Rig Veda Sukta 169
Mandala 10Sukta 1694 Mantras

Sukta 169

Sukta 10.169

Rishi

Not securely determinable from supplied text alone.

Devata

Primary: Vāta/Healing Wind and Oṣadhīs; Rudra invoked for grace/protection.

Chandas

Likely Triṣṭubh (confirm by scan).

Diese kurze Hymne ist ein Gebet um Heilung und Gedeihen: Sie ruft den wonnebringenden Wind (Vāta) an, günstig zu wehen, damit die lebensspendenden Kräuter (Oṣadhīs) kräftig wachsen und nährend werden. Körperliches Wohlergehen wird mit kosmischer Stütze verknüpft: Rudra wird um schützende Gnade gebeten, während die nährenden „Mächte“ eingeladen werden, sich im sicheren goṣṭha niederzulassen – einem Sinnbild eines geschützten, lichtvollen Feldes von Leben und Vitalität – unter dem weiteren Beistand Indras, Somas und Prajāpatis.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 10.169

Mantras

Mantra 1

मयोभूर्वातो अभि वातूस्रा ऊर्जस्वतीरोषधीरा रिशन्ताम् । पीवस्वतीर्जीवधन्याः पिबन्त्ववसाय पद्वते रुद्र मृळ ॥

Möge der wonnebringende Wind auf die rötlichen Lichter wehen; mögen die kräfterfüllten Heilkräuter emporwachsen. Mögen die saftreichen, lebensspendenden Pflanzen trinken — zu unserem Heil; o Rudra, Herr des Pfades, sei gnädig.

Mantra 2

याः सरूपा विरूपा एकरूपा यासामग्निरिष्ट्या नामानि वेद । या अङ्गिरसस्तपसेह चक्रुस्ताभ्यः पर्जन्य महि शर्म यच्छ ॥

Jene Kräuter, die gleichgestaltig sind, ungleichgestaltig und von einer einzigen Wesensgestalt – deren Namen Agni durch das Opferwerk (iṣṭi) kennt; jene, die die Aṅgiras hier durch tapas bereiteten: ihnen, o Parjanya, gewähre großen Schutz, heilsamen Frieden.

Mantra 3

या देवेषु तन्वमैरयन्त यासां सोमो विश्वा रूपाणि वेद । ता अस्मभ्यं पयसा पिन्वमानाः प्रजावतीरिन्द्र गोष्ठे रिरीहि ॥

Jene Mächte, die unter den Göttern den leibhaften Wesensträger erwecken und in Bewegung setzen, deren alle Gestalten Soma kennt – mögen sie für uns anschwellen mit der Milch innerer Nahrung, fruchtbar an Werdenskraft; o Indra, mögen sie sich in unserem leuchtenden goṣṭha niederlassen und verweilen.

Mantra 4

प्रजापतिर्मह्यमेता रराणो विश्वैर्देवैः पितृभिः संविदानः । शिवाः सतीरुप नो गोष्ठमाकस्तासां वयं प्रजया सं सदेम ॥

Prajāpati, an diesen für mich sich erfreuend, im Einvernehmen mit allen Göttern und den Vätern, hat die heilvollen, wahrhaftigen Mächte an unsere leuchtende Stätte herangeführt. Mögen wir mit ihnen zusammensitzen in gemeinsamer Wohnstatt schöpferischen Werdens, reich an der Nachkommenschaft der Seele.

Inside Sukta 169

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    A beneficent wind is invoked to blow upon the world, invigorating the herbs; Rudra is asked to be gracious and protective.

  2. Development

    The hymn broadens from physical growth (plants, nourishment) to divine agencies that animate embodied life; Soma is invoked as the knower of all forms, implying ordered, intelligible healing power.

  3. Climax

    The nourishing powers are urged to swell with ‘milk’ (payas) and to abide in the goṣṭha—health and abundance becoming stable, not fleeting.

  4. Where it settles

    Prajāpati, in accord with gods and ancestors, brings the auspicious powers near; the community seeks to ‘sit together’ with them in generative harmony (prajayā saṃ sadema).

