V. CHARMS PERTAINING TO ROYALTY (RÂGAKARMÂNI).

IV, 8. Prayer at the consecration of a king.

1. Himself prosperous (bhûto), he does put strength into the beings (bhûteshu); he became the chief lord of the beings (bhûtânâm). To his consecration death does come: may he, the king, favour this kingdom!
2. Come forth hither-do not glance away-as a mighty guardian, slayer of enemies! Step hither, thou who prosperest thy friends: the gods shall bless thee!
3. As he did step hither all (men) did attend him. Clothed in grace, he moves, shining by his own lustre. This is the great name of the manly Asura; endowed with every form (quality) he entered upon immortal (deeds).
4. Thyself a tiger, do thou upon this tiger-skin stride (victorious) through the great regionst All the clans shall wish for thee, and the heavenly waters, rich in sap!
5. The heavenly waters, rich in sap, flow joyously, (and too) those in the sky and upon the earth: with the lustre of all of these do I sprinkle thee.
6. They have sprinkled thee with their lustre., the heavenly waters rich in sap. May Savitar thus fashion thee, that thou shalt prosper thy friends!
7. (The waters) thus embracing him, the tiger, promote him, the lion, to great good fortune. Him, the leopard in the midst of the waters, as though standing in the ocean, the beneficent (floods, or the vigorous priests) cleanse thoroughly!

III, 3. Charm for the restoration of an exiled king.

1. (Agni) has shouted loud: may he here well perform his work! Spread thyself out, O Agni, over the far-reaching hemispheres of the world! The all-possessing Maruts shall engage thee: bring hither that (king) who devoutly spends the offering!
2. However far he be, the red (steeds) shall urge hither Indra, the seer, to friendship, since the gods, (chanting) for him the gâyatri, the brihatî, and the arka (songs), infused courage into him with the sautrâmanî-sacrifice!
3. From the waters king Varuna shall call thee, Soma shall call thee from the mountains, Indra shall cite thee to these clans! Turn into an eagle and fly to these clans!
4. An eagle shall bring hither from a distance him that is fit to be called, (yet) wanders exiled in a strange land! The Asvins shall prepare for thee a path, easy to travel! Do ye, his kinfolk, gather close about him!
5. Thy opponents shall call thee; thy friends have chosen. thee! Indra, Agni, and all the gods have kept prosperity with this people.
6. The kinsman or the stranger that opposes thy call, him, O Indra, drive away; then render this (king) accepted here!

III, 4. Prayer at the election of a king.

1. (Thy) kingdom hath come to thee: arise, endowed with lustre! Go forth as the lord of the people, rule (shine) thou, a universal ruler! All the regions of the compass shall call thee, O king; attended and revered be thou here!
2. Thee the clans, thee these regions, goddesses five, shall choose for empire! Root thyself upon the height, the pinnacle of royalty: then do thou, mighty, distribute goods among us!
3. Thy kinsmen with calls shall come to thee; agile Agni shall go with them as messenger! Thy wives, thy sons shall be devoted to thee; being a mighty (ruler) thou shalt behold rich tribute!
4. The Asvins first, Mitra and Varuna both, all the gods, and the Maruts, shall call thee! Then fix thy mind upon the bestowal of wealth, then do thou, mighty, distribute wealth among us!
5. Hither hasten forth from the farthest distance heaven and earth, both, shall be propitious to thee! Thus did this king Varuna (as if, 'the chooser') decree that; he himself did call thee: 'come thou hither'!
6. O Indra, Indra, come thou to the tribes of men, for thou hast agreed, concordant with the Varunas (as if,'the electors'), He did call thee to thy own domain (thinking): 'let him revere the gods, and manage, too, the people'!
7. The rich divinities of the roads, of manifold diverse forms, all coming together have given thee a broad domain. They shall all concordantly call thee; rule here, a mighty, benevolent (king), to up the tenth decade (of thy life)!

III, 5. Praise of an amulet derived from the parna-tree, designed to strengthen royal power.

