Rig Veda 10.175.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 175, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.175
- Rishi
- Same sukta context
- Devata
- Grāvāṇaḥ / usrāḥ
- Chandas
- Likely Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
ग्रावाणो अप दुच्छुनामप सेधत दुर्मतिम् । उस्राः कर्तन भेषजम् ॥
grāvāṇo ápa ducchúnām ápa sedhata durmatím | usrā́ḥ kartana bheṣajám ||
Ô pierres du pressurage, chassez ce qui porte mauvais présage ; repoussez la pensée mauvaise. Ô lumineuses, taillez le remède — délivrez la médecine.
Word by Word
- ग्रावा॑णः
- the pressing-stonesNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot ग्रावन् (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *gʷerh₂-?; Vedic ‘pressing-stone’
- अप
- awayIndeclinableनिपात; ‘away, off’ (verb-modifier)Root अप (निपात/उपसर्ग)
- दुच्छुना॑म्
- harms, injuriesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot दुच्छुना (प्रातिपदिक) = दु- + छुना/शुना (harm, hurt)
- अप
- awayIndeclinableनिपात; ‘away, off’Root अप (निपात/उपसर्ग)
- सेधत
- ward off!, repel!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √सिध्/सेध् (to ward off, repel, prevent)
- दुर्म॒तिम्
- evil intent / bad thoughtNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot दुर्मति (प्रातिपदिक) = दुर्- + मति
- उ॒स्राः
- the bright ones / the cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot उसर्/उस्र (प्रातिपदिक) ‘ruddy/bright; (also) cows’
- क॑र्तन
- they cut/make (forth)Verbलुङ्/इञ्जङ्क्टिव् (वैदिक प्रयोग); तृतीयपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √कृत् (to cut, make) → Vedic injunctive/aorist usage ‘kartan’
- भेष॒जम्
- a remedy, medicineNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot भेषज (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): ग्रावा॑णः | अप | दुच्छुना॑म् | अप | सेधत | दुर्म॒तिम् | उ॒स्राः | क॑र्तन | भेष॒जम् || 1) ग्रावा॑णो॒ अप॑ → ग्रावा॑णः + अप (विसर्ग-लोप/ओ-कारः संहितायाम्). 2) दु॒च्छुना॒मप॑ → दुच्छुना॑म् + अप (म् + अ → म + अ; संहितायां ‘मप’). 3) सेधत दुर्म॒तिम्: संधि विशेषः न
- पदसीमा. 4) उ॒स्राः क॑र्तन: पदसीमा
- ‘कर्तन’ वैदिक-रूप (इञ्जङ्क्टिव्/लुङ्-प्रयोग) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O pressing-stones, drive away the evil-omened; drive away bad thought. O shining ones, carve out the healing remedy.
Inner meaning
The disciplined pressing powers are invoked as guardians of the inner rite: they repel ducchunā (harmful vibrations/portents) and durmati (crooked, fallen thought). Called usrāḥ (‘bright ones’), they ‘carve’ (kartana) bheṣajam—release the remedy hidden in the pressed substance: a healing Ananda and right-mindedness that corrects distortion and restores harmony.
Universal truth
Purification is not suppression but transformation: when the faculties work in luminous discipline, harmful tendencies are expelled and an innate remedy—clarity and joy—emerges.
Themes
Purification, Healing (bheṣaja), Soma-ritual, Mental discipline
The seer
- Rishi
- Same as RV 10.175 (late-maṇḍala Soma-pressing context; rishi attribution varies by Anukramaṇī/edition).
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.175.1, Rig Veda 10.175.3, Rig Veda 10.175.4
Significance
The seer articulates a psychology of purification: the inner instruments must first repel hostile influences and wrong thought before the ‘medicine’ of Soma-delight can be safely established.
The deity
- Devata
- Grāvāṇaḥ / Usrāḥ (pressing-stones as bright operative deities)
- Epithets
- usrāḥ (shining ones), apasedhatar (warders-off, implied)
- Related deities
- Soma, Indra, Agni, Savitṛ
Cosmic role
Protect and perfect the Soma extraction; function as purifiers and releasers of the healing essence.
Inner power
Disciplined force of discrimination that rejects negativity and releases restorative joy/clarity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing: protective/cleansing verse to remove inauspicious influences during the rite.
