मण्डल 6
The Family Book of Bharadvaja
Mandala 6 is a Bharadvāja family book of 75 hymns (762 mantras), marked by vigorous Indra praise, Soma-invitation, and battle-ready royal ideology. Its poets repeatedly summon Indra as the swift, ancient king to the pressing-session, asking for protection, cattle, and victory while celebrating inspired speech (vā́c) empowered by the god. Alongside the dominant Indra cycle, the mandala preserves weighty Varuṇa material that stresses cosmic order (ṛtá), oath, and moral restraint, giving the book a distinctive ethical and juridical tone. The collection thus balances martial triumph and ritual exuberance with reflections on law, guilt, and divine governance.
Sukta 6.1
This opening hymn of the Sixth Maṇḍala invokes Agni as the first awakener of inspired thought (dhī) and as the wondrous Hotṛ who makes sacrifice effective. It praises Agni’s irresistible power and luminous leadership that guides people toward the divine order, and it ends by asking the “kingly” fire for abundant, many-formed riches and well-being.
Sukta 6.2
RV 6.2 is a compact hymn to Agni as the steady lord of the settled household and the radiant power that increases fame (śravas) and prosperity (puṣṭi). It praises his visible might—smoke and flame rising heavenward—and ends by asking Agni to speak well of the worshipper among the gods and to lead them across hostility, sin, and misfortune into well-being and secure dwelling.
Sukta 6.3
This hymn praises Agni as the guardian and embodiment of ṛta (cosmic truth), the power that leads the seeker to “wide light” and protects the mortal from narrowing distress. Agni is celebrated both as the swift, shining force that moves through night like a bird and as a lightning-like brilliance empowered by hymns, working in accord with Mitra–Varuṇa to uphold order and safety.
Sukta 6.4
This hymn invokes Agni as the Hotṛ and “devatātā” (the one who sets the gods in place at the rite), asking him to perform for the present sacrificers as he once did for Manu, the archetypal institutor of yajña. Agni is praised as swift and unconquerable—moving through the nights, outpacing hostile forces (arāti), and guiding the worshippers on safe, non-devouring paths. The sukta culminates in a prayer for protection from distress, generous blessing for the singers, and long life with heroic offspring.
Sukta 6.5
This brief Agni hymn invokes the “Son of Strength” as the youthful, truthful priest who awakens and impels all desirable riches. It asks Agni to protect the worshippers by burning away distant and inner assailants, and concludes with repeated aspirations to attain desire, wealth with heroic sons, victorious power (vāja), and Agni’s imperishable glory.
Sukta 6.6
This hymn invokes Agni, the “Son of Strength,” as the divine Hotar who opens the path for worship and leads the sacrificer through darkness into luminous order. Agni is praised as a radiant, purifying power whose energies “plough” and prepare the earthly field, driving the rite forward and expanding its light. The sukta culminates in a request for inner awakening (citra-citayantam) and for shining, heroic wealth and protection for the singer and community.
Sukta 6.7
This hymn praises Agni as Vaiśvānara—the all-pervading Fire born from Ṛta (cosmic order), set as the “head of heaven” and the guiding power on earth. It presents Agni as the seer-king and “guest” of peoples who mediates offerings, expands the luminous realms, and guards immortality, so that gods and humans may share in life, order, and protection.
Sukta 6.8
This hymn praises Agni as Vaiśvānara and Jātavedas—the universal fire who knows all births and carries the sacrifice—celebrating his ruddy power and his swift arrival to the ritual assembly. It recalls the mythic bringing of Agni from the far realm by Mātariśvan and asks the fire-god to protect the community, its leaders and patrons, and to ferry them safely beyond dangers.
Sukta 6.9
This hymn praises Agni as Vaiśvānara—the universal Fire—who is born like a king and, by his radiance, separates and orders the dark and bright days. Agni is acclaimed as the first-seeing Hotṛ who reveals “immortal light” within mortals, dispelling inner and outer darkness. The suktā culminates in an appeal for protection and uplift, with even the gods bowing before Agni standing in the darkness.
Sukta 6.10
This hymn places Agni Jātavedas at the very front of the sacrifice as the radiant guide who clears the path of the rite and carries prayers safely forward. It praises Agni as the far-seen purifier whose flame turns a “dark track” into a luminous way, dispelling hostility and nurturing iḷā (sacrificial abundance and inspired nourishment). The purpose is both ritual efficacy—unbroken offering-journey—and inner victory: light over darkness, concord over enmity, strength for long life and noble offspring.