The deity: Vāta with Oṣadhīs

  • In the VedaVāta is invoked as mayobhū (bringing delight/wholesomeness), whose blowing fosters growth and vigor; the Oṣadhīs are living, nourishing powers that ‘drink’ moisture and become pīvasvatīḥ (rich, thriving) and jīvadhanyāḥ (life-sustaining). Rudra appears as the path-lord (patvate) whose grace averts harm, while Soma is the knower/illuminator of forms and Prajāpati brings auspicious powers into proximity with gods and ancestors.
  • Cosmic functionTo circulate prāṇa-like vitality through the world, quicken vegetation and medicines, and secure the community’s field of life (goṣṭha) through divine protection and generative order.
  • Inner significanceThe wind signifies enlivening breath and clarity; herbs signify restorative capacities in nature and in the psyche. Rudra’s ‘grace’ is the pacification of disruptive forces, enabling the inner medicines—discernment, nourishment, and resilience—to take root and multiply.

The seer

  • Anukta (not securely determinable)This hymn’s seer is not explicitly identifiable from the supplied text; such late-maṇḍala (10) hymns are often traditionally treated as anukta when internal markers are insufficient.

Famous verses

mayobhūr vātaḥ … rudra mṛḻa
Verse 10.169.1Core healing invocation: mayobhū Vāta strengthens Oṣadhīs, and Rudra is directly petitioned for gracious protection—uniting growth and safety.Read verse 10.169.1 →
या देवेषु तन्वमैरयन्त यासां सोमो विश्वा रूपाणि वेद । ता अस्मभ्यं पयसा पिन्वमानाः प्रजावतीरिन्द्र गोष्ठे रिरीहि ॥
Verse 10.169.3Highlights the ‘Powers’ that animate embodiment; Soma’s knowing of all forms frames healing as ordered knowledge, and the request to settle in the goṣṭha symbolizes stable vitality and prosperity.Read verse 10.169.3 →
prajayā saṃ sadema
Verse 10.169.4Concluding seal of generativity: Prajāpati, with Viśve Devāḥ and Pitṛs, brings auspicious powers near; the aim is shared dwelling in prajā (creative becoming/offspring).Read verse 10.169.4 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Mayobhū (delight-bringing, wholesome)
  • Life-giving breath/vital circulation
  • Healer through herbs (Oṣadhīs)
  • Protective appeasement of Rudra
  • Nourishment as ‘milk’ (payas) and growth (prajā)
  • Settlement in a protected luminous ‘goṣṭha’ (secure life-field)

Also by this seer

  • Attribution uncertain; no secure additional hymns can be assigned from the provided evidence alone.
  • Mandala 10 contains several anukta/weakly-attested attributions in later compilational strata.

The rite, step by step

  • Prepare a clean ritual space; kindle a small āhavanīya-style fire (or lamp) and establish calm breathing (vāta-prasādana).
  • Recite RV 10.169.1 to invoke mayobhū Vāta and the strengthening of Oṣadhīs; add a protective request to Rudra (mṛḻa).
  • Recite the middle verses (including RV 10.169.3) to invite the nourishing powers to swell with payas (inner ‘milk’) and to ‘settle’ in the goṣṭha—symbolically securing health and livelihood.
  • Recite RV 10.169.4 to seal the rite under Prajāpati’s generative sanction, aligning with Viśve Devāḥ and Pitṛs; conclude with quiet sitting (saṃ-sadema) as a contemplative integration.
  • Optionally, touch or circumambulate medicinal herbs/infusions while reciting, then partake as prasāda-like medicine with restraint.

Offerings

  • Ghṛta (ghee) into fire
  • Water/ācamana as cooling offering
  • Herbal offering: dried herbs, or a simple infusion placed near the fire/altar
  • Grains/milk (symbolic payas) as nourishment

Frequently Asked Questions

For health and flourishing: the hymn asks the wholesome Wind to strengthen medicinal herbs, so nourishment and vitality increase, and it seeks protective grace from Rudra.

In the Veda, herbs are not just substances; they are living forces that carry healing and nourishment. The hymn praises them as life-sustaining and asks them to ‘grow’ and ‘fill’ the community with strength.

Literally it is a cattle-pen or secure enclosure, but in Vedic symbolism it can also mean a protected, luminous field of life—where vitality, prosperity, and the ‘rays’ of awakened power can safely abide.

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