Mandala 10
मण्डल 10
The Closing Collection
Mandala 10 is the latest and most wide-ranging book of the Rig Veda, preserving hymns that move from ritual praise into explicit philosophical and social reflection. It contains seminal cosmogonic and speculative texts (notably the Nāsadīya hymn), alongside hymns for life-cycle rites such as funerary observances and prayers for protection and victory. The anuvāka themes highlight mantra (brahman) as an inward, Rudra-like force that restores order through inspired speech, and a complementary strand of cosmic guardianship through Night’s shelter and Agni’s commanding power. As a late compilation, it functions like a capstone: integrating older liturgical idioms with newer, more self-conscious reflection on origin, law (ṛta), and human society.
Suktas in Mandala 10
Sukta 1
Sukta 10.1
RV 10.1 opens Mandala 10 by invoking Agni as the first radiant emergence from darkness, standing before the Dawns and filling all abodes with light. The hymn praises Agni’s many forms—ever-renewed through offerings—and establishes him as the human clans’ Hotṛ who carries prayers and brings the gods to the sacrifice.
Sukta 2
Sukta 10.2
This hymn invokes Agni as the youngest and most capable Hotṛ who knows ṛtu (right seasons/timings) and can correctly “set” the gods into their proper order in sacrifice. It asks Agni to nourish the gods, repair human lapses in divine ordinances, and blaze within the worshippers—knowing even the ancestral path (pitṛyāṇa) and guiding the rite to luminous success.
Sukta 3
Sukta 10.3
This short Agni hymn portrays the fire-god as a fierce yet auspicious, discerning power whose vast radiance drives away darkness and leads the sacrificer toward the “dawn” of clarity. It kindles Agni as a friendly companion and asks him to come swiftly with his well-yoked steeds, to sit on the ritual seat and carry the offering and intention between Heaven and Earth.
Sukta 4
Sukta 10.4
This hymn praises Agni as the ancient king and household lord who becomes a refuge for the sacrificer, like a life-giving spring in a barren land. It marvels at Agni’s hidden-yet-active nature—lying concealed, then leaping forth to “taste” the offering—while asking him to protect family, offspring, and the integrity of one’s body and life-course. Overall, it is both an invocation for successful yajña and a prayer for safeguarding prosperity and continuity.
Sukta 5
Sukta 10.5
This enigmatic hymn contemplates a single hidden cosmic principle—experienced as Agni-Sūrya, the inner fire and the solar seer—who upholds abundance like an “ocean” and reveals the secret track placed within the fountain of life. It moves through the imagery of concealed nourishment, the pathways of Ṛta (truth-order), and the cosmogonic embrace of being and non-being in Aditi’s vastness, culminating in Agni as the first-born of Ṛta and the source of both force and plenty.
Sukta 6
Sukta 10.6
This hymn praises Agni as the luminous, all-illumining presence who shelters the singer and makes the offering effective. Agni is celebrated as the swift messenger who, delighted by hymns, draws the gods toward the sacrifice and becomes himself the first “havya,” the primordial offering. The verses emphasize Agni’s greatness, his elder rays, and his role in awakening and increasing the earliest divine energies.
Sukta 7
Sukta 10.7
This short Agni hymn prays for svasti (well-being) from both heaven and earth, asking Agni to establish “universal life” (viśvāyus) fit for sacrifice and right living. It seeks sharpened, victorious insight (dhī) under Agni’s guardianship in the home, and ends by asking him to be helper, protector, life-giver, and preserver of the body on the right path.
Sukta 8
Sukta 10.8
This hymn praises Agni as a cosmic power whose light-banner strides between Heaven and Earth, growing in the Waters and guarding Ṛta (cosmic order). It unfolds Agni’s many identities—seer-light, Varuṇa-like upholder of law, Apāṃ Napāt, and the envoy who conveys offerings—while also recalling a mythic episode of Indra’s victory over Viśvarūpa to underline the triumph of ordered power over arrogance.
Sukta 9
Sukta 10.9
RV 10.9 is a hymn to the Waters (Āpaḥ), praised as sources of delight, nourishment, strength, clear vision, and healing. The poet petitions them for vitality and medicine-like purification, and culminates in a sense of intimate communion with their rasa (essence), drawing Agni into that renewed, luminous state.
Sukta 10
Sukta 10.10
This dialogic hymn presents the famous Yama–Yamī exchange, where Yamī urges union for the sake of human continuation, while Yama insists on restraint and alignment with ṛta (cosmic order). The hymn dramatizes the tension between desire and law, showing how social and cosmic norms are established through conscious choice and self-mastery. It closes with Yama redirecting Yamī toward an auspicious, lawful union elsewhere, emphasizing harmony (saṃvid) rather than transgression.
Sukta 11
Sukta 10.11
This late Maṇḍala 10 hymn links Varuṇa’s all-knowing guardianship of ṛta (cosmic order) with the life-giving power of Aditi and the right timing (ṛtu) of sacrifice. It then turns through Agni as the operative priestly fire, asking him to thrive on invocations, draw near with abundance, and bring the gods and the Two Worlds to the rite.
Sukta 12
Sukta 10.12
This hymn invokes Agni as Hotṛ (the invoking priest) within the vast frame of Dyāvā-Pṛthivī (Heaven and Earth), portraying sacrifice as the means by which mortals are made fit to approach the gods. It moves from a primordial vision of ṛta (cosmic truth/order) and true speech to a searching self-inquiry about transgressing divine law, and concludes with a direct plea for Agni to hear, to yoke his wealth-bearing chariot, and to bring the Two Worlds into the rite.
Sukta 13
Sukta 10.13
This brief hymn yokes an “ancient Word” (pūrvyaṃ brahma) to a paired divine power (vām), asking that the clarified chant move like a sure path for the inspired seer. It then turns inward to a symbolic, almost metrical-ritual analysis of speech and form—five steps, a four-footed measure, and the imperishable syllable (akṣara)—to align the singer with ṛta, the truth-order. The closing imagery of seven flowing streams and a shining duality presents a reconciled, nourished wholeness in which complementary powers jointly sustain the work of truth.
Sukta 14
Sukta 10.14
This hymn is a funerary and ancestral invocation that guides the departed toward Yama Vaivasvata, the first who “went ahead” and discovered the path for many. It prays for safe passage, a settled resting-place among the Fathers (Pits), and the ordering of the beyond as a lawful, well-structured realm rather than a chaos of fear.
Sukta 15
Sukta 10.15
RV 10.15 is a Pitṛ (ancestor) hymn that ritually summons the Fathers—lower, middle, and higher—to rise and attend the living, hearing their calls and accepting offerings. It links the Pitṛ-world with Soma, ṛta (cosmic order), and Yama’s governance, asking for protection, blessing, and a well-guided “path of life-breath” for the embodied being.
Sukta 16
Sukta 10.16
RV 10.16 is a funerary hymn to Agni Jātavedas, asking the cremation-fire to transform the deceased without violent “scattering,” and to convey the person onward to the Pitṛs (Fathers/ancestors). It frames Agni as a careful psychopomp: cooking/ripening the body for passage, safeguarding what should not be harmed, and opening a way into the ancestral realm. The hymn also contains ritual imagery of vessels/offerings and a closing pacification that cools and brightens the fire so the rite is completed in auspiciousness.
Sukta 17
Sukta 10.17
This hymn weaves a mythic-ritual narrative around Tvaṣṭṛ’s bridal making for his daughter (Saraṇyū) and the Vivasvat–Yama complex, using marriage-and-transition imagery to speak about passage, lineage, and the ordering of worlds. It then turns toward ancestral (Pitṛ) and purificatory powers—Sarasvatī, waters, and milk-bearing herbs—seeking nourishment, faultless impulse, and the cleansing/sweetening of speech. Overall, it functions as a liminal sukta: joining cosmic genealogy, rite, and inner renewal.
Sukta 18
Sukta 10.18
RV 10.18 is a late Rigvedic funerary hymn sequence that ritually manages the boundary between the dead and the living. It sends Death away from the community, directs the proper handling of the corpse and grave, and re-establishes social and vital continuity for those who remain—especially the household and its future generations.
Sukta 19
Sukta 10.19
RV 10.19 is an apotropaic and restorative hymn that repeatedly commands harmful forces, misdirection, and enas (pollution/sin) to “turn back,” while asking Agni–Soma to re-establish rayi (wholeness, prosperity, vital strength) within the worshipper. Its language works like a verbal medicine: reversing loss, recalling what has gone astray, and restoring protective order from all directions.
Sukta 20
Sukta 10.20
This hymn opens with a prayer to Vāta—the inspiriting Breath/Wind—to blow into the worshippers an auspicious impulse (bhadra) that rightly moves the mind. It then turns toward Agni as the secure path and peace of the sacrifice, culminating in the poet’s offering of inspired speech that seeks nourishment, strength, and a stable dwelling in existence.
Sukta 21
Sukta 10.21
This hymn selects Agni as the Hotṛ of the sacrifice and praises him as the radiant purifier who makes the rite effective and the mind expansive. It recalls Agni’s ancient birth and lineages (Atharvan, Vivasvat, Yama), presenting him as messenger between worlds and as the power that plants a new “germ” of life and insight among kin and clans. The purpose is both ritual—successful yajña through the rightly kindled fire—and inner—awakening a luminous, steady will through Agni’s purifying flame.
Sukta 22
Sukta 10.22
This hymn to Indra opens with a striking question of absence—“Where is Indra heard today?”—and turns that doubt into an invocation that calls him forth through inspired speech. It proceeds to ask Indra to defeat hostile, lawless forces (dasyu/dāsa) that oppress the worshippers, and culminates in the Soma-offering invitation: Indra should drink, protect the singer, and bestow abundant, shining wealth and well-being.
Sukta 23
Sukta 10.23
RV 10.23 is a compact Indra-hymn in which the poet-sacrificer invokes Indra as the vajra-bearing chariot-warrior who breaks through limits and apportions riches and strength to his allies. The imagery is vivid and bodily—Indra’s beard shaking, his hosts moving, rain and wind responding—linking martial power with fertility and Soma-inspired exhilaration. The hymn culminates in a plea that Indra’s friendship with the seer Vimadá remain unbroken and become auspicious for the worshippers.