Sukta 6.11
This short Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja urges Agni, the inner-impelled Hotṛ, to drive the sacrifice forward with Marut-like force and to draw allied gods to the offering. It praises Agni’s self-radiant, all-pervading brilliance and asks that, kindled “with the gods,” he grant plenitude and help the worshippers cross beyond distress and peril.
Sukta 6.12
This short Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja praises Agni as the royal Hotṛ seated on the barhis within the home-altar, whose far-reaching flame spreads like the sun. It asks Agni Jātavedas to advance with the worshipers’ zeal, to ripen and perfect the sacrifice, to lead them to abundance, and to drive away harmful paths so the community may thrive for a full lifespan with heroic progeny.
Sukta 6.13
This short Triṣṭubh hymn praises Agni as the fountain from whom all auspicious powers—prosperity, victory, rain, and the ordered flow of waters—radiate outward. It emphasizes that the mortal who reaches Agni at the altar through hymns and sacrifice gains every “opening” (vāra) for success, including food, wealth, and stable household prosperity. The hymn closes with a direct request for offspring, continuity of lineage, and the fulfilment (pūrti) that comes from well-offered praise.
Sukta 6.14
This short Agni-hymn teaches that the mortal who serves Agni with true intention and inspired thought is made radiant and is advanced in strength, food-plenty, and protection. Agni is praised as the ancient power who grants a steadfast, assault-enduring hero and as the mediator who can “speak for us” to the other gods. The hymn culminates in a repeated prayer to be led to welfare and good dwelling, and to cross beyond hatred, distress, and wrong paths by Agni’s aid.
Sukta 6.15
This hymn praises Agni as the dawn-awakened “guest” of the household and the lord who leads all clans, carrying human offerings to the immortals. Bharadvāja invokes Agni as the all-knowing priest who perfects rite and insight (vayunāni), asking him to establish the domestic fires firmly and to sharpen the community’s strength and right ardor.
Sukta 6.16
RV 6.16 is a Bharadvāja hymn to Agni as the universal Hotṛ who establishes the sacrifice, links humans with the gods, and drives away hostile powers. It praises Agni’s luminous guidance (saṃdṛṣṭi), his nourishment and wealth-giving power, and his Vr̥tra-slaying, rakṣas-crushing force that clears the path for victory and prosperity.
Sukta 6.17
This hymn is a vigorous Soma-invocation to Indra, praising him as the vajra-bearing breaker of Vṛtra and opener of the “cows” (light, rays, and abundance) held in obstruction. It recalls how the gods placed Indra in the vanguard when the godless assailed them, and it seeks victory, strength, and divinely-appointed plenitude for the worshippers. The closing prayer turns the mythic triumph into a present aspiration: may the rite win god-set gain and mature into steadfast, heroic joy.
Sukta 6.18
RV 6.18 is a Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja that intensifies praise of Indra as the unconquered, much-invoked champion whose power breaks assaults and topples fortified foes. It recalls Indra’s decisive victories over demonic adversaries and strongholds, then turns that cosmic might toward the sacrificer’s present need—strength, protection, and the generation of ever-fresh sacred speech through yajña.
Sukta 6.19
This hymn praises Indra as the ever-undiminished, wide-ranging power who turns toward the worshippers and enlarges their heroic strength. It petitions him to bring his battle-winning “mada” (victorious ardor) so the community gains protection, prosperity, and the continuity of children and descendants, overcoming obstacle after obstacle.
Sukta 6.20
This hymn to Indra praises his irresistible might in battle, recalling his shattering of serpent-like foes and fortified strongholds, and his protection of generous worshippers. It asks Indra to bestow expansive, “heaven-over-earth” abundance—wealth, cattle, and fertile fields—upon the poet’s people. The verses link Indra’s cosmic victories (Vṛtra-slaying and enemy-subduing) with tangible prosperity granted to those who press Soma and offer praise.
Sukta 6.21
This hymn invokes Indra with potent offerings and chariot-set inspirations (dhīḥ), praising him as the ever-youthful, undecaying power who brings expansive wealth and victory. It confronts hostile forces (rakṣas) and asks Indra, the vajra-bearer and ancient ally, to drive them away. The sukta closes with a practical prayer: may Indra awaken as the path-maker and leader through both easy and difficult ways, carrying the worshippers to strength and plenitude (vāja).