1. Hither hath come this amulet of parna-wood, with its might mightily crushing the enemy. (It is) the strength of the gods, the sap of the waters: may it assiduously enliven me with energy!
2. The power to rule thou shalt hold fast in me, O amulet of parna-wood; wealth (thou shalt hold fast) in me! May I, rooted in the domain of royalty, become the chief!
3. Their very own amulet which the gods deposited secretly in the tree, that the gods shall give us to wear, together with life!
4. The parna has come hither as the mighty strength of the soma, given by Indra, instructed by Varuna. May I, shining brilliantly, wear it, unto long life, during a hundred autumns!
5. The amulet of parna-wood has ascended upon me unto complete exemption from injury, that I may rise superior (even) to friends and alliances!
6. The skilful builders of chariots, and the ingenious workers of metal, the folk about me all, do thou, O parna, make my aids!
7. The kings who (themselves) make kings, the charioteers, and leaders of hosts, the folk about me all, do thou, O parna, make my aids!
8. Thou art the body-protecting parna, a 'liero, brother of me, the hero. Along with the brilliancy of the year do I fasten thee on, O amulet!

IV, 22. Charm to secure the superiority of a king.

1. This warrior, O Indra, do thou strengthen for me, do thou install this one as sole ruler (bull) of the Vis (the people); emasculate all his enemies, subject them to him in (their) contests!
2. To him apportion his share of villages, horses, and cattle; deprive of his share the one that is his enemy! May this king be the pinnacle of royalty; subject to him, O Indra, every enemy!
3. May this one be the treasure-lord of riches, may this king be the tribal lord of the Vis (the people)! Upon this one, O Indra, bestow great lustre, devoid of lustre render his enemy!
4. For him shall ye, O heaven and earth, milk ample good, as two milch-cows yielding warm milk! May this king be favoured of Indra, favoured of cows, of plants, and cattle!
5. I unite with thee Indra who has supremacy, through whom one conquers and is not (himself) conquered, who shall install thee as sole ruler of the people, and as chief of the human kings.
6. Superior art thou, inferior are thy rivals, and whatsoever adversaries are thine, O king! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, bring thou hither the supplies of those who act as thy enemies!
7. Presenting the front of a lion do thou devour all (their) people, presenting the front of a tiger do thou strike down the enemies! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, seize upon the supplies of those who act as thy enemies!

I, 9. Prayer for earthly and heavenly success.

1. Upon this (person) the Vasus, Indra, Pûshan, Varuna, Mitra, and Agni, shall bestow goods (vasu)! The Âdityas, and, further, all the gods shall hold him in the higher light!
2. Light, ye gods, shall be at his bidding: Sûrya (the sun), Agni (fire), or even gold! Inferior to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven
3. With that most potent charm with which, O Gâtavedas (Agni), thou didst bring to Indra the (soma-) drink, with that, O Agni, do thou here strengthen this one; grant him supremacy over his kinsmen!
4. Their sacrifice and their glory, their increase of wealth and their thoughtful plans, I have usurped, O Agni. Inferior to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven!

VI, 38. Prayer for lustre and power.

1. The brilliancy that is in the lion, the tiger, and the serpent; in Agni, the Brâhmana, and Surya (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!
2. (The brilliancy) that is in the elephant, panther, and in gold; in the waters, cattle, and men (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!
3. (The brilliancy) that is in the chariot, the dice, in the strenath of the bull; in the wind, Parganya, and in the fire of Varuna (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!
4. (The brilliancy) that is in the man of royal caste, in the stretched drum, in the strength of the horge, in the shout of men (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!

VI, 39. Prayer for glory (yasas).

1. The oblation that yields glory, sped on by Indra, of thousandfold strength, well offered, prepared with might, shall prosper! Cause me, that offers the oblation, to continue long beholding (light), and to rise to supremacy!
2. (That he may come) to us, let us honour with obeisance glory-owning Indra, the glorious one with glory-yielding (oblations)! Do thou (the oblation) grant us sovereignty sped on by Indra; may we in thy favour be glorious!
3. Glorious was Indra born, glorious Agni, glorious Soma. Glorious, of all beings the most glorious, am I.

