Rig Veda Sukta 164
Mandala 10Sukta 1645 Mantras

Sukta 164

Sukta 10.164

Rishi

Traditionally attributed within RV 10.164 to an Atharvaṇic/Āṅgirasa milieu (exact rishi varies by tradition)

Devata

Manas-pati (Lord of Mind); with explicit counter-force to Nirṛti

Chandas

Triṣṭubh (probable; confirm by scan)

RV 10.164 ist ein apotropäischer und sühnevoller Hymnus, der den Geist von Nirṛti (Verfall, Zerstörung, Unheil) abwendet und das Bewusstsein auf Leben, Weite und eine glückverheißende Richtung ausrichtet. Er bittet, dass Verfehlungen, die im Wachen oder im Schlaf — aus Furcht, durch Fluch oder aus verfehlter Absicht — begangen wurden, durch reinigende Mächte (besonders Agni) getilgt werden, und besiegelt das Ritual mit einer schützenden Übertragung böser Absicht weg vom Opfernden.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 10.164

Mantras

Mantra 1

अपेहि मनसस्पतेऽप क्राम परश्चर । परो निॠत्या आ चक्ष्व बहुधा जीवतो मनः ॥

Weiche zurück, o Herr des Geistes; tritt beiseite und zieh weit hinaus. Wende den Blick ab von Nirṛti, dem Verderben; weit und in viele Richtungen schaue der Geist des Lebenden.

Mantra 2

भद्रं वै वरं वृणते भद्रं युञ्जन्ति दक्षिणम् । भद्रं वैवस्वते चक्षुर्बहुत्रा जीवतो मनः ॥

Wahrlich, das Günstige, das Gute wählen sie; zum Guten spannen sie die rechte Kraft an. Heilvoll ist das Schauen im Bereich des Vivasvat; an vielen Orten sei der Geist des Lebenden weit und glückverheißend im Blick.

Mantra 3

यदाशसा निःशसाभिशसोपारिम जाग्रतो यत्स्वपन्तः । अग्निर्विश्वान्यप दुष्कृतान्यजुष्टान्यारे अस्मद्दधातु ॥

Was immer wir — durch Hoffnung oder Hoffnungslosigkeit, durch Fluch oder Gegenfluch — herangebracht haben, ob wachend oder schlafend: Agni lege fern von uns alle Übeltaten, alles den Göttern Unwillkommene.

Mantra 4

यदिन्द्र ब्रह्मणस्पतेऽभिद्रोहं चरामसि । प्रचेता न आङ्गिरसो द्विषतां पात्वंहसः ॥

Wenn wir, o Indra, o Brahmaṇaspati, in Feindschaft gegangen sind oder den Bund gebrochen haben, dann schütze uns der vorauswissende Āṅgirasa vor Sünde und Not, die von den Feinden ausgehen.

Mantra 5

अजैष्माद्यासनाम चाभूमानागसो वयम् । जाग्रत्स्वप्नः संकल्पः पापो यं द्विष्मस्तं स ऋच्छतु यो नो द्वेष्टि तमृच्छतु ॥

Heute haben wir gesiegt; wir haben erlangt und sind ohne Schuld geworden. Der böse Vorsatz, aus Wachen und Traum geboren — er gehe zu dem, den wir hassen; er gehe zu dem, der uns hasst.

Inside Sukta 164

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    A direct imperative to Manas-pati: step away, go beyond—turn the gaze away from Nirṛti and let the living mind see broadly.

  2. Development

    The hymn expands from inner redirection to moral-ritual cleansing: faults arising from hope/hopelessness, curse/counter-curse, waking/sleep are acknowledged and handed to purifying power (Agni) to be driven far away.

  3. Climax

    The decisive expiatory petition: Agni is asked to remove all duṣkṛta and what the gods do not accept, severing the chain between the sacrificer and inauspicious residue.

  4. Where it settles

    A sealing formula declares victory and faultlessness, then wards off evil intention born of waking and dream by sending it away from the sacrificer, closing the protective circuit.

