme god that was being
evolved at the end of the Rigvedic period. These
names are rare and late. The most important is
Prajapati, ” Lord of Creatures.” Originally an epithet
of gods like Savitar and Soma, this name is employed
in a late verse of the tenth book to designate a
distinct deity in the character of a creator. Similarly,
the epithet Visva-karman, “all-creating,” appears as
the name of an independeAt deity to whom two hymns
are addressed. The only abstract deity of this
type occurring in the oldest as well as the latest
hymns of the Rigveda is_ Brhaspati, the ” Lord of
Prayer.”

The second and smaller class of abstract deities
comprises personifications of abstract nouns. There
are seven or eight of these, all found in the last book.
Thus two hymns are addressed to Manyu, “Wrath,”
and one to Sraddha, ” Faith.” The rest occur only in a
few isolated passages. There is besides a purely
abstract deity, often incidentally celebrated throughout
the Rigveda as Aditi, ” Freedom, ” whose main character-
istic is the power of delivering from the bonds of
physical sufiEering and moral guilt. She is the mother
of the small group of deities called Adityas. These
were, according to a common idiom, called the ” Sons of
Freedom,” originally only in a figurative sense, which
easily led to the personification of Aditi.

Goddesses play an insignificant part in the Rigveda.
The only one of importance is U^as, “Dawn.” Next
comes Sarasvati, the river goddess, and Vac, ” Speech,”

2

14 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

each invoked in two hymns. Prthivi, “Earth,” Ratri,
” Night,” and Aranyam, goddess of the forest, are
each addressed in one hymn. Others are mentioned
only in detached verses. The wives of the great gods
are still more insignificant, lacking all individuality.
They are mere names formed from those of their
consorts, as Indrani, “Wife of Indra.”

A peculiar feature of the religion of the Rigveda is
the invocation of pairs of deities, whose names are com-
bined as compounds, each member being in the dual.
About a dozen such pairs are invoked in entire hymns,
and about a dozen more in detached stanzas. Mitra-
Varu^a are addressed in by far the most hymns,
though the names of this type oftenest mentioned are
Dyava- Prthivi, ” Heaven and Earth.” The latter
pair, having been associated as universal parents from
the Indo-European period downwards, probably furnish-
ed the analogy for this dual type.

There are a few more or less definite groups of deities
generally associated with some particular god. The
Maruts, the attendants of Indra, are the mostnumerous
group. The much smaller group of the Adityas is
constantly mentioned in company with their mother,
Aditi. The Visve devas, the “All-gods,” invoked in
about forty hymns, form a comprehensive sacrificial
group, intended to include all the gods so that none
should be left out ; they are, strange to say, sometimes
regarded as a narrower group, associated with other
groups like the Adityas.

Besides the higher gods, several lesser deities are
known to the Rigveda. The most prominent of these
are the §.bhus, who are invoked in eleven hymns.
They are a deft-handed trio, who by their marvellous
skill acquired the rank of deities. Among their five
great feats of dexterity the greatest consisted in
transforming the bowl of Tvastar into four shining
cups. They further exhibited their skill in renewing
the life of their parents, by whom heaven and earth
seem to have been meant. A few of the lesser deities
are of the tutelary order. Such is the rarely mentioned

PETTY GODS AND DEMONS 15

Vasto§pati, ” Lord of the Dwelling,” who is invoked to
grant a favourable entry, to remove disease, and to
bestow protection and prosperity.

Besides the great phenomena, of nature, various
natural and artificial objects are found deified in the
Rigveda. In addition to the rivers and waters already
mentioned, mountains are often addressed as divinities,
but only along with other natural objects, or in associa-
tion with gods. One entire hymn is addressed to plants
regarded as divine powers, chiefly with reference to
their healing properties. Sacrificial implements are
also deified, such as the sacrificial post, the sacrificial
grass, and the “divine doors ” leading to the sacrificial
ground, the mortar and pestle used in pounding the
Soma plant, and in three whole hymns the pressing
stones, which are described as immortal, unaging,
mightier than heaven, and driving away demons and
destruction. Weapons, finally, are sometimes deified :
armour, bow, quiver, arrows, and drum are invoked in
one hymn.

Demons often appear in the Rigveda, and are of
two kinds. The higher and more powerful are the
aerial foes of the gods. The conflict is regularly one
between a single god and a single demon, as exempli-
fied by Indfa and Vrtra. The latter is by far the
oftenest mentioned. Another powerful demon is Vala,
the personified cave of the cows, which are set free by
Indra. Other demon adversaries of Indra are Arbuda,
a wily beast whose cows Indra drove out ; Visvarupa, a
three-headed demon slain by Indra, who seized his
cows ; and Svarbhanu, who eclipsed the sun. A group
of demons are the Panis, primarily foes of Indra, who
with the aid of Sarama tracked the cows concealed by
them. The second or lower class of demons are
terrestrial goblins, enemies of men. By far the com-
monest generic name for them is Raksas. They are
nearly always mentioned in connexion with some god
who destroys them. The much less frequent term
Yatu or Yatu-dhana (primarily ” sorcerer “) alternates
with Raksas and perhaps expresses a species.

16 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

Some thirty of the hymns of the Rigveda are con-
cerned with subjects other than the worship of gods or
deified objects. About a dozen of these, almost entirely
confined to the tenth book, deal with magical practices
which properly belong to the sphere of the Atharvaveda.
The contents of these are augury (ii, 42, 43), or spells
directed against poisonous vermin (i, 191), or disease
(x, 163), or a demon destructive of children (x, 162),
or enemies (x, 166), or rival wives (x, 145); a few are
propitious incantations: to preserve life (x, 58, 60), or
to induce sleep (vii, 55), or to procure offspring (x,
183) ; while one is a panegyric of frogs as bringers of
rain (vii, 103) . Four hyinns have a didactic character.
One of these (x, 34) is a monologue in which a gambler
laments the misery he has brought on himself and his
home by his inability to resist the attraction of dice.
The other three describe the various ways in which
men follow gain (ix, 112), or praise wise speech (x,
71) and the value of good deeds (x, 117). Two hymns
consist of riddles: one of these (viii, 29) describes
various gods without mentioning their names; the
other is more elaborate and obscure, being a long poem
of 52 stanzas (i, 164) in which a number of enigmas,
largely connected with the sun, are propounded in
mystical and symbolic language. Thus the wheel of
order with 12 spokes, revolving round the heavens and
containing within it in couples 720 sons, means the year
of 12 months with 360 days and 360 nights. Some half
dozen are cosmogonic hymns, consisting of speculations
on the origin of the world through the agency of a
creator as distinct from any of the ordinary gods ; one
of them (x, 129) is particularly interesting as the
starting point of the evolutionary philosophy represented
in later times by the Sankhya system. One complete
hymn, and appendages oi three to five stanzas attached
to over thirty others, called Danastutis or “Praises of
gifts,” have a semi-historical character as being
panegyrics of liberal patrons on behalf of whom the
seers composed their hymns. They yield incidental
genealogical information about the poets and their

LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 17

patrons, as well as about the names and the habitat of
the Vedic tribes.

Scattered incidentally throughout the Rigveda are to
be found various geographical, historical, and social data
throwing light on the life of the I ndo- Aryans of those
ancient days. Thus we can infer that the Vedic tribes,
when the hymns were composed, occupied the territory
more or less co-extensive with the North- West Frontier
Province and the Panjab of to-day. They were still
moving eastward as conquering invaders. Though
divided into many tribes they were conscious of religious
and racial unity, contrasting the aborigines with them-
selves by calling them non-sacrificers and unbelievers, as
well as ” black-skins” and the “Dasa colour, “as opposed
to the ” Ary a colour. ” Their food was mainly vege-
tarian; meat was eaten only when animals were sacri-
ficed : the commonest kind appears to have been beef,
as bulls were the chief offerings to the gods. Their
main occupation was warfare : they fought either on
foot or from chariots. Their ordinary weapons were
bows_ and arrows, though spears and axes were also
used. Cattle breeding seems to have been the main
source of livelihood, cows being the principal object of
desire in prayers to the gods. Agriculture was,
however, also practised to some extent.

The literary merit of the Rigveda may, I think, be
fairly well judged from the representative hymns con-
tained in the present volume. Its diction is on the
whole simple and natural. Considering their great
antiquity, the hymns are composed with a surprising
degree of metrical skill and command of language.
But as they were produced by a sacerdotal class and
were generally intended to accompany a ritual no
longer primitive, their poetry is often impaired by con-
stant sacrificial allusions. This is especially apparent
in the hymns addressed to the two ritual deities, Agni
and Soma, in which the thought becomes affected by
conceits and obscured by mysticism. Neverthless the
hymns contain much genuine poetry. The gods being
mostly connected with natural phenomena, the praises

3

18 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

addressed to them give rise to much beautiful and even
noble imagery. The average level of literary merit is
remarkably high. The most poetical hymns are those
addressed to Dawn, which perhaps surpass in beauty the
religious lyrics of any other literature. Some of the
hymns to Indra show much graphic power in describing
his conflict with the demon Vrtra. The hymns to the
•Maruts; or Storm-gods, often depict with vigorous
imagery the phenomena of thunder and lightning, and
the mighty onset of the wind. The hymn to Parjanya
(p. 52), paints with great vividness the devastating
effects of the rain-storm. The hymns in praise of
Varuna (p. 20) describe the various aspects of his sway,
as moral ruler of the world, in an exalted strain of
poetry. Some of the mythical dialogues set forth the
situation with much beauty of language: for instance,
the colloquy between Indra’s messenger and the
demons who drove off the cows (p. 94). The Gambler’s
Lament (p. 88) is a fine specimen of pathetic poetry.
One of the funeral hymns (x, 18) expresses ideas con-
nected with death (p. 86) in language of impressive and
solemn beauty. One of the cosmogonic hymns (x, 129)
illustrates (p. 19) how philosophical speculation can be
clothed in poetry of no mean order.

CREATION

I. HYMN OF CREATION

X, 129. Metre : Tri§tubh.

1. Non-being then existed not nor being :
   There was no air, nor sky that is beyond it.
   What was concealed ? Wherein ? In whose pro-
   tection ?

And was there deep unfathomable water ?

2. Death then existed not nor life immortal ;
   Of neither night nor day was any token.

By its inherent force the One breathed windless :
No other thing than that beyond existed.

3. Darkness there was at first by darkness hidden ;
   Without distinctive marks, this all was water.
   That which, becoming, by the void was covered.
   That One by force of heat came into being.
4. Desire entered the One in the beginning :

It was the earliest seed, of thought the product.
The sages searching in their hearts with wisdom,
Found out the bond of being in non-being.

5. Their ray extended light across the darkness :
   But was the One above or was it under ?
   Creative force was there, and fertile power :
   Below was energy, above was impulse.
6. Who knows for certain ? Who shall here declare it ?
   Whence was it born, and whence came this creation ?
   The gods were born after this world’s creation :
   Then who can know from whence it has arisen ?
7. None knoweth whence creation has arisen ;
   And whether be has or has not produced it :

20 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

He who surveys it in the highest heaven,
He only knows, or haply he may know not.

VARUNA

The greatest of the gods of the Rigveda, beside Indra,
is Varuna, though the number of hymns in which he alone
^( apart from Mitra) is addressed is only 12, as compared
with the 250 to Indra. His physical features and acti-
vities are mentioned : he has face, eye, arms, hands and
feet ; he walks, drives, sits, eats and drinks. His eye,
with which he observes mankind, is the sun. He sits on
the strewn grass at the sacrifice. He wears a golden
mantle or a shining robe. His car, drawn by well-yoked
steeds, gleams like the sun. Varuna sits in his mansion
surveying the deeds of men ; and the Fathers behold
him in the highest heaven. He has spies who sit around
him and observe the two worlds. By his golden-winged
messenger the sun is meant. He is often called a king,
but especially a universal monarch. His sovereignty, his
divine dominion, and his occult power {maya) are
specially emphasized. Varuna is characteristically an
upholder of physical and moral order, the great main-
tainer of the laws of nature. He established heaven
and earth, which he keeps asunder. He caused the sun
to shine in heaven, and made for it a wide path. He
placed fire in the waters and Soma on the rock. The
wind that resounds through the air is his breath. By
his ordinance the moon shining brightly moves at night,
and the stars disappear by day. He is thus lord of
light, both by day and by night. Varuna is also a regu-
lator of the waters : he made the rivers flow ; by his
occult power they pour swiftly into the ocean without
filling it. He is, however, more frequently connected
with the atmospheric waters : thus he causes the invert-
ed cask (the cloud) to shed its waters on heaven, earth
and air, and to moisten the ground.

The fixity of his laws, which the gods themselves
follow, is frequently mentioned. His power is so great
that neither the birds as they fiy, nor the rivers as they
flow, can reach the limits of his dominion. His omni-

VARUliTA 21

science is typical : he knows the flight of the birds in
the sky, the path of the ships in the ocean, the course
of the far-travelling wind ; he beholds all the secret
things that have been or shall be done, and witnesses
men’s truth and falsehood ; no creature can even wink
without his knowledge.

Varupa is pre-eminent among the Vedic gods as a,
moral ruler. His anger is aroused by sin, which he
severely punishes. The fetters with which he binds
sinners are characteristic of him. But he is merciful
to the penitent, releasing them from sin, even that com-
mitted by their fathers, and from guilt due to thought-
lessness. Every hymn addressed to Varuna contains
a prayer for forgiveness of sin. Varuna is on a footing
of friendship with his worshipper, who communes with
him in his heavenly mansion, and sometimes sees him
with his mental eye. The righteous hope to behold in
the next world Varuna and Yama (the god of Death),
the two kings who reign together in bliss.

Varuna seems originally to have represented the
encompassing sky. But this conception has become
obscured in the Rigveda, because it dates from a pre-
Vedic period. It goes back to the Indo-Iranian age at
least ; for the Ahura Mazda, the ” wise spirit” of the
Avesta, agrees closely with the Asura (divine spirit)
Varuna in character, though not in name. It may be
even older, as Varuna is perhaps identical with the
Greek oipavos, “sky.” At any rate, the name appears to
be derived from the root vr, to ‘ ‘ cover” or ‘ ‘ encompass.

II. VARUNA
VII, 88. Metre : Tri.?tubh.

1. Present to Varuna the gracious giver

A hymn, Vasistha, bright and very pleasant,

That he may bring to us the lofty, holy

And mighty steed that grants a thousand bounties.

2. Now having come to Varuna’s full aspect,
   I think his countenance like that of Agni ;
   May he, the lord, lead me to see the marvel :
   The light and darkness hidden in the cavern.

22 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

3. When Varuna and I the boat have mounted
   And have propelled it to the midst of ocean ;
   When we shall move across the waters’ ridges
   We’ll waver in the swing to raise its lustre.
4. Varuna has placed Vasistha in the vessel ;
   The sage benignant by his mighty power
   His praiser in prosperity has settled,

As long as days endure, as long as mornings.

5. What has become of those our former friendships,
   When we two held erstwhile unbroken converse ?
   O sovereign Varuna, thy lofty mansion,

Thy home, I entered, with its thousand portals.

6. Who is, O Varuna, thy constant kinsman.

Once dear, though sinful now, he daims thy friend-
ships.
As guilty may we not, O wizard, suflEer :
Do thou, O sage, grant shelter to thy praiser.

7. O may we, in these fixed abodes abiding.
   Now from the lap of Aditi find favour.
   May from his noose king Varuna release us.
   Ye gods protect us evermore with blessings.

MITRA

Mitra is so intimately associated with Varuna that
he is invoked alone in only one hymn of the Rigveda.
The information about him in his separate capacity,
being so limited, his individual character is somewhat
indefinite. He is the great Aditya (p. 26) who by his
voice marshals men and watches the tillers with un-
winking eye. That he is thought of as regulating the
course of the sun is indicated by the fact that the solar
deity Savitar (p. 32) is identified with him because of
his laws, and another solar deity, Visnu (p. 35), takes
his three strides by the laws of Mitra. Agni (p. 69),
who is kindled before dawn, is said to produce Mitra,
and when kindled is identified with Mitra. In the
Atharvaveda Mitra at sunrise is contrasted with Varuna

MITRA 23

in the evening, and in the Brahmanas Mitra is associated
with day, Varuria with night.

The Vedic evidence thus indicates that Mitra is a
solar deity. This conclusion is confirmed by the
cognate Iranian religion, in which Mithra is undoubtedly
a sun-god.

The kindly nature of Mitra is often referred to in
the Veda; the word also frequently means ” friend” in
the Rigveda, and in the Avesta Mithra is the guardian of
faithfulness. The inference thus is that mitra,
“friend,” was originally a term applied to the sun-god
in his capacity of a beneficent power of nature.

III. MITRA
111,59. Metre: 1-S Tri§tubh ; 6-9 Gayatri.

1. Mitra stirs men to action when he calls them ;
   Mitra supported both the Earth and Heaven ;
   Mitra with steady eye regards the people :
   To Mitra offer now with ghee oblation.
2. Let him who, Mitra^^ brings thee food be foremost.
   Who to thy law, O Aditya, pays homage.

Aided by thee no man is slain or vanquished ;
To him from near or far no trouble reaches.

