Sukta 5
Sukta 10.5
Dīrghatamas Āucathya (traditional for RV 10.5)
Mystic One/Agni-Sūrya principle (hymn is enigmatic; often treated as addressing a hidden cosmic principle rather than a single named deity)
Jagatī (probable for RV 10.5; many verses are Jagatī in indices)
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.
Mantras
Mantra 1
एकः समुद्रो धरुणो रयीणामस्मद्धृदो भूरिजन्मा वि चष्टे । सिषक्त्यूधर्निण्योरुपस्थ उत्सस्य मध्ये निहितं पदं वेः ॥
One is the Ocean, the sustaining base of plenitudes; from our heart the many-born perceives and reveals. He attaches the udder in the hidden seat; in the middle of the fountain he has set the track/footing of the seeker.
Mantra 2
समानं नीळं वृषणो वसानाः सं जग्मिरे महिषा अर्वतीभिः । ऋतस्य पदं कवयो नि पान्ति गुहा नामानि दधिरे पराणि ॥
Clothing themselves in the same nest, the mighty males have come together with their coursers. The seers guard the step of R̥ta; in secrecy they have placed the supreme names.
Mantra 3
ऋतायिनी मायिनी सं दधाते मित्वा शिशुं जज्ञतुर्वर्धयन्ती । विश्वस्य नाभिं चरतो ध्रुवस्य कवेश्चित्तन्तुं मनसा वियन्तः ॥
The one who moves by R̥ta and the one who works by Māyā join together; having measured, they give birth to the child and foster him. They move about the navel of the whole, of the steadfast; even the seer’s thread they weave out by the mind.
Mantra 4
ऋतस्य हि वर्तनयः सुजातमिषो वाजाय प्रदिवः सचन्ते । अधीवासं रोदसी वावसाने घृतैरन्नैर्वावृधाते मधूनाम् ॥
For the paths of R̥ta cleave to what is well-born; the impulsions join to plenitude of force from the forward heaven. The two worlds, clothing themselves with the covering, grow by clarified richness and by foods of delight, by the sweetnesses.
Mantra 5
सप्त स्वसॄररुषीर्वावशानो विद्वान्मध्व उज्जभारा दृशे कम् । अन्तर्येमे अन्तरिक्षे पुराजा इच्छन्वव्रिमविदत्पूषणस्य ॥
Awake and knowing, he brought up for vision the seven ruddy sisters from the sweetness. These ancient-born were held within the midspace; seeking, he found the hidden enclosure of Pūṣan.
Mantra 6
सप्त मर्यादाः कवयस्ततक्षुस्तासामेकामिदभ्यंहुरो गात् । आयोर्ह स्कम्भ उपमस्य नीळे पथां विसर्गे धरुणेषु तस्थौ ॥
Seven firm frontiers the seers shaped in the being; and of these, one path alone the narrowness can cross. There the supporting pillar of the Highest stands in its secret seat, set in the release of the paths, in the sustaining foundations.
Mantra 7
असच्च सच्च परमे व्योमन्दक्षस्य जन्मन्नदितेरुपस्थे । अग्निर्ह नः प्रथमजा ऋतस्य पूर्व आयुनि वृषभश्च धेनुः ॥
Non-being and being are held together in the highest heaven, in the birth of Dakṣa, in Aditi’s wide lap. There Agni is for us the first-born of the Truth-Order, ancient in life, at once the Bull-force and the Cow of abundance.
Frequently Asked Questions
The hymn does not focus on a single named god in a simple way. It points to a hidden cosmic principle expressed through Agni (inner fire) and Sūrya-like seership, closely tied to Ṛta (truth-order).
It suggests that the highest reality holds together opposites that the ordinary mind separates. The hymn places both sat (manifest existence) and asat (unmanifest or not-yet) within the supreme expanse, in Aditi’s boundlessness.
These are symbols for concealed nourishment and guidance. The ‘udder’ represents the hidden source of plenty, the ‘fountain’ the wellspring of life, and the ‘track/pada’ the discoverable path of Ṛta that the seeker can follow through insight and right ritual.