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Hearken to me, O Wind!
I look to you in obeisance signed.
Here the Soma drops you find,
Just taste my little offering kind.
When the singers come to know
Of the days of the Soma* flow,
Hymns from their lips would flow,
Trumpets of glory they would blow.
When through worshipper you flow:
Elevating his being, blessings bestow,
Deeper the undercurrents of Soma go,
You enthuse his being with divine glow.
O Wind! O Indra*! Soma drops we offer,
Await your touch for ambrosial coffer,
O Wind! O Indra! Come swiftly imbue,
Rich in spoils of time, my libations view.
Mitra and Varuna*, my source strength,
Mitra, Hero of Holy strength at length;
Varuna, my mighty foe destroyer,
My oil-fed rites completely cover.
Cherisher and protector of the law,
Come here with your almighty claw,
With wisdom and strength without a flaw,
From you goodness and strength we draw.
Inspired by Rig Veda Book 1 Hymn 2
*Soma (Sanskrit) , or Haoma (Avestan) , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the later Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, which contains many hymns praising its energizing qualities. The drink is prepared by priests pounding the stalks with stones, an occupation that creates tapas (literally 'heat') . The juice so gathered is mixed with other ingredients (including milk) before it is drunk.
*Indra is the chief god of the Rigveda (besides Agni) . He delights in drinking Soma, and the central Vedic myth is his heroic defeat of Vritra, liberating the rivers, or alternatively, his smashing of the Vala, a stone enclosure where the Panis had imprisoned the cows, and Ushas (dawn) . He is the god of war, smashing the stone fortresses of the Dasyu, and invoked by combatants on both sides in the Battle of the Ten Kings. “ He under whose supreme control are horses, all chariots, the villages, and cattle; He who gave being to the Sun and Morning, who leads the waters, He, O men, is Indra.” (Rg-Veda 2.12.7) . “Indra, you lifted up the outcast who was oppressed, you glorified the blind and the lame.” (2: 13: 12).
*Mitra and Varuna, the Two exceeding wise, the Sons of Daksa, whom the gods ordained for lordship, excellently great. Guardians of our homes and us. True to Law, born in Law the strengtheners of Law, terrible, haters of the false, In their felicity which gives the best defense may we men and our princes dwell.
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