3. Free from disease, in sacred food delighting.
   With knees set firni upon the earth’s wide surface,
   In this Aditya’s sacred law abiding,

May we remain in the good will of Mitra.

4. This Mitra, worshipped and most propitious,
   Is born to wield fair sway, a kingV disposer.
   May we rest in the grace of him the holy.
   May we abide in his most kindly favour.
5. The great Aditya to be served with homage.
   Who stirs mankind, to singers most propitious :
   To him most highly to be praised, to Mitra,

In fire present acceptable oblations.

6. The grace of Mitra, the divine
   Supporter of mankind, brings gain
   And splendour with most brilliant fame,_

24 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

7. Mitra, whose fame is spread abroad,
   In greatness who transcends the sky,
   And in renown transcends the earth :
8. The peoples five submission yield
   To Mitra ever strong to aid :
   ‘Tis he who all the gods sustains.
9. Mitra, among both gods and men.
   For ]|im who strews the sacred grass
   Has furnished food fixed by his will.

MITRA AND VARUNA

These two gods are addressed as a pair in the dual
more frequently than any other couple except Heaven
and Earth. The hymns in which they are thus con-
jointly invoked are far more numerous than those in
which they are separately addressed. As Mitra by
himself (p. 23) has hardly any individual traits, the
two gods together have practically the same attributes
and functions as Varuna (p. 20) alone.

Mitra-Varuna are young and wear glistening gar-
ments. Their eye is the sun ; they drive with the rays
of the sun as with arms. They mount their car in the
highest heaven. Their abode, which is golden, is located
in heaven ; it is great, very lofty, firm, with a thousand
pillars and a thousand doors. They have spies who
are wise and cannot be deceived. They are kings and
universal monarchs, rulers and guardians of the whole
world, who support heaven, air and earth. They are
also called ” divine spirits ” (asura), who wield dominion
by means of occult power. By that power they send
the dawns, make the sun traverse the sky, and obscure
it with cloud and rain.

They are lords of rivers, and they are the gods most
frequently thought of and prayed to as bestowers of
rain. One entire hymn dwells on their powers of
granting rain. They control the rainy skies and the
streaming waters. They send rain and refreshment
from the sky. They bedew the pastures with ghee
{i.e. rain) and the spaces with honey.

MITRA AND VARU^A 2S

Mitra-Varuna are upholders and cherishers of order
{rta). Their ordinances are fixed and cannot be in-
fringed even by the immortal gods. They are barriers
against falsehood, which they dispel, hate, and punish.
They afflict with disease those who neglect their
worship.

The dual worship of this divine pair goes back to
the Indo-Iranian period, as Ahura and Mithra are thus
coupled in the Avesta.

IV. MITRA AND VARU^A
VII, 61. Metre : Tristubh.

1. The beauteous eye of Varuna and Mitra,
   The Sun, now rises up, his light extending.

Who with his gaze looks down upon all creatures :
He ever notes the burning zeal of mortals.

2. This pious priest, heard far away, here utters
   His hymn for you, O Varuna and Mitra :

Uo ye, O sages, treat his prayers with favour.
And may his autumns be replete with wisdom.

3. From wide-spread earth, O Varuna and Mitra,
   Ye bounteous gods, and from the lofty heaven.

Ye have disposed your wandering spies in dwellings
And plants, ye who with watchful eye protect us.

4. Praise thou the law of Varuna and Mitra :
   Their force the two worlds keeps with might

asunder.
The months of impious men shall pass by sonless ;
May those on worship bent increase their homestead.

5. Ye both are wise, O mighty ones, for you two
   These lauds are sung without deceit or magic.
   Avenging spies pursue men’s falsehoods closely :
   There are no secrets that ye cannot fathom.
6. With reverence I will consecrate your oflEering ;
   With zeal I call you, Varuna and Mitra.

These novel thoughts to praise you are intended :
May these the prayers that I have offered please
you.

26 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

7. For you, O gods, this service has been rendered
   At sacrifices, Varuna and Mitra,
   Across all dangers do ye safely take us.
   Ye gods protect us evermore with blessings.

THE ADITYAS

The group of gods called Adityas is celebrated in
six entire hymns of the Rigveda and in parts of two
others. Their original number was seven, but in one
passage of the last book, an eighth, MSrtanda (probably
the setting sun) is added. In the Atharvaveda their
number is eight. In the Brahmanas it has grown to
twelve ; and in post-Vedic literature these are regularly
twelve sun-gods connected with the twelve months.
The names of the gods included in this group are not
quite definite. Nowhere are more than six enumerat-
ed, and that only once : Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga,
Varuna, Dak§a, Amsa. In a few passages Siirya is
called an Aditya, which is a common name of the sun in
the Brahmanas and later. He is therefore probably to
be regarded as the seventh Aditya. Indra is, however,
once coupledin the dual as an Aditya with Varuna, the
chief of the Adityas, and he is once directly invoked as
the “fourth Aditya.” When mention is made of one
Aditya, it is generally Varuna ; when of two, Mitra and
Varupa ; when of three, Varuna, Mitra, and Aryaman ;
when of five (which is only once the casej, Varuna,
Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, and Savitar. The Adityas are
often invoked as a group, when the names of Mitra and
Varuna are generally mentioned at the same time.

The nature of the Adityas as a class resembles that
of the gods in general. In the aggregate sense they
are the gods of celestial light, without representing
any particular manifestation of that light. In some of
the hymns in which the Adityas are invoked, only the
three most frequently mentioned together — Mitra,
Varuna and Aryaman— seem to be meant.

The name of the Adityas is a metronymic formation
from that of their mother, Aditi, with whom they are
naturally often invoked.

THE ADITYAS 27

V. ADITYAS
11, 27. Mbtrb : Tristubh.

1. These songs that drip with butter, with the ladle
   I ever to the kings, Adityas, offer.

May Mitra, Aryaman, and Bhaga hear us-,
Daksa, the mighty Varuna, and Amsa.

2. This praise of mine may Aryaman and Mitra
   And Varuna to-day accept united :

The radiant Adityas, like sword-blades shining,
From guile and falsehood free, unscathed, and
blameless.

3. These Adityas are deep and far-extending,
   With many eyes, deceived not, but deceiving.
   They look within, and see the straight and crooked.
   Nigh to the kings is all, even what is farthest,
4. The Adityas support what’s fixed and moving ;
   These gods are guardians of the whole creation :
   Far-sighted, cherishing their spirit-power,
   Observing holy law and guilt chastising.
5. May I, O Adityas, meet with your favour.
   Which even in danger, Aryaman, brings comfort.
   Guided by you, O Varuna and Mitra,

May I avoid all troublous times, like pitfalls.

6. Smooth is your path, O Aryaman and Mitra ;
   It is straightforward, Varuna, and thornless.
   On that, O Adityas, speak in our favour ;
   Bestow on us invincible protection.
7. May Aryaman, may Aditi, kings’ mother.
   By easy paths through enmities transport us.
   We would unscathed, possessed of many heroes,
   Win Varuna’s and Mitra’s high protection.
8. Three earths, three heavens, too, these gods sup-

ported,
Three are their servjces within our synod.
By Law is mighty, Adityas, your greatness
And fair, Aryaman, Varuna and Mitra.

28 HYMNS FROM THE RICWEDA

9. Of golden aspect, radiant, bright, as sword-blades.
   They have upheld the three light realms of heaven.
   They slumber not, nor close their eyes, unfailing
   They rule afar to help the truthful mortal.
10. Thou art, O Varuna, of all the sovereign.
    Both of the gods, O Asura, and mortals.
    To us vouchsafe to see a hundred autumns :
    May we attain to lives prolonged and happy.
11. Neither the right nor left can I distinguish.
    Neither before nor yet behind, Adityas.
    May I by you directed, reach with safety.
    Bright gods, the light by innocence or wisdom.
12. Who to the kings that lead the law pays worship,
    And whom thus constant blessings cause to flourish,
    He, affluent, rides foremost in his chariot.
    Bestowing gifts and in assemblies lauded.
13. He pure, unhurt by guile, with many heroes,
    Robust, abides by waters rich in pasture.
    Either from near or from afar none slay him
    Who lives beneath the Adityas’ direction.
14. O Aditi and Varuna and Mitra,
    Forgive us any sin we have committed.
    May I obtain the light, secure and spacious,
    O Indra ; may long darkness never reach us.
15. Both worlds, combined, for him shed in abundance
    The rain of heaven ; fortunate and thriving

He goes to battle, both the mansions winning.
For him the world’s two halves remain propitious.

16. Your wiles, intended, holy gods, for plotters.
    Your nooses, Adityas, for foes unloosened:
    These would I pass, as with his car a driver ;
    May we unscathed be in your wide protection.
17. May I not ever lack a friendly patron,
    Nor, Varuna, an open-handed comrade.

May I, O King, not want well-managed riches,
May we speak loud, with heroes, in the synod.

SURYA 29

S0RYA

Surya, who is addressed in about ten hymns of the
Rigveda, is the most concrete of the solar deities,
because his name designates the orb of the sun as well
as the god. The solar disc is often called the eye of
Siirya, or the eye of Mitra-Varuna, as well as of Agni
and of the gods. He is all-seeing, the spy of the
whole world, beholding the good and bad deeds of
mortals. His car is drawn by a single steed or by
seven swift mares. The Dawn reveals or produces
Siirya; like a lover he follows the radiant goddess.
He arouses men to activity ; he is the soul of all that
moves or stands. He is the son of Heaven (Dyaus).
Siirya is variously described as a bird traversing space ;
as a mottled bull or a brilliant steed ; as a gem of the
sky, or a variegated stone set in the midst of heaven ;
as a brilliant weapon ; or as a wheel, though the wheel
of Siirya is also spoken of. He dispels the darkness,
which he casts off like a skin. He measures the, days
and prolongs life. He drives away disease and evil
dreams.

All creatures depend on him, and he is “all-creating.”
At his rising he is implored to declare men sinless to
Mitra-Varuna and to other gods.

VI. StJRYA
I, lis. Mhtrb : Tristubh.

1. The gods’ refulgent countenance has risen.
   The eye of Mitra, Varuna and Agni.

He has pervaded air, and earth, and heaven :
The soul of all that moves and stands is Siirya.

2. The Sun pursues the Dawn, the gleaming goddess.
   As a young man a maiden, to the region

Where god-devoted men lay on the harness
Of brilliant offerings for the brilliant godhead.

3. The brilliant steeds, bay coursers of the sun- god.
   Refulgent, dappled, meet for joyful praises,
   Wafting our worship, heaven’s ridge have mounted,
   And in one day round earth and sky they travel.

30 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

4. This is the Sun’s divinity, his greatness :

In midst of action he withdraws the daylight.
When from their stand he has withdrawn his

coursers,
Then straightway night for him spreads out her

garment.

5. This form the Sun takes in the lap of heaven,
   That Varuna and Mitra may regard him.
   One glow of his appears unending, splendid ;
   His bay steeds roll the other up, the black one.
6. To-day, O gods, do ye at Surya’s rising
   Release us from distress and from dishonour :
   This boon may Varuna and Mitra grant us.
   And Aditi and Sindhu, Earth and Heaven.

VII. StJRYA
I, SO. Metre : 1-9 Gayatri ; 10 Andstubh.

1. Aloft his beams now bring the god
   Who knows all creatures that are born.
   That all may look upon the Sun.
2. Away like thieves the stars depart,
   By the dark nights accompanied,
   At the all-seeing Sun’s approach.
3. His beams, his rays, have shone afar
   Athwart the many homes of men, ,
   Flaming aloft like blazing fires. •
4. Swift-moving, visible to all.
   Maker of light thou art, O Sun,
   Illuming all the shining space.
5. Thou risest toward the host of gods
   And toward the race of men : toward all.
   That they may see the heavenly light.
6. The broad air traversing, the sky.
   Thou metest. Sun, the days with nights.
   Seeing all creatures that are born.

PUSAN 31

8. The seven bay mares that draw thy car,
   Bring thee to us, far-seeing god,

O Siirya of the gleaming hair.

9. The Sun has yoked the seven bright mares.
   The shining daughters of his car :

With that self-yoking team he speeds.

10. Athwart the darkness gazing up.
    To him the higher light, we now
    Have soared to Surya, the god
    Among the gods, the highest light.

PtJSAN

This god, who is celebrated in eight hymns, has
a vague personality, with few anthropomorphic traits.
His foot, his right hand, his beard,_and his braided hair
are mentioned. He carries a golden spear, an awl
and a goad. His car is drawn by goats instead of
horses. Gruel is his characteristic food. He sees all
creatures clearly. He moves onward, observing the
universe, and makes his abode in heaven. He is
a guardian who knows and surveys all creatures. He
traverses the distant path of heaven and earth. With
his golden aerial ships he acts as the messenger of Siirya.
As best of charioteers he drove down the golden wheel
of the sun. He is the wooer of his mother and the lover
of his sister {i.e. Dawn), and was given by the gods as
a husband to the Sun-maiden, Surya. One of his exclu-
sive epithets is “glowing.” He conducts the dead on
the far-off path of the Fathers. A guardian of roads, he
removes dangers out of the way. He protects cattle,
bringing them home when lost. The meaning of the
name is ” Prosperer.” The evidence thus indicates that
Pii§an was originally a solar deity, chiefly as a bene-
volent patron of pastoral prosperity.

VIII. PUSAN
J, 42. Metre : Gayatri.

1. O Piisan pass along the roads,
   Free us, son of release, from care.
   Guide us, going befpre, O god.

32 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

2. The wicked, ill-intentioned wolf,
   Pusan, that lies in wait for us.

Him from our path smite thou away.

3. The robber lurking round our path,
   Who there against us mischief plots.
   Far from the track drive him away.
4. Tread under foot the burning brand
   Of crafty and malignant men.
   The miscreants whoe’er they be.
5. Pusan, that help of thine we claim,

O wonder-working, sapient god,

Wherewith our fathers thou didst aid.
S . –

6. Thou, lord of all prosperity.
   Best wielder of the golden axe.
   Make easy wealth for us to gain.
7. Past our pursuers lead us, make
   Fair paths, easy for us to tread.
   Thus, Pusan, show in us thy might.
8. Lead us to pastures rich in grass,
   Send on the road no early heat.
   Thus, Piisan, show in us thy might.
9. We wrangle not with Piisan, him
   We call upon with songs of praise :
   For wealth we seek the wondrous god.

SAVITAR

Savitar is invoked in eleven whole hymns and in a
good many detached stanzas as well. He is pre-
eminently a golden deity. His golden car is drawn by
two or more brown, white-footed steeds. With his
golden arms, which he raises aloft, he arouses and
blesses all beings. His mighty golden splendour illu-
mines heaven, earth and air. He moves in his golden
car on an upward and a downward path, observing all
creatures. Yellow-haired, he constantly raises his light
in the east. On his ancient paths in the air he conveys
the dead to where the righteous dwell, He drives away

SAVITAR 33

evil dreams and sins, demons ^nd sorcerers. He
observes fixed laws. Wind and waters are subject to,
and regulated by him. He brings not only day but
night, when he sends all beings to rest. The other gods
follow his lead, and no being can resist his will. To
Savitar is addressed the most famous stanza of the
Rigveda (iii, 62, 10) , which has been a morning prayer
in India for more than 3,000 years. It is called the
Savitri, from the name of the god invoked, or Gayatri,
from that of the metre in which it is composed :

May we attain that excellent

Glory of Savitar the God,

That he may stimulate our thoughts.

Savitar is often distinguished from Surya, the sun.
Thus he is said to shine with the rays of the sun, to
impel the sun, or to declare men sinless to the sun.
The name is derived from the root su, “to stimulate,”
forms of which are perpetually used with it as an
etymological play. The word deva,” god,” is constantly
associated with his name, as with that of no other deity,
in the sense of the ” stimulator god.” Savitar is thus a
solar deity in the capacity of the great stimulator of life
and activity in the world.

IX. SAVITAR
VI, 71. Mbtrb : 1-3 Jagati ; 5-6 Tri^tubh.

1. God Savitar, the dexterous, has stretched aloft
   His arms, that he may stimulate all things to life.
   Young, vigorous, most skilled, with fatness he
   His hands besprinkles in the wide expanse of air.
2. May we possess god Savitar’s most excellent
   Impulsion, and enjoy his lavish gifts of wealth.

?hou art the god who sends to rest and wakes in turn
o life the whole two-footed and four-footed world.

3. With guards that never fail, auspicious, Savitar,
   Protect our habitation all around to-day.

God of the golden tongue, for welfare ever new
Preserve us : let no plotter hold us in his grasp.

4

34 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

5. Like one who rouses, Savitar has stretched out
   His golden arms that are so fair of aspect.

The heights of heaven and earth he has ascended,
And made each flying monster cease from
troubling.

6. To-day wealth, Savitar, and wealth to-morrow.
   Bring wealth to us each day by thine impulsion ;
   For over ample wealth, O god, thou rulest :
   Through this our hymn may we of wealth be

sharers.