VIII, 8. Battle-charm.

1. May Indra churn (the enemy), he, the churner, Sakra (mighty), the hero, that pierces the forts, so that we shall slay the armies of the enemies a thousandfold!
2. May the rotten rope, wafting itself against yonder army, turn it into a stench. When the enemies see from afar our smoke and fire, fear shall they lay into their hearts!
3. Tear asunder those (enemies), O asvattha (ficus religiosa), devour (khâda) them, O! khadira (acacia catechu) in lively style! Like the tâgadbhanga (ricinus communis) they shall be broken (bhagyantâm), may the vadhaka (a certain kind of tree) slay them with his weapons (vadhaih)!
4. May the knotty âhva-plant put knots upon yonder (enemies), may the vadhaka slay them with his weapons! Bound up in (our) great trap-net, they shall quickly be broken as an arrow-reed!
5. The atmosphere was the net, the great regions (of space) the (supporting) poles of the net: with these Sakra (mighty Indra) did surround and scatter the army of the Dasyus.
6. Great, forsooth, is the net of great Sakra, who is rich in steeds: with it infold thou all the enemies, so that not one of them shall be released!
7. Great is the net of thee, great Indra, hero, that art equal to a thousand, and hast hundredfold might. With that (net) Sakra slew a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million foes, having surrounded them with (his) army.
8. This great world was the net of great Sakra: with this net of Indra I infold all those (enemies) yonder in darkness,
9. With great dejection, failure, and irrefragable misfortune; with fatigue, lassitude, and confusion, do I surround all those (enemies) yonder.
10. To death do I hand them over, with the fetters of death they have been bound. To the evil messengers of death do I lead them captive.
11. Guide ye those (foes), ye messengers of death; ye messengers of Yama, infold them! Let more than thousands be slain; may the club of Bhava crush them!
12. The Sâdhyas (blessed) go holding up with might one support of the net, the Rudras another, the Vasus another, (Still) another is upheld by the Âdityas.
13. All the gods shall go pressing from above with might; the Angiras shall go on the middle (of the net), slaying the mighty army!
14. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants and the herbs as well; two-footed and four-footed creatures do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army!
15. The Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents and the gods, holy men and (deceased) Fathers, the visible and invisible (beings), do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army!
16. Scattered here are the fetters of death; when thou steppest upon them thou shalt not escape! May this hammer slay (the men) of yonder army by the thousand!
17. The gharma (sacrificial hot drink) that has been heated by the fire, this sacrifice (shall) slay thousands! Do ye, Bhava and Sarva, whose arms are mottled, slay yonder army!
18. Into the (snare of) death they shall fall, into hunger, exhaustion, slaughter, and fear! O Indra and Sarva, do ye with trap and net slay yonder army!
19. Conquered, O foes, do ye flee away; repelled by (our) charm, do ye run! Of yonder host, repulsed by Brihaspati, not one shall be saved!
20. May their weapons fall from their (hands), may they be unable to lay the arrow on (the bow)! And then (our) arrows shall smite them, badly frightened, in their vital members!
21. Heaven and earth shall shriek at them, and the atmosphere, along with the divine powers! Neither aider, nor support did they find; smiting one another they shall go to death!
22. The four regions are the she-mules of the god's chariot, the purodâsas (sacrificial rice-cakes) the hoofs, the atmosphere the seat (of the wagon). Heaven and earth are its two sides, the seasons the reins, the intermediate regions the attendants, Vâk (speech) the road.
23. The year is the chariot, the full year is the body of the chariot, Virâg, the pole, Agni the front part of the chariot. Indra is the (combatant) standing on the left of the chariot, Kandramas (the moon) the charioteer.
24. Do thou win here, do thou conquer here, overcome, win, hail! These here shall conquer, those yonder be conquered! Hail to these here, perdition to those yonder! Those yonder do I envelop in blue and red!