Sukta 6.22
This hymn praises Indra as the one universally worthy of invocation—true, bull-like in might, and master of many effective powers (māyāḥ). It recalls his irresistible feats of breaking what seems immovable and releasing what is bound, and then turns into a direct invitation for Indra to come with his yoked powers (niyut) to the sacrifice. The purpose is both laudation and a liturgical summons for protection, victory, and boon-bestowal at the yajña.
Sukta 6.23
This hymn praises Indra as the ever-attentive lord of strength who is drawn to the Soma-pressing and to the inspired hymns of the Bharadvāja seers. It asks him to come with his tawny steeds, wield the vajra, and grant peace-bringing prosperity, protection, and “all-desirable” abundance to worshippers.
Sukta 6.24
RV 6.24 is a Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja praising Indra as the Soma-drinking, word-illumining king who is roused by hymns and sacrifice to grant strength, victory, and protection. It celebrates Indra’s overflowing power—likened to waters bursting from a mountain—and culminates in a direct prayer for safeguarding the leader and the worshippers both at home and in the wild, so they may live long with heroic offspring.
Sukta 6.25
This hymn is a Bharadvāja praise-invocation to Indra as the unsurpassed Vṛtra-slayer, asking that every grade of his aid—near or far, high or low—carry the worshippers through conflict. It extols Indra’s invincibility and supremacy over all beings, and it petitions him to subdue hostile, “un-godlike” forces so the singers may attain safe, expansive dawns and sustained prosperity.
Sukta 6.26
This hymn is a martial and protective invocation to Indra, asking him to hear the Bharadvāja singer and grant fierce help on the “decisive day” when peoples assemble for victory. It recalls Indra’s proven deeds—especially the slaying of Śambara and the protection of Divodāsa—as the grounds for present aid and the winning of strength, cattle/wealth, and sovereign power for the patrons.
Sukta 6.27
This hymn probes the mystery of Indra’s intoxicating might—how his soma-inspired ecstasy and friendship empower decisive victory in battle. It then recalls concrete heroic exploits (slaying foes such as Śeṣa and the Vṛcīvant) and culminates in a priestly, ritual setting where royal patrons grant generous dakṣiṇā, linking Indra’s power with prosperity and patronage.
Sukta 6.28
RV 6.28, the celebrated Go-sūkta of Bharadvāja, blesses the coming and settling of the cows into the goṣṭha (cow-pen/stall) as a source of prosperity, joy, and increase. It praises cows as auspicious, many-formed, progeny-bearing powers—linked with Uṣas-like radiance and Indra’s might—while asking that their milk, fertility, and protection continuously nourish the household and the sacrifice.
Sukta 6.29
This short Triṣṭubh hymn turns the worshippers toward Indra as a trusted ally (sakhā) and mighty benefactor, invoked for protection and expansive aid. It situates Indra’s praise within the Soma-sacrifice—pressed Soma, prepared food, and sung ukthas—so that the rite becomes the channel for Indra’s unconquerable power to break obstacles (Vṛtras) and subdue hostile forces (Dasyus).
Sukta 6.30
This brief Indra hymn praises the god’s ever-increasing heroic power and his unfailing generosity in dispensing wealth and plenitude. It recalls Indra’s cosmic deeds—breaking the mountain, opening the blocked waters, and establishing the worlds—so that the worshipper may partake of stability, victory, and abundance.
Sukta 6.31
This short Indra hymn praises him as the singular lord of riches who holds the peoples in his hands and is acclaimed across home, waters, offspring, and the Sun. It recalls his heroic victories with Kutsa against Śuṣṇa and other obstructers in the quest for the cows/light, and ends by urging Indra to mount his chariot, come by the wide paths, and make the worshipper’s call effectively heard.
Sukta 6.32
This short Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja praises Indra with freshly fashioned speech, celebrating his irresistible strength as vajrin (wielder of the thunderbolt) and purandara (breaker of strongholds). It recalls Indra’s victory achieved with inspired seers and flame-bearing priests, and culminates in the release/winning of the waters—symbol of life, fertility, and unobstructed attainment.
Sukta 6.33
This brief Triṣṭubh hymn to Indra asks for the god’s most powerful “mada” (invigorating heroic ecstasy) that enables victory, abundance, and right enjoyment. It recalls Indra’s decisive slaying of obstructing forces in battle and concludes with a prayer for his protection not only in immediate needs but also “beyond,” in the farther, luminous heavenly state.
