
Rishi: RV-source attribution required for precision (AV20 borrows RV hymn material).
Devata: Indra
Chandas: RV meter (likely Triṣṭubh; requires RV locus confirmation).
Mantra 1
स्तुहीन्द्रं व्यश्ववदनूर्मिं वाजिनं यमम्। अर्यो गयं मंहमानं वि दाशुषे
Praise Indra, rich in steeds, of surging force, the prize-winning controller; the noble one, bounteous, who dealeth out goodly substance unto the giver.
Mantra 2
एवा नूनमुप स्तुहि वैयश्व दशमं नवम्। सुविद्वांसं चर्कृत्यं चरणीनाम्
Thus now draw near and praise, O Vaiyaśva, the ninth, the tenth—him that is right well-knowing, meet to be hymned of the chanting companies.
Mantra 3
वेत्था हि निरृतीनां वज्रहस्त परिवृजम्। अहरहः शुन्ध्युः परिपदामिव
For thou, O thunderbolt-handed, knowest the sweeping-away of destructions: day after day they cleanse, as it were, the feet all round.
It is used to praise Indra to obtain prosperity and victory-strength—especially horse-wealth—and to remove Nirṛti, meaning destructive misfortune or calamity.
It signals correct ordering and placement of praise (stuti). In Vedic ritual thinking, accurate sequence and well-formed praise help ‘draw near’ the deity’s attention and response.
Primarily it is a prosperity-and-victory (paustika) hymn, but it also has a protective function because Indra is invoked to sweep away calamities and maintain day-by-day cleansing.