Sukta 43
Sukta 2.43
Gṛtsamada (traditional attribution for RV 2.43)
Śakuni/Śakunta (bird-omen as ṛta-speaking sign)
Triṣṭubh (probable; verify against pada-count of full text tradition)
This brief hymn addresses the Śakuni/Śakunta (omen-bird) as a truthful speaker aligned with ṛta, whose calls are read as meaningful signs in ritual and daily life. The poet praises the bird’s “twofold voice” as if it were a trained chanter, and repeatedly petitions it to utter auspicious, purifying speech from every direction. The sukta thus sacralizes omen-hearing: sound in nature becomes a channel for blessing, right understanding (sumati), and success in the assembly.
Mantras
Mantra 1
प्रदक्षिणिदभि गृणन्ति कारवो वयो वदन्त ऋतुथा शकुन्तयः । उभे वाचौ वदति सामगा इव गायत्रं च त्रैष्टुभं चानु राजति ॥
Moving in the auspicious rightward course, the singers praise; the birds, speaking according to the seasons and the Truth-Order, utter their signs. It speaks with both voices, like a chanter of Sāman: it shines forth following both the Gāyatrī and the Triṣṭubh measures.
Mantra 2
उद्गातेव शकुने साम गायसि ब्रह्मपुत्र इव सवनेषु शंससि । वृषेव वाजी शिशुमतीरपीत्या सर्वतो नः शकुने भद्रमा वद विश्वतो नः शकुने पुण्यमा वद ॥
Like an Udgātṛ, O bird, you sing the Sāman; like a son of the sacred Word, you proclaim in the pressings. Like a bull, like a vigorous racer, coming to the young and growing powers, speak to us the good from every side; speak to us the fortunate and purifying from all directions.
Mantra 3
आवदँस्त्वं शकुने भद्रमा वद तूष्णीमासीनः सुमतिं चिकिद्धि नः । यदुत्पतन्वदसि कर्करिर्यथा बृहद्वदेम विदथे सुवीराः ॥
Speaking, O bird, speak to us the good; even seated in silence, awaken in us the right understanding. When, springing up, you utter like the karkarī, may we speak the Vast in the assembly and become filled with heroic powers.
Frequently Asked Questions
The hymn addresses the Śakuni/Śakunta, an omen-bird whose call is treated as meaningful speech aligned with ṛta (cosmic order).
It repeatedly asks the bird to “speak the good” and “speak the purifying/fortunate” from every direction, and to awaken right understanding (sumati) in the listener.
In Vedic terms it is about ṛta: hearing nature’s rhythms as ordered and truthful, and using that hearing to cultivate clarity, auspicious action, and effective speech in ritual and community.