Sukta 24
Sukta 10.24
This hymn is a Soma-offering invocation that asks Indra to drink the honey-rich pressed Soma and to establish within the worshippers a thousand-fold rayi (wealth, plenitude, vital fullness). Alongside Indra’s exhilaration and giving, the hymn recalls the Aśvinā (Nāsatyas) “churning forth” the hidden sweetness when called by Vimadá, and it culminates in a prayer that one’s outward journey and safe return be made “honeyed”—auspicious, prosperous, and protected.
Sukta 25
Sukta 10.25
This hymn praises Soma (andhas) as the inspirer who breathes auspiciousness into the worshipper—clarity of mind (manas), skill (dakṣa), and right-willed intention (kratu). It celebrates Soma’s exhilarating “mada” that widens thought, empowers the seer and giver, and carries one beyond incapacity (the “blind and lame”) into increase and attainment.
Sukta 26
Sukta 10.26
This hymn invokes Pūṣan as the divine guide of roads and journeys, asking him to set the chariot of life-energy on a safe, prosperous course and to hear the worshipper’s call. Across its compact verses it links outer travel with inner right-direction: ordered inspirations, well-yoked powers, and the removal of obstacles for the seer and sacrificer.
Sukta 27
Sukta 10.27
This hymn is a sharp moral-psychological critique of power used without Indra’s ordering force: those who partake of strength or ritual drink yet remain “anindrāḥ” fall into violence, inversion, and self-defeating recoil. Through gnomic images of reversal (fallen-yet-awake, head set against head) it diagnoses a distorted being, and it urges the seeker not to conceal the inner “life-force” and vision of Svar (the Sun-world), but to bring it into the struggle for right fulfilment.
Sukta 28
Sukta 10.28
This hymn is largely a self-proclamation in the voice of Indra: he is born mighty, performs heroic deeds in every action, and is celebrated for slaying Vṛtra and releasing the penned wealth for the generous worshipper. Alongside this heroic strain, the sukta also carries a ritual-social note—welcoming the arriving challenger/guest with food and Soma and then sending him home satisfied—framing Indra’s power as something that protects order, prosperity, and right distribution.
Sukta 29
Sukta 10.29
This hymn praises Indra as the ever-effective ally who is awakened by a “pure” stoma (hymn) and who, across many nights and days, acts like the hotṛ for human communities—summoning light through obscurity. It emphasizes reciprocity: inspired speech and offerings nourish one another, and Indra’s own-force spreads and orders the battles, standing firm like a chariot in the midst of conflict while being propelled by bhadrā sumati (auspicious right-mindedness). Overall, the sukta seeks Indra’s companionship, victory, and inner clarity for the worshipper amid struggle.
Sukta 30
Sukta 10.30
This hymn praises Āpaḥ (the Waters) as living, divine powers who carry sweetness, purification, and auspicious support into the sacrifice and into human life. It links the Waters’ beneficence with the vast “dhāsi” (sustaining support) of Mitra–Varuṇa, and culminates in a ritual scene where the Waters “take their seat” on the barhis as Soma is pressed for Indra.
Sukta 31
Sukta 10.31
This hymn addresses the Viśve Devāḥ (All the Gods) as a single, swift-helping collective, asking that the singer’s praise reach them and that they carry the worshipper across distress and crooked paths. As it unfolds, the sukta turns inward to cosmic symbolism—the Cow as ancient, expansive light/knowledge and the “womb of the Asura” as a unified source—culminating in affirmations of ṛta (truth-order) and its undiminished increase.
Sukta 32
Sukta 10.32
RV 10.32 is a late-book Indra hymn that invites the bountiful Maghavan to take his seat at the Soma-pressing, awaken to the pressed essence, and bestow “both”—the offering’s acceptance and the prosperity it yields. Moving through images of a god-seeking path, protective powers, and honeyed abundance, it culminates in a vow to complete auspicious ritual works and to hold Soma inwardly “in the heart,” joining outer sacrifice with inner devotion.
Sukta 33
Sukta 10.33
This hymn presents Pūṣan as the inner guide carried “within,” while the Viśve Devāḥ stand as collective protectors against danger and hostile forces. It blends a travel-and-protection motif with a moral teaching: one must not transgress the gods’ vrata (cosmic law), and true expansion comes through right yoking—disciplined alignment with divine order.
Sukta 34
Sukta 10.34
RV 10.34, the famous “Gambling Hymn,” is a first-person lament that portrays dice as a bewitching, fearsome power that intoxicates the mind and destroys home, wealth, and reputation. Through vivid confession and social realism, the hymn becomes a didactic warning about addiction, urging restraint, reconciliation, and a return to ordered life.
Sukta 35
Sukta 10.35
This hymn greets the awakening of the sacred Fires at dawn—Agni in plural forms—charged with Indra-like power to bring light, order (Ṛta), and safe passage into the day. It widens the invocation to cosmic supports (Uṣas, Dyāvāpṛthivī, the Waters), asking that the divine “word of Ṛta” fill the worshiper and that fearlessness and prosperity arise under the gods’ guardianship.
Sukta 36
Sukta 10.36
This hymn is an expansive Viśvedevāḥ invocation that gathers many cosmic powers—Dawn and Night, Heaven and Earth, Ādityas, Indra, Maruts, Waters, and more—into a single field of protection and right order (ṛta) for the worshipper. Moving through enumerative praise and petition, it seeks divine “help” (avaḥ) for the sacrifice, vitality, and safe passage through life. It culminates in a directional, all-encompassing appeal to Savitar to impel “sarvatāti” (wholeness/total well-being) and grant long life.
Sukta 37
Sukta 10.37
This hymn venerates Sūrya as the far-seeing “Eye” of Mitra–Varuṇa, upholder of ṛta (truth-order), whose rising reveals, measures, and safeguards the worlds. It prays for clear vision, well-being, and protection from hostility, and includes a penitential note that faults committed by speech or mind be removed and redirected away from the worshipper.
Sukta 38
Sukta 10.38
This short Triṣṭubh hymn is a martial invocation to Indra to roar forth in the clash of battle, secure victory, and win the “cows/rays” amid flashing onsets. It asks Indra to neutralize any hostile—whether Dāsa or Ārya—who plots against the worshippers, and it ends by urging the mighty Bull to unbind himself and come swiftly to aid, away from competing ties.
Sukta 39
Sukta 10.39
This hymn invokes the Aśvins’ swift, all-moving chariot to arrive at night and at dawn, responding to the sacrificer’s call as intimately as a father is called by name. It praises their hallmark deeds of rescue and restoration—renewing youth, saving devotees from peril, and restoring mobility and wholeness—while presenting the hymn itself as a carefully crafted offering meant to delight and draw them near.
Sukta 40
Sukta 10.40
This hymn is an urgent, affectionate invocation to the Aśvinau, the dawn-riding divine physicians, asking where they are and who is receiving them today. It praises their swift chariot, their clan-by-clan beneficence, and their famed rescues—relief to the weak, protection of the vulnerable, and the opening of obstructed “enclosures” so prosperity and healing can flow. The poet’s purpose is to attract the Twins to the sacrificer’s house at the proper time (dawn) and secure peace, well-being, and successful passage through life’s transitions.
Sukta 41
Sukta 10.41
This brief hymn invokes the dawn-time divine movement: the radiant coming of Uṣas with her emblematic chariot, and the swift approach of the Aśvins to the morning Soma-pressings. It frames dawn as the ritual threshold when inspired speech, orderly sacrifice, and the gods’ arrival converge, asking the deities to awaken and empower the rite and its singers.
Sukta 42
Sukta 10.42
This hymn is an energizing invocation to Indra, strengthened by Soma, urging the singers to “carry forward” a potent stoma (praise) like a decisive throw that wins a better gain. It asks Indra to drive enemies far away, to bestow abundance in cattle and grain, and to grant inspired thought (dhī) that becomes a treasure of strength (vāja). The closing protection-formula widens the circle of safety by calling on Bṛhaspati to guard from all directions while Indra safeguards the front and the inner middle, creating varivas—free space and unhindered movement for allies and inner powers.
Sukta 43
Sukta 10.43
This hymn is a unified praise of Indra as the bounteous, battle-winning power who is eagerly sought by the seer’s inspired thoughts, like loving companions embracing a beloved. It asks Indra to move among the clans, make prosperity visible (cattle/wealth), and help the worshipper prevail over hostility through strong Soma offerings. The closing turns to comprehensive protection—Bṛhaspati guarding from every side and Indra opening “wide space” (varivas) for his comrades on the path.
Sukta 44
Sukta 10.44
This hymn is an invocation to Indra as the self-mastering, law-aligned force who rushes to the Soma-joy and overcomes all resistance by vast vṛṣṇi (heroic might). It weaves praise with instruction: the “first, god-called” pioneers achieve hard-to-cross glory, while the unfit fail to board the sacrificial “boat” and sink. The closing prayer expands into all-direction protection, with Bṛhaspati guarding from behind and Indra opening safe, wide space for his companions.
Sukta 45
Sukta 10.45
This hymn praises Agni as Jātavedas and Vaiśvānara, tracing his “threefold birth” from heaven, among humans, and in the waters, and describing how he is continually kindled by right intention and skill. It presents Agni as purifier, guide, and the immortal presence installed within mortals, whose smoke and radiance rise to heaven. The hymn closes with a peaceful invocation of Heaven and Earth and a prayer for rayi (plenitude/prosperity) rich in heroic strength.
Sukta 46
Sukta 10.46
This hymn praises Agni as the primordial Hotṛ, established by gods and humans alike as the carrier of offerings and the organizer of right order (ṛta) in communal life. Agni is portrayed as seated “in the lap of the waters” and also hidden within homes and womb-like enclosures, drawing people together and moving them by the “yokes” of dharma toward prosperity and renewed ancestral glory.
