Sukta 104

Mantra 1

इन्द्रासोमा तपतं रक्ष उब्जतं न्यर्पयतं वृषणा तमोवृधः । परा शृणीतमचितो न्योषतं हतं नुदेथां नि शिशीतमत्रिणः ॥

Indra and Soma, blaze forth; crush the hostile darkness-forces; thrust down those who grow by night. Shatter them far away, burn them out who are without the awakened seeing; strike and drive off the devourers—sharpen your power against the destroyers within.

Mantra 2

इन्द्रासोमा समघशंसमभ्यघं तपुर्ययस्तु चरुरग्निवाँ इव । ब्रह्मद्विषे क्रव्यादे घोरचक्षसे द्वेषो धत्तमनवायं किमीदिने ॥

O Indra and Soma, gather and drive back the evil-voiced impulse and the sin that presses upon us. Let your burning force go forth like a blazing oblation with Agni’s flame. Upon the one who hates the sacred Word, the devourer of the soul’s substance, the one of dreadful vision, lay down your repelling power—against that non-human disturber who seeks to harm.

Mantra 3

इन्द्रासोमा दुष्कृतो वव्रे अन्तरनारम्भणे तमसि प्र विध्यतम् । यथा नातः पुनरेकश्चनोदयत्तद्वामस्तु सहसे मन्युमच्छवः ॥

O Indra and Soma, pierce forth the doer of wrong who has wrapped himself within the ungraspable darkness. So may it be for your might—that from there not even one may rise again; let your wrathful strength accomplish it.

Mantra 4

इन्द्रासोमा वर्तयतं दिवो वधं सं पृथिव्या अघशंसाय तर्हणम् । उत्तक्षतं स्वर्यं पर्वतेभ्यो येन रक्षो वावृधानं निजूर्वथः ॥

O Indra and Soma, turn down from heaven the smiting force, and join it with the earth as a crushing pressure upon the evil-voiced one. Hew out from the mountains a sun-winning path by which you wear down the growing Rakṣas within us.

Mantra 5

इन्द्रासोमा वर्तयतं दिवस्पर्यग्नितप्तेभिर्युवमश्महन्मभिः । तपुर्वधेभिरजरेभिरत्रिणो नि पर्शाने विध्यतं यन्तु निस्वरम् ॥

O Indra and Soma, turn your power around from heaven with stones made hot by Fire, with rock-smiting forces. With unaging burning strokes pierce down the devouring ones; let them go into the soundless realm, where no true word can arise.

Mantra 6

इन्द्रासोमा परि वां भूतु विश्वत इयं मतिः कक्ष्याश्वेव वाजिना । यां वां होत्रां परिहिनोमि मेधयेमा ब्रह्माणि नृपतीव जिन्वतम् ॥

O Indra and Soma, may this thought move around you from every side like a girdle-horse rich in force. This offering-call I place around you with awakened intelligence; nourish these sacred formulations, as two kings foster their people.

Mantra 7

प्रति स्मरेथां तुजयद्भिरेवैर्हतं द्रुहो रक्षसो भङ्गुरावतः । इन्द्रासोमा दुष्कृते मा सुगं भूद्यो नः कदा चिदभिदासति द्रुहा ॥

Remember and answer with your conquering impulses; strike down the deceiver, the Rakṣas that comes with shattering cries. O Indra and Soma, let there be no easy path for the doer of wrong—whoever at any time assails us with treachery.

Mantra 8

यो मा पाकेन मनसा चरन्तमभिचष्टे अनृतेभिर्वचोभिः । आप इव काशिना संगृभीता असन्नस्त्वासत इन्द्र वक्ता ॥

Whoever with a petty mind watches me and speaks against me with words of falsehood—may he become as non-being; like waters seized by a shining net, may his utterance be caught and rendered void, O Indra.

Mantra 9

ये पाकशंसं विहरन्त एवैर्ये वा भद्रं दूषयन्ति स्वधाभिः । अहये वा तान्प्रददातु सोम आ वा दधातु निॠतेरुपस्थे ॥

Those who sport with petty evil-speech, and those who stain what is good by their self-willed impulses—may Soma hand them over to the serpent-force, or place them in the lap of Dissolution, where their perversion is undone.

Mantra 10

यो नो रसं दिप्सति पित्वो अग्ने यो अश्वानां यो गवां यस्तनूनाम् । रिपुः स्तेनः स्तेयकृद्दभ्रमेतु नि ष हीयतां तन्वा तना च ॥

Whoever seeks to steal our essence, O Agni—whether of our drink of life, of our powers of progress, of our rays of knowledge, or of our embodied being—let that foe, that thief, that maker of theft, go to a smallness and dwindling; let him be diminished in body and in lineage.

Mantra 11

परः सो अस्तु तन्वा तना च तिस्रः पृथिवीरधो अस्तु विश्वाः । प्रति शुष्यतु यशो अस्य देवा यो नो दिवा दिप्सति यश्च नक्तम् ॥

Let him be far away, in body and in continuance; let all the three earth-levels be beneath him. Let his glory dry up, O gods—whoever seeks to steal from us by day or by night.

Mantra 12

सुविज्ञानं चिकितुषे जनाय सच्चासच्च वचसी पस्पृधाते । तयोर्यत्सत्यं यतरदृजीयस्तदित्सोमोऽवति हन्त्यासत् ॥

To the discerning human being the clear knowledge becomes possible: the word of the True and the word of the untrue contend within. Of the two, whatever is truth, whatever is straighter and more right-going—that Soma upholds; and he strikes down the falsehood.