I, 19. Battle-charm against arrow-wounds.

1. The piercing (arrows) shall not hit us, nor shall the striking arrows hit us! Far away fron, us O Indra, to either side, cause the arrow-shower to fall!
2. To either side of us the arrows shall fall, those that have been shot and shall be shot! Ye divine and ye human arrows, pierce ye mine enemies!
3. Be he our own, or be he strange, the kinsman, or the foreianer, who bear enmity towards us, those enemies of mine Rudra shall pierce with a shower of arrows!
4. Him that rivals us, or does not rival us, him that curses us with hate, may all the gods injure my charm protects me from within!

III, 1. Battle-charm for confusing the enemy.

1. Agni shall skilfully march against our opponents, burning against their schemes and hostile plans; Gâtavedas shall confuse the army of our opponents and deprive them (of the use) of their hands!
2. Ye Maruts are mighty in such matters: advance ye, crush ye, conquer ye (the enerny)! These Vasus when implored did crush (them). Agni, vily, as their vanauard shall skilfully attack!
3. O Maghavan, the hostile army which contends against us--do ye, O Indra, Vritra's slayer, and Agni, burn against them!
4. Thy thunderbolt, O Indra, who hast been driven forward swiftly by thy two bay steeds, shall advance, crushing the enemies. Slay them that resist, pursue, or flee, deprive their schemes of fulfilment!
5. O Indra, confuse the army of the enemy; with the impact of the fire and the wind scatter them to either side!
6. Indra shall confuse the army, the Miaruts shall slay it with might! Agni shall rob it of its sight; vanquished it shall turn about!

III, 2. Battle-charm for confusing the enemy.

1. Agni, our skilful vanguard, shall attack, burning, against their schemes and hostile plans! Gâtavedas shall bewilder the plans of the enemy, and deprive them (of the use) of their hands!
2. This fire has confused the schemes that are in your mind; it shall blow you from your home, blow you away from everywhere!
3. O Indra, bewildering their schemes, come hither with thy (own) plan: with the impact of the fire and the wind scatter them to either side!
4. O ye plans of theirs, fly ye away; O ye schemes, be ye confused! Moreover, what now is in their mind, do thou drive that out of them!
5. Do thou, O (goddess) Apvi, confusing their plans, go forth (to them), and seize their limbs! Attack them, burn with flames into their hearts; strike the enemy with fits, (strike our) opponents with darkness!
6. That army yonder o( the enemy, that comes against us fighting with might, do ye, O Maruts, strike with planless darkness, that one of them shall not know the other!

VI, 97. Battle-charm of a king upon the eve of battle.

1. Superior is the sacrifice, superior Agni, superior Soma, superior Indra. To the end that I shall be superior to all hostile armies do we thus, offering the agnihotra, reverently present this oblation!
2. Hail be, ye wise Mitra and Varuna: with honey swell ye our kingdom here, (so that it shall) abound in offspring! Drive far to a distance misfortune, strip off from us sin, even after it has been committed!
3. With inspiration follow ye this strong hero; cling close, ye friends, to Indra (the king), who conquers villages, conquers cattle, has the thunderbolt in his arm, overcomes the host arrayed (against him), crushing it with might!

VI, 99. Battle-charm of a king on the eve of battle.

1. I call -upon thee, O Indra, from afar, upon thee for protection against tribulation. I call the strong avenger that has many names, and is of unequalled birth.
2. Where the hostile weapon now rises against us,threatening to slay, there do we place the two arms of Indra round about.
3. The two arms of Indra, the protector, do we place round about us: let him protect us! O god Savitar, and king Soma, render me of confident mind, that I may prosper!

XI, 9. Prayer to Arbudi and Nyarbudi for help in battle.