Sukta 47
Sukta 10.47
This hymn is a sustained petition to Indra for "citra" (many-formed, radiant) and "vṛṣan" (vigorous, potent) rayi—wealth that is at once material prosperity, victorious strength (vāja), and luminous increase. The speakers affirm intimacy with Indra ("we grasp your right hand") and praise him as guardian of the cows/rays, asking for a great, unequalled dwelling and secure foundation blessed by Heaven and Earth.
Sukta 48
Sukta 10.48
This hymn is Indra’s first-person self-proclamation, declaring his primordial lordship over wealth, victory, and the right distribution of “enjoyment” (bhójana) to the sacrificer. Indra recounts his overpowering of opponents who would weaponize force against him, and he asserts his unassailable status among the divine classes (Ādityas, Vasus, Rudriyas). The sukta functions as a praise-hymn that strengthens confidence in Indra’s protection and in the efficacy of offering and right speech.
Sukta 49
Sukta 10.49
Rigveda 10.49 is an Indra-ātmastuti: Indra speaks in the first person, proclaiming his sovereign agency behind victory, expansion, and the right ordering of sacrifice. The hymn presents Indra as the giver of ancient wealth to the praise-singer, the awakener of the yajamāna, and the decisive breaker of obstruction (Vṛtra-like forces), culminating in his pervasion of gods and men through irresistible impulse (cyautna).
Sukta 50
Sukta 10.50
This hymn is an Indra-stuti that praises Indra as Viśvānara/Viśvabhū—the all-pervading, world-sustaining power—delighting in Soma and magnified by brahman (sacred word). It presents Indra as the foremost force in every pressing and every human struggle, whose fame and heroic might are served by both worlds, and it ends by emphasizing the role of inspired poets who “make” brahman to open a path to Indra’s grace and gifts.
Sukta 51
Sukta 10.51
This hymn presents Agni Jātavedas as the cosmogonic fire who enters the primordial Waters, assumes many forms, and becomes the knower and bearer of all births. It then turns to the ritual present: Agni is invited to take his seat in the human kindling, open the “god-leading paths,” and carry offerings so the whole yajña becomes fully established in him.
Sukta 52
Sukta 10.52
This short hymn is a self-reflective Hotṛ-initiation narrative in which Agni (as the priestly voice) asks the Viśve Devāḥ to instruct him in the correct ritual path, his due share, and the right way to convey the oblation. The Gods then “establish” him as havyavāha (oblation-carrier) who can traverse difficulties and properly shape the sacrifice with ordered measures, culminating in his enthronement as Hotṛ on the strewn barhis.
Sukta 53
Sukta 10.53
This hymn portrays the sacrificers’ search for the true Hotṛ—Agni as the inner knower of yajña—who is “older than us” and seated within, able to establish the divine presence in the worshipper. It weaves together ritual imagery (thread, weaving, paths of light) with an inward discipline of thought and speech, culminating in a vision of creative gestation where the sacrificial power is placed in the womb of the feminine forces and wins victory through right making (kāra).
Sukta 54
Sukta 10.54
This brief Indra-hymn recalls the god’s famed might: Heaven and Earth themselves, alarmed, invoke him, and he protects the Devas while overpowering Dāsa forces by sheer ojas (strength). It also hints at Indra’s deeper, “asuric” (sovereign) names and portrays him as a principle of inner illumination—“light set within light”—as the poet offers a potent brahman (sacred formulation) to empower prosperity and offspring.
Sukta 55
Sukta 10.55
This hymn to Indra (Maghavan) blends praise of the heroic Soma-strengthened warrior with enigmatic, paradox-filled reflections on hidden names, time, and reversal (youth “devoured” by the grey). It recalls Indra’s cosmic support of Heaven and Earth and his protection of the vulnerable, culminating in his battle-drive that expels the Dasyus and restores order. Overall, it is both a stotra (praise) and a meditation on Indra’s secret power that overturns ordinary expectations.
Sukta 56
Sukta 10.56
This hymn contemplates guidance by a “third Light” that leads the seeker into a higher meeting-place, where the embodied being becomes radiant and dear to the gods. It also reflects on how ancestral and divine powers establish order by gathering scattered forces back into the body, enabling safe passage through difficult crossings and the placing of progeny across lower and higher realms.
Sukta 57
Sukta 10.57
This short hymn is a protective and restorative prayer for those engaged in the Soma-sacrifice, asking Indra that the sacrificers not deviate from the right path or be obstructed by hostile forces. It then turns inward, invoking the return and stabilization of manas (mind) for right will (kratu), discernment (dakṣa), life, and the sustained vision of the Sun as inner light. The closing affirms alignment with Soma’s vratas (right workings), bearing the restored mind within the body and gaining fruitful creative vitality (prajā).
Sukta 58
Sukta 10.58
This hymn is a therapeutic invocation to recall and re-seat the wandering mind (manas) back into the living body and the “home of life” (kṣaya), especially when it strays toward Yama—the deathward pull in the imagery. Refrain-like verses enumerate many places the mind may have gone (death, waters, plants, past and future), and the singers ritually “turn it back” for continued life, coherence, and wellbeing.
Sukta 59
Sukta 10.59
This hymn is an āyuṣya (life-protecting) prayer that urges life-force to move forward into a “farther, ever-newer” continuance while driving away Nirṛti, the power of decay and dissolution. It asks for restoration of sight, breath, and vital enjoyment, and for the long, unhindered beholding of the rising Sun—signs of renewed vitality and auspiciousness. The closing protective strain invokes sustaining powers (and Indra’s impulse) to remove affliction so that no harm touches the worshipper.
Sukta 60
Sukta 10.60
This hymn moves from reverent approach to a radiant, praised power toward a distinctly life-restoring, healing register: calling back breath and vitality, reaffirming kinship, and urging the afflicted to “come forth.” It culminates in the consecration of the human hand as a universal medicine (viśvabheṣaja), an auspicious touch that transmits well-being and peace.
Sukta 61
Sukta 10.61
RV 10.61 is a late, triṣṭubh hymn that frames mantra (brahman) as a fierce, Rudra-like force active in an inner “battle,” where inspired speech and right will break hostile divisions and re-found the sacrifice in unity. It moves through Angiras/Bṛhaspati-style imagery of victorious word-power, names the radiant fire-principle as Bharga/Agni who seats the gods in a triple foundation, and ends by calling the Viśve Devāḥ to help in concord and clear discernment.
Sukta 62
Sukta 10.62
This hymn invokes the Angirases as a collective lineage of seer-powers who, through yajña and dakṣiṇā, won Indra’s friendship and a share in “deathlessness.” It recalls their fiery birth from Agni, their famed company as Navagvas and Daśagvas, and asks them to “take hold” of the human sacrificer—protecting the patron Manu, quickening the dakṣiṇā, and extending life so the community may win vāja (plenitude, victorious power).
Sukta 63
Sukta 10.63
RV 10.63 is a late, expansive invocation to the Viśve Devāḥ that anchors present worship in the lineage of primordial and royal-sacrificial exemplars—Vivasvat, Manu, Yayāti, and Nahusha. The hymn gathers many deities (Indra, Agni, Mitra-Varuṇa, Bhaga, Dyāvāpṛthivī, Maruts, and the Ādityas) to secure protection in conflict, success in acquisition, and a right, inspired praise that keeps the sacrificer aligned with ṛta.
Sukta 64
Sukta 10.64
This hymn opens as a searching invocation: the poet asks which among the gods truly hears, grants joy, and turns toward the worshipper with saving help. It then broadens into a collective appeal to divine powers—especially the life-nourishing Waters and rivers—and culminates in praise of the Ādityas and Aditi as sovereign upholders of order and protection.
Sukta 65
Sukta 10.65
This hymn is a comprehensive invocation to the Viśve Devāḥ, explicitly naming many major Vedic powers and asking them to act “in one accord” to uphold the sacrifice and human welfare. It weaves together cosmic order (ṛta), the sustaining parents Heaven-and-Earth, and the protective, wide-ranging guidance of the gods, culminating in a prayer for lasting svasti (well-being).
Sukta 66
Sukta 10.66
This hymn invokes the Viśve Devāḥ—“the All-Gods”—as the wide-hearing, ritually luminous powers who establish the sacrifice and advance the worshipper in well-being (svasti). With Indra as the foremost among them, they are praised as upholders and increasers of ṛta, remembered for victory-myths such as the releasing of the waters after the Vṛtra struggle. The sukta closes with Vasiṣṭha’s bow to the immortals who stand over all worlds, asking for broad, far-reaching prosperity and constant protection.
Sukta 67
Sukta 10.67
This hymn (RV 10.67) celebrates Indra’s victory-power as inseparable from the Angirasa/Bṛhaspati current: the inspired Word (dhī/uktha) is “found” and “brought to birth,” then used to break hoarders and release wealth, light, and the streams of life. Ayāsya is presented as the seer who articulates the fourth measure/power, while the mythic frame recalls the shattering of obstruction (ahi, Arbuda) and the freeing of the seven rivers. The purpose is both laudatory and operative—invoking Indra (and the allied brahmanic force) to open abundance and protect the community.
Sukta 68
Sukta 10.68
This hymn to Bṛhaspati celebrates the surging power of inspired speech (brahman) that breaks open the cave of concealment and releases the radiant “cows” of light and truth. It recalls the Angiras/Bṛhaspati mythic victory—finding the secret Name, splitting the rock like an egg, and bringing forth luminous plenitude for the worshippers. The poets end by offering their completed rite and asking Bṛhaspati to establish abundance of life, strength, and human prosperity.
Sukta 69
Sukta 10.69
This hymn praises Agni as the auspicious, luminous Fire who leads Vadhryaśva and his people through right friendship (sumitrā) and correct kindling at the ritual forefront. It celebrates Agni’s expansive power—purified by human effort, shining among the radiant—and culminates in a protective appeal to the ancient Vṛtrahan Agni to stand over the worshippers against hostile forces.
Sukta 70
Sukta 10.70
This Triṣṭubh hymn opens by kindling Agni and placing the ghee-bright offering upon the seat of Ilā, asking the fire to rise on Earth as the force of right intelligence that carries worship upward. It then widens into a threshold-liturgical vision—Dawn and Night are invoked to seat the gods in the ordered “womb” of the rite—culminating in Agni’s role as summoner who brings Varuṇa, Indra, the Maruts, and the All-Gods to the sacrificial seat for inner and outer fulfillment.
