Sukta 81
Rishi: Ṛgvedic attribution (AV 20 borrowing): Indra-hymn seer per RV mapping.
Devata: Indra
Chandas: Triṣṭubh
Mantras
Mantra 1
यद् द्याव इन्द्र ते शतं शतं भूमिरुत स्युः । न त्वा वज्रिन्त्सहस्रं सूर्या अनु न जातमष्ट रोदसी
Though there were for thee, O Indra, a hundred and a hundred heavens, and earths likewise—yet should not a thousand suns in succession match thee, O Vajrin, nor what is born within the two worlds.
Mantra 2
आ पप्राथ महिना वृष्ण्या वृषन् विश्वा शविष्ठ शवसा । अस्मां अव मघवन् गोमति व्रजे वज्रिं चित्राभिरूतिभिः
Thou hast spread forth by greatness, by manly vigor, O Bull—thou most mighty, with strength, over all. Protect us, O bounteous one, in the cattle-rich stall, O Vajrin, with thy wondrous aids.
Frequently Asked Questions
It praises Indra’s incomparable power and turns that praise into a request for protection and victory, especially safeguarding people and cattle in the enclosure (vraja).
These are rhetorical ‘power-amplifiers’ to show that even the largest imaginable measures cannot equal Indra—so his aid is portrayed as unquestionably effective.
Recite the two verses near the threshold or cattle-pen with a clear intention for protection; verse 1 establishes Indra’s supremacy, and verse 2 applies it to guarding the cattle-rich vraja.