1. The arms, the arrows, and the might of the bows; the swords, the axes, the weapons, and the artful scheme that is in our mind; all that, O Arbudi, do thou make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see!
2. Arise, and arm yourselves; friends are ye, O divine folk! May our friends be perceived and protected by you, O Arbudi (and Nyarbudi)!
3. Arise (ye two), and take hold I With fetters and shackles surround ye the armies of the enemy, O Arbudi (and Nyarbudi)!
4. The god whose name is Arbudi, and the lord Nyarbudi, by whom the atmosphere and this great earth has been infolded, with these two companions of Indra do I pursue the conquered (king) with my army.
5. Arise, thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army! Crushing the army of tlie enemy, encompass them with thy embraces!
6. Thou, Arbudi, makest appear the sevenfold spectral brood. Do thou, when the oblation has been poured, rise up with all. these, together with the army!
7. (The female mourner), beating herself, with tear-stained face, with short (mutilated?) ears, with dishevelled hair, shall lament, when a man has been slain, pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
8. She curves her spine while longing in her heart for her son, her husband, and her kin, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
9. The aliklavas and the gâshkamadas, the vultures, the strong-winged hawks, the crows, and the birds (of prey) shall obtain their fill! Let them make evident to the enemy, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
10. Then, too, every wild beast, insect, and worm shall obtain his fill on the human carcass, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
11. Seize ye, and tear out in-breathing and outbreathing, O Nyarbudi (and Arbudi): deep-sounding groans shall arise! Let them make it evident to the enemy, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
12. Scare them forth, let them tremble; bewilder the enemies with fright! With thy broad embrace, with the clasp of thy arms crush the enemies, O Nyarbudi!
13. May their arms, and the artful scheme that is in their mind be confused! Not a thing shall remain of them, pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
14. May (the mourning women) beating them selves, run together, smiting their breasts and their thighs, not anointed, with dishevelled hair, howling, when a man has been slain, has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
15. The dog-like Apsaras, and also the Rûpakâs (phantoms), the plucking sprite, that eacerly licks within the vessel, and her that seeks out what has been carelessly hidden, all those do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see!
16. (And also make them see) her that strides upon the mist, the mutilated one, who dwells with the mutilated; the vapoury spooks that are hidden, and the Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents, and other brood, and the Rakshas!
17. (And also) the spooks with fourfold teeth, black teeth, testicles like a pot, bloody faces, who are inherently frightful, and terrifying!
18. Frighten thou, O Arbudi, yonder lines of the enemy; the conquering and the victorious (Arbudi and Nyarbudi), the two comrades of Indra, shall conquer the enemies!
19. Dissolved, crushed, slain the enemy shall lie, O Nyarbudi! May victorious sprites, with fiery tongues and smoky crests, go with (our) army!
20. Of the enemies repulsed by this (army), O Arbudi, Indra, the spouse of Saki, shall slay each picked man: not a single one of those yonder shall escape!
21. May their hearts burst, may their life's breath escape upward! May dryness of the mouth overtake (our) enemies, but not (our) allies!
22. Those who are bold and those who are cowardly, those who turn (in flight) and those who are deaf (to danger?), those who are (like) dark goats, and those, too, who bleat like goats, all those, do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see!
23. Arbudi and Trishamdhi shall pierce our enemies, so that, O Indra, slayer of Vritra, spouse of Sakî, we may slay the enemy by thousands!
24. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants and the herbs as well, the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, the serpents, gods, pious men, and (departed) Fathers, all those, O Arbudi, do thou make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see!
25. The Maruts, god Âditya, Brahmanaspati did rule over you; Indra, and Agni, Dhâtar, Mitra, and Pragâpati did rule over you; the seers did rule over you. Let them make evident to the enemies when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
26. Ruling over all these, rise ye and arm yourselves! Ye divine folk are (our) friends: win ye the battle, and disperse to your various abodes!

XI, 10. Prayer to Trishamdhi for help in battle.