Sukta 71
Sukta 10.71
This hymn reflects on the mystery of Vāc (inspired Speech) as first set in motion under Bṛhaspati’s guidance, where the true “name” and flawless meaning lie hidden like a treasure in a cave. It contrasts those who merely hear empty sound with those who keep the right companion/guide and thus gain a share in the Word. It culminates by linking sacred speech to meter, priestly roles, and the proper measuring-out of yajña, showing Vāc as the organizing intelligence of ritual and insight.
Sukta 72
Sukta 10.72
This cosmogonic hymn reflects on the “births” (janma) and ordering of the Gods, presenting creation as a progressive manifestation that can be truly “seen” through inspired speech and later insight. It traces a paradoxical genealogy around Dakṣa and Aditi, and culminates in the motif of Aditi’s seven sons and the return of Mārtāṇḍa, expressing how immortality and mortality arise together within manifestation.
Sukta 73
Sukta 10.73
This Triṣṭubh hymn praises Indra’s birth, growth, and victorious force, highlighting how the Maruts (as comrades and amplifiers of might) strengthen him for the overthrow of obstructing powers. Moving from cosmogonic imagery and martial triumph to inner illumination, the seers ask Indra to roll away darkness, fill the eye with vision, and release them from bonds like hidden treasure.
Sukta 74
Sukta 10.74
This hymn praises the collective luminous powers (Vasus) as diverse divine helpers by whom seekers attain plenitude—through austere inner effort, illumined insight, and sacrificial action that unites Heaven and Earth. It then turns toward Indra as the decisive force enabling the crossing to a rich “store” of light and abundance, affirming his many powers and his capacity to accomplish what the aspirant seeks.
Sukta 75
Sukta 10.75
This hymn is a grand praise of the Waters (Āpas) with a special exaltation of Sindhu, celebrated as the mightiest, swiftest, and most victorious of rivers. It names and invokes a wide network of sacred rivers to join the poet’s stoma, portraying the rivers as living powers that carry strength, nourishment, and right movement, proclaimed “in the seat of Vivasvat,” the luminous sun-context of order and truth.
Sukta 76
Sukta 10.76
This hymn is a late Rigvedic praise-song that energizes Indra together with the Maruts, invoking the twin Worlds (Rodasī) and the twin Days to open “wide room” for the sacrificer through the breakthrough of light and power. It celebrates the ritual forces—especially the Soma-pressing stones and the skilled officiants—whose intensified work makes the offering effective, so that wealth and strength flow on both the heavenly and earthly planes.
Sukta 77
Sukta 10.77
This hymn praises the Maruts as a radiant storm-host whose “showers” are both rain and blessings, moving with purposeful order like well-guided sacrifices. Through vivid comparisons—cloud-spray, sun-rays, falcons, and far-ranging coursers—it invokes their protective power to remove harm, strengthen inspired thought, and make the yajña shine. The closing petition asks these most “yajña-worthy” powers to guard chariot-swift inspiration and the greatness that grows through the rite.
Sukta 78
Sukta 10.78
This hymn praises the Maruts as flawless, splendid, swift-moving powers—like inspired seers, heroic kings, and rushing waters—who bring vigor, brightness, and victorious momentum. It seeks their friendly presence within the praise-song itself, asking that the singers be made fortunate and endowed with enduring “treasures” (ratna) that the Maruts have held from of old.
Sukta 79
Sukta 10.79
This hymn contemplates a terrifying yet beneficent immortal Power moving among mortals—most coherently identified as Agni in his consuming, transforming aspect. It describes the Fire as an all-devouring “embryo” that feeds on his two Mothers (Heaven and Earth), then as a yoking force that disciplines divergent energies and culminates in harmony and right-order (ṛta) under Mitra and the Vasus.
Sukta 80
Sukta 10.80
This short Agni-hymn praises the divine Fire as the giver of effective energies, heroic power, and prosperous formation, moving between and harmonizing the two worlds (earth and heaven). It asks Agni to extend the offering into the higher realm, sustain his many stations in existence, protect the singer, and bestow a “great draviṇa” (vast plenitude of wealth/being).
Sukta 81
Sukta 10.81
This hymn praises Viśvakarman, the all-fashioning cosmic artisan, as the priestly Seer who “offers up” the worlds and establishes creation from hidden depths. It moves through wonder-filled cosmogonic questioning—how Heaven and Earth were shaped—and culminates in a direct invocation of Viśvakarman as Vācaspati (Lord of Speech) to accept the worship and grant welfare and protection.
Sukta 82
Sukta 10.82
RV 10.82 contemplates Viśvakarman as the hidden cosmic artisan who establishes the first boundaries and thereby lets Heaven and Earth widen into ordered space. The hymn moves between praise and inquiry: it honors the ancient seers’ offerings to the Maker, yet warns that mere recitation and speculation can miss the true Creator veiled behind appearances. Its purpose is to re-center ritual and thought on the single formative Intelligence that fashions multiplicity into a coherent whole.
Sukta 83
Sukta 10.83
This hymn invokes Manyu—divine wrath/ardour—as a godlike power allied to Indra’s victorious force, asking it to be yoked with the worshipper in battle against Vṛtra-like obstructions and hostile forces. Manyu is praised as self-born, irresistible, and universally active, and is petitioned to “place strength in us” for inner and outer conflicts. The sukta culminates in a close-companionship image—Manyu at the right hand—sealed by an offering of sweet essence (Soma/honeyed libation) for secret, inward drinking.
Sukta 84
Sukta 10.84
This hymn invokes Manyu—battle-fury, righteous ardour, and indomitable will—as a divine ally who yokes the Marut-like war-powers to one chariot and drives them against obstruction. It trains the clans (viśaṃ-viśam) for victory, turns speech into an unbroken battle-cry, and seeks integrated prosperity and protection, finally asking that enemies be seized by inner fear and withdraw.
Sukta 85
Sukta 10.85
RV 10.85 is the famed Sūryā-Vivāha (Vedic wedding) hymn that frames marriage as a cosmic act grounded in satya (truth) and ṛta (right order). It blesses the couple with concord, fertility, protection from binding forces, and a life established in the luminous law upheld by the Ādityas, Soma, and Sūrya.
Sukta 86
Sukta 10.86
RV 10.86 is a vivid dialogue-hymn centered on Indra and the enigmatic Vṛṣākapi, with Indrāṇī entering the exchange, framed by repeated praise that “Indra is higher than all.” Beneath its humorous, domestic tone, the hymn probes rivalry, loyalty, and the right channeling of soma-inspired power so that Indra’s sovereign force is affirmed and restored. It also preserves folkloric motifs (fertility, healing, extraordinary birth) as signs of Indra’s capacity to lift beings beyond constraint.
Sukta 87
Sukta 10.87
This hymn is a fierce protective invocation to Agni as rakṣohaṇa—slayer of Rakṣas and Yātudhānas—asking him to guard the worshippers by day and night and to break hostile powers. It repeatedly turns Agni into an active “weapon” of mantra and sacrificial fire, burning, exposing, and driving away unseen harms, curses, and sorcery. The sukta’s purpose is apotropaic: purification, protection of the rite, and inner fortification through Agni’s blazing will.
Sukta 88
Sukta 10.88
This hymn praises Agni as the unaging, heaven-touching fire who drinks the oblation and upholds the worlds through ṛta (cosmic order). It recalls how the gods generated and fashioned Agni in a threefold form, making him the transformer of growth who ripens plants and sustains life. The sukta also evokes Mātariśvan as Agni’s carrier and links the spread of dawn’s light with the proper establishment of yajña and priestly order.
Sukta 89
Sukta 10.89
This hymn is an expansive praise of Indra as the all-surpassing power who opens the luminous worlds, overflows beyond the “rivers,” and secures victory, wealth, and well-being for his worshippers. It repeatedly affirms Indra’s sovereignty over heaven, earth, waters, and mountains, and petitions him to hear the call in conflict and in peaceful rites, striking down Vṛtra-like obstructions. The purpose is both celebratory and practical: to invoke Indra’s protection, strength, and abundance in the “bearing” (bhara) of life and in the winning of plenitude (vājasāti).
Sukta 90
Sukta 10.90
The Puruṣa Sūkta presents the Cosmic Person (Puruṣa) as all-pervading—containing the whole world and yet exceeding it. It describes creation as a primordial sacrifice in which the universe, the Veda, and social-cosmic functions emerge as ordered expressions of one integral Being. The hymn’s purpose is contemplative and ritual: to ground yajña and dharma in a single cosmic prototype.
Sukta 91
Sukta 10.91
RV 10.91 is an Agni-hymn that praises the Fire as the ever-awakening household presence and the universal Hotṛ who makes sacrifice effective. It presents Agni as luminous intelligence (mati/medhā) that establishes right offering, right companionship with the gods, and grants expansive, heroic wealth to the worshippers.
Sukta 92
Sukta 10.92
This hymn praises Agni as the sacrifice’s charioteer and clan-priest (Hotṛ), the nightly guest who blazes up through dry kindling and rises as a radiant ketu toward heaven. It exalts his irresistible power—so great that even solar motion and Indra-like might are evoked—while recalling the ancient Aṅgiras seer-tradition and the Soma-pressing implements that establish a clear path for the rite and for insight.
Sukta 93
Sukta 10.93
This hymn invokes Dyāvāpṛthivī—Heaven and Earth—as the vast, motherly Two who uphold the worlds and provide continual protection against overpowering and violent forces. As the sukta unfolds, the prayer widens into a vision of ordered power: the rite becomes “more-than-human,” and the cosmic arrangement of many forces is affirmed as already set in place for the sacrificer’s welfare.
Sukta 94
Sukta 10.94
This hymn poetically personifies the Soma-pressing stones (Grāvāṇaḥ/Adrayaḥ) as living, speaking powers whose rhythmic clatter becomes a chant offered to Indra. It celebrates the mechanics and sanctity of Soma-pressing—its sound, speed, and ordered motion—while presenting the stones as agents that release the Soma’s essence and awaken inspired speech (Vāc) within the sacrifice.