Sukta 6.34
This short Trishtubh hymn gathers the ancient and ever-renewed stream of praise that “converges into” Indra and also “flows out from” him as expansive inspiration. It emphasizes Indra’s inexhaustibility—no thought or word can finish describing him—while recalling his archetypal victory over Vṛtra as the guarantee of protection, increase, and fullness of life for the worshipper.
Sukta 6.35
This short Indra-hymn is a sequence of urgent petitions: the poet repeatedly asks “when?” Indra will empower the brahman (inspired word), enrich the stotra/stoma (hymn of praise), and arrive at the sacrificer’s call. It culminates in Indra’s characteristic act—breaking open the closed stronghold—so that the “bright-milking Cow” (image of luminous abundance) does not run dry, and the Angiras-forces within are quickened to bring forth hidden riches.
Sukta 6.36
This short Bharadvāja hymn praises Indra as the ever-present source of exhilaration, wealth, and victorious strength for those established on earth. It depicts all powers and hymns converging on Indra like rivers into the sea, and ends with an intimate request that he hear the offering and sustain the worshippers with ever-renewing might through the ages.
Sukta 6.37
This short Triṣṭubh hymn summons Indra to come swiftly on his all-boon-bearing chariot, drawn by tawny steeds, to join the poets in the ecstatic soma-session (sadhamāda). It praises Indra as the giver of firm, enduring strength and as the sure slayer of Vṛtra, so that abundance, inspired speech, and victorious power may be secured for the worshippers.
Sukta 6.38
This brief Indra-hymn raises a luminous “indra-hūti” (invocation/call to Indra), asking the god to carry the people’s inspired thought and win for them gifts and protection. It praises Indra as ancient-born and ageless, the focus in whom mantra (brahman) and song (giraḥ) cohere, and culminates in an urgent invitation for aid in the battles against Vṛtra, the cosmic “Coverer.”
Sukta 6.39
This short hymn praises Indra (with a Soma/Indu radiance overlay) as the ancient king who kindles inspired speech, illumines the cycles of night and dawn, and empowers the seer’s hymn. It petitions him to increase divine “iṣaḥ” (impulses of plenty and inspiration), and to set in motion life-supporting forces—waters, healing plants, fertile woods, cattle-light, horses, and human strength—for the worshipper’s prosperity and right utterance.
Sukta 6.40
This short Indra-hymn is an urgent invitation to the god to come to the sacrifice when Agni is kindled and Soma is pressed, to drink and be exhilarated. The poet asks Indra to unyoke and sit with the worshipping company, granting strength, “good passage” (suvitā), and protection. Even if Indra is far away in heaven or in his own hidden seat, he is entreated to guard the rite together with the Maruts.
Sukta 6.41
This short Indra-hymn invites the Vajra-bearing god to approach the sacrifice without anger and to drink the freshly pressed Soma that “flows clear” for him. It praises Soma as the empowering drop made ready for Indra’s strength and asks Indra, delighted by the offering, to grant protection in conflicts and among the tribes.
Sukta 6.42
This short Indra-hymn urges the ritual community to bring the Soma and all “plenitudes” to the heroic Nár—Indra as the straight-going, goal-reaching power who does not fall behind. It links correct offering and praise with Indra’s awakened knowing and bold increase, and it seeks his protection against hostile speech, curses, and assaults upon the sacrificer.
Sukta 6.43
This short Indra-hymn is a compact Soma-invitation that recalls Indra’s heroic deeds—subduing Śambara for Divodāsa, releasing the “cows/rays” from the stone, and establishing victorious strength in the generous patron. Each verse pivots on the refrain-like call, “This is that Soma for you, O Indra, pressed out: drink,” linking praise (stuti) directly to the offering (havis). The purpose is to draw Indra to the pressing, renew his exhilaration (mada), and secure protection, victory, and bounty for the sacrificer and patron.
Sukta 6.44
RV 6.44 is a vigorous Indra-hymn in which the Bharadvāja seer offers the freshly pressed Soma as Indra’s supreme exhilarant, praising him as king of the sacrifice and giver of wealth, victory, and radiant power. The hymn repeatedly links Soma’s “madhu/mada” (rapture) with Indra’s world-sustaining feats—opening paths, empowering the chariot, and establishing the cosmic order that supports Heaven and Earth.
