Rig Veda 1.147.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 147, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.147
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यो नो अग्ने अररिवाँ अघायुररातीवा मर्चयति द्वयेन । मन्त्रो गुरुः पुनरस्तु सो अस्मा अनु मृक्षीष्ट तन्वं दुरुक्तैः ॥
yó no agne arárivā̃n aghāyúr arātīvā́ marcáyati dvayéna | mántro gurúḥ púnar astu só asmai ánu mṛkṣīṣṭa tanvám duruktáiḥ ||
O Agni, wer von uns feindselig ist, nach Unheil giert, böswillig, und zweifach angreift – durch Tat und durch Wort –, auf den kehre der schwere Spruch zurück. Du aber reinige unser leibhaftes Wesen von der Befleckung verkehrter Rede.
Word by Word
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अररिवान्
- hostile, harmful (one having enmity)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot अररि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘हानिकर/शत्रु’), मतुप्-प्रत्ययः (-वान्)
- अघायुः
- evil-minded / of evil lifeAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot अघ (प्रातिपदिक) + आयु (प्रातिपदिक) → बहुव्रीहिः
- अरातीवा
- malicious, injurious (one of ‘arāti’)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot अराति (प्रातिपदिक ‘हानि/द्रोह/कंजूसी’), -वन्/-इवन् (वेदिक विशेषण-प्रत्यय) → अरातीवन्
- मर्चयति
- harms, injuresVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot मृच्/मर्च् (धातु; वेदिक ‘हानौ/पीडने’), भ्वादिः
- द्वयेन
- by a twofold (means)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot द्वय (प्रातिपदिक ‘द्वि-प्रकार/द्वय’)
- मन्त्रः
- the sacred formula / mantraNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- गुरुः
- weighty, powerfulAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुनः
- againIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पुनः (अव्यय)
- अस्तु
- let it beVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-प्राय), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KriyāRoot अस् (धातु ‘भू’), अदादिः
- सः
- that (he/it)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मै
- for himPronounचतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after, along; in accordanceIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- मृक्षीष्ट
- wipe away, cleanseVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम् (वेदिक रूप)Role KriyāRoot मृक्ष् (धातु; ‘मार्जने/शोधने’), भ्वादिः
- तन्वम्
- body, personNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot तनू (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुरुक्तैः
- by evil utterances / cursesNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot दुरुक्त (दुर्- + उक्त, क्त-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यः | नः | अग्ने | अररिवान् | अघायुः | अरातीवा | मर्चयति | द्वयेन । मन्त्रः | गुरुः | पुनः | अस्तु | सः | अस्मै | अनु | मृक्षीष्ट | तन्वम् | दुरुक्तैः ॥ मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) ‘यो नो’ = यः + नः (विसर्ग-लोपः, ओ-आदेशः पदसंहितायाम्)
- (2) ‘अग्ने अररिवाँ’ = अग्ने + अररिवान् (स्वर-संहितामात्रम्; रूपतः परिवर्तनं न)
- (3) ‘अघायुररातीवा’ = अघायुः + अरातीवा (विसर्ग-लोपः/रुत्व-प्रवृत्तिः; संहितायां ‘अघायुर् अरातीवा’)
- (4) ‘सो अस्मा’ = सः + अस्मै (विसर्ग-लोपः; संहितायां ‘सोऽस्मै’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Agni to repel the hostile one who attacks “in a double way” (by deed and by speech). The poet asks that the heavy spell (mantra) recoil upon the attacker and that Agni cleanse the worshipper’s embodied being from the stain of evil utterances.
Inner meaning
Agni as the inner Divine Will is invoked to detect and reverse hostile forces—both external opposition and inner sabotage. “Double attack” signifies (1) harmful action in the vital nature and (2) harmful speech/thought-formation in the mental nature. The “heavy spell” is the weight of distorted vibration (durukti) that returns to its source when the psychic fire is steady. The cleansing is a psychological katharsis: Agni purifies the body-life-mind complex so that speech becomes truth-bearing and the inner sacrifice is not defiled by falsehood, resentment, or self-denigration.
Universal truth
What we project through action and speech shapes our field; harmful intent rebounds by the law of consciousness (ṛta). Inner fire—clear will aligned to truth—can neutralize hostility and purify the instrument so that speech becomes a force of healing rather than harm.