VISNU

Visnu, though one of the two leading gods of modern
Hinduism, is in the Rigveda as yet a minor deity, being
addressed in only five or six hymns. The only anthro-
pomorphic traits there attributed to him are that he is a
youth of vast body and that he takes three strides. The
latter is his chief characteristic, with which are asso-
ciated his exclusive epithets of “wide-going ” and ‘ ‘ wide-
striding.” With these steps he traverses the earth and
the terrestrial regions. Two of his steps are visible to
men, but the third is beyond the flight of birds or mortal
ken. His highest step is like an eye fixed in heaven ;
it shines down brightly. Visnu’ s three strides un-
doubtedly refer to the course of the sun as it passes
through the three divisions of the world : earth, air and
heaven. Visnu is further said to set in motion his 90
steeds (i.e. days) with their four names (i.e. seasons),
in allusion to the 360 days of the solar year. Thus
Visnu seems to have been originally a personification of
the sun in its activity of traversing the universe.
Visnu is described as taking his steps for man’s
existence, to bestow on him the earth as a dwelling
place. The most prominent secondary characteristic of
Visnu is his friendship with Indra, with whom he is
often allied in his conflict with Vrtra. In hymns
addressed to Visnu alone, Indra is the only other god
incidentally associated with him. One hymn invokes
these two gods conjointly.

USHAS 35

X. VISINIU
I> 1S4. Metre : Tri^tubh.

1. I will proclaim the mighty deeds of Vi§nu,
   Of him who measured out the earthly spaces ;
   Who, firmly propping up the higher station,
   Strode out in triple regions, widely pacing.
2. Because of this his mighty deed is Visnu
   Lauded; like some fierce beast that is much dreaded,
   That wanders as it lists, that haunts the mountains :
   He in whose three wide strides abide all creatures.
3. Let my inspiring hymn go forth to Visnu,
   The mountain-dwelling bull, the widely pacing,
   Him who has measured out with but three footsteps.
   Alone, this long and far -extended station ;
4. Him whose three footsteps filled with mead, un-

failing.
Revel in blissful jay ; who has supported
Alone the universe in three divisions :
The earth and sky and all created beings.

5. I would attain to that his dear dominion
   Where men devoted to the gods do revel.

In the wide-striding Visnu’s highest footstep
There is a spring of mead : such is our kinship.

6. We long to go to those your dwelling-places
   Where are the kine with many horns, the nimble :
   For thence, indeed, the highest step of Visnu,
   Wide-pacing- bull, shines brightly down upon us.

^ USHAS

Usas, the goddess of Dawn, who is celebrated in
some twenty hymns of the Rigveda, is but slightly
personified, for the underlying physical phenomenon is
never absent from the mind of the poet. She appears
in the east, clothed in light, adorned with bright rai-
ment like a dancer. She drives away the darkness and
removes the black robe of night. Though ancient,
she is ever young, being born again and again. She

36 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

wastes away the life of mortals. She opens the gates
of heaven, and her radiant beams appear like herds of
cattle. She rides on a brilliant car, drawn by ruddy
steeds or kine. She drives away bad dreams, evil
spirits and the hateful darkness. When she shines
forth, the birds fly from their nests, and men seek
nourishment. She appears day after day at the appoint-
ed place, never infringing the law of nature and of the
gods. She is born in the sky, and is constantly called
the ‘ ‘ daughter of heaven. ” She is also the elder sister of
night (p. 41), with whose name hers is often joined as a
compound in the dual. She is closely associated with
the Sun, who is her lover, following her as a young
man a maiden. She thus often becomes the wife of
Siirya. But as preceding the sun, she is sometimes
called his mother, and is thus said to arrive with a
bright child. The sacrificial fire being lit at dawn,
Usas is often associated with Agni, whom she causes to
be kindled and who is sometimes called her lover.
She is also often connected with the Asvins, the twin
gods of early morning. As disclosing the treasures
concealed by darkness, she distributes them liberally and
is characteristically “bountiful.” She not only brings the
worshipper wealth and children, but bestows protection
and long life, fame and glory on the benefactors of the
poet.

Forms of the root vas, “to shine,” from which the
name of Usas is derived, are often used in describing
her activity, somewhat in the same way as su, ” to
stimulate,” is used with the name of Savitar (p. 33).

XI. USAS
I, 92. Mbtre : 4 Jagati ; S-12 Tristubh ; 13-15 USNra.

4. She throws gay garments round her like a dancing
   girl ;
   E’en as a cow her udder, she displays her breast.
   Creating light for all the world, Dawn has unbarred
   The gates of darkness as when cows break from
   their stall.

USAS 37

5. Her radiant shimmer has appeared before us ;

It spreads, and drives away the swarthy monster.

As one anoints the post at sacrifices

The daughter of the sky extends her lustre.

6. We have crossed to the farther shore of darkness :
   Dawn shining forth, her webs of light is weaving.
   She smiles for glory, radiant, like a lover.

To show good will she, fair of face, has wakened.

7. The radiant leader of rich gifts, the daughter
   Of Heaven by the Gotamas is lauded.

Mete out to us, O Dawn, largesses : offspring,
Brave men, conspicuous wealth in cows and horses.

8. May I attain that wealth renowned and ample.
   With many heroes, troops of friends, and horses,
   O Dawn, that shinest forth with wondrous glory.
   Urged on by mighty strength, auspicious lady.
9. Looking on all created things, the goddess
   Shines far and wide, facing the eye of Siirya.
   Awaking every living soul to motion,

She has aroused the voice of every thinker.

10. Born newly again and again though ancient.
    Herself adorning with the selfsame colour,
    The goddess wears away the life of mortals.
    Like stakes diminished by a skilful gambler.

IL The ends of heaven disclosing, she awakens ;
To distance far she banishes her sister.
Diminishing the years of life, the maiden
Flushes afar with the light of her lover.

12. Gracious and bright, spreading her rays like cattle.
    As a river its flood, afar she glimmers.
    Infringing not the gods’ unchanging statutes,

She flushes radiant with the beams of Siirya.

13. O Dawn, bring us that brilliant wealth,
    O thou that bearest rich rewards.

Whereby both sons and grandsons we may well
maintain.

38 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

14. Refulgent Dawn, to-day and here,
    Thou that art rich in kine and steeds.

Shine forth on us abundant wealth, goddess benign.

15. Yoke, Dawn, to-day thy riMdy steeds,
    O thou that bearest rich rewards :

Then on thy car to us all fortune’s gifts convey.

XII. US AS
I, 113. Metre : Tri§tubh.

1. This light has come, of all the lights the fairest :
   The brilliant brightness has been born effulgent.
   Urged onward for god Savitar’s uprising,
   Night now has yielded up her place to morning.
2. Bringing a radiant calf she comes resplendent :
   To her the Black one has given up her mansions.
   Akin, immortal, following each the other.
   Morning and Night fare on, exchanging colours.
3. The sisters’ pathway is the same, unending:
   Taught by the gods alternately i:hey tread it.
   Fair-shaped, of form diverse, yet single-minded.
   Morning and Night clash not, nor do they tarry.
4. Bright leader of glad sounds she shines effulgent :
   Widely she has unclosed for us her portals.
   Pervading all the world she shows us riches :
   Dawn has awakened every living creature.
5. Men lying on the ground she wakes to action:
   Some rise to seek enjoyment of great riches.
   Some, seeing little, to behold the distant :
   Dawn has awakened every living creature.
6. One for dominion, and for fame another ;
   Another is aroused for winning greatness ;
   Another seeks the goal of varied nurture :
   Dawn has awakened every living creature.
7. Daughter of Heaven, she has appeared before us,
   A maiden shining in resplendent raiment.
   Thou sovereign lady of all earthly treasure,
   Auspicious Dawn, shine here to-day upon us.

U3AS 39

8. The path of those that have gone by she fallows,
   The first of endless dawns to come hereafter.
   The living at her rising she arouses ;

The dead she never wakens from their slumber.

9. O Dawn, since thou hast made them kindle Agni,
   Since thou hast shone forth with the light of Surya,
   Since thou the sacrificer hast awakened :

Thou hast performed among the gods good service.

10. How distant is the time when she comes midway
    Between the past and those to shine in future ?
    The earlier dawns right willingly she follows.
    Expected, she fulfils the later’s wishes.
11. Gone are those mortals who in former ages
    Beheld the flushing of the early morning ;
    We living men now look upon her shining :
    Those will be born who shall hereafter see her.
12. Dispelling foes, observer of world order,
    Born in due season, giver of enjoyment.
    Wafting oblations, bringing wealth and fortune.
    Shine brightly here to-day, O Dawn, upon us.
13. The goddess Dawn has flushed in former ages,
    And here to-day the bounteous maiden flushes :
    So also may she flush in days hereafter.

With powers her own she fares, immortal, ageless.

14. In the sky’s framework she has gleamed with

brightness ;
The goddess has cast off the robe of darkness.
Rousing the world from sleep, with ruddy horses.
Dawn in her well-yoked chariot is arriving.

15. She brings upon it many bounteous blessings ;
    Brightly she shines and spreads her brilliant lustre.
    Last of innumerable morns departed.

First of bright morns to come, has Dawn arisen.

16. Arise ! The vital breath again has reached us :
    Darkness has gone away and light is coming.
    She leaves a pathway for the sun to travel:
    We have arrived where men prolong existence.

40 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

17. The singer lauding the refulgent mornings,

Like charioteer with reins, sends forth his message :
To-day this grant thy praiser, bounteous goddess :
Life rich in offspring shine-thou down upon us.

18. The dawns that shine forth for the pious mortal.
    Bestowing kine and steeds and many heroes :
    May these be gained by zealous Soma-pressers,
    When joyous songs break forth like gusty breezes.
19. Mother of gods and Aditi’s efEulgence,
    Banner of sacrifice, shine forth exalted.

Shine forth and look upon our prayer with favour :
Bounteous, cause fruitfulness among the people.

20. What brilliant wealth the dawns convey, auspicious,
    To bless the zealous ofEerer of worship.

All that may Varuna and Mitra grant us,
And Aditi and Sindhu, Earth and Heaven.

RATRI

The following is the only hymn of the Rigveda in
which, under the name of Ratri, the goddess of night is
invoked. Like her sister, Usas, she is a daughter of
Heaven. She is conceived not as the dark, but as the
bright, starlit night, shining with her eyes. Decked
with all splendour, she drives away the darkness. At
her approach, men, beasts and birds go to rest. Pro-
tecting her worshippers from the wolf and the thief,
she guides them to safety. Under the name of nakta
combined with usas. Night appears as a dual divinity
with Dawn in some twenty scattered stanzas of the
Rigveda.

XIII. NIGHT
X, 127. Metre : Gayatsi.

1, When night comes on, the goddess shines
In many places with her eyes :

All glorious she has decked herself.

2. Immortal goddess far and wide.

She fills the valleys and the heights :
Darkness §he driyes away with light.

THE ASvINS 41

3. The g-oddess now, as she comes on,
   Is turning out her sister, Dawn :
   Far ofE the darkness hastes away.
4. So, goddess, come to-day to us :

At thy approach we seek our homes.
As birds their nests upon the tree.

5. The villagers have gone to rest
   And footed beasts and winged birds ;
   The hungry hawk himself is still.
6. Ward ofi from us she-wolf and wolf.
   Ward off the robbefr, goddess Night :
   So take us safe across the gloom.
7. The darkness, thickly painting black,
   Has, palpable, come nigh to me :
   Like debts, O Dawn, clear it away.
8. I have brought up a hymn, like kine.
   For thee, as one who wins a fight :
   This, Heaven’s daughter, Night, accept.

THE ASVINS

Next to Indra, Agni and Soma, the twin deities,
called Asvins, “Horsemen,” are the most prominent
gods in the Rigveda, being invoked in more than 50
entire hymns and in parts of several others. The time
of their appearance is between dawn and sunrise, when
darkness still abides among the ruddy cows (i.e. the
rays of dawn). Usas awakens them ; she is followed
by them on their car. They dispel darkness and drive
away evil spirits. Their car, which was fashioned by
the three divine artificers, the Rbhus, and is sunlike
and golden, is threefold and has three wheels. It is
drawn by horses, or by birds, or by winged steeds.
Its revolving course traverses heaven and earth in one
day.

The Asvins are the children of Heaven, but are
once called the sons of Vivasvant (the sun) and
Saranyii (probably the dawn). Piisan is once said to
be their son, and Dawn is probably meant by their

42 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

sister. They are often associated with the daughter of
the sun, Surya, who rides with them on their car and is
their spouse.

The Asvins are twins and inseparable. They are
young and yet ancient, handsome, lords of lustre, of
golden brightness, adorned with lotus garlands, and
they follow a golden path. They are more closely
associated than any of the other gods with mead
(madku), which they desire and drink. But they are
also fond of Soma, which they drink with Usas and
Surya. They possess profound wisdom and occult
power, but their two most frequent epithets are
“wondrous” and “true.” Typically rescuers from
distress, they are divine physicians, who cure diseases
with their remedies, healing the sick and maimed, and
restoring youth and sight. Many legends are told of
those whom they befriended, especially that of Bhujyu,
whom they saved in a ship from the ocean. The
meaning of their name is “the two horsemen,” not,
however, as riders, but as charioteers. They evidently
belong to the group of the deities of light, but the
actual phenomenon which they represent is doubtful.
The two most probable theories are that they originally
represented either the morning twilight, as half light
and half dark, or the morning and evening star. They
probably go back to the Indo-European period, being
akin to the two famous horsemen of Greek mythology,
the sons of Zeus, brothers of Helena ; and to the two
Lettic god’s sons, who come riding on their steeds to
woo the daughter of the sun.

XIV. THK aSvINS
VIII, 7.1. Mbtrb : TR15TTJBH.

1. Night hastens far away from Dawn, her sister ;
   The Black one yields the ruddy god a pathway. ‘
   We call on you two rich in kine and horses :

By day and night ward off from us the arrow.

2. Come to the pious mortal bringing bounty,

O Asvins, hither with your chariot speeding.

INDRA 43

Do ye ward ofiE from us disease and weakness.
By day and night, lovers of sweetness, guard us.

3. May your propitious coursers whirl your chariot
   Toward us at the dawn now flushing on us.
   Bring it, by traces drawn and fraught with riches.
   Hither with horses yoked by Order, Asvins.
4. That car, three-seated, lords of men, that bears you
   With riches laden well, drives forth at daybreak :
   On it, O Nasatyas, to us come onward.

That, with all nurture fraught, it may approach us.

5. Once from old age ye two released Chyavana ;
   With a swift courser ye presented Pedu ;

Ye rescued Atri from distress and darkness ;
The fettered Jahusha ye placed in freedom.

6. To you this thought, this song is oflEered, Asvins,
   This hymn of praise enjoy, ye mighty heroes.
   From us these prayers have gone, to you directed.
   Ye gods protect us evermore with blessings.

INDRA

Indra, being the favourite national god of the Vedic
people, is invoked in about one-fourth of the hymns of
the Rigveda — in far more than are addressed to any
other deity. He is more anthropomorphic and more
invested with mythological imagery than any other
Vedic god. He is primarily a deity of the thunder-
storm, who vanquishes the demons of drought or dark-
ness, setting free the waters or winning the light. His
physical parts, such as his body and his head, are
often mentioned. His form, as well as his hair and his
beard, is tawny. His two arms are specially often
referred to as wielding the thunderbolt {vajra), which
is his exclusive weapon. This missile, fashioned for
him by the artificer god, Tvastar, is made of iron, but
sometimes of stone, is sharp and many-pointed, and
golden or tawny in colour. Sometimes he is armed
with bow and arrows, and he also carries a hook. His
golden car is drawn by two tawny steeds.

44 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

Indra is, more than any other god, addicted to
Soma, which stimulates him to carry out his warlike
deeds, especially the slaughter of the demon Vrtra.
One entire hymn consists of a monologue in which
Indra, intoxicated with Soma, boasts of his greatness
and his might. The inference from some hymns is
that his father is Dyaus (Heaven), but from others
that he is Tvastar. Agni and Pusan are his brothers.
His wife, often mentioned, is Indrani. He is associated
with various other deities. The Maruts, or storm gods,
are his chief allies in conflicts. Agni is the god most
often conjoined with him as a dual divinity. He is
often also coupled with Varuna and Vayu, less often
with Soma, Brhaspati, Pusan and Visnu.

Indra is described as vast in size. His greatness
and power are constantly dwelt on and emphasized by
various epithets applied to him exclusively.

The essential myth that forms the basis of his
nature is described with great frequency and much
variation. Exhilarated by Soma and generally accom-
panied by the Maruts, Indra attacks the chief demon of
drought, usually called Vrtra, but also often the ser-
pent. Heaven and earth tremble when the mighty
combat takes place. With his bolt he shatters Vrtra,
who encompasses the waters. The result of the con-
flict, which is regarded as being constantly renewed, is
that Indra pierces the mountain and sets free the
waters pent up like imprisoned cows. The physical
elements in the conflict are nearly always the bolt,
mountains, waters or rivers, while lightning, thunder,
cloud, rain are seldom directly named. The waters are
often terrestrial, but also aerial and celestial. The
clouds are the mountains on which the demons lie or
dwell, or from which he casts them down, or which he
cleaves to release the waters. Or the cloud is a rock
which encompasses the cows (as the waters are some-
times called) , and from which he seta them free. Clouds,
as holding the waters, figure as cows also ; they
appear, moreover, under the names of udder, spring,
cask, or pail. The clouds further figure as the fort-

INDRA 45

resses of the aerial demons, being described as moving,
autumnal, made of iron or stone, and as ninety, ninety-
nine, or a hundred in number. Indra, who shatters
them, is therefore called the “fort-destroyer.” But
his chief and specific epithet is “Vrtra-slayer,” as
expressing his main activity. In his fight with the
demon the Maruts are his regular allies, though Agni,
Soma, and Visnu also often assist him. Indra also
fights with various minor demons ; sometimes he
destroys demons in general (Raksases or Asuras).