Sukta 6.45
This hymn praises Indra as the youthful friend and rescuer who guides clans from danger and answers the poet’s call with protection and grace. It weaves together heroic remembrance (Indra’s past guidance of Turvaśa and Yadu), present petitions for help, and a closing dānastuti that celebrates generous patronage—showing how divine power and human giving together sustain ṛta and prosperity.
Sukta 6.46
This Indra hymn of Bharadvāja calls the god as the sure “true lord” in every obstruction (vṛtra) and at every turning-point of the journey, seeking victory, strength, and the winning of vāja (force, prize, plenitude). It recalls Indra’s distribution of heroic might among famed human lineages and asks that same conquering power be granted to the singer’s community for overcoming enemies in battle. The closing movement turns to swift, river-like imagery of powers gathering toward the call, suggesting Indra’s capacity to collect, restore, and lead energies into the light.
Sukta 6.47
This Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja praises Indra as the irresistible warrior once empowered by Soma—victorious in inner and outer battles. It moves from the sweetness and potency of the pressed Soma to Indra’s surging might among human clans, culminating in prayers for protection, coordinated strength, and triumph in chariot-led conflict.
Sukta 6.48
This hymn chiefly exalts Agni Jātavedas as the ever-renewed recipient of sacrifice, praised “offering by offering” and “word by word,” who brings skill (dakṣa), harmony, and auspicious forward movement to the worshipper. Along the way it widens into a cosmic-ritual vision: inspiration that nourishes the Marut-host and a concluding reflection on the unique, once-for-all founding of heaven and earth and the primal milking of nourishment from the Mother principle (Pṛśnī). The purpose is to establish Agni as the mediating friend and immortal knower who carries the rite, protects, and aligns human action with the first ordering of the world.
Sukta 6.49
This hymn is a wide-ranging invocation that begins with Mitra–Varuṇa—guardians of ṛta (cosmic order) and right conduct—asking them to come, hear, and bestow auspicious protection together with Agni’s effective power. It then expands into a multi-deity prayer (including Pūṣan as guide of paths), seeking inspired speech, safe passage, luminous “streams” of support, and finally enduring prosperity, secure dwelling, and victory over godless hostility.
Sukta 6.50
RV 6.50 is a broad, protective invocation that gathers Aditi and the Ādityas—especially Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman—alongside Agni, Savitṛ, and Bhaga, asking for grace, guardianship, and well-being. The hymn moves from reverent calling and praise to concrete petitions for shelter, right order, and auspicious gifts, closing with a Bharadvāja-family self-reference that seals the communal act of worship.
Sukta 6.51
This hymn praises Mitra and Varuṇa as guardians of ṛta (cosmic order), invoking their wide-seeing “Eye” (solar vision) that reveals truth and guides human conduct. It asks the Ādityas to protect the worshipper from fault, hostility, and disorder, and to lead the community onto a safe, auspicious path culminating in well-being (svasti) and abundance.
Sukta 6.52
This hymn to the Viśve Devāḥ gathers the whole divine host to hear the poet’s speech, protect the rite, and grant well-being to the sacrificer. A sharp polemical edge runs through it: the brahma-dviṣ (hater of sacred word) and the misguided or overreaching offerer are to be pressed down and made to fall away from the path. The sukta culminates in a formal invitatory scene at the kindled Agni, where the All-Gods are asked to rejoice in the oblation and in the community’s sacred assembly.
Sukta 6.53
This hymn invokes Pūṣan as Pathaspati, the Lord of roads, to yoke his guiding power to the seer’s thought and to secure safe passage, right direction, and winning of sustenance. It also asks Pūṣan to pierce and expose the hoarded wealth of the Paṇi (the withholder), bringing hidden “dear” treasures into the worshipper’s rightful possession. The sukta culminates in prayers for a victorious, manly inspiration (dhī) that gains cows, horses, and vital plenitude for enjoyment and offering.
Sukta 6.54
This hymn invokes Pūṣan as the wise guide who leads the worshipper on the straight path, protects the traveler and sacrificer, and restores what is lost. Across its ten mantras, the poet asks for right guidance, safe passage, and the deity’s active companionship in the Soma-pressing and in life’s journeys. The sukta culminates in a protective image: Pūṣan encircling the devotee with his right hand and bringing back the missing or stolen.