Sukta 95
Sukta 10.95
RV 10.95 is a dramatic dialogue between the mortal king Purūravas (Aiḷa) and the apsaras Urvāśī, exploring the strain between human desire and divine conditions. Through sharp exchanges, it frames love as a power that can elevate or unmake, and it closes by placing the human partner under mortality while still allowing a path to heavenly participation through progeny and sacrifice.
Sukta 96
Sukta 10.96
RV 10.96 is a late-maṇḍala Indra-stuti that invites Indra—especially as Harivat, “he of the tawny pair”—to enter the hymn through inspired speech and to drink the honeyed Soma. The hymn repeatedly links Indra’s two Harīs (twin steeds/powers) with swift, victorious dynamism that fulfills aspiration, stabilizes the seeker, and brings delight, strength, and success. It culminates in a direct ritual summons to set aside earlier pressings and claim the present Soma offering as Indra’s own.
Sukta 97
Sukta 10.97
RV 10.97 is a healing hymn that invokes the Oṣadhīs—medicinal plants as a collective divine power—asking them to pervade the body and expel disease, especially yakṣma (consumption/affliction). It praises the plants as primordial, many-formed, and divinely stationed, and frames herbal healing as both a physical remedy and a sacred protection against harm and hostility.
Sukta 98
Sukta 10.98
This hymn is a rain-invocation framed as a sacred narrative: Devāpi, acting as priest for King Śaṃtanū, receives empowered speech from Bṛhaspati to unlock the coming of Parjanya’s rains. Bṛhaspati is praised as the master of mantra and divine coordination, able to work through allied deities (Mitra, Varuṇa, Pūṣan, Ādityas, Vasus, Maruts) so that waters, fertility, and communal well-being are restored. The closing movement turns to Agni for protection and for the “plenitude of waters” to be released from ocean and heaven.
Sukta 99
Sukta 10.99
This hymn praises Indra through the classic Vṛtra-slaying frame: the forging and driving of the vajra, the breaking of obstructing powers, and the opening of prosperity for the worshipper. It blends heroic myth with ethical and social overtones—Indra protects the truthful, shatters hostile strongholds, and grants iṣa (impulse), ūrj (vital strength), and sukṣiti (secure dwelling). The closing image of the “ant” approaching Indra underscores humble, persistent devotion as a means to divine increase and universal radiance.
Sukta 100
Sukta 10.100
This hymn is a vigorous appeal to Indra to “stand firm,” awaken through Soma, and grant victorious enjoyment, increase, and protection to the worshippers. Alongside Indra’s heroic force, Savitṛ is invoked to guide and safeguard the rite, and Aditi is repeatedly chosen as the wide “totality” that preserves truth, wholeness, and freedom from the covering of untruth.
Sukta 101
Sukta 10.101
This hymn is a collective wake-up call to a band of like-minded companions to kindle Agni together and set the sacrifice in motion, invoking Dawn (Uṣas) and Dadhikrāvan, with Indra as the empowering ally (indra-vat). Using vivid images of chariot-making, energizing the “horses” (vital powers), and filling troughs/vessels, it frames yajña as coordinated, skillful work that wins strength, prosperity, and victorious movement. It culminates in urging decisive labor and explicitly summoning Indra to drink Soma and grant aid.
Sukta 102
Sukta 10.102
This hymn to Indra is cast in the vivid idiom of a chariot-contest, asking the god to guard the racer, the team, and the gain of fame and wealth. It celebrates Indra as the master of skill, speed, and victorious momentum—one who “sees” the whole moving world and empowers the paired forces that win the race. Beneath the outward imagery, it is a prayer for right guidance, effective means, and triumph over obstacles in both battle and life-endeavor.
Sukta 103
Sukta 10.103
This hymn is a martial invocation to Indra as the swift, unblinking, single champion who shatters enemy hosts and opens obstructed spaces for the Arya community. It prays for victory in battle, protection of one’s troops, and the courage and cohesion needed to advance and prevail under Indra’s leadership.
Sukta 104
Sukta 10.104
This hymn is an urgent invitation to Indra—"much-invoked" and borne by the tawny steeds—to come swiftly to the yajña and drink the freshly pressed Soma. It praises Indra as the hearer of prayer, the knower of the rite’s path, and the victorious slayer of obstructing powers (vṛtra-like resistances), sought for aid in struggle and for the winning of wealth, strength, and plenitude.
Sukta 105
Sukta 10.105
This hymn is a vigorous praise of Indra (addressed with the epithet “Vasu”), asking when the stotra will truly “please” him and invoking the Soma-pressing as the energizing basis for his aid. It recalls Indra’s crafted power and skill (likened to Ṛbhu and Mātariśvan) and culminates in memories of his protection of Kutsa and his victories in Dasyu-slaying, affirming that praise and alliance draw his decisive help.
Sukta 106
Sukta 10.106
This hymn is an invocation to the Twin Divine Powers—understood as the Aśvins—asking them to come with their chariot, extend inspired thought, and set vital energies in motion like skilled artisans. It praises their swift, harmonizing action and prays for strength (vāja), delight, and an “unaging” increase of life-force, culminating in a request that they fulfil the worshipper’s deepest desire.
Sukta 107
Sukta 10.107
This hymn praises Dakṣiṇā—the sacred, rightly directed gift that completes sacrifice (pūrtí) and brings the worshipper from darkness into a wide, luminous path. It presents giving not as mere charity but as a consecrated power that perfects the priestly functions, sustains social order, and yields protection, prosperity, and victory.
Sukta 108
Sukta 10.108
RV 10.108 presents a dramatic dialogue in which Saramā, Indra’s swift messenger, confronts the Paṇis who have hidden the “cows” (light/wealth/treasures) beyond the Rasā river. The hymn turns on persuasion, refusal, and warning: the Paṇis attempt to bribe and mislead, while Saramā stands for ṛta (truth-order) and the rightful recovery of the concealed riches. The conclusion points to Bṛhaspati’s revelatory power that finds what is hidden—cows, Soma, sacred implements, and the seers themselves—so that light can go forth.
Sukta 109
Sukta 10.109
This hymn treats a grave “brahma-kilbiṣa” (offense against sacred order and the Brahmanic sanctity), and shows how cosmic powers—especially the Waters moving in Ṛta—speak first about the fault and its remedy. It emphasizes restitution (returning what was wrongly taken), purification through the divine Āpaḥ, and re-entry into harmony with the gods, culminating in renewed worship and right standing in Ṛta.
Sukta 110
Sukta 10.110
This hymn centers on Agni Jātavedas as the kindled household fire who acts as Hotṛ and divine messenger, carrying the human offering and intention to the gods. It frames the sacrifice as an ordered movement in Ṛta, where complementary powers like Dawn and Night support the rite’s rhythm, and culminates in a svāhā-prepared oblation for the gods to partake.
Sukta 111
Sukta 10.111
This hymn calls the inspired thinkers to raise their manīṣā (formed insight) and, through truth and accomplished action, to “set Indra in motion” toward victory and protection. It recalls Indra’s archetypal deed—shattering Vṛtra with the vajra and dispersing the māyā of the godless—then turns that cosmic triumph into present-day gain: rivers flowing to the sea, riches arriving, and true speech (sūnṛtā) coming to the worshipper.
Sukta 112
Sukta 10.112
This hymn is a morning Soma-invocation to Indra, urging him to drink the pressed Soma as his “first draught” and to rouse his victorious energy against hostile forces. It praises Indra’s ancient, rightful claim to the Soma-vessel, celebrates the gods’ shared desire for the honeyed drink, and ends with a plea that Indra look upon the striving worshippers, grant triumph in battle, and apportion wealth even from what seems unallotted.
Sukta 113
Sukta 10.113
This hymn praises Indra’s surge of might as Heaven and Earth and the All-Gods support his force, especially after Soma invigorates his will and intelligence. It recalls his Vṛtra-slaying deed—cutting through the darkness that held back the waters—and turns that victory into a prayer for present-day protection, safe passage beyond hardships, and a broad, stable foundation for the worshippers.
Sukta 114
Sukta 10.114
RV 10.114 is a riddle-like hymn on the hidden architecture of yajña (sacrifice): how Fire (Mātariśvan) and the knowing powers (Viśve Devāḥ) establish order through metre, number, and inspired speech. It speaks of “measuring out” the work—setting chandas, arranging cosmic counts, and moving the sacrificial chariot forward by Ṛk and Sāman—so that heavenly nourishment and right distribution of labor and destiny are secured.
Sukta 115
Sukta 10.115
This Agni hymn praises the fire-god as a wondrous “young child” whose growth surpasses his two Mothers and who at once takes up the great role of messenger between humans and gods. It highlights Agni’s power to establish and protect the ritual order, to carry offerings, and to safeguard singers and seer-leaders—especially the Kaṇva line—culminating in a liturgical rising with the cries of vaṣaṭ and repeated namas.
Sukta 116
Sukta 10.116
This hymn is an urgent invocation to Indra to drink Soma and rise into his fullest victorious power, so he may shatter obstructing forces (Vṛtra-like resistance) and protect the worshippers’ prosperity. It blends martial imagery—cutting down hostile, sorcerous powers—with a ritual-poetic act: the seer’s speech is launched like a boat, carrying praise to the gods for wealth, opening, and safe passage.
Sukta 117
Sukta 10.117
Rigveda 10.117 is a late, didactic hymn that teaches the dharma of generosity: wealth is meant to circulate, and the one who refuses to share becomes spiritually and socially abandoned. It frames giving (pṛṇ-) as alignment with ṛta (cosmic order), warning that hoarding and neglect of the needy lead to decay, while sharing sustains both giver and community.
Sukta 118
Sukta 10.118
This short Agni-hymn portrays the sacrificial fire rising when rightly kindled, delighting in ghee, and guarding the offering by striking down the hostile “devourer” (atriṇa). It praises Agni as the immortal gṛhapati (lord of the dwelling), invoked among mortals to protect, purify, and establish the rite in its correct order.