1. Arise and arm yourselves, ye nebulous spectres together with fiery portents; ye serpents, other brood, and Rakshas, run ye after the enemy!
2. He knows bow to rule your kingdom together with the red portents (of the heavens). The evil brood that is in the air and the heaven, and the human (powers) upon the earth, shall be obedient to the plans of Trishamdhi!
3. The brazen-beaked (birds of prey), those with beaks pointed as a needle, and those, too, with thorny beaks, flesh-devouring, swift as the wind, shall fasten themselves upon the enemies, together with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)!
4. Make away with, O Gâtavedas Âditya, many carcasses! This army of Trishamdhi shall be devoted to my bidding!
5. Arise thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army! This tribute has been offered to you (Arbudi and Trishamdhi), an offerinor pleasing to Trishamdhi.
6. This white-footed, four-footed arrow shall fetter (?). Do thou, O magic spell, operate, together with the army of Trishamdhi, against the enemies!
7. May (the mourning woman) with suffused eyes hurry on, may she that hath short (mutilated?) ears shout when (a man) has been overcome by the army of Trishamdhi! Red portents shall be (visible)!
8. May the winged birds that move in the air and in the sky descend; beasts of prey and insects shall seize upon them; the vultures that feed upon raw flesh shall hack into (their) carcasses!
9. By virtue of the compact which thou, O Brihaspati, didst close with Indra and Brahman, by virtue of that agreement with Indra, do I call hither all the gods: on this side conquer, not over yonder!
10. Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, and the seers, inspired by (our) song, did fix the three-jointed (Trishamdhi) weapon upon the sky for the destruction of the Asuras.
11. Trishamdhi, by whom both yonder Âditya (the sun) and Indra, are protected, the gods did destine for (our) might and strencth.
12. All the worlds the gods did conquer through this oblation, (and) by the bolt which Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, did mould into a weapon for the destruction of the Asuras.
13. With the bolt which Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, did, mould into a weapon for the destruction of the Asuras do I, O Brihaspati, annihilate yonder army: I smite the enemies with force.
14. All the gods that eat the oblation offered with the call vashat are coming over. Receive this oblation graciously; conquer on this side, not over yonder!
15. May all the gods come over: the oblation is pleasing to Trishamdhi. Adhere to the great compact under which of yore the Asuras were conquered!
16. Vâyu (the wind) shall bend the points of the enemies' bows, Indra shall break their arms, so that they shall be unable to lay on their arrows, Âditya (the sun) shall send their missiles astray, and Kandramas (the moon) shall bar the way of (the enemy) that has not (as yet) started!
17. If they have come on as citadels of the gods, if they have constituted an inspired charm as their armour, if they have gathered courage through the protections for the body and the bulwarks which they have made, render all that devoid of force!
18. Placing (our) purohita (chaplain), together with the flesh-devourer (Agni) and death, in thy train, do thoti, O Trishamdhi, go forth with thy army, conquer the enemies, advance!
19. O Trishamdhi, envelop thou the enemies in darkness; may not a single one of those, driven forth by the speckled ghee, be saved!
20. May the white-footed (arrow?) fly to yonder lines of the enemy, may yonder armies of the enemies be to-day put to confusion, O Nyarbudi!
21. The enemies have been confused, O Nyarbudi: slay each picked man among them, slay them with this army!
22. The enemy with coat-of-mail, he that has no coat-of-mail, and he that stands in the battle-throng, throttled by the strings of their bows, by the fastenings of their coats-of-mail, by the battle-throng, they shall lie!
23. Those w ith armour and those without armour, the enemies that are shielded by armour, all those, O Arbudi, after they have been slain, dogs shall devour upon the ground!
24. Those that ride on chariots, and those that have no chariots, those that are mounted, and those that are not mounted, all those, after they have been slain, vultures and strong-winged hawks shall devour!
25. Counting its dead by thousands, the hostile army, pierced and shattered in the clash of arms, shall lie!
26. Pierced in a vital spot, shrieking in concert with the birds of prey, wretched, crushed, prostrate, (the birds of prey) shall devour the enemy who attempts to hinder this oblation of ours directed against (him)!
27. With (the oblation) to which the gods flock, which is free from failure,-with it Indra, the slayer of Vritra, shall slay, and with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)!