With the release of the waters is connected the
winning of light, sun and dawn. Thus Indra is
invoked to slay Vrtra and to win the light. When he
had slain Vrtra and released the waters for man, he
placed the sun visibly in the heavens. The sun shone
forth when Indra blew the serpent from the air. In this
connexion there is often no mention of the Vrtra fight.
Indra is then simply said to find the light ; he gained
the sun or found it in the darkness, making a path for
it. He produces the dawn as well as the sun ; he opens
the darkness with the dawn and the sun. The cows
mentioned along with the sun and dawn, or with the
sun alone, as found or won by Indra, are here probably
the morning beams, which are elsewhere compared with
cattle coming out of their dark stalls. Thus when the
dawns went to meet Indra, he became the lord of the
cows ; when he overcame Vrtra, he made visible the
cows of the nights. There seems to be a confusion
between the restoration of the sun after the darkness
of the thunderstorm and the recovery of the sun from
the darkness of night at dawn. The latter feature is
probably an extension of the former. With the Vrtra
fight and the winning of the cows and of the sun, is also
connected the gaining of Soma. Thus when Indra drove
the serpent from the air, there shone forth fires, the
sun, and the Soma ; he won Soma at the same time as
the cows.

Great cosmic actions are often ascribed to Indra :
he settled the quaking mountains and plains ; he
stretches out heaven and earth like a hide ; he holds

46 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

asunder heaven and earth ; he turned the non-existent
into the existent in a moment.

As the destroyer of demons in combat, Indra is
constantly invoked by warriors. As the great god of
battle he is more frequently called upon than any other
deity to help the Aryans in their conflicts with earthly
enemies. He protects the Aryan colour and subjects
the black skin. He dispersed 50,000 of the black race.
He subjected the Dasyus to the Aryan, on whom he
bestowed land.

More generally, Indra is the protector, helper and
friend of his worshippers. He grants them wealth,
regarded as the result of victories. His liberality is so
characteristic that the epithet ” Bountiful ” {maghavan)
is almost exclusively restricted to him.

Several minor myths are connected with Indra.
One of them is that of the winning of Soma : it is to
him that the eagle brings the draught of immortality
from the highest heaven. Another is the capture by
Indra, with the help of Sarama, of the cows confined in
a cave by demons called Panis.

Moreover, various stories containing mythological
elements, but probably having a historical foundation-,
are told about Indra’s fighting in aid of individual men,
such as king Sudas, against terrestrial foes.

Indra forms a striking contrast to Varuna, the other
divine universal monarch of the Rigveda. His attri-
butes are mainly those of physical superiority, and rule
over the physical world. He is violent in action, an
irresistible warrior, a lavisher of spoils on mankind,
but also sensual and immoral in various ways, such as
excess in eating and drinking, and cruelty in killing his
father, Tvastar. Varuna, on the other hand, wields pas-
sive and peaceful sway, applies the laws of nature with
uniformity, upholds moral order, and in his character
displays lofty ethical features.

Indra is pre-Vedic, for his name occurs in the
Avesta as that of demon; and the term Vrtra-slayer,
as a designation of the god of Victory, occurs there,
though unconnected with Indra. It is therefore probable

INDRA 47

that there was already in the Indo-Iranian period a god
resembling the Vrtra-slaying Indra of the Rigveda.

XV. INDRA
I, 32. Metre : Tristubh.

1. I will proclaim the manly deeds of Indra,

The first that he performed, the lightning-wielder.
He slew the serpent, then discharged the waters.
And cleft the caverns of the lofty mountains.

2. He slew the serpent lying on the mountain :

For him the whizzing bolt has Tvastar fashioned.
Like lowing cows, with rapid current flowing.
The waters to the ocean down have glided.

3. Impetuous like a bull he chose the Soma,
   And drank in threefold vessels of its juices.

The bounteous god grasped lightning for his missile;
He struck down dead that first-born of the serpents.

4. When thou hadst slain the first-born of the serpents.
   And thwarted all the wiles of crafty schemers,
   Anon disclosing sun, and dawn, and heaven.
   Thou truly foundest not a foe, O Indra.
5. Indra slew Vrtra and one worse than Vrtra,
   Vyamsa, with lightning, his resistless weapon :
   Like trunks of trees, with axes hewn in pieces.
   The serpent clinging to the earth lay prostrate.
6. He like a drunken coward challenged Indra,
   The headlong, many-crushing, mighty hero.
   He parried not the onset of the weapons :

The foe of Indra, falling, crushed the channels.

7. Footless and handless he with Indra battled.
   Who smote him then upon his back with lightning.
   But, impotent, he strove to match the hero :

He lay with scattered limbs in many places.

8. As thus he lay, like broken reed, the waters,
   Now courage taking, surge across his body.
   He lies beneath the very feet of rivers

Which Vrtra with his might had close encompassed.

48 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

9. The strength began to fail of Vrtra’s mother,
   For Indra had cast down his bolt upon her.
   Above the mother was, the son was under ;
   And like a cow beside her calf lies Danu.
10. The waters deep have hidden Vrtra’s body.
    Plunged in the midst of never-ceasing torrents
    That stand not still, but ever hasten onward :
    Indra’s fierce foe sank down to lasting darkness.
11. Enclosed by demons, guarded by a serpent.
    The waters stood like cows by Pani captured.
    The waters’ orifice that was obstructed.
    When Vrtra he had smitten, Indra opened.
12. A horse’s tail thou didst become, O Indra,
    When, on his spear impaled, as god unaided.
    The cows, O hero, thou didst win and Soma,
    And free the seven streams to flow in torrents.
13. Him lightning then availed riot nor thunder,

Nor mist, nor hailstorm which around he scattered :
When Indra and the serpent fought in battle,
The bounteous god gained victory for ever.

14. Whom saw’st thou as avenger of the serpent.

As terror seized thy heart when thou hadst slain

him.
And thou didst cross the nine and ninety rivers
And air’s broad spaces, like a hawk affrighted ?

15. Indra is.king of all that’s fixed and moving,

Of tame and horned beasts, the thunder-wielder.
He truly rules, as king of busy mortals ;
Them he encompasses as spokes the felly.

XVI. INDRA

II, 12. Metre: Tristubh.

1. He who just born as chief god full of spirit
   Went far beyond the other gods in wisdona :
   Before whose majesty and mighty manhood
   The two worlds trembled : he, O men, is Indra.

INDRA 49

2. Who made the widespread earth when quaking

steadfast,
Who set at rest the agitated mountains,
Who measured out air’s middle space more widely,
Who gave the sky support : he, men, is Indra.

3. Who slew the serpent, freed the seven rivers,
   Who drove the cattle out from Vala’s cavern.
   Who fire between two rocks has generated,

A conqueror in fights : he, men, is Indra.

4. He who has made all earthly things unstable,
   Who humbled and dispersed the Dasa colour.
   Who, as the player’s stake the winning gambler.
   The foeman’s fortune gains : he, men, is Indra.
5. Of whom, the terrible, they ask, ” Where is he ? “
   Of him, indeed, they also say, ” He is not.”

The foemen’s wealth, like players’ stakes, he

lessens.
Believe in him : for he, O men, is Indra.

6. He furthers worshippers, both rich and needy.
   And priests that supplicate his aid and praise him.
   Who, fair-lipped, helps the man that presses Soma,
   That sets the stones at work : he, men, is Indra.
7. In whose control are horses and all chariots.
   In whose control are villages and cattle ;
   He who has generated sun and morning.
   Who leads the waters : he, O men, is Indra.
8. Whom two contending armies vie in calling.
   On both sides foes, the farther and the nearer ;
   Two fighters mounted on the self-same chariot
   Invoke him variously : he, men, is Indra.
9. Without whose aid men conquer not in battle.
   Whom fighting^ ever tliey invoke for succour.
   Who shows himself a match for every foeman,
   Who moves what is unmoved : he, men, is Indra.
10. Who with his arrow slays the unexpecting
    Unnumbered crew of gravely guilty sinners ;

5

so HYMNS FROM SHE RIG VEDA

Who yields not to the boasting foe in boldness,
Who slays the demons : he, O men, is Indra^

11. He who detected in the fortieth autumn
    Sambara dwelling far among the mountains ;
    Who slew the serpent that put forth his vigour.
    The demon as he lay : he, men, is Indra.
12. Who with his seven rays, the bull, the mighty,
    Let loose the seven streams to flow in torrents ;
    Who, bolt in arm, spurned Rauhina, the demon.
    On scaling heaven bent : he, men, is Indra.
13. Both Heaven and Earth, themselves, bow down”

before him :
Before his might the very mountains tremble.
Who, famed as Soma-drinker, armed with lightning.
Is wielder of the bolt : he, men, is Indra.

14. Who with his aid helps him that presses Soma,
    That bakes and lauds and ever sacrifices ;

Whom swelling prayer, whom Soma pressings

strengthen,
And now this offering : he, O men, is Indra.

15. Who, fierce, on him that bakes and him that presses
    Bestowest booty : thou, indeed, art trusted.

May we, for ever dear to thee, O Indra,
Endowed with hero sons address the synod.

INDRA AND VARUNA

In the following hymn the two greatest deities of
the Rigveda are associated as the dual divinity Indra-
Varuna. Practically the whole of it might have been
addressed to Indra, the warrior god, alone, with the
exception of the ninth stanza, in which Varuna, as the
guardian of order, is contrasted with Indra, the Vrtra-
slayer.

XVII. INDRA AND VARUIJIA
VII, 83. Metrb : Jagati.

1. Looking to you,,0 heroes, and your friendly aid.
   They with broad sabres armed and battle-eager
   marched ;

INDRA AND VARU^A 51

Then ye two smote the Dasa and the Aryan foes :
Ye favoured, Indra-Varupa, Sudas with help.

2. Where men with banners raised in fight together

rush,
In battle conflict where there is no pleasant thing,
Where creatures fear the god who sees the heavenly

light,
O Indra-Varuna, be there our advocates.

3. Earth’s ends appear enwrapt in dust, O Varuna
   And Indra ; now the din has mounted to the sky ;
   The onset of the warriors rolls close up to me :
   Come hither with your aid, O ye that hear my call.
4. O Varuna and Indra, Bheda ye attacked
   With weapons irresistibly, and helped Sudas.

Ye heard his fighters’ prayers when they called to

you:
Then was the Ti^tsus’ priestly service justified.

5. My foes’ malignities, O Indra-Varuna,

My enemies’ assaults press me on every side.
Since ye control the property of friend and foe.
Do ye then favour us on war’s decisive day.

67 Both sides in battle-conflicts call upon you two,
O Indra-Varuna, intent on gaining wealth.
Where once ye helped Sudas with all his Trtsu host.
When by the ten kings’ hostile force hard pressed
in fight.

7. Ten kings allied, who worshipped not, did not

prevail
Against Sudas in war, O Indra-Varuna ;
The lauds of heroes sitting at the feast came true :
The gods were at their invocations on their side.

8. Ye gave Sudas hemmed in on every side your aid.
   When ten kings fought against him, Indra-Varuna,
   Where filled with thought the Trtsus, wearing

braided hair
And clad in white, with homage and devotion
prayed.

52 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

9. The one in battle-conflicts slays the demon foes,
   The other evermore his sacred statutes guards.
   We call on you with well-turned hymns, O mighty

ones:
To us, O Indra-‘Varuna, protection grant.

10. May Indra, Mitra, Varuna and Aryaman,

To us fair fame and great, far-reaching shelter grant.
We think of the unfailing light of Aditi,

Who loves the law, and of the call of Savitar.

PARJANYA

Parjanya is a subordinate deity in the Rigveda, being
invoked in three hymns only. He is a rain-god. The
name often means ” rain-cloud,” but generally represents
its personification. It is often alluded to as an udder, a
pail, or a water-skin. Parjanya is frequently spoken of
as a bull that quickens the plants and the earth. The
shedding of rain is his most prominent characteristic:
he flies around with a watery car and loosens the water-
skin, shedding i;ain-water as our divine father ; he is
then associated with thunder and lightning. He is in a
special degree a nourisher of vegetation, and also a pro-
ducer of animal fertility. He is several times called a
father. He is once said to be the son of heaven, and
his wife is by implication the earth.

XVIII. PARJANYA

V, 83. Metre : 1.5-8, 10 Tri§tubh ;

2-4 Jagati ; 9 Andstubh.

1. Invoke the mighty god with songs of welcome ;
   Parjanya praise : with homage seek to win him.
   He, roaring like a bull, with streams that quicken,
   A seed to germinate in plants deposits.
2. The trees he shatters and he smites the demon host :
   The whole world trembles at his mighty weapon’s

stroke.
The guiltless man himself flees from the potent god,
When miscreants Parjanya with his thunder strikes.

PARJANYA S3

3. Like charioteer his horses lashing with a whip,
   The god makes manifest his messengers of rain.
   From far away the roaring of the lion sounds,
   What time Parjanya veils the firmament with

rain.

4. The winds blow forth ; to earth the quivering light-

nings fall,
The plants shoot up ; with moisture streams the

realm of light.
For all the world abundant nourishment is born,
When by Parjanya Earth is fertilized with seed.

5. O thou at whose behest the earth bows downward,
   O thou at whose behest hoofed creatures quiver.
   At whose behest by plants all shapes are taken ;
   As such, Parjanya, grant to us strong shelter.
6. The rain of heaven bestow, O Maruts, on us.

Of your strong steed pour forth the streams

abundant.
With this thy thundering roar do thou come hither,
And shed the waters as our heavenly father.

7. With roar and thunder now the germ deposit,
   Fly round us with thy water-bearing chariot.
   Turn well thy water-skin unloosened downward.
   Make, with the waters, heights and hollows level.
8. Draw the great bucket up and pour it downward.
   And let the liberated streams flow forward.

On all sides drench both heaven and earth with

fatness ;
Let there be for the cows fair pools for drinking.

9. When, O Parjanya, roaring loud,
   Thou slay’st with thunder wicked men.
   This universe rejoices then.

And everything that is on earth.

10. Thou hast shed rain ; pray now withhold it wholly ;
    Thou hast made passable all desert places.
    To serve as food thou hast made plants to flourish :
    And hast received the gratitude of creatures.

54 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

RUDRA

Riidra is invoked alone in only three entire hymns.
His hand, his arms, and his limbs are mentioned, and
he is described as having beautiful lips and braided hair.
He is brown in colour and shines like the radiant sun,
being arrayed in golden ornaments and wearing a
glorious necklace. He drives in a car ; he holds the
thunderbolt in his arm, and discharges his lightning
shaft from the sky ; but he is usually armed with a
bow and arrows.

Rudra is often associated with the Maruts, whose
father he is. He is fierce and destructive like a terrible
beast, being called a bull and the ruddy boar of heaven.
He is unsurpassed in might, young and unaging, a lord
and father of the world. By his rule and universal
dominion he is aware of the doings of men and gods.
He is bountiful, easily invoked and auspicious. But he
is usually malevolent ; for the hymns addressed to him
chiefly express fear of his terrible shafts and depreca-
tion of his wrath. He is implored not to slay or injure,
in his anger, his worshippers and their belongings, but
to avert his great malignity and his cow-slaying, man-
slaying bolt from them. But he is not purely malefi-
cent like a demon. He not only preserves from calamity,
but bestows blessings. His healing powers are often
mentioned. He has a thousand remedies and is the
greatest of physicians. The phenomenon underlying
Rudra’ s nature is not quite clear ; but it was probably
the storm, not pure and simple, but in its baleful aspect
as manifested in the destructive agency of lightning.
His healing and beneficent powers would then have
been founded partly on the fertilizing and purifying
action of the thunderstorm, and partly on the negative
action of sparing those whom he might slay. Thus the
deprecations of his wrath led to the. application to him
of the euphemistic epithet, ^iva, ” Auspicious,” the
regular name of Rudra’s historical successor in post-
Vedic mythology.

RUBRA 55

XIX. RUDRA
II, 33. Mbtre : Tristubh

1. Let thy goodwill, O father of the Maruts,
   Light on us : part us not from Surya’s vision.
   In merey may the hero spare our horses :
   May we, O Rudra, have abundant offspring.
2. By thy most wholesome remedies, O Rudra,
   Thy gifts, I would attain a hundred autumns.
   Drive far away from us distress and hatred.
   Drive far away, wide-scattered, all diseases.
3. Of what is born thou art the chief in glory,
   Armed with the thunder, mightiest of the mighty.
   Trans|)ort us to the farther shore of trouble

In safety ; frustrate all attacks of mischief.

