In the quiet dawn, the priest, seated as the officiant, carefully spreads the sacred grass in its proper order. As morning unfolds, chariots are yoked and made ready, marking the beginning of the sacred ritual. Prayers, bearers of praise, are performed with devotion; the hero Indra is invited to sit upon the sacred grass and accept the sacrificial cake, offered with reverence. Indra, the slayer of Vṛtra and lover of song, is called to rejoice with the worshippers in their libations and hymns, delighting in the chants sung in his honor. The thoughts of those who drink Soma eagerly approach Indra, the lord of might, just as mothers rush to their calf, seeking his presence and favor. The worshippers entreat Indra to delight himself with the Soma, granting them wealth and strength of body, and not to abandon his devoted praisers to want. With heartfelt oblations, they offer their devotion to Indra, asking the generous one to be gracious to them. They pray that Indra’s beloved bay steeds will not carry him away, but that he will come near, self-sustaining, and delight with them at their sacred gathering. The two long-haired ones are called to bring Indra on his pleasant chariot, so he may sit upon the sacred grass anointed with ghee. Indra is invited to come to the pressed Soma, rich in cows, with his two dear bays. The exhilarating Soma, pressed and placed on the sacred grass with stones, awaits him; may he find satisfaction in it. Inspired by the Soma, the songs call Indra to drink, and the hymns invoke him to come with praises. The Somas have been pressed and are ready for Indra, the hundred-powered possessor of horses, to receive into his belly. The worshippers know Indra as the winner of wealth, bold in contests and wise, and thus seek his favor. They invite him to drink their Soma, rich in cows and barley, and to come with the bulls to the pressed juice. In Indra’s own dwelling, they urge the Soma for his drinking, hoping it will gladden his heart. The Kuśikas, as of old, invoke Indra for help at the drinking of the pressed Soma. Indra is called to turn toward them, yoked to his chariot, to the seat prepared for him. After him, the drink of Soma awaits in the highest heaven. Beloved friend, they ask him to release himself and approach the sacred grass, for those who carry the oblation call upon him. Indra is invited to traverse many peoples and approach with blessings, riding his two bays, for the thoughts shaped by praise seek his friendship. He is called to the sacrifice, which grows through reverence, together with his bays, to be present at the shared feast of sweetness, where clarified butter is offered. His two strong, well-formed bays will bear him, and Indra, delighting in the pressing of Soma, listens to the praises of his companion. The worshippers ask if Indra will make them protector of the people, or a king, mighty in battle, or a seer who has drunk the pressed Soma, and if he will grant them a share of immortal wealth. They pray that Indra’s great bays, yoked and swift, will bring him to the shared feast. Coming swiftly from heaven, well-groomed and mighty, they are the companions of the bull. Indra is invited to drink the pressed Soma, which the swift hawk has brought to him, whose exhilaration sets peoples in motion and breaks through enclosures. The generous Indra is called upon in contests, the best among men in pursuit of prize, fierce and listening for help in battles, slayer of obstacles and conqueror of wealth. The pressed Soma, prepared with the bays, is offered to Indra, the delightful one, who is asked to accept it and come with his bays, mounting his golden chariot. Indra, delighting in the bays, makes the dawn and sun shine, increasing all glories with wisdom and knowledge. He holds up the sky, golden with the bays, and the earth, shining with their color, supporting abundant food with the bays, between which the bay one moves. Born, the bay bull shines in all realms. The bay-steeded one takes up the golden weapon, the thunderbolt, golden in his arms. With his bright, shining thunderbolt, covered in brilliance, Indra opens up the pressed Soma with the bays and stones, shining forth with their power. Indra is called to come with his delightful bays, whose manes are like peacock feathers. The worshippers ask that no one restrain him, that he come swiftly like an arrow flying beyond all bounds. Indra, destroyer of Vṛtra, breaker of enclosures and strongholds, born of the waters, charioteer of the two bays, approaches and breaks even the firmest obstacles. Deep as the oceans, Indra possesses wisdom, as cows their pasture. The well-guarded cows seek the grass, as channels flow to the lake. The worshippers ask Indra to bring them abundant wealth, which none can rival, and to shake down ripe fruit from the tree as one shakes down the harvest, bringing riches to them. Self-powered, Indra is radiant, his guidance self-chosen, his fame surpassing all. Grown in strength and much praised, he is asked to become the most renowned for the worshippers. Indra, mighty, youthful, ancient, self-ruler, fierce, unaging, wielder of the thunderbolt, has performed great and renowned deeds. As the great Buffalo, he is manly, fierce, seeker of wealth, prevailing over others, king of all the world, governing peoples by battle and by dwelling. By measure, Indra has expanded and shines forth, unsurpassed among the gods. By his might, he stretches out sky and earth, drawing forth strength from the vast midspace. Wide, deep, mighty by birth, fierce and all-illuminating, protector of thoughts, Indra receives the pressed Somas, which flow to him in the highest heaven like rivers. That Soma, which earth and heaven bear for Indra as a mother bears an embryo, is poured out and cleansed by the priests for him, the mighty Bull, to drink, completing the sacred rite.