Sukta 6.55
This short hymn primarily praises Pūṣan as the guide and protector of right movement (ṛta), invoked to “come” and to become the charioteer who leads the worshipper safely. It blends imagery of travel and harnessing—Pūṣan drawn by goats—with a deeper request for release from constraints and for prosperous, luminous guidance in life’s paths.
Sukta 6.56
This short hymn to Pūṣan prays for guidance, protection, and integral well-being, emphasizing that the deity is not grasped by mere labels but by true recognition and lived relationship. It moves from defining Pūṣan beyond external description to requesting the successful fulfillment of the worshipper’s intent, ending with a clear benediction for safety and wholeness today and tomorrow.
Sukta 6.57
This short hymn invokes Indra and Pūṣan together as friendly allies who secure svasti (safe well-being) and vājasāti (the winning of strength, plenty, and success). It recalls Indra’s r̥ta-governed release and leading of the great waters, with Pūṣan accompanying as guide, and ends by “rousing” Pūṣan like a charioteer tightening reins—so the journey moves straight and safely.
Sukta 6.58
This short hymn to Pūṣan praises him as a many-powered guide whose luminous and adorable forms protect all paths and workings by his own innate order (svadhā). It depicts Pūṣan moving in “golden vessels” through sea and midspace on Sūrya’s mission, and culminates in his role as heaven-to-earth kinsman and lord of iḷā (inspired invocation), bringing beneficent giving and safe passage.
Sukta 6.59
This hymn praises the paired powers Indra and Agni as joint victors in Soma-sacrifice—Indra as conquering force and Agni as the blazing priestly will that carries the offering. It recalls their ancient deeds and uses riddle-like imagery to suggest that their divine energy can overturn limitation, then invites them to come and drink the pressed Soma while uplifting the hymn and the sacrificer.
Sukta 6.60
RV 6.60 invokes the paired power Indrāgnī, with Indra foregrounded as Vṛtra-slayer and Agni as the co-operant force that makes the victory effective in the sacrifice. The hymn asks the twin heroes to come with their swift teams, accept the offerings, and pour into the worshipper strength, abundance, and victorious energy. It frames the yajña as the meeting-point where divine might (Indra) and sacred fire/illumination (Agni) unite to break obstruction and increase vāja (winning power).
Sukta 6.61
This hymn praises Sarasvatī as a mighty, life-giving river and a divine power who grants strength, victory, and abundance to worthy patrons and sacrificers. It recalls her force that breaks obstacles and defeats hoarding powers (Paṇis), while also praying that her nourishing flow guide the community toward fertile, auspicious dwelling and away from barren loss.
Sukta 6.62
This hymn invokes the Aśvin twins at dawn as swift openers of paths—powers who widen heaven’s spaces, remove limiting boundaries, and bring the worshipper into auspicious ways. It recalls their celebrated rescues (notably Bhujyu from the ocean) to affirm their ability to lift beings from peril and obscurity into safety, light, and prosperity. The seer culminates by asking them to arrive with their yoked forces from all realms and to open even the firmly shut “cow-pen” of luminous riches for the singer.
Sukta 6.63
This hymn calls the Aśvins (Nāsatyā), the swift divine twins, to turn their chariot toward the worshipper and receive the offered praise as a messenger-like summons. It celebrates their radiant, visible splendor and beneficent help—especially their power to bring nourishment, protection, and well-being—culminating in a compact prayer to dwell in the wideness of their gracious favor with generous patrons.
Sukta 6.64
This short Uṣas-hymn praises Dawn as the radiant awakener who rises like shining waves, sets all beings in motion, and makes the world’s paths “good to go upon.” It links the coming of light with right-going progress—prosperity, generous giving (dakṣiṇā), and the safe passage of life’s journey for the worshipper.
Sukta 6.65
This short hymn to Uṣas (Dawn) greets the Heaven-born Daughter as she rises, awakens human dwellings, and drives away the long darkness. The poet asks her to bring timely gifts—wealth, heroic offspring/strength, and wide, enduring fame—just as she favored the Bharadvāja line in ancient times.
Sukta 6.66
This hymn praises the Marut-host as Rudra’s fierce, radiant sons—storm-gods whose rushing power shakes and “yokes” the two worlds, heaven and earth. Through the imagery of Pṛśni as the abundant Cow-mother, the poet evokes their birth, nourishment, and their bright essence released for the benefit of mortals. The sukta’s purpose is both laudatory and invitational: to draw the Maruts to the sacrifice so their force, protection, and victorious impetus may empower the worshipper.