The deity: Manas-pati, with counter-force to Nirṛti

  • In the VedaManas-pati is addressed as the governing power of manas (mind), invoked to move away from destructive fixation and to make the living mind see widely. Nirṛti appears as the negating presence—misfortune, dissolution, and the pull toward inauspiciousness—against which the hymn explicitly turns the gaze.
  • Cosmic functionTo restore right orientation (ṛta-aligned directionality) in thought and perception, and to avert forces of dissolution; Agni functions as the cosmic purifier who carries away what is “unacceptable” (ajuṣṭa) and misdeeds (duṣkṛta).
  • Inner significanceA disciplined redirection of attention: withdrawing the mind from depressive, fatalistic, or obsessive currents (Nirṛti) and re-establishing clarity, moral hygiene, and life-affirming resolve across waking and dream states.

The seer

  • Traditionally linked to an Atharvaṇic/Āṅgirasa seer-group (specific rishi varies by recension and later tradition)Āṅgirasa / Atharvaṇic milieu (traditional attribution; not uniformly fixed) · Association with protective and expiatory (śānti/prāyaścitta) formulae, especially those addressing mental affliction, ill-omens, and Nirṛti.

Famous verses

paro nirṛtyā ā cakṣva
Verse 10.164.1Core invocation to Manas-pati that explicitly turns perception away from Nirṛti and establishes the hymn’s central therapeutic move: widening the living mind’s field.Read verse 10.164.1 →
agniḥ ... apa duṣkṛtāni ... āre asmad dadhātu
Verse 10.164.3Principal prāyaścitta verse: it gathers misdeeds from all states (waking/sleep) and all affective causes (hope/hopelessness; curse/counter-curse) and entrusts their removal to Agni.Read verse 10.164.3 →
jāgratsvapnaḥ saṃkalpaḥ
Verse 10.164.5Sealing and warding conclusion: declares release from fault and redirects the ‘pāpa saṃkalpa’ (evil intention) away from the performer, functioning like a protective closure.Read verse 10.164.5 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Mind-governance and reorientation
  • Averting Nirṛti (ill-luck, decay, destruction)
  • Purification of fault (doṣa) and misdeed (duṣkṛta)
  • Protection across waking and sleep
  • Ritual sealing through a final warding formula

Also by this seer

  • Late Rigvedic strata (Mandala 10) hymns with apotropaic and healing tendencies (general Atharvaṇic coloring)
  • Themes shared with Atharvaveda-style remedies: removal of curse (abhiśāpa), fear, and dream-born impurity

The rite, step by step

  • Ācamana and sankalpa for śānti: naming the affliction (fear, curse, bad dream, inauspicious signs) and seeking aversion of Nirṛti.
  • Recite RV 10.164.1 to command the mind’s withdrawal from destructive fixation and to establish “wide-seeing” life-oriented awareness.
  • Recite the central expiatory verse(s) (e.g., RV 10.164.3) while kindling/approaching Agni, asking that all duṣkṛta and ajuṣṭa be set far away.
  • Optional: silent japa focusing on breath and mental steadiness, linking ‘jāgrat–svapna’ (waking–dream) continuity to purification.
  • Recite the sealing verse (RV 10.164.5) as a protective closure, followed by śānti-pāṭha or a concluding oblation to Agni.

Offerings

  • Ghṛta (ghee) oblations to Agni
  • Samidh (fuel sticks) and simple havis (e.g., rice/ajyabhāga as customary)
  • Water for ācamana and sprinkling (prokṣaṇa) as a cooling/cleansing adjunct

Frequently Asked Questions

Manas-pati means “Lord of the mind.” In this hymn he is invoked to pull the mind away from destructive, inauspicious fixation (Nirṛti) and to restore clear, life-oriented perception.

It treats both states as sources of impurity or error—bad intentions, fear, or curse-effects can arise in waking or in dreams. The hymn asks that all such faults be purified and driven far away.

Its main intent is protection and expiation for the reciter. The final verse uses a warding formula—sending “evil intention” away from oneself—typical of apotropaic ritual language rather than a general ethic of aggression.

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