clouds; shatters the towers of the demons, _i.e._ the tempests which gather round the mountain top; and hurls back the demons when they would ascend heaven.[87] "I will sing of the victories of Indra, which the god with the spear carried off," so we read in the hymns of the Veda. "On the mountain he smote Ahi; he poured out the waters, and let the river flow from the mountains; like calves to cows, so do the waters hasten to the sea. Like a bull, Indra dashed upon the sacrifice, and drank thrice of the prepared drink, then he smote the first-born of the evil one. When thou, Indra, didst smite them, thou didst overcome the craft of the guileful: thou didst beget the sun, the day, and the dawn. With a mighty cast Indra smote the dark Vritra, so that he broke his shoulders; like a tree felled with an axe Ahi sank to the earth. The waters now run over the corpse of Ahi, and the enemy of Indra sleeps there in the long darkness."[88] "Thou hast opened the cave of Vritra rich in cattle; the fetters of the streams thou hast burnt asunder."[89] On a golden chariot, drawn by horses, yellow or ruddy, cream-coloured or chestnut, Indra approaches;[90] his skilful driver is Vayu, _i.e._ "the blowing," the spirit of the morning wind,[91] which, hastening before the morning glow, frees the nocturnal sky from dark clouds. Indra is followed by Rudra, _i.e._ the terrible, the spirit of the mighty wind, the destroying, but also beneficent storm, and the whistling winds, the swift, strong Maruts, who fight with Indra against the demons. These are twenty-seven, or thirty-six in number, the sons of Rudra. Their chariots are drawn by dappled horses; they wear golden helmets, and greaves, and spears on their shoulders. They dwell in the mountains, open the path for the sun, break down the branches of the trees like wild elephants, and when Indra has overpowered Vritra, they tear him to pieces. To Indra, as to Mitra, horses were sacrificed, and bulls also, and the libation of soma was offered.[92] Indra is the deity addressed in the greater part of the poems of the Rigveda. Himself a king, hero, and conqueror, he is invoked by minstrels to give victory to their princes. They entreat him "to harness the shrill-neighing, peacock-tailed pair of cream-coloured horses;" to come into the ranks of the warriors, like a wild, terrible lion from the mountains; to approach with sharp spear and knotty club; to give the hosts of the enemy to the vultures for food. The warriors are urged to follow Indra's victorious chariot, to vie with Indra: he who does not flinch in the battle will fight before them; he will strike back the arrows of the enemies. Indra destroys the towers and fortresses of the enemies; he casts down twenty kings; he smites the opponents by fifties and sixties of thousands.[93] The prayer has already been mentioned in which Indra is invoked to give the Aryas victory against the Dasyus. "Lead us, O Indra," we read in an