ग्रावा॑णो॒ अप॑ दु॒च्छुना॒मप॑ सेधत दुर्म॒तिम् । उ॒स्राः क॑र्तन भेष॒जम् ॥
ग्रावा॑णः । अप॑ । दु॒च्छुना॑म् । अप॑ । से॒ध॒त॒ । दुः॒ऽम॒तिम् । उ॒स्राः । क॒र्त॒न॒ । भे॒ष॒जम् ॥
grāvāṇaḥ | apa | ducchunām | apa | sedhata | duḥ-matim | usrāḥ | kartana | bheṣajam
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3 × 8 syllables (with Vedic flexibility)
Compact, incantatory, suited to apotropaic (warding) intention.
Creates a cleansing push outward (‘apa’) and then a precise inward extraction (‘bheṣajam’).
- दुच्छुना (ducchunā)
- Literal: ill-omen, evil portent. Symbolic: hostile vibrations, negative formations influencing the mind
- दुर्मतिम् (durmatim)
- Literal: bad/crooked thought. Symbolic: distorted mentality, self-defeating cognition
- अप सेधत (apa sedhata)
- Literal: drive away, ward off. Symbolic: active rejection (apahāna) of inner falsehood
- उसराः (usrāḥ)
- Literal: shining ones (often ‘dawns/cows’ in other contexts). Symbolic: luminous operative powers that bring clarity in the work
- कर्तन (kartana)
- Literal: cut/carve out. Symbolic: extracting the subtle essence through discrimination and pressure
- भेषजम् (bheṣajam)
- Literal: medicine, remedy. Symbolic: healing force of truth and delight released from within
Apotropaic formula within Soma pressing—warding off ill and generating healing efficacy; inwardly, purification of mind during the extraction of delight.
During pressing, especially when ensuring purity and auspiciousness of the operation.
Recitation over/around pressing-stones; symbolic warding and sanctifying of the pressing.
As a short purification mantra before meditation: reject negative rumination (durmati) and invite the inner remedy (bheṣaja) of calm delight.
dur-mati ‘bad thought’ highlights the inner adversary as a deformation of mind (mati from √man ‘think’). √sedh ‘ward off, repel’ expresses active exclusion of negativity. bheṣajá ‘remedy’ (later ‘medicine’) is read inwardly as restorative force of the expressed Soma; √kṛt ‘cut’ indicates discriminating extraction—separating healing essence from dross.
purification of thought (mati-śuddhi), healing as restoration of integral being
Warding away distortion restores the straightness of ṛta within mind and life.
Durmati is the deviation from satya; the remedy is re-entry into truth-consciousness.
Order emerges by rejection of the cover and extraction of the hidden essence.
Integral-psychological Veda: hostile forces as inner obstructions; remedy as Ananda/truth released by discipline.
Stone = steady will; ‘evil-omen’ = subconscious negativity; ‘medicine’ = restoring harmony of prāṇa and mind through distilled delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The rite as healing and exorcism: by pressing Soma, the powers remove ill forces and generate remedy. Psychologically, disciplined inner ‘pressing’ repels dark formations (durmati) and releases a restoring delight-consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mati from √man reflects PIE *men- ‘think’ (cf. Greek menos, Latin mens, English mind). dur-/duḥ- as ‘bad’ is Indo-Iranian; the semantic opposition ‘good/bad’ prefixes is common across IE.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi commands the operative powers (stones/bright forces) to perform a double work: exclusion of hostile vibrations and extraction of healing essence—an intimate cooperation where the devatā is the functioning power within the act.
Apahāna (rejection) + extraction of remedy: notice negative thought-patterns, exhale them out; then feel the ‘medicine’ of quiet joy in the heart/breath.
anāhata (healing/restore harmony)
On inhale: ‘usrāḥ’; on exhale: ‘apa…apa…’; then rest 1 minute in silence sensing bheṣaja as warmth/relief.
Purified calm with subtle brightness.
Use when mind is troubled: chant 9 times, each time consciously releasing one distorted thought; end by dwelling on a felt sense of inner remedy.
Accents emphasize the repeated ‘apa’ as a driving-away gesture; keep a clean separation between ‘apa’ units; follow recension-specific svara when available.
Punch ‘ápa’ lightly but clearly; soften on ‘usrāḥ kartana bheṣajam’ to convey healing emergence.
ducchunām: keep double cch (cch) crisp, durmatim: retroflex/ dental clarity—do not blur r+m cluster, bheṣajam: retroflex ṣ, ‘bhe-ṣa-jam’
Cleansing and precise at start; warm and soothing on the final phrase.
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