V, 20. Hymn to the battle-drum.

1. High sounds the voice of the drum, that acts the warrior, the wooden (drum), equipped with the skin of the cow. Whetting thy voice, subduing the enemy, like a lion sure of victory, do thou loudly thunder against them!
2. The wooden (instrument) with fastened (covering) has thundered as a lion, as a bull roars to the cow that longs to mate. Thou art a bull, thy enemies are eunuchs; thou ownest Indra's foesubduing fire!
3. Like a bull in the herd, full of might, lusty, do thou, O snatcher of booty, roar against them! Pierce with fire the heart of the enemy; with -broken ranks the foe shall run and scatter!
4. In victorious battles raise thy roar! What may be captured, capture; sound in many places! Favour, O drum, (our deeds) with thy divine voice; bring to (us) with strength the property of the enemy!
5. When the wife of the enemy hears the voice of the drum, that speaks to a far distance, may she, aroused by the sound, distressed, snatch her son to her arms, and run, frightened at the clash of arms!
6. Do thou, O drum, sound the first sound, ring brilliantly over the back of the earth! Open wide thy maw at the enemies host; resound brightly, joyously, O drum!
7. Between this heaven and earth thy noise shall spread, thy sounds shall quickly part to every side! Shout thou and thunder with swelling sound; make music at thy friend's victory, having, (chosen) the good side!
8. Manipulated with care, its voice shall resound! Make bristle forth the weapons of the warriors! Allied to Indra do thou call hither the warriors; with thy friends beat vigorously down the enemies!
9. A shouting herald, followed by a bold army, spreading news in many places, sounding through the village, eager for success, knowing the way, do thou distribute glory to many in the battle!
10. Desiring advantage, gaining booty, full mighty, thou hast been made keen by (my) song, and winnest battles. As the press-stone on the gathering skin dances upon the soma-sboots, thus do thou, O drum, lustily dance upon the booty!
11. A conqueror of enemies, overwhelming, foe-subduing, eager for the fray, victoriously crushing, as a speaker his speech do thou carry forth thy sound; sound forth here strength for victory in battle!
12. Shaking those that are unshaken, hurrying to the strife, a conqueror of enemies, an unconquerable leader, protected by Indra, attending to the hosts, do thou that crusheth the hearts of the enemies, quickly go!

V, 21 Hymn to the battle-drum, the terror of the enemy.

1. Carry with thy voice, O drum, lack of heart, and failure of courage among the enemies! Disagreement, dismay, and fright, do we place into the enemies: beat them down, O drum!
2. Agitated in their minds, their sight, their hearts, the enemies shall run, frightened with terror, when our oblation has been offered!
3. Made of wood, equipped with the skin of the cow, at home with every clan, put thou with thy voice terror into the enemies, when thou hast been anointed with ghee!
4. As the wild animals of the forest start in fear from man, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds!
5. As goats and sheep run from the wolf, badly frightened, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds!
6. As birds start in fear from the eagle, as by day and by night (they start) at the roar of the lion, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds!
7. With the drum and the skin of the antelope all the gods, that sway the battle, have scared away the enemies.
8. At the noise of the beat of the feet when Indra disports himself, and at his shadow, our enemies yonder, that come in successive ranks, shall tremble!
9. The whirring of the bowstring and the drums shall shout at the directions where the conquered armies of the enemies go in successive ranks!
10. O sun, take away their sight; O rays, run after them; clinging to their feet, fasten yourselves upon them, when the strength of their arms is gone!
11. Ye strong Maruts, Prisni's children, with Indra as an ally, crush ye the enemies; Soma the king (shall crush them), Varuna the king, Mahâdeva, and
also Mrityu (death), and Indra!
12. These wise armies of the gods, having the sun as their ensign, shall conquer our enemies! Hail!