Varga XV. 23. Come hither, INDRA, be exhilarated by the wonderful (libatory) affluence, and with thy fellowtopers (the MARUTS) fill with the Soma juices thy vast belly, capacious as a lake. 24. May1 thy thousand, thy hundred steeds, INDRA, yoked to thy golden chariot, harnessed by prayer, with flowing manes, bring thee to drink the Soma libation. 25. May thy two peacock-tailed, white-backed horses, yoked to thy golden chariot, bring thee to drink of the sweet praiseworthy libation. 26. Drink thou, who art worthy to be glorified, of this consecrated and juicy libation, like the first drinker 2 (VÁYU): this excellent effusion issues for thine exhilaration. 27. May he who alone overcomes (enemies) through (the power of) religious observances, who by pious acts is rendered mighty and fierce, who is handsome-chinned, approach: may he never be remote; may he come to our invocation; may he never abandon us. 28. Thou hast broken to pieces the moveable city of SUSHNA with thy weapons; thou who art light hast 1 Sáma Veda, with the two following verses, II. 741-43. [II. 6. 2. 5. 1—3]. 2 According to the scholiast, púrvapáh means Váyu, who, having arrived first in the race, drank the Soma before the other gods. The allusion is to the principal graha libation, called Aindraváyava, which Indra and Váyu share together. [For the legend, see Aitareya Bráhm. ii. 25]. followed him; wherefore, INDRA, thou art in two ways to be worshipped.1 29. May my prayers when the sun has risen, those also at noon, those also when evening arrives,* bring thee back, giver of riches (to my sacrifice). 30. Praise (me), praise (me), MEDHYATITHI, for amongst the wealthy we are the most liberal donors of wealth to thee: (praise me as one) who outstrips a horse in speed, follows the right path, and bears the best arms. 31. When with faith I harness the docile horses in Varga XVI. the car, (praise me2), for the descendant of YADU, possessed of cattle,3 know how to distribute desirable riches. 32. (Praise me, saying,) "He who has presented riches to me with a golden purse may this rattling 1 Dwitá havyah, by praisers and by sacrificers, stotṛibhir yashtribhis cha. 2 The scholiast supplies tadáním mám evam stuhi, then verily praise me. 3 The text has Yádvah pasuh, literally the Yádava animal, but pasu, the commentator says, is to be understood as paṣumán, having animals; or it may be considered as a derivative of paș for dris, to see, a beholder of subtile objects, súkshmasya drashṭá. * The text, according to Sáyana, adds a fourth time, "also in the night,” sárvare kale 'pi. For prapitwa, see Dr. Goldstücker's Sanskrit Dict. under abhipitwa and apapitwa. Varga XVII. chariot* of ÁSANGA carry off all the treasures (of the enemy)." 33. (So praise me, saying,) "ÁSANGA, the son of PLAYOGA, has given more than others, AGNI, by tens of thousands: ten times the (number of) vigorous and brilliant oxen (given by him) to me, issue forth like the reeds of a lake." 34. SASWATÍ, perceiving that the signs of manhood were restored, exclaims, "Joy, husband, thou art capable of enjoyment." SUKTA II. (II.) The deity is INDRA (except in the last two verses, where the deity is the personified gift); the Rishis are MEDHÁTITHI of the race of KANWA and PRIYAMEDHA of the family of ANGIRAS; the metre of the 28th verse is Anushṭubh, of the rest Gáyatrí. 1. Giver of dwellings (INDRA), drink this effused libation till thy belly is full, we offer it, undaunted (INDRA), to thee. 2. Washed by the priests, effused by the stones, purified by the woollen filter, like a horse cleansed in a stream. 3. We have made it sweet for thee as the barleycake, mixing it with milk, and therefore, INDRA, (I invoke) thee to this social rite. * Sáyana, to save the accent of swanadrathaḥ, which would make it Bahuvrihi, has to resort to a violent ellipsis of átmá; to avoid this, Wilson has preferred to take it as a karmadháraya, with an exceptional accent. + Sáyana explains daşa as dașa-gunita-sahasra-sankyákáḥ. 4. INDRA verily is the chief drinker' of the Soma among gods and men, the drinker of the effused libation, the acceptor of all kinds of offerings. 5. (We praise him) a universal kind-hearted (friend), whom the pure Soma, the mixture (of it) made with difficulty, or other satisfying (offerings) do not displease. 6. Whom others pursue with offerings of milk and Varga XVII. curds as hunters chase a deer (with nets and snares), and harass with (inappropriate) praises. 7. May the three libations be effused for the divine INDRA in his own dwelling, (for he is) the drinker of the effused juice. 8. Three purifying vessels drop (the Soma), three ladles are well filled (for the libation), the whole is furnished for the common sacrifice.2 9. Thou (Soma) art pure, distributed in many vessels, mixed at the mid-day sacrifice with milk, and (at the third sacrifice) with curds, the most exhilarating (beverage) of the hero (INDRA). 10. These sharp and pure Soma libations effused by us for thee solicit thee for admixture. 1 Ekah somapáh, he alone is to be presented, it is said, with the entire libation; the other gods are only sharers of a part, ekadeṣa-bhájah. 2 The verse alludes to the three daily sacrifices. [The three vessels are the three troughs used in the preparation of the Soma libations, the dronakalasa, the pútabhṛit, and the Ádhavaniya. The three ladles are the three sets of cups, chamasáḥ, used in the three libations.] Varga XIX. 11. Mix, INDRA, the milk and Soma, (add) the cakes to this libation: I hear that thou art possessed of riches. 12. The potations (of Soma) contend in thy interior (for thine exhilaration) like the ebriety caused by wine thy worshippers praise thee (filled full of Soma) like the udder (of a cow with milk).2 13. May the eulogist of thee, who art opulent, be opulent; may he even, lord of steeds, surpass one who is wealthy and renowned, like thee.*3 14. (INDRA), the enemy of the unbeliever, apprehends whatever prayer is being repeated, whatever chaunt is being chaunted.* 1 Durmadáse na suráyám, like bad intoxications, wine being drunk. The preparation of fermented liquors was therefore familiar to the Hindús, and probably amongst them was wine, the north-west of the Punjáb, no doubt their earliest site, being the country of the grape; but according to comment on Manu, an inferior sort of spirit. 2 Údhar na nagná jurante. "The praisers praise like an udder," is the literal rendering according to the scholiast, but nagna usually means naked; here it is said to import stotṛi, a praiser, one who does not neglect or abandon the verses of the Veda, chhandánsi na jaháti. 3 Sáma Veda II. 1154. [II. 9. 1. 15. 1]. * Sáma Veda II. 1155, but the reading of the printed text of Benfey varies. Our text has agor arir á chiketa, the enemy of him who does not praise, astotuș șatrur Indrah—the Sáman has * Sáyana renders this last clause "the praiser of any one wealthy and renowned like thee would assuredly prosper, (much more, then, of thee).” |