Sukta 119
Sukta 10.119
This hymn is a vivid, self-reflective surge of inspired confidence: the speaker feels power, gain, and world-equality arising within, repeatedly asking whether it comes “from the Waters of Soma.” Through a refrain-like cadence, it portrays Soma not only as the pressed draught but as a luminous, watery field of delight that lifts thought, courage, and capability. The sukta culminates in readiness for divine service—becoming “a well-made house,” fit to carry offerings to the gods.
Sukta 120
Sukta 10.120
RV 10.120 is a heroic, martial hymn that celebrates a newly-arisen, world-foremost conquering power—Indra in an Ugra (fierce) aspect—who immediately subdues foes and clears obstacles. The poet portrays mantra (brahman) as an active ally that sharpens the deity’s weapons and momentum, linking inner inspiration with outer victory. The closing frames Indra as a cosmic embodiment affirmed by Atharvanic authority, sustained and increased by supportive mother/sister powers.
Sukta 121
Sukta 10.121
This hymn contemplates the first principle of creation—Hiraṇyagarbha, the “Golden Germ”—as the sole Lord who upholds heaven and earth and from whom all beings arise. Each verse culminates in the searching refrain “kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema” (“to which God shall we offer?”), expressing awe before the One behind the many. The final verse resolves the inquiry by naming Prajāpati as that encompassing Lord, to whom desires and offerings are entrusted for fullness and prosperity.
Sukta 122
Sukta 10.122
This hymn praises Agni as the auspicious, non-hostile “guest” of the house and the indispensable Hotṛ who carries offerings and blessings between humans and the gods. It asks Agni to release abundant “streams” of wealth and vitality, to be kindled and purified in the sacrificer’s home, and to secure lasting welfare and increase for the yajamānas. The Vasiṣṭha lineage explicitly claims the invocation, placing the hymn within a living family tradition of ritual praise and protection.
Sukta 123
Sukta 10.123
RV 10.123 hymns Vena as a luminous, mediating power—often read as a Gandharva–Sūrya complex—who impels birth, revelation, and the joining of cosmic opposites. The verses move through striking images of light-in-gestation, the confluence of Waters and Sun, and an erotic-symbolic heavenly union, culminating in the “drop/beam” establishing order across the three realms.
Sukta 124
Sukta 10.124
This hymn primarily invokes Agni to come to the sacrifice as the guiding, offering-bearing fire who goes in front and dispels long darkness with enduring light. As the verses unfold, the hymn ranges beyond Agni into allied sovereignty themes—Ṛta versus untruth (Varuṇa), the waning of hostile powers, and a culminating recognition of Indra through symbolic imagery—showing a late-Rigvedic tendency to weave multiple deities into one ritual-spiritual movement.
Sukta 125
Sukta 10.125
RV 10.125 is the celebrated Devī-sūkta in which Vāk (Speech) speaks in the first person as the all-pervading divine power that accompanies and upholds every god and cosmic function. The hymn proclaims that inspired word grants authority, makes one a ṛṣi or brahmā, and expands beyond heaven and earth, revealing Speech as the spiritual principle behind creation, knowledge, and sovereignty.
Sukta 126
Sukta 10.126
This hymn is a protective and liberating prayer centered on the Ādityas—Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman—who, moving “in one accord,” lead the worshipper beyond hostility, sin, and misfortune. It expands into a broader coalition of divine helpers (Rudra with the Maruts, Indra, Agni, and the Vasus), asking for well-being (svasti), release from bonds/distress, and safe passage into a fuller, steadier life-force.
Sukta 127
Sukta 10.127
This hymn praises Rātrī (Night) as a divine power who manifests with many lights, gathers all splendors, and settles the world into stillness and safety. It asks Night to calm roaming beings and inner restlessness, to protect the household, and to accept the poet’s hymn as a seeker’s offering for peace and well-being.
Sukta 128
Sukta 10.128
This hymn is a victory-and-protection prayer centered on Agni as the inner and outer commander of strength (varcas) in conflict, asking that all directions and powers become favorable. It expands from Agni’s lordship to a wider divine coalition—Goddesses, All-Gods, Soma, Indra–Agni, and the divine classes (Vasus, Rudras, Ādityas)—to secure offspring, bodily integrity, and the defeat of rivals.
Sukta 129
Sukta 10.129
The Nā́sadīya Sūkta contemplates the mystery of origins, refusing easy certainty about what existed “before” existence and non-existence. It traces a subtle movement from undifferentiated concealment toward the first stirrings of mind and desire, while repeatedly questioning the limits of knowledge. The hymn’s purpose is not to narrate cosmogony dogmatically, but to sanctify wonder, inquiry, and reverent agnosticism before the Absolute (tad ekam).
Sukta 130
Sukta 10.130
This hymn presents yajña (sacrifice) as a cosmic loom: a web stretched in all directions by divine “workings,” woven by the Fathers and upheld by inspired seers. It also offers a reflective mapping between deities and Vedic metres (chandas), implying that right ritual speech and right measure are themselves world-order (ṛta) in action.
Sukta 131
Sukta 10.131
This late Rigvedic hymn invokes Indra as a four-directional protector who casts away hostile forces from every quarter so the worshippers may rejoice in his wide shelter (śarman). It blends a protective, apotropaic prayer with mythic recollection (including the Namuci episode with the Aśvins) to affirm Indra’s victorious power and secure communal well-being. The hymn culminates in a wish to abide in the deity’s benevolent mind and to have even the smallest enmity driven far away.
Sukta 132
Sukta 10.132
This short hymn praises the Ashvins as swift, beneficent helpers who strengthen the true sacrificer, with Heaven and Earth portrayed as supportive cosmic powers that increase the worshipper’s prosperity. It also includes a striking royal-ethical note invoking Varuṇa as the all-king who restrains sin and ends wrongdoing. The hymn culminates in a personal, crossing-beyond-distress testimony, asking the Ashvins’ forward-moving aids to carry the singers through anguish.
Sukta 133
Sukta 10.133
This seven-verse Indra hymn is a martial prayer for protection and victory: the singers rouse Indra as the world-maker and Vṛtra-slayer to stand with them in close combat and confound hostile forces. Refrain-like, it asks that opponents’ bowstrings go slack and that aggressors be driven down, while ending with a boon of abundance—Indra’s gift flowing like a thousand-streaming cow of plenty to the praising poet.
Sukta 134
Sukta 10.134
This hymn praises Indra as the vast, world-widening sovereign whose power is not merely heroic but also generative—brought forth by Devī Janitrī, the auspicious Mother-power. It links Indra’s cosmic acts (expanding Heaven and Earth, shaking off opposition) with concrete aid to the Soma-presser, granting rayi (abundance and fullness). It closes with a vow of non-sectarian reverence—hindering no god—and an inward ascent through “mantra-hearing,” as if taking wing by right listening.
Sukta 135
Sukta 10.135
This brief, enigmatic hymn contemplates Yama’s realm and the ancestral way: the Fathers are envisioned in a “fair-leaved tree” where Yama communes with the gods, and the departed father delights in the ancient path. Through riddle-like imagery of a youth setting a chariot in motion and the Sāman-chant following as a carrier, the sukta hints at how ordered sacred speech and right offering guide the soul’s journey and release.
Sukta 136
Sukta 10.136
This hymn celebrates the Keśin or Muni—the long-haired inspired ascetic—portrayed as a liminal, luminous being who carries opposites (fire and poison) and moves freely through the worlds. It presents the Muni as wind-driven, god-impelled, and allied to the “God of gods,” revealing a Vedic ideal of inspired inner freedom and visionary sight.
Sukta 137
Sukta 10.137
This brief healing hymn invokes the collective gods as restorative powers to lift a fallen person back into strength, even if illness is linked with fault or misstep. It combines prayer, protective blessing, and the ritual-psychological act of “mantra-touch,” driving away yakṣma (wasting disease) and re-establishing wholeness (anāmaya).
Sukta 138
Sukta 10.138
This short Indra hymn recalls the god’s famed breakthroughs: he shatters the enclosing powers (Vala), releases Dawn and the waters, and secures victory for Kutsa against serpent-like constriction. It also elevates Indra from mere battle-lord to cosmic organizer, crediting him with establishing the ordinance of time (the months) and transforming the “non-sacrificer” into one fit for yajña.
Sukta 139
Sukta 10.139
This hymn links Savitṛ’s dawn-impulsion—his steady rising as light—with Pūṣan’s guiding, protective movement that “sees” and shepherds all worlds. It then widens into a mythic-ritual vision where Waters, Gandharva (Viśvāvasu), and Indra participate in revealing Ṛta: hidden bounds, luminous horizons, and the release of obstructed riches (amṛta/energies) from stone-like enclosures.
Sukta 140
Sukta 10.140
This six-verse hymn praises Agni as the wide-radiant, all-illumining power whose rays and strength establish victorious plenitude (vāja) in the worshipper. It asks Agni to expand among the people, enrich the sacrificer with wealth and effective will (kratu), and affirms that humanity in every age sets Agni in front for blessing, singing him as the divine, ṛta-bearing leader.
Sukta 141
Sukta 10.141
This short hymn is a communal invocation that gathers key Vedic powers—Agni, Soma, the Ādityas, Viṣṇu, Sūrya, and especially Indra–Vāyu with Bṛhaspati—asking them to turn toward the worshippers with favor and help. Its practical aim is prosperity and protection, and its social aim is concord: that in the assembly all people may become “of one good mind” in their coming together.
Sukta 142
Sukta 10.142
This short Agni hymn presents the worshipper’s complete reliance on Agni as the only sure refuge, asking for a “triple-guarded” protection against harm and violators. It then portrays Agni as a unifying, ordering power—bringing many movements onto one right course—and ends with imagery of auspicious growth and waters (dūrvā grass, lakes, lotuses) attending the deity’s coming and going.
Sukta 143
Sukta 10.143
This short Aśvin hymn invokes the Nā́satyā as swift rescuers and renewers who restore strength, capacity, and right movement in life. By recalling their revivifying help to seers such as Atri and Kakṣīvant, the poet asks the Twins to come to the worshipper’s “wide seat” and carry the community safely across difficulties, filling them with overflowing nourishment and good will.