4. May we not anger thee with homage, Rudra,
   Nor with ill-praises, nor joint invocation.
   Raise up, O Bull, with remedies our heroes :
   I hear of thee as best of all physicians.
5. With invocations and oblations summoned
   Rudra I would appease with my laudations :
   May he, soft-hearted, easily appealed to,
   Brown-hued, fair-lipped, not to his wrath subject us.
6. The bull, escorted by the Maruts, gladdens
   Me who invokes, with his most forceful vigour.
   I, sound, would reach, as in the heat, a shelter :
   Rudra’s good will I would desire to capture.
7. Where is that gracious hand of thine, O Rudra,
   That is so full of remedies and coolness ?

As the remover of all god-sent damage,

Do thou, O Bull, now show compassion towards me.

8. Forth for the brown and whitish bull I utter
   A mighty panegyric of the mighty.

I will adore the radiant god with homage.
We praise the terrifying name of Rudra.

9. He, mighty, brown-hued, multiform, has decked out
   His stalwart limbs with jewels bright and golden.

56 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

From Rudra, this great universe’s ruler,
Let not be severed his divine dominion.

10. Worthy, thou carriest thy bovr and arrows,
    Worthy, thine honoured and all-hued necklact
    Worthy, thou wieldest all this mighty power.
    Naught that exists is mightier than thou art.
11. Praise him the famed, who sits upon the car-seat
    The young, the fierce, like a dread beast, a slayer.
    When praised, be gracious, Rudra, to the singer :
    Let thy darts pass us and lay low another.
12. I bow down like a son before his father.

Who with good will comes nigh to him, O Rudra.
I praise the true lord, of much wealth the giver :
To us thou grantest remedies when lauded.

13. Those remedies of yours, the pure, O Maruts,
    That are most wholesome, mighty ones, and potent.
    That Manu chose in ancient days, our Father :
    Those I desire, and Rudra’s balm and blessing.
14. May Rudra’s missile turn aside and pass us.
    May the fierce Rudra’s great ill-will go by us.
    Relax thy rigid bow to save our patrons ;
    Spare, O thou god of bounty, child and grandchild.
15. So brown-hued, mighty Rudra, widely famous.
    Here to our invocations be attentive,

As not, O god, to ri^e in wrath and slay us.
May we speak loud with heroes in the synod.

MARUTS

The Maruts, or Storm-gods, are prominent deities
in the Rigveda, being invoked in 33 hymns alone, and
in 9 others in association with other gods (Indra, Agni,
Pusan). They form a group, being mentioned in th,e
plural only. Their number is stated as thrice seven or
thrice sixty. They are the sons of Rudra and Prsni
(who probably represents the mottled storm-cloud).
But they are also said to have been generated by Vayu,
god of wind, or to be the sons of heaven, or even to

MARUTS 57

be self-born. They are brothers of equal age, having
the same birthplace and abode. The goddess Rodasi
is always connected with them as riding on their car.
She seems to have been regarded as their bride.

The brilliance of the Maruts is characteristic, and
they are very frequently associated with lightning.
They have spears of lightning and wear golden helmets.
They are armed with golden axes, but sometimes with
bows and arrows, like their father Rudra. They wear
golden mantles, and golden ornaments, garlands,
armlets and anklets. Their cars gleam with lightning,
being drawn “by steeds (generally feminine) that are
ruddy, tawny, or spotted. •

The noise made by the Maruts, often mentioned, is
thunder and the roaring of the winds. They cause the
mountains to quake and the two worlds to tremble ;
they shatter trees and, like wild elephants, devour the
forests. They are often called singers : they sing a
song ; they are the singers of heaven ; for Indra, when
he slew the dragon, they sang a song and pressed Soma.
Their song, though primarily representing the sound of
the winds, is also conceived as a hymn of praise. Thus
they come to be compared with priests and are even
addressed as such.

One of the main activities of the Maruts is to shed
rain : they cover the eye of the sun with rain ; they
create darkness with the cloud when they shed rain ;
they cause the celestial pail and the streams of the
mountains to pour. The waters shed by them are
often clearly connected with the thunderstorm. Their
rain is often figuratively called milk, ghee, or honey.
They avert heat, but also dispel darkness, produce light,
and prepare a path for the sun.

More generally the Maruts are described as young
and unaging, dustless, mighty, fierce, terrible like lions,
but also playful like children or calves.

Owing to their connexion with the thunderstorm, the
Maruts are constantly associated with Indra as his friends
and allies, who increase his strength and his prowess with
their gongs, prayers, and hymns, and generally assist

58 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

him in his fight with Vrtra. Indra, in fact, accomplishes
all his celestial feats in their company. But sometimes
the Maruts accomplish these same feats alone.

When they are not associated with Indra, the Maruts
occasionally exhibit the maleficent traits of their father
Rudra. Hence they are implored to ward o& their
lightning from their worshippers and not to let their
ill-will reach them, and are besought to avert their
arrow and the stone which they hurl, their lightning,
and their cow- and man-slaying bolt. But, like their
father Rudra, they are also supplicated to bring healing
remedies. These remedies appear to be the waters,
for the Maruts bestow medicine by raining.

The evidence of the Rigveda shows that the Maruts
are storm-gods. Etymologically the word may mean
either the ” Shiners ” or the ” Crushers.”

XX. MARUTS
Vin, 7. Metre : Gayatri.

1. When, Maruts, now for you the sage
   Pours out the threefold Soma draught.
   Ye shine forth on the mountain heights.
2. Whenever, bright ones, growing strong.
   You have decided on your course.

The mountains bend and bow themselves.

3. Loud roaring with the winds, the sons
   Of Prsni raise themselves aloft.:

They have milked out the swelling draught.

4. The Maruts scatter mist abroad.
   They make the mountain ridges quake.
   When with the winds, they go their way.
5. When mountains bow before your march,
   And rivers, too, before your rule,
   Before your mighty, roaring blast :
6. On you we call by night for aid
   On you we call aloud by day,
   On you while sacrifice proceeds.

MARUTS 59

7. They rise, of ruddy hue and bright,
   Upon their courses with a roar,
   Across the ridges of the sky.
8. With power they shoot a ray of light
   So that the sun may run his course ;

They with their beams spread far and wide.

9. Accept, O Maruts, this my song,
   Rbhuksans, this my hymn of praise.
   Accept ye now this call of mine.
10. The dappled cows have milked three lakes.
    Mead for the wielder of the bolt,

Out of the spring, the water-cask.

11. O Maruts, pray come here to us,

‘ Whenever, seeking your good will,
We call you hither from the sky.

12. For, Rudras and Rbhuksans, ye,

O bounteous ones, are in our house
And wise when ye enjoy the draught.

13. From heaven, Maruts, bring to us
    Abundant wealth distilling joy.
    With plenteous food all-nourishing.
14. When you, as if from mountain tops.
    Have, bright ones, willed to take your way.
    You in the drops distilled rejoice.
15. The mortal with his prayers should ask
    The favour and goodwill of that
    Great host of theirs invincible.
16. They who, like sparks, with showers of rain.
    Blow onward through both heaven and earth.
    And milk the spring that never fails :
17. The sons of Prsni rise aloft,

With chariots and with rattling sounds.
With rushing winds and songs of praise.

18. For riches, let us surely win
    Your help that aided Turvasa,

Yadu, Kaijva, who gained great wealth.

60 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

19. Like butter swelling, may these draughts,
    Accompanied by Kanva’s hymns.
    Increase your strength, ye bounteous ones.
20. Where, bounteous Maruts, do ye now
    Rejoice, for whom the straw is spread.
    What Brahman priest is serving you ?
21. For ye, for whom the straw is spread.
    Do not, as once ye did for praise.
    Rejoice otir sacrificers’ ranks.
22. Together they have brought both worlds.
    The mighty waters, and the sun.

And, joint by joint, the thunderbolt.

23. They joint by joint have Vrtra rent,
    And rent the gloomy mountain clouds.
    Performing an heroic feat.
24. They reinforced the mighty strength
    And skill of Trita as he fought.
    And Indra in the Vrtra-fray.
25. Celestial, lightnings in their hands,
    They wear gold helmets on their heads ;
    For glory, bright, they deck themselves.

‘ 26. When eagerly from far ye came
Nigh to the cavern of the bull,
With fear, like Heaven, he roared aloud.

27. Brought by your golden-footed steeds
    Come hither, O ye gods, to us.

To take from us our sacrifice.

28. When the red leader in their car
    The spotted deer directs, the bright
    Gods go : may they the waters free.
29. When will ye with your favours come,
    O Maruts, hither to the sage.

The suppliant who calls you thus ?

31. How is it now ? Who are your friends.
    Since ye left Indra in the lurch ?
    Who in your friendship counts to-day ?

VATA 61

32. I praise, O Kanvas, Agni with
    The Maruts holding in their hands
    The bolt and wearing swords of gold.
33. I would draw sure for welfare new
    The mighty gods adorable

All hither with their splendid spoil.

34. The very hills before them sink,
    Deeming themselves but side-ravines ;
    The very mountains bow down low.
35. Their steeds that have a transverse course.
    Convey them flying through the air.

To him that lauds them giving strength.

36. The ancient Agni has been born
    With brilliance like the shining sun ;
    They with their beams spread far and wide.

VATA
_ The god of Wind is invoked by the two names of
Vayuand Vata, both derived from the root va, “to blow.”
The former is addressed in one whole hymn and parts
of others, the latter in two short hymns. Both names
are sometimes used in the same verse, but Vayu is
more often the god, Vata the element. In keeping
with the latter distinction, Vayu is often associated with
the anthropomorphic Indra as a dual divinity, while
Vata is similarly coupled with Parjanya, whose con-
nexion with the thunderstorm is more vivid and realistic
than that of Indra. DifEerent sets of epithets are
applied to these two wind- gods. Vayu has a shining
car drawn by a team or by a pair of ruddy steeds. He
is’ fond of Soma, and is its protector. He grants
fame, offspring and wealth; he disperses foes and
protects the weak. Vata is the breath of the gods;
like Rudra he wafts healing and prolongs life, for he
has the treasure of immortality in his house. He is
chiefly mentioned in connexion with the thunderstorm,
and his noise is often referred to. He produces ruddy
lights and makes the dawns to shine. His swiftness

62 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

often supplies a comparison for the speed of the gods or
of mythical steeds.

XXI. VATA
X, 168. Meire: Tristubh.

1. Of Vita’s car I now will praise the greatness :
   Rending it speeds along ; its noise is thunder.
   Touching the sky it flies, creating lightnings ;
   Scattering dust it traverses earth’s ridges.
2. The hosts of Vata onward speed together :
   They haste to him as women to a concourse.
   The god with them upon the same car mounted,
   The king of all this universe speeds onward.
3. In air, along his pathways speeding onward,
   Never on any day he tarries resting.

The first-born order-loving friend of waters :
Where was he born, and whence has he arisen ?

4. Of gods the breath, and of the world the offspring,
   This god according to his liking wanders.

His sound is heard, his form is never looked on :
That Vata let us worship with oblation.

APAS: WATERS

The waters, which are invoked in four entire -hymns,
as well as in a few detached stanzas, are personified
only to the extent of being thought of as mothers,
young-wives and goddesses, bestowing boons and coming
to the sacrifice. They follow the path of the gods.
They flow in a channel dug out with his bolt by Indra,
whose ordinances they never infringe. The sea is
their goal. But they are also celestial ; for their abode
is with the gods, in the seat of Mitra-Varuna, beside the
sun. King Varuna moves in their midst, looking down
on the truth and falsehood of men. As mothers they
produce not only Agni (p. 73), but all that is fixed or
moves. They purify and carry away defilement.
They also cleanse from moral guilt — from the sins of
violence, cursing and lying. They further bestow

APAS: WATERS 63

remedies, health, strength, long life, wealth and im-
mortality. Their favour is often invoked, and they are
invited to receive the Soma libation, seated on the sacri-
ficial grass.

The waters are often associated with honey : their
milk mixed with honey is produced in the sky, gladdens
the gods, aqd became the drink of Indra (p. 43), giving
him heroic strength. Here the celestial waters seem to
be identified with the heavenly Soma. Elsewhere
the waters used in preparing the terrestrial Soma seem
to be meant. Thus they appear, bearing ghee and
honey, in accord with the priests that bring well-
pressed Soma for Indra. Soma delights in them as a
young man in lovely maidens. He approaches them as
a lover ; before him, the youth, they, the maidens,
bow down.

The deification of the waters is pre-Vedic, for they
are invoked in the Avesta also.

XXII. WATERS
VII, 49. – Metre: Tristubh.

1. With ocean for their chief they flow unresting ;
   From the aerial flood they hasten cleansing ;
   For whom the mighty Indra’ s bolt cut channels,
   Here may those waters, goddesses, preserve me.
2. Waters that come from heaven or run in channels
   Dug out, or flow spontaneously by nature,

That, clear and pure, have as their goal the ocean :
Here may those waters, goddesses, preserve me.

3. In midst of whom king Varupa is moving,

And looking down surveys men’s truth and false-
hood :
Who, clear and purifying, drip with sweetness :
Here may those waters, goddesses, preserve me.

4. In whom king Varuna, in whom, too, Soma,
   In whom the All-gods drink exalted vigour ;
   Into whom Agni, friend of all, has entered :
   Here may those waters, goddesses, preserve me.

64 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

APAM NAPAT

Aplm Naplt, the Son of Waters, is invoked in one
entire hymn and is often incidentally mentioned else-
where. He is youthful and brilliant, shining without
fuel in the waters that surround and nourish him.
Clothed with lightning he is of golden aspect,
shining with undimmed splendour in the highest
place. He is borne by steeds swift as thought. In
the last stanza of the following hymn he is invoked
as Agni, who, moreover, is called Apatn Napat in an
Agni hymn; the epithet, “swiftly-speeding,” is further
applied to these two deities exclusively, though they
are otherwise sometimes distinguished. Apam Napat
thus appears to represent the lightning form of Agni
hidden in the cloud. For Agni is not only directly
called Apam Napat, but also described as the “embryo
of the waters “; the third form of Agni is, moreover,
said to be kindled in the waters.

This god is an inheritance from pre-Indian mytho-
logy, for in the Avesta Apam Napat is a spirit of the
waters who lives in their depths, surrounded by females
and often invoked with them, who drives with swift
steeds, and is associated with brilliance in the depth of
the ocean.

XXIII. SON OF WATERS
II, 35. Metrk: Tri§tubh.

1. Desiring gain this eloquence I utter :

May the streams’ son accept my songs with gladness.
Will he, the Son of Waters, of swift impulse.
Perchance reward them well ? He will enjoy them.

2. Now from our hearts we would this hymn well-

fashioned
Address to him : perchance he will regard it.
The noble Son of Waters, by the greatness
Of rule divine, all creatures has created.

3. Some flow together, some approach the ocean ;
   The rivers thus fill up the common cistern.

APAM NAPAT 65

And him the pure, the shining Son of Waters,
The waters pure on all sides have surrounded.

4. The waters, youthful maidens, never smiling,
   Making him bright, encompass him the youthful.
   He with clear flames, free-handedly upon us.
   Unfed with wood, shines decked with ghee in waters.
5. Three dames divine to him the god, the dauntless.
   Wish eagerly to offer food for nurture.

He seems to seek their breasts within the waters :
He drinks the milk of them that first are mothers.

6. The birthplace of this steed is earth and heaven.
   Our patrons do thou guard from harm and malice.
   Him not to be forgotten, far off dwelling

In cloud-built forts, foes shall not reach nor false-
hoods.

7. He in whose house is a productive milch-cow
   Increasing vital force, fares on good nurture.
   The Waters’ Son, expanding in the waters.
   Shines forth^upon the pious, granting riches.
8. Who in the waters, with celestial brightness,
   Shines widely forth, eternal, law-abiding.
   Of him as branches every plant and creature

Do propagate themselves with all their offspring.

9. Their son has mounted the lap of the prostrate,
   Standing erect and clothed around with lightning.
   And bearing on with them his highest greatness.
   The swift streams, golden-coloured, flow around

him.

10. He is of golden form, of golden aspect^
    This Son of Waters is of golden colour.

And him who from a golden birthplace issues,
Those that give gold present with food when seated.

11. That countenance of him, that name beloved
    Of him, the Waters’ Son, increase in secret.
    Whom thus the maidens all together kindle.
    Of him, the golden-hued, the food is butter.

6

66 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

12. Then him the nearest friend of many mortals
    We serve with sacrifices, gifts, obeisance.

I make his back to shine, _with shavings feed him ;
I nourish him with food, with stanzas laud him.

13. He, as a bull, in them that germ engendered ;

He, as their infant, sucks their breasts ; they kiss

him.
He, Son of Waters, of unfading colour.
Here works as with the body of another :

14. While he is dwelling in this highest station.
    For ever shining with undimmed effulgence.
    The waters bringing ghee to feed their offspring,
    Themselves, the swift ones, with their robes fly

round him.

15. I have bestowed safe dwelling on our people,

A well-wrought hymn, too, Agni, on our patrons :
All that is favoured by the gods is blessed.
May we speak loud, with heroes, in the synod.