Themes
protection, purification, battle of light and darkness (truth vs. false speech), recoil of hostile word-force
The seer
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa (attributed for RV 1.147 in the Anukramaṇī tradition)
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- RV 1.94-1.99 (Agni hymns associated with Āṅgirasa streams), RV 1.112-1.121 (Kutsa cycle often connected with Indra/illumination themes)
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa seers emphasize Agni as the initiator of the inner sacrifice and protector against hostile powers; their hymns often move from outer rite to inner purification.
Significance
The seer-voice here functions as a guardian of vāṇī (truth-speech): the mantra is used not to curse but to restore ṛta by reversing hostile vibration and purifying the adhāra (instrument).
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Hotṛ (inner priest), Pāvaka (purifier), Rakṣohā (slayer of hostile forces), Jātavedas (knower of all births)
- Related deities
- Indra (illumined mind that breaks obstruction), Varuṇa (law/ṛta, purity), Sarasvatī (truth-speech)
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine worlds; carrier of offerings; establishes order by burning impurity and opening the path to the luminous worlds.
Inner power
Psychic fire that discerns truth from falsehood, converts desire into aspiration, and protects the sadhaka from hostile formations.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni protection and purification within the iṣṭi/Agnihotra stream; apotropaic (rakṣaḥ) usage in soma and fire rites
यो नो॑ अग्ने॒ अर॑रिवाँ अघा॒युर॑राती॒वा म॒र्चय॑ति द्व॒येन॑ । मन्त्रो॑ गु॒रुः पुन॑रस्तु॒ सो अ॑स्मा॒ अनु॑ मृक्षीष्ट त॒न्वं॑ दुरु॒क्तैः ॥
यः । नः॒ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । अर॑रिऽवान् । अ॒घ॒ऽयुः । अ॒रा॒ति॒ऽवा । म॒र्चय॑ति । द्व॒येन॑ । मन्त्रः॑ । गु॒रुः । पुनः॑ । अ॒स्तु॒ । सः । अ॒स्मै॒ । अनु॑ । मृ॒क्षी॒ष्ट॒ । त॒न्व॑म् । दुः॒ऽउ॒क्तैः ॥
yaḥ | naḥ | agne | arari-vān | agha-yuḥ | arāti-vā | marcayati | dvayena | mantraḥ | guruḥ | punaḥ | astu | saḥ | asmai | anu | mṛkṣīṣṭa | tanvam | duḥ-uktaiḥ
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables each
Firm, protective, and declarative; suited to warding and purification formulas.
Creates a sense of boundary and inner fortification; the cadence supports ‘reversal’ (punar) and cleansing (mṛkṣīṣṭa) as felt psychophysical actions.
- अग्ने (agne)
- Literal: O Fire (Agni). Symbolic: Divine Will and purifying psychic fire guiding the inner offering
- अररिवान् (ararivān)
- Literal: hostile, injuring. Symbolic: Inner/outer adversarial force that disrupts aspiration
- अघायुः (aghāyuḥ)
- Literal: wishing harm, evil-intentioned. Symbolic: Will turned toward negation; perverse intention in the vital
- अरातीवा (arātīvā)
- Literal: malicious, hostile. Symbolic: Energy of opposition (asuric resistance) to the yajña of growth
- मर्चयति (marcayati)
- Literal: assails, strikes. Symbolic: Pressure/attack on the soul-instrument; disturbance of sādhanā
- द्वयेन (dvayena)
- Literal: by two (means). Symbolic: By deed and by speech; also vital act + mental formation
- मन्त्रः गुरुः (mantro guruḥ)
- Literal: the mantra/spell is heavy. Symbolic: Dense negative vibration/formation; karmic weight of false speech
- पुनरस्तु (punar astu)
- Literal: let it be again/return. Symbolic: Recoil/return of the hostile formation to its origin
- तन्वम् (tanvam)
- Literal: the body, embodied being. Symbolic: The whole instrument of nature (body-life-mind) to be purified
- दुरुक्तैः (duruktaiḥ)
- Literal: by ill-spoken words. Symbolic: Falsehood, harsh speech, self-harming narratives; wrong mantra
Protective and purificatory use in Agni-centered recitation; suitable for apotropaic employment within household and śrauta contexts (general rakṣo-han/pāpmā-nāśa orientation), though exact prayoga varies by śākhā.
