Page:The Hymns of the Rigveda Vol 1.djvu/291

This page needs to be proofread.
272
THE HYMNS OF
[BOOK II.
16 Great, verily, are they, O thou Protector, who by their songs of praise have won thy blessing.
They who strew sacred grass to be thy dwelling, holpen by thee have got them strength, O Indra.

17 Upon the great Trikadruka days, Hero, rejoicing thee, O Indra, drink the Soma.
Come with Bay Steeds to drink of our libation, shaking the drops from out thy beard, contented.

18 Hero, assume the might wherewith thou clavest Vritra piecemeal, the Dânava Aurṇavâbha.
Thou hast disclosed the light to light the Ârya: on thy left hand, O Indra, sank the Dasyu.

19 May we gain wealth, subduing with thy succour and with the Ârya, all our foes, the Dasyus.
Our gain was that to Trita of our party thou gavest up Tvashṭar's son Viṣvarûpa.

20 He cast down Arbuda what time his vigour was strengthened by libations poured by Trita.
Indra sent forth his whirling wheel like Sûrya, and aided by the Angirases rent Vala.

21 Now let that wealthy Cow of thine, O Indra, yield in return a boon to him who lauds thee.
Give to thy praisers: let not fortune fail us. Loud may we speak, with brave men, in the assembly.

HYMN XII.

Indra.

He who, just born, chief God of lofty spirit by power and might became the Gods' protector,
Before whose breath through greatness of his valour the two worlds trembled, He, O men, is Indra.

17 Trikudruka days; the first three days of the Abhiplava festival. 18 Aurṇavabha: son of Urņavabha, a demon. The Dasyu: the barbarian, the original inhabitant of the land. According to Sâyana the demon Vritra is meant. 19 It is difficult to make anything intelligible of this stanza. Trita is said by Sayana to be a Maharshi or great fishi, and Visvarûpa is said to be a three-headed monster slain by Indra. See Sacred Books of the East, XII. 164. 20 Arbuda: a demon of the atmosphere. See I. 51 6. Sent forth his whirling wheel; Indra is said to have used a wheel of the Sun's chariot as a missile. Vala: the brother of Vritra or Vritra himself. See I. 11. 5. s 21 That wealthy Cow of thine: meaning, probably, Ushas or Dawn, who brings good gifts to man. Or sa dakshind mayhoni may be translated that liberal meed of thine, that is the rich reward which Indra bestows upon his worship- pers, regarded as the counterpart of the dakshind or honorarium given by the institutors of sacrifices to the priests who perform the ceremonies. r

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.