Sukta 144
Sukta 10.144
This short hymn celebrates the pressed Soma (Indu) as a living, rushing power offered to an “immortal” recipient—explicitly culminating in Indra—who is strengthened and made victorious by it. Soma is portrayed as swift like a steed, life-sustaining and discerning (dakṣa), and as a treasure once brought from the far beyond by the Suparṇa/Śyena motif. The hymn’s purpose is to consecrate Soma as the force that enlarges vitality, will (kratu), and divine triumph.
Sukta 145
Sukta 10.145
This short hymn is a practical oṣadhi-sūkta: a charm that invokes a potent plant-power to remove a “sapatnī” (rival/obstructing presence) and to restore attraction, harmony, and rightful union. The speaker ritually “digs up” and applies the herb as a compelling, victory-giving force so that the desired person’s mind turns and runs back—like a cow to her calf—while the rival is sent far away.
Sukta 146
Sukta 10.146
This short hymn praises Araṇyānī, the living presence of the forest, portraying her as fearless, elusive, and richly sustaining yet beyond village life. It captures the forest’s mysterious soundscape—calls, cracks, and imagined voices—transforming solitude into a divine, nurturing ambience. The hymn culminates by acclaiming Araṇyānī as fragrant, abundant, and the mother of wild beings, untouched by the plough.
Sukta 147
Sukta 10.147
This short hymn praises Indra through his Manyu—his first-born wrath-power that shattered Vṛtra and released the pent-up waters, making even Heaven and Earth tremble. It then turns to the social and ritual sphere, asking Indra to heed generous patrons and to expand the worshippers’ space, wealth, protection, and fair apportionment like a benevolent father.
Sukta 148
Sukta 10.148
This short Indra-hymn centers on the Soma-pressers’ praise, asking Indra to bring suvita (a “good passage” and right success) and the invigorating vāja that accompanies his vast heroic power. The poet frames worship as a mutual joy: humans gladden Indra with Soma and nourishing offerings, and Indra in return upholds their inner strength and embodied life. The hymn culminates in a vivid summons from the wide earth, with swift horses carrying inspired speech toward Indra’s ghee-bright seat.
Sukta 149
Sukta 10.149
This brief hymn to Savitṛ (the divine Impeller) praises his cosmic “harnessing” power by which Earth and Heaven are fixed in their proper order and the midspace and ocean are bounded within unassailable law. It then alludes to Savitṛ’s bird-like emblem (Garutmān) moving according to dharma, and ends with the poet’s wakeful, devotional vigilance—awaiting Savitṛ’s activating impulse as one watches for Soma’s shining ray.
Sukta 150
Sukta 10.150
This short hymn invokes Agni Jātavedas, the havya-vāhana (carrier of offerings), to arrive together with the principal divine hosts—Ādityas, Rudras, and Vasus—bringing mṛḻīka (healing grace). Agni is praised as the ever-renewed kindled fire who summons the gods and establishes a protective, auspicious presence for the worshippers. The closing verse recalls Agni’s past aid to renowned seers and kings, grounding the request for help in remembered precedent.
Sukta 151
Sukta 10.151
This brief hymn personifies Śraddhā (Faith/Assent) as the hidden power that makes sacrifice effective—kindling Agni, raising the offering, and securing auspicious allotment through Bhaga. It asks that the same steadfast confidence the gods established amid hostile forces be established in the sacrificer’s aims. Faith is invoked across the day’s three joints—dawn, midday, and sunset—so that truth-oriented intention becomes firm within the heart.
Sukta 152
Sukta 10.152
This short Indra-hymn invokes the divine Ruler-Power as an unfailing ally who makes his companion unconquerable. It petitions Indra to shatter obstructing forces (rakṣas, mṛdhaḥ, Vṛtra), disperse hostile wrath, and establish broad shelter (śarma) against the stroke of enemies. Overall, it functions as a compact protective and victory-prayer for those facing conflict, rivalry, and inner agitation.
Sukta 153
Sukta 10.153
This short Indra hymn praises the god’s newly awakened presence among the active “doers of the work,” who approach him to partake of heroic power (suvīrya). It recalls Indra’s classic cosmic feats—slaying Vṛtra, widening the mid-space, and propping up heaven—then culminates in declaring him the overmastering force who surpasses all beings by ojas (concentrated might). The hymn’s purpose is to invoke Indra’s victorious energy for protection, strength, and successful accomplishment.
Sukta 154
Sukta 10.154
This short hymn is a funerary/ancestor-oriented prayer that asks that the departed be conducted to the blessed company for whom Soma flows as sweetness, ghee-like radiance, and sacred offering. It names classes of the “well-gone” (brave in battle, self-sacrificers, great donors, tapas-born seers) and petitions that the soul attain their luminous realm under Yama’s governance.
Sukta 155
Sukta 10.155
This short apotropaic hymn is a forceful expulsion of Arāyi—privation, hostile want, and misfortune—commanded to depart to remote, uninhabited places (mountain, far bank of a river). It invokes the auxiliary power Śirimbiṭha as a driving, smiting force to push the affliction away, and it ends with a confident protective affirmation around Agni and the “cow/light,” declaring the protected circle unassailable.
Sukta 156
Sukta 10.156
This brief Agni hymn urges that inspired thoughts and praise should impel Agni forward like a swift horse in contest, so that the worshipper wins repeated abundance (dhanam-dhanam). It asks Agni to bring broad, solid wealth—light, cattle, and swift powers—while striking down the inner Paṇi (the hoarding, obstructing tendency) and awakening to the hymn as the banner-light of the peoples.
Sukta 157
Sukta 10.157
This short hymn invokes Indra together with the Viśve Devāḥ to “set the worlds in right order,” establishing harmony across the planes of existence and human life. It asks that Indra, accompanied by the Ādityas and Maruts, become a protector of our embodied vitality, and it culminates in an inward turning of the sacred ray-song (arká) that restores svadhā—one’s innate law and sustaining power.
Sukta 158
Sukta 10.158
This short hymn is a protective and healing prayer that invokes a triad of cosmic guardians—Sūrya in heaven, Vāta in the mid-region, and Agni on earth—to secure the worshipper on every plane. It then turns to the restoration and widening of sight (cakṣus), asking the divine powers that set, stabilize, and establish vision to grant clear outer and inner seeing. The hymn culminates in the wish to behold Sūrya “perfectly visible,” and to see broadly like those whose human sight becomes illumined.
Sukta 159
Sukta 10.159
This short hymn speaks in a feminine first-person voice—often read as a bride or wife—who invokes the rising Sūrya and Bhaga (the giver of one’s rightful share) to secure marital union, prosperity, and social sovereignty. It functions as a victory-charm over “rivals” (sapatnī) and corrosive forces that disrupt harmony, aligning domestic fortune with the triumphant power exemplified by Indra.
Sukta 160
Sukta 10.160
This brief Indra-hymn is a focused invitation to the god to stay with the present sacrificer and protect the freshly pressed, potent Soma. It asks Indra to unharness his steeds at the rite, not be “drawn away” by rival patrons, and to grant the worshipper the classic Indra-gifts—cows, horses, and victorious strength. The hymn underscores that wholehearted, god-desiring offering secures Indra’s favor and prosperity.
Sukta 161
Sukta 10.161
This short healing (bhaiṣajya/āyuṣya) hymn invokes the paired power of Indra and Agni to release a sufferer from grasping, wasting illnesses and from the unseen “seizer” (grāhi). Through the force of havis (offering/oblation) and sacred speech, the patient is symbolically “brought back,” restored in sight, limbs, and life-span, and led beyond durita (distress, misfortune, wrong movement).
Sukta 162
Sukta 10.162
This short protective hymn invokes Agni as rakṣohā (slayer of hostile forces), empowered by brahman, to expel a wasting, ill-named presence believed to have entered the womb and threaten conception and progeny. It names multiple modes of intrusion—physical lurking, creeping within the yoni, and delusion through dream and darkness—and repeatedly commands the remover-force to drive the danger away. The sukta functions as an exorcistic-healing prayer aimed at safeguarding fertility, pregnancy, and the continuity of the family line.
Sukta 163
Sukta 10.163
This short healing hymn is an “extraction” (vṛh-) formula aimed at uprooting yakṣman, a wasting affliction, from every part of the patient’s body. Verse by verse it names bodily regions—from head and senses down to hips, limbs, hair, and joints—ritually separating the disease and restoring wholeness. The power invoked is primarily the mantra itself and the therapeutic act of naming, locating, and expelling the malady.
Sukta 164
Sukta 10.164
RV 10.164 is an apotropaic and expiatory hymn that turns the mind away from Nirṛti (decay, destruction, ill-luck) and reorients awareness toward life, breadth, and auspicious direction. It prays that faults committed in waking or sleep—through fear, curse, or misguided intention—be removed by purifying powers (notably Agni), sealing the rite with a protective transfer of evil intent away from the sacrificer.
Sukta 165
Sukta 10.165
This brief apotropaic hymn addresses the Devas collectively to avert an ominous sign: a pigeon appearing as a possible messenger of Nirr̥ti (misfortune, dissolution). Through mantra (ṛc), the hymn performs a “release” (niṣkṛti), seeking protection for all living prosperity—two-footed and four-footed—especially around the ritual fire-space.
Sukta 166
Sukta 10.166
This brief hymn is a competitive, self-affirming charm that asks for ascendancy over rivals: to become the “bull” among equals, the smiter of enemies, and the holder of prosperity and status. It combines the idiom of Indra-like victory with a pointed appeal to Vācaspati (Lord of Speech) to restrain opponents’ words, ending with a vivid image of rivals forced to cry out from below like frogs rising from water.
Sukta 167
Sukta 10.167
This brief Indra-hymn is framed as a Soma-pressing address: the sweet Soma is poured for Indra, who is hailed as lord of the pressed vessel and the giver of rayi (abundance with heroic strength). It links Indra’s victory—winning svah (the luminous heaven)—with ritual order upheld by Soma, Varuṇa, and Bṛhaspati, and ends by foregrounding the poet’s active role in preparing the offering and shaping the stoma (hymn).