When seeking protection from hostility, slander, or ritual impurity; before/after offerings when speech has been compromised
Recited facing the fire; accompanied by āhuti or silent offering of intention; mental ‘returning’ of harm to its source without personal hatred
Use as a ‘speech purification’ mantra before difficult conversations; as inner protection against intrusive thoughts and hostile self-talk.
Key roots: (1) mṛkṣ-/mṛj- ‘to wipe, cleanse, rub off’ → mṛkṣīṣṭa (2nd sg. injunctive/imperative): a request for inner purification of tanū- (embodiment). (2) vac-/ukta: ukta ‘said’; duḥ-ukta ‘ill-said’ indicates speech that deviates from ṛta/satya; in psychological reading, wrong formations in consciousness by distorted word-force. (3) arāti- from √rā ‘to give’ with privative/negative sense: non-giving, deprivation, hostile withholding; arātivān ‘one characterized by arāti’. (4) agha- ‘harm, evil’ + -yu (from √yu ‘to join, pursue; also “intent, bent”) → aghāyuḥ: one whose pursuit/intention is harm. (5) marcayati likely denominative/intensive from a root meaning ‘to crush/strike/harass’ (attack as pressure on the being). (6) guru- ‘heavy’ marks the karmic/psychic weight of the hostile mantra returning (punaḥ ... astu) upon the sender.
Ṛta (right order upheld by right speech), Satya vs. anṛta (truth vs. distortion), inner purification (śuddhi of tanū/consciousness)
Agni restores ṛta by burning durukti (false vibration) and reversing adharmic intent.
Purification of speech so that vāṇī aligns with satya; truth-speech becomes a protective force.
Fire as the ordering principle that separates truth from falsehood (like light from darkness).
Proto-Vedāntic / integral yogic reading (Aurobindo): transformation of nature through psychic fire.
unspecified
unspecified
Fire = awakened will; stain = residue of wrong vibration; cleansing = sattvic clarification of the nervous system and mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the purifier and protector who neutralizes hostile forces: the enemy’s ‘mantra’ (word-force) rebounds upon him, while Agni cleanses the seeker’s embodied being. The mythic action is not a narrative feat but a recurrent Vedic pattern: Fire as the divine power that burns impurity and turns back rakṣas/hostility.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The central opposition is encoded in speech-ethics: ukta ‘said’ (PIE *wekʷ- ‘to speak’, cf. Lat. vox) and its distortion duḥ-ukta. The purifying verb mṛkṣ-/mṛj- aligns with Indo-European ‘wipe/clean’ semantics (cf. Latin mergeō in later semantic drift, and broader IE cleansing verbs), marking a ritual-psychological act of removing defilement. The relative clause yáḥ ... marcáyati is a standard IE syntactic strategy for defining the adversary by action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer approaches Agni as an inner priest-power: Agni is asked both to enforce a just recoil (return of oppressive word-force to the hostile agent) and to perform intimate purification of the tanū (the practitioner’s formed nature). The reciprocity is implicit: right invocation (mantra aligned with ṛta) calls forth Agni’s protective clarity; wrong speech (durukta) is treated as a stain needing Agni’s transformative fire.
Purify speech and intention; kindle Agni in the heart to dissolve hostile formations and self-sabotaging narratives.
anahata (heart)
Nādi-śodhana or slow exhale-focused breathing while mentally offering harsh words into the inner fire
Protected, vigilant, and clarified; transition from reactive to luminous will.
Recall a recent ‘durukti’ (spoken or unspoken). Offer it into Agni at the heart; affirm truth-speech. Visualize the hostile vibration returning to its origin and dissolving, leaving your instrument clean.
Mixed udātta/anudātta/svarita per Vedic accent; key lifts often on vocative ‘agne’ and verbal roots indicating action (marcayati, mṛkṣīṣṭa).
Keep udātta syllables bright and slightly raised; do not over-musicalize svarita—let it fall naturally after the rise.
agne: clear ‘gn’ cluster (ag-ne), not ‘ag-niy’, ararivān: roll light ‘r’; keep nasalization on ‘vām̐’ if trained, dvayena: ‘dva-ye-na’ with crisp ‘dv’, mṛkṣīṣṭa: pronounce ‘kṣ’ as conjunct (k+ṣ), long ī in ‘ṣīṣ’, duruktaiḥ: ‘du-ruk-taiḥ’ with audible ‘kt’
Steady, protective, slightly forceful but not angry; end with a purifying softness on ‘duruktaiḥ’.
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