PRTHIVI: EARTH

The following hymn is the only one in the Rigveda
to Prthivi, Earth, though she is often celebrated with
Dyaus, Heaven, conjointly {e.g. p. 67), as a dual divin-
ity. There is also a long and beautiful hymn addressed
to Prthivi in the Atharvaveda. The personification is_
but slight, as the attributes of the goddess are chiefly
those of the physical earth. In a funeral hymn she is
spoken of as ” Kindly mother Earth,” and when men-
tioned with Dyaus she frequently receives the epithet of
” Mother.” The name means ” The broad one,” being
derived, as indicated in the Rigveda itself, from the root
prath, “To extend.”

XXIV. EARTH
V, 84. Metre : And§tubh.

1. Thou bearest truly, Prthivi,

The burden of the mountains’ weight ;
With might, O thou of many streams,
Thou quickenest, potent one, the soil.

DYAVA-P^THIVl 67

2. With flowers of speech our songs of praise
   Resound to thee, far-spreading one,

Who sendest forth the swelling cloud,
O bright one, like propelling speed ;

3. Who, steadfast, holdest with thy might.
   The forest-trees upon the ground.
   When, from the lightning of thy cloud,
   The rain-floods of the sky pour down.

. DYAVA-PRTHIVi

Heaven and Earth are the most frequently named
pair in the Rigveda. They are so closely associated
that, while they are invoked as a couple in six hymns,
Dyaus, Heaven, is never addressed alone in any hymn,
and Prthivi, Earth, in only one of three stanzas (p. 66) .
The two deities are quite co-ordinate, while in most of
the other couples, one of the two greatly predominates.
Thus they probably represent the prototype of the
class of dual divinities in the Rigveda.

They are parents besides being separately addressed
as “father” and ” mother.” They have made and sustain
all creatures, being also the parents of the gods. One
of them is called a prolific bull, the other a varigated
cow. They never grow old. Great and far-extended
they are broad and vast abodes. They grant food and
wealth, bestowing fame and dominion. They are wise
and promote righteousness. As parents they guard
creatures and protect from disgrace and misfortune.
They are sufficiently personified to be called leaders of
the sacrifice and to be thought of as seating themselves
around the offering ; but they never attained to a living
personification or importance in worship.

XXV. HEAVEN AND EARTH
I, 185. Metre : Tri?tubh.

1. Which of the two is earlier, which the later ?
   How were they born, ye sages, who discerns it ?
   They by themselves support all things existing.
   As with a wheel the day and night roll onward.

68 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

2. The two support, though moving not and footless,
   Abundant offspring having feet and moving.

O Heaven and Earth, from dreadful darkness save us,
Like your own son held in his parents’ bosom.

3. I crave of Aditi the gift, the matchless.
   Beneficent, illustrious, and honoured :

O ye two worlds, procure that for the singer.
O Heaven and Earth, from dreadful darkness save
us.

4. May we be near to both the worlds who suffer
   No care, parents of gods, who aid with favour.
   Both are divine, with days and nights alternate.

O Heaven and Earth from dreadful darkness save
us.

5. Maidens uniting, with adjoining limits.
   Twin sisters, resting in th«ir parents’ bosom.
   They kiss, combined, the universe’s centre.

O Heaven and Earth, from dreadful darkness save
us.

6. ‘Devoutly I the two seats wide and lofty,
   The parents of the gods, invoke with fervour.
   Who, fair of aspect, grant us life immortal.

Heaven and Earth, from dreadful darkness save
us.

7. Them wide and broad and great, whose bounds are

distant.
Who, beautiful and fain to help, grant blessings :

1 at this sacrifice invoke with homage.

O Heaven and Earth, from dreadful darkness
save us.

8. If ever we have any sin committed

Against the gods, or friend, or house’s chieftain.
Of that may this our hymn be expiation.
O Heaven and Earth, from dreadful darkness
save us.

9. May both, as objects of men’s praises, bless me ;
   May both attend me with their help and favour.

AGNI 69

Give much to men more liberal than the godless.
We would be strong, ye gods, enjoying nurture.

10. This truth have I now uttered first with wisdom
    To Heaven and Earth that every one may hear it.
    Protect me from disgrace and peril ; guard me
    As Father and as Mother with your succour.
11. May this my prayer come true, O Earth and Heaven,
    With which I here address you, Father, Mother.
    Be nearest of the gods to us with favours :

May we find food and home with flowing water.

AGNI

Agni and Soma are the two great ritual deities of the
Rigveda. Judged by the number of hymns addressed
to him, Agni is second in importance to Indra (p. 43)
only, being invoked in at least 200. His anthropomor-
phism is only rudimentary, being connected chiefly
with the sacrificial aspect of fire. He is butter-backed,
flame-haired, has a tawny beard, sharp jaws, and golden
teeth. His tongue, with which the gods eat the obla-
tion, is often mentioned. With a burning head he faces
in all directions.

Agni is compared with various animals : he resem-
bles a bellowing bull, and sharpens his horns ; when
born he is often called a calf ; when kindled he is like a
horse that brings the gods, and is yoked to convey the
sacrifice to them. He is also a divine bird ; he is the
eagle of the sky ; as dwelling in the waters he is lilce a,
goose ; he is winged and takes possession of the wood,
as a bird perches on a tree.

Wood or ghee is his food, melted butter his drink, and
he is nourished three times a day. He is the mouth by
which the gods eat the sacrifice ; and his flames are
spoons with which he besprinkles the gods ; he is also
asked to consume the offerings himself.

Agni’s brightness is much dwelt on : he shines like
the sun ; his lustre is like the rays of the dawn and the
sun, and resembles the lightnings of the rain-cloud. He
shines even at night, and dispels the darkness with his

70 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

beams. On the other hand, his path is black when he
invades the forests and shaves the earth as a barber a
beard. His flames are like , roaring waves, and his
sound is like the thunder of heaven. His red smoke
rises up to the firmament ; like the erector of a post he
supports the sky with his smoke. ” Smoke-bannered “
is his frequent and exclusive epithet. He has a shining,
golden, lightning car, drawn by two or more ruddy or
tawny steeds. He is the charioteer of sacrifice, and with
his steeds he brings the gods on his car. Agni is the
child of Heaven, and is often called the son of Heaven
and Earth. He is also the oflEspring of the waters.
Indra is called Agni’s twin brother, and is more closely
associated with him than any other god.

The mythology of Agni, apart from his sacrificial
activity, is mostly concerned with his various births,
forms and alDodes. Mention is often made of his daily
production from the two kindling sticks, which are his
parents. From the dry wood Agni is born : as soon as
born the child devours his parents. The ten fingers of
the kindler are called the ten maidens. Owing to the
force needed to kindle him, he is spoken of as the ” Son
of Strength.” Being produced every morning, he is
young ; at the same time no sacrificer is older than he :
for he conducted the first sacrifice. Secondly, Agni’s
origin in the aerial waters is often referred to : he is
an embryo of the waters ; he is kindled in the waters ;
he is a bull that has grown in the lap of the waters.
As ” Son of Waters ” (p. 64) he has become a separate
deity. He is also sometimes conceived as latent in
terrestrial waters. This notion of Agni in the waters
is a prominent one in the Rigveda. Thirdly, a celestial
origin of Agni is often mentioned : he is born in the
highest heaven, and was brought down from heaven by
Matarisvan, the Indian Prometheus ; and the acquisi-
tion of fire by man is regarded as a gift of the gods as
well as a production of Matarisvan. The Sun is, more-
over, regarded as a form of Agni. Thus Agni is the
light of heaven in the bright sky ; he was born on the
other side of the air, and sees all things ; he is born as

AGNI 71

the sun rising iil the morning. Hence Agtti comes to
have a triple character : his births are three, or three’
fold ; the gods made him threefold ; he is threefold
light ; he has three heads, three bodies, three stations.
The threefold nature of Agni is clearly recognised
in the Rigveda, and represents the earliest Indian
trinity.

The universe being also regarded as consisting of
the two divisions of heaven and earth, Agni is said to
have two origins, and indeed is the only god described
as “having two births.” As kindled in numerous
dwellings, Agni is said to have many births.

He is more closely associated with human life than
any other deity, being the only god called ‘ Lord of the
house” and constantly spoken of as a guest in human
dwellings. He is an immortal who has taken up his
abode among mortals. Thus he comes to be termed
the nearest kinsman of man. He is oftenest described
as a father, sometimes also as a brother, or even as a
son of his worshippers. He both takes the ofiEerings of
men to the gods and brings the gods to the sacrifice.
He is thus characteristically a messenger appointed by
gods and by men to be an ” oblation-bearer.”

As the centre of the sacrifice Agni comes to be
celebrated as the divine counterpart of the earthly
priesthood. Hence he is often called “priest,”
“domestic priest,” and, more often than by any other
name, “invoking priest” {hotar), less often “officiating
priest” and “praying priest.” His priesthood is the
most salient feature of his character : he is, in fact, the
great priest as Indra is the great warrior.

Agni’s wisdom is often dwelt upon : as knowing all
the details of sacrifice, he is wise and omniscient, being
exclusively called ” knower of all created beings.”
He is a great benefactor of his worshippers, bestowing
on them all kinds of boons, especially domestic welfare,
offspring, and general prosperity, His greatness is
often celebrated, being once even said to surpass that
of the other gods. His cosmic and creative powers are
also frequently praised.

72 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

From the ordinary sacrificial Agni, who conveys
the ofEering, is distinguished his “corpse-devouring”
form, that burns the body on the funeral pyre. Another
function of Agni is to burn and dispel evil spirits and
hostile magic. ‘

The sacrificial fire was already in the Indo-Iranian
period the centre of a developed ritual, being personi-
fied and worshipped as a mighty, wise and beneficent
god. It seems to have been an Indo-European insti-
tution also, since the Greeks and Romans, as well as the
Indians and Iranians, had the custom of offering gifts to
the gods in fire. But whether it was already personifi-
ed in that remote period is a matter of conjecture.

XXVI, AGNI
1, 1. Metre : Gayatri.

1. Agni I’ praise, the household priest,
   God, minister of sacrifice,
   Invoker, best bestowing wealth.
2. Agni is worthy to be praised,
   By present as by seers of old :
   May he to us conduct the gods.
3. Through Agni may we riches gain,
   And day by day prosperity
   Replete with fame and manly sons.
4. The worship and the sacrifice.
   Guarded by thee on every side.
   Go straight, O Agni, to the gods.
5. May Agni, the invoker, wise

And true, of most resplendent fame.
The god, come hither with the gods.

6. Whatever good thou wilt bestow,
   O Agni, on the pious man,
   That gift comes true, O Angiras.
7. To thee, O Agni, day by day,
   O thou illuminer of gloom.

With thought we, bearing homage, come :

AGNI 73

8. To thee the lord of sacrifice,
   The radiant guardian of the Law,
   That growest-in thine own abode.
9. So, like a father to his son.
   Be easy of approach to us ;
   Agni, for weal abide with us.

XXVII. AGNI
I, 143. Metre : Jagati ; 8 Tristubh.

1. A mightier, newer hymn to Agni I present ;

My words and song to him, the son of strength,

I bring.
Who, offspring of the waters, with bright gods sat

down.
As regular and dear invoker, on the earth.

2. As soon as he was in the highest heaven born.
   To Matarisvan Agni manifest became ;

As he was kindled, by his might and majesty
His brilliant light illuminated Heaven and Earth.

3. His flames that grow not old, the beams of Agni’s

fire,
Whose aspect, countenance, and sheen-are beautiful.
With mighty radiance undulate and shine afar.
Like glistening rivers’ flow : they slumber not nor

age.

4. The god, all-knowing Agni, whom the Bhrgus

brought
With might to earth’s navel, the centre of the

world.
Him stimulate with songs within his own abode,
Who rules, sole sovereign, over wealth, like

Varuna.

5. Who like the Maruts’ roar, or like a dart discharged.
   Or like the heavenly bolt can never be restrained :
   Agni, the god, with pointed fangs consumes and

chews ;
He, as a warrior his foes, lays low the woods.

74 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

6. Will Agni be a glad receiver of our praise ?

Will he, the bright one, with bright goods grant

our desire ?
Will he incite, inspire out thoughts to gain their
‘ ends?
Him of the radiant face now with this song I laud.

7. Who kindles Agni, butter-faced, that draws aloft
   Your sacrifice, he strives to win him as a friend.
   When kindled as a shining banner at our rites.
   May he uplift our radiant-coloured hymn of praise.
8. Incessantly with guards unceasing, Agni,
   That are auspicious and strong, protect us.

With guards that slumber not, unfailing, watchful,
Preserve, O helper, all our children safely.

XXVIII. AGNI
VI, 6. Metrb : Tri§tubh.

1. The man who seeks success and aid approaches
   The son of strength, with feast and newest worship.
   He rends the wood and has a blackened pathway.
   The brightly radiant and divine invoker.
2. The shining thunderer who dwells in lustre,
   With his unaging, roaring flames, most youthful.
   Refulgent Agni, frequently recurring,

Goes after many spacious woods and chews them.

3. Thy flames when driven by the wind, O Agni,
   Disperse, O pure one, pure in all directions ;
   And thy divine Navagvas, most destructive,
   Lay low the woods and devastate them boldly.
4. Thy steeds, the bright, the pure, O radiant Agni,
   Let loose speed on and shave the ground beneath

them.
Thy whirling flame then widely shines refulgent,
The highest ridges of earth’s surface reaching.

5. When the. bull’s tongue darts forward like the missile
   Discharged by him who fights the cows to capture.
   Like hero’s onset is the flame of Agni :
   Resistless, dreadful, he consumes the forests.

BRHASPATI 75

6. Thou with the sunbeams of the great impeller,
   Hast boldly overspread the earthly spaces.

So with thy mighty powers drive off all terrors ;
Attack our rivals and burn down our foemen,

7. Give us, O splendid one of splendid lordship.
   Wealth giving splendour, splendid, life-imparting.
   Bestow bright wealth and vast with many heroes,
   Bright god, with thy bright flames, upon the singer.

BRHASPATI

Brhaspati is invoked in eleven entire hymns, and
in two others conjointly with Indra, His name also
appears in the less frequent form of Brahmanas pati,
Lord of Prayer, the doublets alternating in the same
hymn. He is described as sharp-horned and blue-backed,
golden-hued and ruddy. He is armed with bow’ and
arrows, and wields a golden hatchet or an iron axe. His
car, drawn by ruddy steeds, slays the goblins, bursts
open the cow stalls, and wins the light. He is called the
father of the gods, and, like Agni, is both a domestic
(purohita) and a praying priest {brahman). Without
him, the generator of all prayers, sacrifice does not
succeed. His song goes to heaven, and he is associated
with singers. He is sometimes identified with Agni,
from whom he is, however, much more often distin-
guished. He is often invoked with Indra, some of
whose epithets, such as “wielder of the bolt” and
” bountiful,” are transferred to him. He is thus drawn
into the Indra myth of the release of the cows. Accom-
panied by his singing host, he rends Vala with a roar,
and drives out the cows. In so doing he dispels the
darkness and finds the light.

He helps and protects the pious man, prolonging life
and removing disease.

The Lord of Prayer seems originally to have repre-
sented an aspect of Agni as a divine priest presiding
over devotion, an aspect which had already attained an
independent character by the beginning of the Rigvedic
period. As the divine brahman priest he seems to

76 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

have been the prototype of Brahma, the chief of the
later Hindu trinity.

XXIX. BRHASPATI
IV, SO. Metre : Tristubh ; 10 Jagati.

1. Brhaspati, in his three seats with thunder
   Who mightily has propped apart earth’s limits.
   Him of the charming tongue, the. ancient sages,
   Inspired and deeply thinking, placed before them.
2. Brhaspati, come from the farthest distance
   They, cherishing the rite, for thee are seated.
   For thee streams, pressed with stones, and flowing

channels.
Distil on all sides mead in great abundance.

4. Brhaspati when first he was engendered
   From mighty lustre in the highest heaven,
   Seven-mouthed and high-born, with his voice of

thunder
And seven rays asunder blew the darkness,

5. He with his loudly praising throng of singers
   Burst open the enclosing cave with thunder.
   Brhaspati then drove out, loudly roaring,
   The ruddy kine that sweeten the oblation.
6. Him, mighty friend of all the gods, the father,
   Serve we with sacrifices, gifts, obeisance.
   With goodly offspring and a throng of heroe^
   Brhaspati, we would be lords of riches.
7. That king indeed by his heroic prowess
   AndTsnergy defeats all hostile forces,
   Who keeps Brhaspati well nourished,
   Honours and lauds him as the first partaker.
8. He truly in his house dwells well-established,
   To him the sacred food affords abundance.

To him his subjects with free will pay homage,
If from this king the pries$ receives precedence.

9. He unresisted ever wins the riches

Of his own people and surrounding foemen.

SOMA 77

The king who to the priest desiring favour
Gives liberty, receives the gods’ protection..

10. Brhaspati and Indra, ye of mighty wealth,
    Drink Soma here, rejoicing at this sacrifice.
    May these invigorating drops now enter you :
    Bestow on us great wealth and sons exclusively.
11. Brhaspati and Indra, make us prosper,
    Let that benevolence of yours be with us.
    Arouse rewards and give our prayers fulfilment.
    The enmities of foes and rivals weaken.

