Sukta 166
Sukta 10.166
Late/anonymous (Mandala 10; self-affirmation/competitive charm style).
Implicitly Indra-like force of victory; the addressed power is the victorious divine energy invoked for the speaker (no single devatā named in the verse).
Anuṣṭubh-like cadence is possible in such charm verses; exact meter requires scan (Mandala 10 includes mixed meters).
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.
Mantras
Mantra 1
ऋषभं मा समानानां सपत्नानां विषासहिम् । हन्तारं शत्रूणां कृधि विराजं गोपतिं गवाम् ॥
Make me the bull among my equals—overpowering the rivals; make me the smiter of enemies, shining in sovereign force, the guardian-lord of the Rays (cows), the master of plenitude.
Mantra 2
अहमस्मि सपत्नहेन्द्र इवारिष्टो अक्षतः । अधः सपत्ना मे पदोरिमे सर्वे अभिष्ठिताः ॥
I am the slayer of rivals, like Indra—unharmed, unbroken. Below, under my two feet, all these rivals are trodden down and held fast.
Mantra 3
अत्रैव वोऽपि नह्याम्युभे आर्त्नी इव ज्यया । वाचस्पते नि षेधेमान्यथा मदधरं वदान् ॥
Here itself I bind you fast, as with a bowstring binding both ends. O Lord of the Word, restrain these, so that they speak beneath me—no longer above my truth.
Mantra 4
अभिभूरहमागमं विश्वकर्मेण धाम्ना । आ वश्चित्तमा वो व्रतमा वोऽहं समितिं ददे ॥
As the overcomer I have come by the might of the All-Worker. I take hold of your mind, I take hold of your law of action; I, yes I, place your assembly under my ordering.
Mantra 5
योगक्षेमं व आदायाहं भूयासमुत्तम आ वो मूर्धानमक्रमीम् । अधस्पदान्म उद्वदत मण्डूका इवोदकान्मण्डूका उदकादिव ॥
Taking to myself your gain and your security, may I become the highest. I have stepped upon your head. From beneath my feet, cry out—like frogs from the water, like frogs rising up from the water.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a short hymn-charm asking for superiority over rivals—victory, authority, and protected prosperity—especially through control of speech and public standing.
Because the hymn treats speech as a decisive power in rivalry. Vācaspati is asked to restrain opponents’ words so the speaker’s truth and status remain above others.
It is a vivid metaphor of rivals forced to cry out from below, as frogs rise and croak from water—signaling the speaker’s achieved dominance and the opponents’ reduced position.