Sukta 168
Sukta 10.168
This short Vāta-stuti hymn praises Wind as an unseen yet unmistakable power: his chariot roars like thunder, touches heaven, and raises earth’s dust. It marvels at Vāta’s ceaseless motion through the midspace and his mysterious origin, then culminates by identifying him as the very “Self” of the gods and the womb/embryo of the world, worthy of oblation.
Sukta 169
Sukta 10.169
This short hymn is a healing and flourishing prayer that calls the delight-bringing Wind (Vāta) to blow favorably so that the life-giving herbs (Oṣadhīs) grow strong and become nourishing. It links bodily well-being with cosmic support: Rudra is asked for protective grace, while the nourishing “Powers” are invited to settle in the secure goṣṭha (a symbol of a protected, luminous field of life and vitality) under the wider sanction of Indra, Soma, and Prajāpati.
Sukta 170
Sukta 10.170
This brief hymn praises Sūrya as the supreme, all-pervading Light (Bṛhat, Vibhrāṭ) who drinks the Soma-honey and thereby stabilizes life-force and sacrifice. It portrays the Sun as self-sustaining, wind-driven in motion, guarding beings, and radiating manifoldly while upholding all worlds through the cosmic workmanship (Viśvakarman) and the support of the All-Gods.
Sukta 171
Sukta 10.171
This short Indra-hymn repeatedly addresses the god as the one who “brings forward” what is stalled or hidden—chariot, intention, and even the Sun itself. The poet praises Indra for hearing the Soma-offerer’s call, loosening the mortal from binding constraints, and advancing illumination beyond limiting powers.
Sukta 172
Sukta 10.172
This short hymn links the coming of Dawn with the re-opening of the right “path” (vartani) for life and sacrifice: darkness is driven away, the rays/cows gather, and the work is set back into orderly motion. It presents renewal as both a cosmic event (Uṣas restoring light) and a ritual-psychological act (re-establishing the “thread” of continuity in yajña and in consciousness).
Sukta 173
Sukta 10.173
This short hymn is a rāṣṭra (sovereignty) charm-prayer that ritually “installs” a ruler (or the principle of rulership) in unshakable stability (dhruva), so the realm does not slip away. It aligns political order with cosmic order—heaven, earth, mountains, and the moving world are invoked as models of firmness—then calls on Soma and Indra (with allied royal deities in the tradition) to secure the people’s willing allegiance and tribute.
Sukta 174
Sukta 10.174
This brief Triṣṭubh hymn is a rāṣṭra/abhīvarta (sovereignty-and-victory) prayer that asks Brahmaṇaspati to “turn” the worshipper toward ordered dominion and success, using Indra’s victorious turning as the paradigm. It seeks protective overruling of rivals and hostile forces, and culminates in the assurance of becoming asapatna—“without opponents”—through the efficacy of the consecrated offering and divine favor.
Sukta 175
Sukta 10.175
This brief late-maṇḍala ritual hymn addresses the grāvāṇaḥ (Soma pressing-stones), urging them to take their places on the pressing-boards and express the Soma. Savitṛ, the divine Impeller, is invoked to set the implements in right, lawful motion (dharmaṇā), so that the sacrificer’s pressing yields strength and exhilaration for the gods—especially the “Strong One” (often Indra).
Sukta 176
Sukta 10.176
This brief hymn invokes the R̥bhus—divine artisan powers—and their “sons” as forces that expand and perfect the great work, drawing sustenance from Earth as a mother-cow. It then turns to the sacrificial agency itself: the god-seeking Hotṛ and Agni, who move like a well-guided chariot and are “made” in us for protection, widening life toward an immortal origin.
Sukta 177
Sukta 10.177
This brief but highly mystical hymn contemplates Pataṅga, the “winged” solar principle, as the hidden Sun of consciousness perceived by seers through heart and mind. It links the Sun-bird to Asura’s māyā (sovereign shaping power), the Marīcīs (rays of illumination), and to Vāk (the inspired Word) guarded at the station of Ṛta (truth-order).
Sukta 178
Sukta 10.178
This brief two-verse hymn invokes Tārkṣya as a swift, divinely-driven protector who ensures safe passage and victory amid the hazards of travel and conflict. The poet asks for well-being (svasti), comparing the sought-for support to Indra’s gift and to a boat that carries one safely across, unharmed in coming or going.
Sukta 179
Sukta 10.179
This brief hymn is a ritual summons to rise, behold, and present Indra’s rightful share in the timely sacrifice. It emphasizes preparedness (śrāta) of the offering—especially the midday pressing—and invites Indra to come, sit among companions, and drink the curd/pressed oblation in delight, confirming the act as aligned with Ṛta (cosmic order).
Sukta 180
Sukta 10.180
This brief Indra hymn invokes the much-called hero to overpower enemies and to “bring wealth by the right hand,” i.e., by auspicious, legitimate power. Indra is pictured as a fearsome mountain-roaming beast who sharpens his weapons, scatters hostile forces, and opens a wide, safe realm in which the gods (and the worshipper’s higher powers) can act.
Sukta 181
Sukta 10.181
This brief hymn reflects on how the power of sacrifice is “carried” and made effective through correct formulation—meter (Anuṣṭubh), inspired finding, and the right yājñika speech (yajus). It traces the rite’s efficacy to a triad of divine sources—Dhātṛ as ordainer, Savitṛ as impeller, and Viṣṇu as pervader—by whom hidden seats of yajña, primal formulas, and the solar “gharma” (sacrificial heat) are recovered and brought into the ritual field.
Sukta 182
Sukta 10.182
This brief hymn invokes Narāśaṃsa to protect the sacrificer specifically during the fore-offerings (prayāja) and after-offerings (anuyāja), ensuring peace and well-being in the rite. It asks that harmful speech (aśasti) and evil intention (durmati) be cast away, and that hostile forces—especially the Rakṣasas who oppose brahman (sacred formulation)—be burned and destroyed by a fiery protective power.
Sukta 183
Sukta 10.183
This brief late-Rigvedic hymn invokes a tapas-born generative Power to “be born” and to bestow progeny, especially a desired son, along with prosperity. The seer claims inner vision of this force as conscious, seasonally laboring, and embodied, culminating in a first-person revelation of an indwelling creatrix who places the embryo in plants and sustains birth across worlds.
Sukta 184
Sukta 10.184
RV 10.184 is a brief but potent generative hymn invoking multiple divine artisans of creation to establish and protect a pregnancy. It asks Viṣṇu to “prepare the womb,” Tvaṣṭṛ to fashion the form, Prajāpati and Dhātṛ to infuse and place the embryo, and then calls on Sinīvālī, Sarasvatī, and the Aśvins to secure conception and bring the child to full-term birth in the tenth month.
Sukta 185
Sukta 10.185
This brief three-verse hymn invokes the “Three” Ādityas—Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuṇa—as vast supports of ṛta (cosmic order) and as protectors of human life. It asks for their shining strength and unassailable guardianship so that hostile forces and evil speech cannot gain power on one’s path. The hymn culminates in the promise that Aditi’s sons grant continuous light and vitality to the mortal they favor.
Sukta 186
Sukta 10.186
This brief three-verse hymn invokes Vāta (Wind) as a benevolent healer who brings peace and delight into the heart and carries the life-breath forward into fullness of life. It deepens the relationship by addressing Vāta as father, brother, and friend, and finally asks for a share of the “treasure of immortality” believed to be stored in Vāta’s own abode—i.e., a sustaining, deathless vitality for continued living.
Sukta 187
Sukta 10.187
This short Agni hymn repeatedly invokes the Fire as the mighty “bull” of the worlds and asks him to carry the worshipper beyond hostile forces—both outer opponents and inner resistances. Agni is praised as the bright power that crushes rakṣas (forces of distortion) with his pure flame and as a transcendent fire “born on the farther shore,” guiding the sacrifice and speech to safety and victory.
Sukta 188
Sukta 10.188
This short hymn invokes Agni as Jātavedas, urging his “steed” (his swift, effective power) to come and take his seat on the prepared barhis, the sacred ritual ground. The poet then raises a well-formed praise to Agni the generous giver, and finally calls on Agni’s radiant beams—those that carry offerings to the gods—to propel and successfully complete the sacrifice.
Sukta 189
Sukta 10.189
This brief, highly symbolic hymn traces the movement of a radiant “cow” of variegated light—often read as Dawn or the Sun’s illumination—stepping before the Mother (Earth) and proceeding to the Father (Heaven). It then depicts the cosmic Power that “breathes out and in,” revealing heaven through rhythmic motion, and culminates in the vision of the solar “bird” (pataṅga) in whom Vāk (the Word) is set, shining across many realms at each dawn and day.
Sukta 190
Sukta 10.190
This brief cosmogonic hymn traces an ordered unfolding of creation: from tapas (creative heat) arise Ṛta and Satya, then Night and the cosmic Ocean, and from that the Year that measures days and nights. It culminates in Dhātṛ, the Ordainer, setting Sun and Moon and establishing the layered worlds—heaven, earth, midspace, and svah—affirming that cosmos is founded on intelligible order.
Sukta 191
Sukta 10.191
This brief hymn links the kindling of Agni with the kindling of concord among people: as fire is brought to fullness by gathered fuel, so a community is strengthened by gathered intention. It prays for shared speech, shared mind, and shared rite, presenting yajña as the practical means to form “one consciousness” in the many.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is widely regarded as a late compilation because it gathers many seers and styles and includes more explicit philosophical speculation, social themes, and life-cycle rites than the family books. Its contents range from ritual praise to reflective hymns on creation, speech, law (ṛta), and death.
The best-known are RV 10.129 (Nāsadīya Sūkta on creation and uncertainty), RV 10.121 (Hiraṇyagarbha on the cosmic origin), RV 10.125 (Vāc Sūkta on the divinity of speech), and RV 10.14–10.15 (Yama and the Fathers in funerary context).
They emphasize two complementary strands: mantra (brahman) as an inner, forceful power that breaks hostile divisions and restores right order through inspired speech, and protection/victory through cosmic guardianship—especially Night’s shelter and Agni’s commanding, protective agency. Together they frame Mandala 10 as both reflective and practical: metaphysical inquiry alongside rites and safeguards for human life.