SOMA

As the Soma sacrifice forms the centre of the ritual
of the Rigveda, this is one of the most prominent
deities, coming next in importance to Agni, as indicated
by the number of hymns (120) addressed to him. His
anthropomorphism is little developed, because the
plant and its juice are constantly present to the mind
and the vision of the poet.

Soma has sharp and terrible weapons, which he
grasps in his hand ; he wields a bow and a thousand-
pointed shaft. He has a celestial car drawn by a team
like Vayu’s ; he is also said to ride on the same car as
Indra ; and he is the best of charioteers. He is asso-
ciated as a dual divinity in about half a dozen hymns
with Indra, Agni, Pusan and Rudra. He is sometimes
attended by the Maruts, Indra’s close allies. He comes
to the sacrifice to receive the offerings, and seats him-
self on the sacred grass.

The intoxicating Soma juice is often called ” mead “
{mad/m), but more often the “drop” (indu). Its
colour is brown, ruddy, or more usually tawny. The
whole of the ninth book of the Rigveda consists of
incantations chanted over the tangible Soma, while its
stalks are being pounded by the pressing stones, and
the juice, passing through the strainer of sheep’s wool,
flows into wooden vats, in which it is offered to the
gods on the sacred grass. These processes are overlaid
with confused and mystical imagery, endlessly varied.

78 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

The filtered Soma is mixed with water as well as milk,
by which it is sweetened. Soma’s connexion with the
waters is expressed in many ways. He is the drop
that grows in the waters ; he is the embryo of the
waters or their child; they are his mothers or his
sisters ; he is lord and king of streams ; he produces
iwaters and causes heaven and earth to rain. The sound
of the flowing juice is often expressed by verbs
meaning to roar, bellow, or even thunder. He is
therefore frequently called a bull among the cows
(representing the waters). He is, moreover, swift,
being often compared with a steed, sometimes with a
bird flying to the wood. His yellow colour suggests his
brilliance, the physical aspect of Soma on which the
poets dwell most frequently. He is then often com-
pared with or associated with the sun.

The exhilarating effect of Soma caused it to be
regarded as a drink bestowing immortal life, and to be
called the draught of immortality {amrta). All the
gods drink Soma ; they drank it to gain immortality ; it
confers immortality not only on the gods, but on men.
It also has healing powers, making the blind to see and
the lame to walk. As stimulating the voice. Soma is
called ” Lord of Speech.” He awakens eager thought :
he is a generator of hymns, a leader of poets, a seer
among priests. His wisdom is hence much dwelt on :
he is a wise seer, and knows the races of the gods.

The exhilarating powers of Soma are most empha-
sized in connection with Indra, whom it stimulates for
the fight with Vrtra in innumerable ways. Through
this association Indra’ s warlike exploits come to be
attributed to Soma himself : he is a victor unconquered
in fight, born for battle ; as a warrior he wins all kinds
of wealth for his worshippers.

Soma is in several passages said to grow or dwell
on the mountains, but his true origin and abode are
thought to be in heaven. Soma is the child of heaven,
is the milk of heaven, and is purified in heaven ; he is
the lord of heaven ; he occupies heaven, and his place
is the highest heaven. Thence he was brought to earth :

SOMA 79

the myth embodying this belief is that of the eagle that
brings Soma to Indra.

Being the most important of herbs, Soma is said to
have been born as the lord of plants, whose king he is ;
he is the lord of the wood, and has generated all
plants.

In a few of the latest hymns of the Rigveda Soma
begins to be mystically identified with the moon ; in
the Atharvavpda Soma several times means the
moon ; and in the Brahmanas this identification has
already become a commonplace.

The preparation and the offering of Soma (the
Avestan Haoma) were already an important feature in
Indo-Iranian worship. In both the Rigveda and the
Avesta it is said that the Soma stalks were pressed, that
its juice was yellow, and was mixed with milk ; in both
Soma grows on the mountains, though its mythical
home is in heaven, whence it comes down to earth ; in
both Soma has become a mighty god and is called a
king ; in both there are many other identical mytho-
logical traits. ;

It is possible that the belief in an intoxicating divine
beverage, the home of which was in heaven, goes back
to the Indo-European period ; if so, it must have been
regarded as a kind of honey-mead (Sanskrit mddhu,
Greek ju.e6i;, Anglo-Saxon werfw).

The name of Soma means ” pressed juice,” being
derived from su (avestan hu), ” to press.”

The following hymn does not touch upon the pro-
cesses of the production of Soma, but dwells on the
inspiring, life-giving, remedial, protective, and beneficial
powers of the god.

XXX. SOMA
VIII, 48. Mbtre : Tristubh ; 5 Jagati.

J. I have partaken wisely of the sweet food

That stirs good thoughts, best banisher of trouble,
The food round which all deities and mortals.
Calling it honey-mead, collect together,

80 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA’

2. Thou shalt be Aditi when thou hast entered
   Within, appeaser of celestial anger.

May’st thou, O drop, enjoying Indra’s friendship.
Like willing mare the car, to wealth advance us.

3. We have drunk Soma and become immortal ;
   We have attained the light the gods discovered.
   Wfiat can hostility now do against us ?

And what, immortal god, the spite of mortals ?

4. Be cheering to our heart when drunk, O Indu,
   Kindly, like father to his son, O Soma.

Like friend for friend, far-famed one, wisely
Prolong our years that we may live, O Soma.

5. These glorious, freedom-giving drops, when drunk

by me.
Have knit my joints together as do thongs a car.
May these protect me now from fracturing a limb.
And may they ever keep me from disease remote.

6. Like fire produced by friction, make me brilliant ;
   Do thou illumine us and make us richer ;

For then I seem in thy carouse, O Soma,
Enriched. Now enter us for real welfare.

7. Of. this thy juice pressed out with mind devoted,
   We would partake as of paternal riches.
   Prolong the years of life for us. King Soma,
   As Siirya lengthens out the days of spring-time.
8. King Soma, gracious be to us for welfare :
   We are thy devotees ; of that be mindful.

Indu, might and anger rise against us :
Hand us not over to our foeman’s mercies.

9. Thou, as the guardian of our body. Soma,
   Surveying men, in every limb hast settled.

If we perchance infringed, O god, thy statutes,
As our good friend for greater wealth be gracious.

10. I would accompany the friend, the wholesome.
    Who, Lord of Bays, imbibed, would never hurt me.

1 come to Indra to prolong our life-time,
That we may relish Soma placed within us.

SOMA 81

11. Away have fled those ailments and diseases ;
    The powers of darkness have been all afErighted.
    With mighty strength in us has Soma mounted :
    We have arrived where men prolong existence.
12. The drop drunk deeply in our hearts, O Fathers,
    Us mortals that immortal god has entered.
    That Soma we would worship ,with oblation ;
    We would be in his mercy and good graces.
13. Uniting with the Fathers thou, O Soma,
    Hast over Heaven and Earth thyself extended.
    So, Indu, we would serve thee with oblation:
    Thus we would be the lords of ample riches.
14. Do ye, protecting gods, speak in our favour,
    Let neither sleep nor idle talk subdue us ;
    May we, for evermore, beloved of Soma,
    Endowed with hero sons, address the synod.
15. Thou, Soma, givest strength to us on all sides.

Light-finder, watching men, within us enter.
Do thou, O Indu, with thine aids accordant,
Behind for ever and before protect us.

ARANYANI

The following is the only hymn of the Rigveda. in
which Aranyani, the goddess of the Forest, is invoked.
Here the various sounds heard in her dark solitudes at
nightfall are weirdly described.

XXXI. ARAI^yAnI
X, 146. Metrk : AnuStubh.

1. O forest nymph, O forest nymph,
   Thou seemest to have lost thy way :
   Why dost not for the village ask ?

Has fear, perchance, now entered thee ?

2. When to the owl’s loud-sounding hoot
   The parrot makes an answering cry.
   And hops, as to the cymbal’s clash.
   Then Aranyani heaves with joy.

82 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

3. Sounds as of cows that graze are heard,
   A dwelling house appears to loom,
   And AranyanI, forest nymph.

Creaks like a cart at eventide.

4. Here some one calls his cow to him,
   Another there is felling wood :
   Who in the forest bides at eve
   Thinks to himself, ” I heard a cry.”
5. Never does Aranyani hurt.
   Unless one goes too near to her ;
   When she has eaten of sweet fruit.
   At her own will she goes to rest.
6. Sweet-scented, redolent of balm,
   Replete with food, though tilling not.
   Mother of beasts, the forest nymph.
   Her I have magnified with praise.

WEDDING HYMN

Among the hymns not directly addressed to the
gods, but rather coming within the sphere of social life,
is the wedding hymn. As, however, social usages were
dominated by religion, the poem has a religious and
mythological colouring. It is of great length, consisting
of 47 stanzas, and lacking poetical unity. It contains
groups of stanzas relating to the marriage ceremonial
loosely strung together. The following stanzas have
been selected from it as the most suitable for translation
in this volume. The poem begins (1-5) with mystical
identification of the celestial Soma with the moon ; then
follow (6-17) stanzas relating to the wedding of Soma,
the moon, with the Sun-maiden, Siirya. The sun and
moon are next described as an inseparable pair (18-19).

XXXII. WEDDING HYMN

X, 85. Metre : 18, 44, Jagati ;

19, 26, 27, 36, Tristdbh ;
31, 32, 38, 42, 47, Gayatri.

18. These two speed on with mystic power alternately ;
    Like playful children they go round the sacrifice.

WEDDING HYMN 83

One of the two surveys the whole created world ;
The other, seasons meting out, is born again.

19. Ever anew, being born again, he rises ;

He goes before the dawns as daylight’s token.
He, coming, to the gods their share apportions :
The moon draws out the span of man’s existence.

Blessings are then invoked on the wedding procession,
and good wishes expressed for the future of the newly-
married couple (20-33):

26. Let Piisan lead thee home, thy hand well grasping,
    And let the Asvins on their chariot drive thee.

Go to thy home that thou may’st be its mistress.
And with authority address the synod.

27. May for.tune here with offspring be thy portion,
    In this abode be of thine household watchful.
    And with thine husband here be thou united ;
    And till old age do ye address the synod.
28. The ailments, coming from her kin,

That her bright wedding throng pursue,
These may the holy gods drive back.
Towards the place from which they came.

32. May those who lie in wait around
    Their path, not find the bridal pair ;
    May these by easy roads escape
    The peril ; may their foes disperse.

The two next stanzas (34-35) , which contain some
obscure references to the bridal garments, are followed
by six others (36-41) pronounced at the wedding rite,
which is again brought into relation with the marriage of
Surya. The bridegroom here first addresses the bride,
and then Agni, as the god of the nuptial fire, is invoked :

36. I grasp thy hand that I may gain good fortune,
    That thou may’st reach old age with me as husband.
    Aryaman, Bhaga, Savitar, Puramdhi,
    The gods, give thee to me for life domestic.

8

84 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

38. For thee they first drove Siirya home
    Together with the wedding throng :
    O Agni, to her spouse give back
    His wife, and to her ofiEspring grant.

The concluding stanzas (42-47) are benedictions pro-
nounced on the newly-wedded pair, after the arrival of
the bride at her future home :

42. Abide ye here ; be not disjoined ;

Complete life’s full allotted span,

Frolicking with sons and grandsons.

Rejoicing in your own abode.

44. Free from the evil eye, thy husband hurting not,
    Kind to our beasts, be friendly, full of energy ;
    Bear heroes, love the gods, and live in happiness ;
    Bring welfare to our bipeds and our quadrupeds.
45. May all the gods unite our hearts,-
    And may the Waters them entwine ;
    May Matarisvan and Dhatar,
    May Destri them together join.

FUNERAL HYMNS

The following two hymns belong to the group of
five (x, 14-18) dealing with death and the future life.
From these we learn that, though burial was also
practised, cremation was the normal method of dispos-
ing of the dead, and formed the basis of the mythology
relating to the future life. Agni conveys the corpse to
the other world, the Fathers, and the gods. He is
besought to preserve the body intact, and to burn the
goat that is sacrificed as his portion. The way to the
heavenly world is by a distant path, on which Savitar
conducts and Pusan protects the dead. Before the
pyre is lighted, the wife of the dead man, having lain
beside him, arises, and his bow is taken from his hand.
This indicates that in earlier times his widow and his
weapons were burnt with the body of the husband.

FUNERAL HYMN 85

Passing along the path trodden by the Fathers, the
spirit of the deceased goes to the realm of light, and
meets the Fathers who revel with Yama in the highest
heaven. Here, united with a glorious body, he enters
upon a life of bliss which is free from imperfections
and bodily frailties, in which all desires are fulfilled,
and which is passed among the gods, especially the two
kings, Yama and Varuna.

XXXm. THE WAY TO YAMA’S REALM
X, .14. Metre : Tristdbh ; 13-14 Anu§tubh ; IS Bj^hati.

1. Him who has past along the mighty ridges.
   And has spied out the path for many travellers,
   Vivasvant’s son, the gatherer of people,
   Yama, the king, do thou present with offering.
2. For us has Yama first found out the pathway :
   This pasture never can be taken from us.

To where have passed away our former fathers.
The later born by their own paths have travelled.

4. Upon this sacred grass sit down, O Yama,
   Uniting with the Angiras, our fathers.
   Let spells recited by the sages bring thee ;
   Do thou, O king, rejoice in this oblation.
5. Come hither with the Angiras, the holy :
   Here with Viriipa’s sons, O Yama revel,
   Vivasvant I invoke, who is thy father.
   When at this rite upon the straw he’s seated.
6. The Angiras, our fathers, the Navagvas,
   The Bhrgus and Atharvans, Soma-loving :
   May we abide for ever in the favour
   And the good graces of those holy sages.
7. Depart, depart, along those ancient pathways.
   On which have passed away our former fathers :
   There thou shalt see rejoicing in libations

The two kings, Varuna the god and Yama.

8. Unite thou with the Fathers and with Yama,
   With thy good works’ reward in highest heaven.

86 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

To home return, all imperfection leaving.
Unite with thine own body, full of vigour.

9. Begone, depart from here, disperse and scatter :
   For him the Fathers have prepared this dwelling.
   Yama bestows on him this place to rest in,
   A place by waters, days and nights distinguished.
10. Run on thy path straight forward, past the two dogs,
    The sons of Sarama, four-eyed and brindled.
    Draw near thereafter to the bounteous Fathers,
    Who revel on in company with Yama.
11. O King, to those two this dead man deliver.
    The two that are thy guardian dogs, O Yama,
    Four-eyed, observing men, the pathway watching.
    Bestow upon the dead man health and welfare.
12. Broad-nosed and brown the messengers of Yama,
    Greedy of lives they rove among the people.
    May they give back to us a life propitious
    Here and to-day, that we may see the sunlight.
13. For Yama press the Soma juice.
    To Yama offering present.

To Yama goes the sacrifice,
Announced by Agni, well-prepared.

14. To Yama offering rich in ghee
    Present forthwith, and forward step.
    Let him direct us to the gods.
    That we may live a life prolonged.
15. To Yama as a King present
    Oblation very honey-sweet.
    This homage is for seers of old.
    The ancient makers of the path.

XXXIV. FUNERAL PRAYER

X, 18. Mbtre : TRI5TUBH ; 11 PrastArapajjjkti ;

13 Jagati.

1. Depart, O Death, along the farthest pathway,
   Which is thine own, not that by mortals trodden.
   I speak to thee that hast both eyes and hearing :
   Do not our offspring injure nor our heroes.

FUNERAL PRAYER 87

2. Since ye have come, the trace of death effacing,
   Till future days prolonging your existence :
   With offspring and with riches thriving greatly,
   Do ye, O pious men, be pure and holy.
3. These living men have from the dead been parted ;
   Our calling of the gods is now auspicious.

We have come near, prepared for dance and

laughter.
Till future days prolonging our existence.

4. For those that live do I set up this limit.
   May now no other one this goal encounter.
   May they exist a hundred ample autumns :

By this stone may they death remove far from them.

5. As days in order follow one another,
   As seasons duly alternate with seasons.
   And as the later ne’er forsakes the earlier,
   So settle thou the lives of these, Ordainer.
6. Do ye attain long life, old age selecting,
   As many as you are combined in order.

May Tvastar, well-disposed, the skilled creator.
Produce forthwith long life for your existence.

7. These women here, non-widows, with good hus-

bands.
Let them provide themselves with fat and butter.
Tearless and free from care, well-decked with

jewels.
Let first these wives ascend the place of mourning.

8. Arise, come to the world of life, O woman ;
   Thou liest here by one whose breath has left him.
   Come : thou hast entered upon the wifehood

Of this thy lord who takes thy hand and woos thee.

9. From the dead hand I take the bow he wielded,
   To win for us dominion, might, and glory.
   Thou there, we here, rich in heroic offspring.
   Will vanquish all assaults of every foeman.

