Hinduism

Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 3: HYMN LIII. Indra, Parvata, Etc.

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This is a selection of hymns from the Rig Veda, one of Hinduism's oldest sacred Sanskrit texts, in Ralph T.H. Griffith's 1896 English verse translation — placing it within the tradition of 19th-century Orientalist scholarship on ancient Indian literature. The hymns are primarily addressed to Indra, the warrior king of the gods (invoked as "Maghavan," the bountiful), petitioning him with Soma offerings for strength, prosperity, victory over enemies, and safe travel. Several verses are explicitly attributed to the sage Viśvāmitra and the Kuśika clan, framing the hymns as intercessions on behalf of the Bharata tribe, with the poet-priest relationship between Viśvāmitra and the Bharatas as a recurring motif. A distinctive feature is the blending of cosmic mythological praise — Indra's shape-shifting power, his descent from heaven — with very practical, earthly concerns: strong oxen, unbroken axles and yoke-pins, and safe arrival home after a journey. The collection also contains a notable moment of ethnic contempt in verse 14, where the Kikatas are disparaged as "low-born" peoples who neither press Soma nor heat the ritual caldron, revealing how Vedic religious identity was used to demarcate cultural boundaries. Overall the text exemplifies the Rig Veda's character as liturgical poetry where divine patronage is actively negotiated through sacrifice, praise, and priestly lineage.

Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 3: HYMN LIII. Indra, Parvata, Etc.

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