Mantra 13

न वा उ सोमो वृजिनं हिनोति न क्षत्रियं मिथुया धारयन्तम् । हन्ति रक्षो हन्त्यासद्वदन्तमुभाविन्द्रस्य प्रसितौ शयाते ॥

Soma does not drive the crooked one onward, nor the warrior who holds to confusion. He strikes the rakṣas; he strikes the speaker of untruth—both these lie within the reach of Indra’s directed power.

Mantra 14

यदि वाहमनृतदेव आस मोघं वा देवाँ अप्यूहे अग्ने । किमस्मभ्यं जातवेदो हृणीषे द्रोघवाचस्ते निॠथं सचन्ताम् ॥

If I have been one who serves the untrue, or if, O Agni, I have pushed aside the Gods in vain, why do you grow wrathful with us, O Jātavedas? Let those who speak treacherously go to the joyless negation, to the loss of their path.

Mantra 15

अद्या मुरीय यदि यातुधानो अस्मि यदि वायुस्ततप पूरुषस्य । अधा स वीरैर्दशभिर्वि यूया यो मा मोघं यातुधानेत्याह ॥

May I die today if I am a yātudhāna, if the life-breath has scorched the human being in me. Then may he be cut off, with his ten heroes, who says of me in vain, ‘He is a yātudhāna.’

Mantra 16

यो मायातुं यातुधानेत्याह यो वा रक्षाः शुचिरस्मीत्याह । इन्द्रस्तं हन्तु महता वधेन विश्वस्य जन्तोरधमस्पदीष्ट ॥

Whoever calls me ‘one who practices harmful magic’, whoever says ‘I am a pure rakṣas’, let Indra strike him with a mighty blow; let him fall to the lowest footing among all beings.

Mantra 17

प्र या जिगाति खर्गलेव नक्तमप द्रुहा तन्वं गूहमाना । वव्राँ अनन्ताँ अव सा पदीष्ट ग्रावाणो घ्नन्तु रक्षस उपब्दैः ॥

Forward she goes, like a prowling creature in the night, hiding her body in deceit. Let her fall down into endless enclosures; let the pressing-stones strike the rakṣas with their crushing blows.

Mantra 18

वि तिष्ठध्वं मरुतो विक्ष्विच्छत गृभायत रक्षसः सं पिनष्टन । वयो ये भूत्वी पतयन्ति नक्तभिर्ये वा रिपो दधिरे देवे अध्वरे ॥

Stand apart, O Maruts; search through the settlements. Seize the rakṣas and crush them together—those who become birds and fly by nights, or those who have set hostility within the divine sacrifice.

Mantra 19

प्र वर्तय दिवो अश्मानमिन्द्र सोमशितं मघवन्त्सं शिशाधि । प्राक्तादपाक्तादधरादुदक्तादभि जहि रक्षसः पर्वतेन ॥

Roll forth, O Indra, the stone of heaven, sharpened by Soma; O bounteous one, set it in full motion. From the fore and the behind, from below and from above—smite the rakṣas with the mountain.

Mantra 20

एत उ त्ये पतयन्ति श्वयातव इन्द्रं दिप्सन्ति दिप्सवोऽदाभ्यम् । शिशीते शक्रः पिशुनेभ्यो वधं नूनं सृजदशनिं यातुमद्भ्यः ॥

These indeed fly about—dog-like wanderers—desiring to seize Indra the invincible. The Shakra sharpens the blow for the malicious; now he releases the thunderbolt upon the yātu-possessed.

Mantra 21

इन्द्रो यातूनामभवत्पराशरो हविर्मथीनामभ्याविवासताम् । अभीदु शक्रः परशुर्यथा वनं पात्रेव भिन्दन्त्सत एति रक्षसः ॥

Indra has become the driving-away of the yātus, against those who churn the offering into disorder. The Shakra, like an axe against a forest, like one breaking a vessel, comes upon the rakṣas, splitting what is set against the truth.

Mantra 22

उलूकयातुं शुशुलूकयातुं जहि श्वयातुमुत कोकयातुम् । सुपर्णयातुमुत गृध्रयातुं दृषदेव प्र मृण रक्ष इन्द्र ॥

O Indra, firm as a stone in the being, crush forward the hostile powers of obscurity—those that move in the owl-nature and the lesser-owl nature, those that come as the dog-impulse, as the koka-call, as the winged and as the vulture-form. Break them utterly in our path.

Mantra 23

मा नो रक्षो अभि नड्यातुमावतामपोच्छतु मिथुना या किमीदिना । पृथिवी नः पार्थिवात्पात्वंहसोऽन्तरिक्षं दिव्यात्पात्वस्मान् ॥

Let not the harmful powers press upon us; let the paired deceivers, driven by the kimīdin-force, be cast out and dispersed. May Earth guard us from the terrestrial peril, and the Midworld guard us from the celestial assault; may these worlds protect us from distress.

Mantra 24

इन्द्र जहि पुमांसं यातुधानमुत स्त्रियं मायया शाशदानाम् । विग्रीवासो मूरदेवा ऋदन्तु मा ते दृशन्त्सूर्यमुच्चरन्तम् ॥

O Indra, strike down the male and the female powers of the yātudhāna—those who by illusion keep devouring the right movement. Let the distorted-necked, false-divinities wail in defeat; let them not behold your Sun as it rises in the consciousness.

Mantra 25

प्रति चक्ष्व वि चक्ष्वेन्द्रश्च सोम जागृतम् । रक्षोभ्यो वधमस्यतमशनिं यातुमद्भ्यः ॥

Look upon us, look widely: awaken, O Indra and Soma. Hurl the slaying force and the thunderbolt against the hostile powers, against those possessed of the yātu-movement, so that the path of the offering becomes clear.