Sukta 6.67
This hymn praises Mitra and Varuṇa as the foremost upholders of ṛta (truth/cosmic order), who bind peoples together “like a rein” and sustain sovereignty, time, and the stability of heaven and earth. It asks for their unfailing protection, orderly governance, and victorious forward movement of the luminous powers in the struggle of life. Overall, it is a prayer for social cohesion, right rule, and inner alignment with truth.
Sukta 6.68
This Triṣṭubh hymn of Bharadvāja’s line invokes the paired powers Indra–Varuṇa as joint guardians of both victorious force and righteous order. It presents the sacrifice as already prepared and “turned toward” them, asking for iṣ (impulsion), sumná (grace), protection in conflicts, and widening prosperity (rayi). The hymn repeatedly fuses Indra’s obstruction-slaying might with Varuṇa’s ṛta-based sovereignty, making success meaningful only when aligned with Truth.
Sukta 6.69
This hymn invokes the paired divinities Indra and Viṣṇu as inseparable allies who jointly carry the sacrificer across the “far shore” of arduous work and conflict. It asks them to delight in the yajña, hear the poet’s brahman (formulative speech), grant wealth and protection, and affirm their unconquered, world-ordering power.
Sukta 6.70
This hymn praises Dyāvā-Pṛthivī—Heaven and Earth—as the radiant, nourishing Parents who uphold all worlds and sustain life. Their stability and fruitfulness are said to stand “by Varuṇa’s dhárman,” the cosmic law that keeps the two realms rightly separated and harmonized. The seer asks them to increase in the worshipper energy (ūrj), strength (vāja), and fullness of prosperity (rayi) so the sacrifice may succeed.
Sukta 6.71
This six-verse hymn praises Savitṛ as the divine Impeller who rises and stretches out his golden arms, setting the cosmic order in motion across the realms. It asks him to anoint and empower the sacrifice, to bestow prosperity on the generous worshipper, and to grant “the desirable” day after day through inspired thought and right intention.
Sukta 6.72
This brief Triṣṭubh hymn praises the paired powers Indra and Soma as primordial makers who reveal the Sun and strike down inner and outer darkness. It recalls their heroic deed of slaying Vṛtra and releasing the waters, widening the rivers and seas. The hymn finally turns that cosmic victory into a human boon—granting rescuing strength, manly vigor, and battle-winning power for the people.
Sukta 6.73
This short Triṣṭubh hymn praises Bṛhaspati as the first-born of Ṛta who breaks rocky obstructions, smashes forts, and wins space, waters, light, and cattle for the striving worshipper. It presents him as the victorious priestly power whose roar reaches both worlds and whose “arkas” (luminous hymns) themselves become weapons against hostility. The sukta’s purpose is to invoke Bṛhaspati for breakthrough, protection in conflict, and the gaining of prosperity through right invocation.
Sukta 6.74
RV 6.74 is a compact healing and protection hymn to the dual divinities Soma–Rudra, asking them to uphold inner “asuryá” (lordly luminous vitality), accept the offerings, and bring welfare to both two-footed and four-footed beings. It prays for the implantation of medicines within the body, the loosening of bonds of fault and affliction, and liberation from Varuṇa’s noose—ending in a plea for ongoing guardianship and benevolence.
Sukta 6.75
RV 6.75 is a martial protection hymn that “consecrates” the warrior’s equipment—armor, bow, arrows, chariot-gear—so the fighter enters battle covered by an inviolable shield of power. It moves from vivid battlefield imagery to layered protections invoked from multiple divine agencies, culminating in the assertion that the highest protection is brahman itself, the sacred Word as inner armor.
Mandalas 2–7 are termed “family books” because each is largely attributed to a single priestly lineage. Mandala 6 is associated with the Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya) family of seers and preserves their characteristic ritual and heroic style.
Indra is the central deity, often invoked to the Soma-pressing as the swift, ancient king who grants protection, cattle, and victory. Many hymns carry a martial, triumphal tone, while select hymns to Varuṇa emphasize ṛta (cosmic order), bonds of guilt, and release through divine mercy.
Within an otherwise Indra-heavy book, the Varuṇa hymns stand out for their ethical and juridical vocabulary—ṛta, oath, offense (āgas), and the loosening of bonds (pāśa). They provide a complementary vision of kingship and governance: not only victory in battle, but also right order and accountability under divine law.
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