BOOK VIII
CHAPTER I
I Agni
1. With all thy fires, O Agni, find pleasure in this our sacrifice,
And this our speech, O son of Strength!
2. Whate’er, in this perpetual course, we sacrifice to God and God,
That gift is offered but in thee.
3. May he be our beloved King and excellent sweet-toned Hotar may
We with bright fires be dear to him
II Indra
1. For you from every side we call Indra away from other men
Ours, and none others, may he be!
2. Unclose, our manly hero! thou for ever bounteous, yonder cloud
For us, thou irresistible
3. As the strong bull leads on the herds, he stirs the people with his might,
The ruler irresistible.
III Agni
1. Wonderful, with thy saving help, send us thy bounties, gracious Lord!
Thou art the charioteer, Agni, of earthly wealth: find rest and safety for our seed!
2. Prosper our kith and kin with thy protecting powers inviolate, never negligent!
Keep far from us, O Agni, all celestial wrath. and wickedness of godless men!
IV Vishnu
1. What, Vishnu, is the name that thou proclaimest when thou declaredst, I am Sipivishta?
Hide not this form from us, nor keep it secret, since thou didst wear another shape in battle.
2. This offering to-day, O Sipivishta, I, skilled in rules, extol, to thee the noble.
Yea, I, the poor and weak, praise thee, the mighty, who dwellest in the realm beyond this region.
3. O Vishnu, unto thee my lips cry Vashat! Let this mine offering, Sipivishta, please thee!
May these my songs of eulogy exalt thee! Do ye preserve us evermore with blessings!
V Vayu, Indra and Vayu
I. Vayu, the bright is offered thee, best of the meath, at morning rites.
Come thou to drink the Soma juice, God, longed for on thy team-drawn car!
2. O Vayu, thou and Indra are meet drinkers of these Soma draughts,
For unto you the drops proceed like waters gathering to the vale.
3. Vayu and Indra, mighty twain, borne on one chariot, Lords of strength,
Come to ouf succour with your steeds, that ye may drink the
Soma juice!
VI Soma Pavamana
1. Then thou, made beautiful by night, enterest into mighty deeds,
When prayers impel the golden-hued to hasten from Vivasvan’s place.
2. We cleanse this gladdening drink of his, the juice which Indra chiefly drinks,
That which kine took into their mouths, oF old, and princes take it now.
3. Thy with the ancient psalm have sung to him as he is purified,
And sacred songs which bear the Dames of Gods have supplicated him.
VI Agni
1. With homage will I reverence thee, Agni, like a long-tailed steed,
Imperial Lord of holy rites.
2. May the far-striding Son of Strength, our friend who brings felicity,
Who pours his gifts like rain, be ours
3. From near and far away do thou, the everlasting, evermore
Protect us from the sinful man!
VIII Indra
1. Thou in thy battles, Indra, art subduer of all hostile bands.
Father art thou, all-conquering, cancelling the curse, thou victor of the vanquisher!
2. The earth and heaven cling close to thy victorious might, as sire and mother to their child.
When thou attackest Vritra, all the hostile bands shrink and faint, Indra, at thy wrath.
IX Indra
1. The sacrifice made Indra great when he unrolled the earth, and made
Himself a diadem in heaven.
2. In Soma’s ecstasy Indra spread the firmament and realms of light,
When he cleft Vala limb from limb.
3. Showing the hidden, he drave forth the cows for the Angirasas,
And Vala he cast headlong down.
X Indra
1. Thou speedest down to succour us this-ever-conquering God of yours,
Him who is drawn to all our songs;
2, The warrior whom none may wound, the Soma-drinker ne’er o’erthrown,
The chieftain of resistless might.
3. O Indra, send us riches, thou omniscient, worthy of our hymns:
Help us in the decisive fray!
XI Indra
1. That lofty power and might of thine, thy strength and thine intelligence,
And thy surpassing thunderbolt, the wish makes keen.
2. O Indra, heaven and earth augment thy manly force and thy renown:
The waters and the mountains stir and urge thee on:
3. Vishnu in the lofty ruling power, Varuna, Mitra sing thy praise:
In thee the Maruts’ company have great delight.
XII Agni
1. O Agni, God, the people sing reverent praise to thee for strength:
With terrors trouble thou the foe
2. Wilt thou not, Agni, lend us aid to win the cattle, win the wealth?
Maker of room, make room for us
3. In the great fight cast us not off, Agni, as one who bears a load:
Snatch up the wealth and win it all!
XIII Indra
1. Before his hot displeasure all the peoples, all the men bow down,
As rivers bow them to the sea.
2. Even fiercely-moving Vritra’s head he served with his thunderbolt,
His mighty hundred-knotted bolt.
3. That might of his shone brightly forth when Indra brought together, like
A skin, the worlds of heaven and earth.
XIV Indra
1. Kind-thoughted is the noble, gladdening, friendly one.
2. Approach, O beauteous hero, this auspicious pair that draws the car!
These two are coming near to us.
3. Bend lowly down, as ’twere, your beads: be stands amid the water-flood,
Pointing with his ten horns the way.