88 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

10. Approach the bosom of the earth, the mother,
    This earth, the far-extending, most propitious ;
    Young, soft as wool to bounteous givers, may she
    Preserve thee from the lap of dissolution.
11. Wide open, earth, O press not heavily on him ;
    Be easy of approach to him, a refuge safe ;

As with a robe a mother hides

Her son, so shroud this man, O earth.

12. Now opening wide may here the earth stand stead-

fast.
May here a thousand columns rise to prop her ;
May here those mansions ever drip with butter,
And here be always shelter to protect him.

13. For thee I now prop up the earth around thee here ;
    In lowering this clod may I receive no harm.

May the Fathers hold up for thee this column,
And Yama here provide for thee fit mansions.

THE GAMBLER

The following is one of a small group among the
secular hymns which have a didactic character. It is
the comment of a gambler, who, unable to resist the
fascination of the dice, deplores the ruin he has brought
on himself and his household. The dice consisted of
the nuts of a large tree, called Vibhidaka, still used
for this purpose in India.

XXXV. THE GAMBLER
X, 34. Metre: Tristu^h ; 7 Jagati.

1. On high trees born and in a windy region

The danglers, rolling on the diceboard, cheer me.
Like Soma draught from Mujavant’s great mountain,
The rousing nut Vibhidaka has pleased me.

2. She wrangles not with me nor is she angry :
   To me and comrades she was ever kindly.
   Il’or dice that only luckless throws effected
   I’ve driven away from home a wife devoted.

THE GAMBLER 89

3. Her mother hates me, she herself rejects me :
   For one in such distress there is no pity.

I find a gambling man is no more useful
Than is an aged horse that’s in the market.

4. Others embrace the wife of him whose chattels
   The eager dice have striven hard to capture ;
   And father, mother, brothers say about him :

” We know him not ; lead him away a captive.”

5. When to myself I think, “I’ll not go with them,
   I’ll stay behind my friends that go to gamble,”
   And those brown nuts, thrown down, have raised

their voices,
I go, like wench, straight to the place of meeting.

6. To the assembly hall the gambler sallies.

And asking, “Shall I win?” he quakes and trembles.
And then the dice run counter to his wishes,
Giving the lucky throw to his opponent.

7. The dice attract the gambler, but deceive and wound.
   Both paining men at play and causing them to pain.
   Like boys they offer first and then take back their

gifts :
With honey sweet to gamblers by their magic
charm.

8. Their throng in triple fifties plays untrammelled.
   Like Savitar the god whose laws are constant.
   They yield not to the wrath of even the mighty :
   A king himself on them bestows obeisance.
9. Downward they roll, then swifty springing upward,
   They overcome the man with hands, though hand-
   less.

Cast on the board like magic bits of charcoal,
Though cold themselves, they burn the heart to
ashes.

10. Grieved is the gambler’s wife by him abandoned,
    Grieved, too, his mother as he aimless wanders.
    Indebted, fearing, he desiring money
    At night approaches other people’s houses.

90 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

11. It pains the gambler when he sees a woman
    Another’s wife, and their well-ordered household.
    He yokes those brown steeds early in the morning,
    And when the fire is low sinks down a beggar.
12. To him who’s general of your mighty forces,
    As king becomes the chief of your battalions,
    I hold my fingers ten extended forward :

” No money I withhold, -this truth I tell thee.”

13. Play not with dice, but cultivate thy tillage.
    Enjoy thy riches, deeming them abundant.
    There are thy cows, there is thy wife, O Gambler :
    This counsel Savitar the noble gives me.
14. Make friends with us, we pray, to us be gracious ;
    Do not bewitch us forcibly with magic ;

Let now your enmity, your anger slumber :
Let others be in brownies’ toils entangled.

THE PURSUIT OF GAIN

The following hymn, originally a popular poem,
has by means of a refrain (here omitted) been drawn
into the Soma cult. It describes with mild humour
how men seek wealth in various ways.

XXXVI. THE PURSUIT OF GAIN
IX, 112. Metrb : Anu§tubh.

1. Various indeed are our concerns.
   And men’s vocations manifold:
   The carpenter and leech desire
   A break ; the priest a Soma rite.
2. The smith, with dry wood on his hearth,
   With wings of birds to fan the fire.
   With anvil and with glowing flames.
   Desires a patron rich in gold.
3. A poet I : my dad’s a leech.
   Mama the upper millstone turns :
   With various aims we strive for wealth.
   As if we followed after kine.

SPEECH 91

SPEECH

This hymn deals with wise, sacred speech as that of
the Veda and of Brahmins, not that of men in general.

XXXVII. HYMN TO SPEECH
X, 71. Metre: Tristubh ; 9 Jagati.

1. When seers, Brhaspati, in early ages.
   Assigning names, of speech the first sounds uttered,
   Then was revealed their best unsoiled possession
   That hidden in their hearts with love they cherished.
2. Where wise men fashion speech with understanding
   And sift it, as with sieves the corn is winnowed,
   There friends may learn to know each other’s

friendship :
Upon their speech is set the stamp of beauty.

3. The track of speech with sacrifice they followed,
   And found it in the midst of sages lurking ;
   They took and scattered it in many places :
   The seven singers chanted it in chorus.
4. And many a one, though seeing, does not grasp it,
   While others, though they hear, have no cognition.
   But speech to niany a one surrenders freely,

As wife, fair-robed and willing, to her husband.

5. They say that many a man has grown in friendship
   Both stiff and stout : they send him not to contests.
   He with illusion unprolific wanders :

The speech he’s learnt yields neither fruit nor
blossom.

6. Whoever his devoted friend abandons.

In speech for him there’s no participation,

And what he hears, he hears without perception ;

For such a man knows not the path of virtue.

7. Though having eyes and ears alike, companions
   Appear unequal in their mental quickness.

Some are like lakes that reach to mouth or armpits.
While others seem like shallow ponds for bathing.

92 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

8. When, having in their hearts gained mental quick-

ness,
The Brahmins sacrifice as friends together.
Then many a one is left behind in knowledge.
While others stride in front with prayers effective.

9. Those men who do not hurry here and there with zeal.
   Who are not Brahmins nor press out the Soma juice.
   They having gained, to no good end, the power of

speech,
As unproductive workers weave their web in vain.

10. All friends rejoice when their companion famous
    Returns from the assembly hall a victor.

He drives away reproach and wins them nurture :
He is sent out as fitted for the. contest.

11. The one sits putting forth rich bloom of stanzas ;
    Another sings a song in skilful metres ;

A third as Brahmin states the laws of being ;
A fourth metes out the sacrifice’s measure.

XXXVIII. IN PRAISE OF CHARITY
X, 117. Metrb: Tri^tubh; 1-2 Jagati.

1. The gods inflict not hunger as a means to kill :
   Death frequently befalls even satiated men.
   The charitable giver’s wealth melts not away ;
   The niggard never finds a man to pity him.
2. Who, of abundant food possessed, makes hard his

heart
Towards a needy and decrepit suppliant
Whom once he courted, come to pray to him for

bread :
A man like this as well finds none to pity him.

3. He is the liberal man who helps the beggar
   That, craving food, emaciated wanders.

And coming to his aid, when asked to succour.
Immediately makes him a friend hereafter.

4. He is no friend who gives not of his substance
   To his devoted, intimate companion :

SARAMA AND THE PANIS 93

This friend should turn from him — here is no
_^ haven —

And seek a stranger elsewhere as a helper.

5. The wealthier man should give unto the needy,
   Considering the course of life hereafter ;

For riches are like chariot wheels revolving :
Now to one man they come, now to another.

6. The foolish man from food has no advantage ;
   In truth I say : it is but his undoing ;

No friend he ever fosters, no companion :
He eats alone, and he alone is guilty.

7. The plough that cleaves the soil produces nurture ;
   He that bestirs his feet completes his journey.
   The speaking Brahmin earns more than the silent ;
   A friend who gives is better than the niggard.
8. The one-foot^ strides more swiftly than the biped ;^
   The biped goes beyond him who has three feet.^
   The quadruped* comes at the call of bipeds.

And watches near where groups of five are gathered.

9. Two hands though equal make not what is equal ;
   No sister cows yield milk in equal measure ;
   Unequal is the strength even of twin children ;
   The gifts of even kinsmen are unequal.

SARAMA AND THE PANIS

The following hymn is a good specimen of a mythi-
cal dialogue, of which type there are several examples
in the Rigveda. It belongs to the myth of the capture
by Indra of the cows of the Panis, demons who keep
herds of cattle in a cave far away beyond the Rasa, a
mythical river. It is a colloquy in alternate stanzas
between the Panis and Sarama, Indra’s female mes-
senger, who tracks the cows and asks for them in Indra’s
name, but is mocked by the demons. The final stanza
is spoken by the poet, who, repeating the last words of

‘ The Sun. ‘ Man. ‘ Old man with a stafiE. * Dog.

94 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

Sarama, apostrophises, the Panis to abandon the cows
because they are destined to be captured. In the last
two lines he indicates that the capture was efEected by
Indra’s ally, Brhaspati (p. 75), in association with Soma,
who stimulates to such deeds, and with the pressing
stones by which Soma is produced. _

XXXIX. SARAMA AND THE PAISTIS
X, 108. Metre : Tri§tubh.

1. With what desire has Sarama come hither ?
   For weary is the way and far the distance.
   What was for us the message, what her roaming ?
   How didst thou pass across the Rasa’s waters ?
2. I come sent out as messenger by Indra,

Panis, searching round for your great treasures.
In fear that I should leap across, she helped me :

1 traversed thus the waters of the Rasa.

3. What, Sarama, is Indra like, as envoy

For whom thou comestfrom the farthest distance?
Let him come here : we will make him our comrade.
So let him be the herdsman of our cattle.

4. I know he can’t be harmed, but injures others,
   He as whose envoy from afar I come here.
   Deep-flowing streams cannot conceal his body :
   By Indra slain, ye shall lie prostrate, Panis.
5. Those cows for which, O Sarama, thou soughtest.
   Around the ends of heaven flying, fair one :

Who them to thee would leave without resistance?
And sharp indeed our weapons are in conflict.

6. Though these your words can not be fought with

missiles.
Nor those mis-shapen bodies pierced by arrows,
Nor yet the road be forced, to reach your strong-
hold :
Brhaspati will never spare you, Panis.

7. This treasure, Sarama, on rock is founded.
   Replete with goods, and cows, and horses.

FROG HYMN 95

The Paijis here, its stout protectors, guard it :
In vain thou comest to a fort unyielding.

8. Hither will come the seers inspired with Soma,
   Ayasya, Angirases, and Navagvas :

They will appropriate this stall of cattle.

The Panis then shall all these boasts relinquish.

9. And since, O Sarama, thus by compulsion
   Divine coerced, thou hast come hither to us :
   We will make thee our sister : pray return not ;
   We will give thee a share of kine, thou fair one.
10. I know not what’s a brother or a sister :
    The fierce Angirases and Indra know it.

They seemed to me, when I came here, right eager
For kine : from hence go far away, ye Panis.

11. Go, Panis, to the distance far : the cattle
    Shall issue, breaking rightly from their prison.
    Brhaspati, the pressing stones, and Soma,
    And priestly sages found them in concealment.

FROG HYMN

The following hymn, intended as a rain-producing
spell, is a panegyric of frogs, which are compared
during the drought to heated sacrificial vessels, and are
described as raising their voices together at the com-
mencement of the rains, like Brahmin pupils repeating
the lessons of their teacher.

XL. FROGS
VII, 103. Metre : Tri§tubh ; 1 Anu§tubh;

1. Resting in silence for a year.
   Like Brahmins practising a vow.
   The frogs have lifted up their voices,
   Excited by Parjanya’s call.
2. When heavenly waters have poured down upon them
   Resting in pools, like dried up leather buckets,
   The croakings of the frogs resound together.
   Like noise of cows with calves in concert lowing.

96 HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

3. When showers have streamed around them, eager,

thirsty,
Upon the advent of the rainy season.
With joyful croak the one draws near the other
Who greets him, as a son comes near his father.

4. The one of them the other hails with welcome,
   When in the flow of waters they have revelled ;
   When rained upon the frogs become exultant.
   He that is Spotty joins his voice to Tawny’s.
5. When one repeats the utterance of the other.
   As those who learn the lessons of their teacher.
   All this is like concordant recitation,

As eloquent ye prate upon the waters.

6. One lows like cows, one like a goat is bleating ;
   This one is Spotty, one of them is Tawny.
   Bearing a common name they’re many-coloured,
   They variously adorn their voice in speaking.
7. As Brahmins at the mighty Soma offering

Sit round the large and brimming vessel talking;
So throng ye all around the pool to hallow
This annual day that, frogs, begins the rain- time.

8. These Soma-pressing Brahmins raise their voices
   And offer their recurrent year’s devotion;

And these Adhvaryu priests with kettles sweating
Come forth to view, and none of them are hiddelT'”

9. The twelve months’ god-sent order they have

guarded.
And never do these men infringe the season.
Whep in the year the rainy time commences,
Those who were heated milk-pots gain deliverance.

10. Both Lowing Cow and Bleating Goat have given.
    Spotty and Tawny, too, have given us riches.
    The frogs give kine by hundreds ; they for press-
    ings
    Of Soma thousandfold, prolong existence.

INDEX

A BSTRACT GODS, 12, 13
■’^ Accent, Vedic, 9
Adhi, goddess of freedom, 20,25
Aditya, solar deity, 26
Adityas, 26, 27
Agni, god of fire, 22, 69-7S
Angirases, divine ancestors

associated with Agni, 85
Apas, Waters, 62-63
Apam Napat, Son of Waters,

64-66
AranyanI, forest nymph, 81-82
ASvi’ns, twin gods of morning,

41-43
Atharvaveda, 16, 22, 79
Avesta, 7, 21, 23, 25, 46, 63, 64,

79

DHRGUS, semi-divine ancient
‘-‘ priests, 73, 85
Brhaspati, 11, 12, 13, 75-77
Buddhism, rise of, 7

CHARITY, hymn in praise
of, 92
..-”Cosmogonic hymns, 16
/Creation, hymn of, 19

DANASTUTI, praise of gifts,
16
Danu, mother of Vrtra, 48
Dasa, aboriginal foe, 49
Deification of artificial objects,

16
Demons, 15

Dialogue of Sarama, 93-94
Didactic hymns, 16, 88-93
Dual divinities, 14, 24, 50, 67
Dyaus, 7
Dyava-Prthivi, Heaven and

Earth, 67

riRE-CULT, 7, 70, 72-75

^ Five peoples, collective

name of Vedic tribes, 24
Frog hymn, 95
(n>ii”uneral hymns, 84-88
Gambler, hymn of the, 88-90
Geographical etc. data in the

Rigveda, 17
Goddesses, 13, 26, 35, 40, 66, 67,

81, 83, 93
•Gods, classification of, 12-15
Gotamas, name of a family of

singers, 37
Groups of deities, 12, 26, 56

INDEXES, Vedic, 8

• Indra, 7, 11, 12, 14, 43-50

Indra-Varuna, 50-52

I ITERARY merit of the jRig-
*- veda, 17

lyi AGICAL hymn, 16, 95

‘** Manu, ancient ancestor,

56
Maruts, Storm-gods, 56-61
Matari§van, the Vedic Prome-
theus, 73, 84
Metres, Vedic, 10
Mithra in the Avesta, 25
Mitra, solar deity, 7, 22-26
Mitra-Varuna, 24-25

KJAVAGVAS, group of semi-
^^ divine ancient sacrificers

74, 95
Nasatya, ” true,” epithet of the

ASvins, 43
Non-religious hymns, 16

QRDER of nature (rta), 43

98

HYMNS FROM THE RIGVEDA

P ADA-TEXT of the Rigveda, 8
Panis, a group of demons,
is, 46, 93-95
Pantheism, 12
Pfisan, solar deity,-31-32, 84
Parjanya, rain-god,. 52-53
Prthivi, Earth, 66-69

DATRI, goddess of night,
rv 40.41

Refrain, 32, 38, 49., 63, 68

Riddles, 16

Rigveda, 7\ gods of , 10; growth

of, 7-8; language of, 9; length

of, 8 ; metres of, 10 ; religion

of, 10-15
Rodasi, a goddess, 57
Rbhuksan, “ruler of the
‘ Rbhus,”epithet of theMaruts,

59
Rbhus, divine artificers, 14, 41
Rudra, malevolent deity, 54-56

CARAMA and the Panis, 15,
‘-‘ 46,94-95
Savitar, 32-34
Soma, 7, 77-81

Speech, hymn to, 91
Steed=Sun, 19
Sudas, a Vedic king, 46, 51
Siirya, sun-god, 24, 29-31

■yRITA, an ancient god, akin
^ to Indra, 60
Trtsus, priests of Sudas, 51

USAS, goddess of dawn, 6, 12,
■ 3540

\/ALA, a demon, 15, 75

• Varuna, god of the sky, 7,

20-22 ■
Vasistha, a Vedic seer, 21, 22
Vata,” god of Wind, 61-62
Visnii, solar deity, 34-35
Vivasvant, father of Yama, 85
Vrtra, a demon, 15

VWEDDING hymn, 82-84
”’ Writing, introduction of,
8

/-Y

AMA, king of the dead, 85-88

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