Sukta 173
Sukta 10.173
Royal/Sovereign principle (Rāṣṭra; supported by Indra/Varuṇa/Bṛhaspati/Agni later in the hymn)
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.
Mantras
Mantra 1
आ त्वाहार्षमन्तरेधि ध्रुवस्तिष्ठाविचाचलिः । विशस्त्वा सर्वा वाञ्छन्तु मा त्वद्राष्ट्रमधि भ्रशत् ॥
I have drawn thee hither—enter within. Stand firm, unmoving. May all the peoples desire thee; let not the realm fall away from thee—may the inner kingdom of the being remain held in stability.
Mantra 2
इहैवैधि माप च्योष्ठाः पर्वत इवाविचाचलिः । इन्द्र इवेह ध्रुवस्तिष्ठेह राष्ट्रमु धारय ॥
Here, indeed, establish thyself; fall not away. Like a mountain, unshaking—like Indra, stand firm here; and here uphold the realm, the ordered sovereignty of the being.
Mantra 3
इममिन्द्रो अदीधरद्ध्रुवं ध्रुवेण हविषा । तस्मै सोमो अधि ब्रवत्तस्मा उ ब्रह्मणस्पतिः ॥
This one Indra has made firm with a firm offering. To him Soma has spoken assent; to him too the Lord of the Word has spoken—confirming the stability of the consecrated center.
Mantra 4
ध्रुवा द्यौर्ध्रुवा पृथिवी ध्रुवासः पर्वता इमे । ध्रुवं विश्वमिदं जगद्ध्रुवो राजा विशामयम् ॥
Fixed is Heaven, fixed is Earth, fixed are these mountains; fixed is all this moving world. So may this king be fixed—stable for the peoples: a center of order in the midst of change.
Mantra 5
ध्रुवं ते राजा वरुणो ध्रुवं देवो बृहस्पतिः । ध्रुवं त इन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च राष्ट्रं धारयतां ध्रुवम् ॥
May King Varuṇa make thy sovereignty firm; may the god Bṛhaspati make it firm. May Indra and Agni too uphold thy realm in firmness—so the order of thy life stands unshaken.
Mantra 6
ध्रुवं ध्रुवेण हविषाभि सोमं मृशामसि । अथो त इन्द्रः केवलीर्विशो बलिहृतस्करत् ॥
With a firm offering we touch and claim Soma in firmness. Then may Indra make the peoples wholly thine—bringing their tribute, their willing surrender of energies into thy ordered rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a Vedic hymn-prayer to establish and protect sovereignty (rāṣṭra). It asks that the ruler remain firm (dhruva), loved by the people, and not lose the realm.
Because stability is treated as the essence of legitimate rule. The hymn links the king’s firmness to the cosmos—heaven, earth, and mountains are ‘fixed,’ so the ruler should be fixed too.
Traditionally it supports royal installation and governance. Many interpreters also read it inwardly: the ‘kingdom’ is one’s life and mind, and the hymn becomes a prayer for steady self-mastery and integrated inner order.