In the sacred times when hymns rose like fragrant smoke to the heavens, the sages called upon mighty Indra, their beloved friend and champion. They envisioned him drawn by his two strong, splendid bay steeds—well-formed and swift—bearing him with joy to the gatherings where Soma was pressed and offered. Indra, ever delighted by the invigorating drink, listened to the praises sung by his devoted companions. With yearning and reverence, the worshippers asked Indra: “Will you make me the protector of the people, or a king, O generous and battle-mighty one? Will you grant me the vision of a seer, one who has tasted the sacred Soma? Will you bestow upon me a share of immortal wealth?” Their voices rose as they invited Indra’s great bays, yoked and eager, to bring him swiftly from heaven to the shared feast, their shining forms a sign of his power. Indra, the strong one, was urged to drink the Soma, the very essence the swift hawk had fetched for him. This Soma, so exhilarating, was the force by which he set peoples in motion and shattered all enclosures. In contests and battles, the people called upon Indra—most generous, fierce in combat, slayer of obstacles, and conqueror of riches—seeking his help and his victory. “Let this Soma, pressed and ready, be yours, O delightful one,” they prayed. “Accept it, Indra, and come to us with your bays, mounting your golden chariot.” Indra, ever pleased by his bays, made the dawn and the sun shine, increasing all glories with his wisdom. He upheld the sky, golden with the radiance of his bays, and the earth, shining with their hue. With his bays, he brought forth abundant food and moved between the realms, the bay one shining everywhere. Born as the bay bull, Indra radiated in all worlds. He took up his golden thunderbolt, the vajra, in his radiant arms. With this dazzling weapon, he opened the pressed Soma and shone forth, his presence brilliant as lightning. Again and again, the sages called: “Come, Indra, with your delightful bays, whose manes are like peacock feathers. Let nothing restrain you—come swift as an arrow, unbound as the wind.” Indra, destroyer of Vṛtra, breaker of strongholds, born of the waters, charioteer of the bays, approached with irresistible force. His wisdom was deep as the oceans, his presence as nourishing as cows seeking pasture, and as channels flowing to a lake. The people sought from him abundant, unrivaled wealth, asking him to shake it down as ripe fruit falls from the tree. Indra, self-powered and radiant, chose his own path and his fame surpassed all. Grown in strength and much-praised, he became the most renowned among gods and men. As the mighty, youthful, and ancient Bull, the self-ruler, fierce and unaging, Indra’s great deeds were celebrated everywhere. He alone, the Buffalo with manly powers, was king of all the world, governing peoples by his might in battle and in peace. By his measure, Indra expanded and shone forth, unsurpassed among the gods. He stretched out sky and earth, drawing strength from the vast midspace. Wide, deep, and mighty from birth, he illuminated all, protector of thoughts, to whom the pressed Somas flowed like rivers in the highest heaven. The earth and heaven themselves bore the Soma for Indra as a mother bears her child, and the priests poured and purified it for him, the Bull, to drink. Indra, the Bull for battle, drank the Soma with the Maruts, his stormy companions, as men drank for exhilaration. The wave of honeyed Soma filled him, king of the pressed offerings in the highest heaven. With the Maruts, Indra drank, heroic and wise, striking down foes, driving away hostilities, making his devotees fearless on every side. With the seasons and the gods, Indra, guardian of order, drank the Soma pressed for him, aided by the Maruts who strengthened him for the slaying of Vṛtra and the winning of cows. Those who increased him in his great battles, those priests who honored him, were remembered as the ones who empowered Indra. The sages invoked Indra with the Maruts—ever-growing, cloud-cutter, divine ruler, mighty for all help, fierce and strong companion. From the moment of his birth, the Bull, young and powerful, longed for the pressed Soma. He drank as he desired, just as he first drank the heady juice. On the very day he was born, he drank the sweet essence poured by his mother at the house of his great father, fulfilling his destiny. Seeking food from his mother, he found the sharp Soma pressed out, drove away others, and accomplished manifold great deeds. Fierce and irresistible, Indra shaped his body as he wished, surpassing even Tvaṣṭṛ by birth, and drank the Soma among the assembled. Again, the people called on generous Indra in their contests, seeking his help to win prizes, to be victorious in battle and in wealth. Great Indra was praised by all peoples, the drinkers of Soma, in whom they found satisfaction. Wise in counsel, the gods and Dhiṣaṇā, all-skilled, made him the smiter of Vṛtras. None could surpass or equal him in battle, the self-ruler, best charioteer among men, who destroyed the Dasyu with his might. Mighty in contests, swift in battles, never failing, Indra split the two worlds with his power. Like Bhaga at the sacrifice, he was invoked as a father, gracious and bestower of life. He upheld heaven, untouched by dust, rising high like a wind-driven chariot, bringing treasures. He was the dweller of nights, begetter of the sun, divider of portions, like the inspired one who apportions the prize. Again and again, the people called on generous Indra, the best among men, the mighty one who hears their call for help in battles, who strikes down foes and is victorious in wealth. With the Maruts, Indra, the powerful bull, was invited to drink the Soma offered with svāhā, that he might be pleased and fulfill the desires of his devotees. The worship of the sages was yoked for his speed, that his bays might bring him from the highest heaven to drink the well-pressed, delightful Soma. Indra was established among cattle for supremacy, praised and invoked, and having drunk the exhilarating Soma, was asked to grant the cows so greatly desired. With cattle, horses, and shining wealth, Indra was beseeched to fulfill desires and spread abundance. The inspired Kuśikas fashioned hymns of praise for him, the bringer of light. And so, throughout all contests and gatherings, the people called upon generous Indra, best among men, mighty and victorious, the slayer of foes, the bringer of wealth, whose help was ever sought and whose fame was unending.