Rig Veda Sukta 93
Mandala 10Sukta 9315 Mantras

Sukta 93

Sukta 10.93

Devata

Dyāvāpṛthivī (Heaven and Earth)

Chandas

Gāyatrī/Anuṣṭubh not applicable; likely Triṣṭubh/related (needs verification for 10.93.1 specifically)

Cet hymne invoque Dyāvāpṛthivī — le Ciel et la Terre — comme le vaste Deux maternel qui soutient les mondes et accorde une protection continue contre les forces écrasantes et violentes. Au fil de la sukta, la prière s’élargit en une vision de puissance ordonnée : le rite devient « plus-qu’humain », et l’agencement cosmique de multiples forces est affirmé comme déjà établi pour le bien du sacrifiant.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 10.93

Mantras

Mantra 1

महि द्यावापृथिवी भूतमुर्वी नारी यह्वी न रोदसी सदं नः । तेभिर्नः पातं सह्यस एभिर्नः पातं शूषणि ॥

Grands sont devenus le Ciel et la Terre — vastes, maternels, puissants — les deux mondes pour nous à jamais. Par eux, protégez-nous des forces accablantes ; par eux, protégez-nous de la violence assaillante.

Mantra 2

यज्ञेयज्ञे स मर्त्यो देवान्त्सपर्यति । यः सुम्नैर्दीर्घश्रुत्तम आविवासत्येनान् ॥

De sacrifice en sacrifice, ce mortel sert vraiment les dieux — lui qui, par leurs grâces, devient le plus lointain-entendant et, par un accueil fidèle, les rend sans cesse présents.

Mantra 3

विश्वेषामिरज्यवो देवानां वार्महः । विश्वे हि विश्वमहसो विश्वे यज्ञेषु यज्ञियाः ॥

Ô vous tous, Puissances lumineuses et ardentes, vous êtes la vaste force protectrice des dieux. Car vous tous êtes de puissance universelle; vous tous êtes dignes d’être invoqués, vous tous dignes du sacrifice dans les sacrifices.

Mantra 4

ते घा राजानो अमृतस्य मन्द्रा अर्यमा मित्रो वरुणः परिज्मा । कद्रुद्रो नृणां स्तुतो मरुतः पूषणो भगः ॥

Ceux-ci sont vraiment les rois de l’immortalité, les joyeux: Aryaman, Mitra, Varuṇa, qui circule autour de tout; et Rudra aussi, loué par les hommes, les Maruts, Pūṣan et Bhaga — puissances qui gouvernent en nous et distribuent l’ampleur immortelle.

Mantra 5

उत नो नक्तमपां वृषण्वसू सूर्यामासा सदनाय सधन्या । सचा यत्साद्येषामहिर्बुध्नेषु बुध्न्यः ॥

Et que viennent à nous la Nuit avec les Eaux, et les deux dispensateurs de force — le Soleil et la Lune — vers notre siège de conscience et notre gain véritable ; lorsqu’ils siègent ensemble, alors la puissance serpentine, dans les profondeurs, s’éveille en ses fondements.

Mantra 6

उत नो देवावश्विना शुभस्पती धामभिर्मित्रावरुणा उरुष्यताम् । महः स राय एषतेऽति धन्वेव दुरिता ॥

Et que les divins Aśvins, seigneurs des félicités lumineuses, et Mitra-Varuṇa nous protègent par leurs puissances de lumière établie. Alors la grande plénitude de l’être s’élance en avant et franchit les difficultés, comme on traverse une vaste étendue stérile.

Mantra 7

उत नो रुद्रा चिन्मृळतामश्विना विश्वे देवासो रथस्पतिर्भगः । ऋभुर्वाज ऋभुक्षणः परिज्मा विश्ववेदसः ॥

Et que les Rudra aussi nous fassent miséricorde ; que viennent à l’aide les Aśvins, tous les dieux, le seigneur de la voie du char et Bhaga ; que viennent les R̥bhu — Vāja, R̥bhukṣan et le Tout-mobile, les omniscients — et qu’ils mettent nos énergies en juste formation.

Mantra 8

ऋभुॠभुक्षा ऋभुर्विधतो मद आ ते हरी जूजुवानस्य वाजिना । दुष्टरं यस्य साम चिदृधग्यज्ञो न मानुषः ॥

R̥bhu, R̥bhukṣa, R̥bhu — l’ivresse de l’ordonnateur s’avance; vers toi, ô seigneur de l’abondance, tes deux coursiers sont attelés, ceux de l’ardent, du victorieux. Difficile à franchir est son harmonie (sāman), et le sacrifice (yajña) devient une puissance à part, non humaine.

Mantra 9

कृधी नो अह्रयो देव सवितः स च स्तुषे मघोनाम् । सहो न इन्द्रो वह्निभिर्न्येषां चर्षणीनां चक्रं रश्मिं न योयुवे ॥

Rends-nous sans hâte, ô dieu Savitar; et je le loue parmi les généreux. Qu’Indra, avec les feux porteurs, dépose en nous la force de ces peuples — comme la jante de la roue, comme un rayon maintenu dans sa juste course.

Mantra 10

ऐषु द्यावापृथिवी धातं महदस्मे वीरेषु विश्वचर्षणि श्रवः । पृक्षं वाजस्य सातये पृक्षं रायोत तुर्वणे ॥

En ces (œuvres), ô Ciel-et-Terre, établissez pour nous, parmi nos forces héroïques, une grande gloire qui soutient tout. Un affermissement pour la conquête de la vāja, un affermissement de la richesse, et un affermissement pour l’élan victorieux.

Mantra 11

एतं शंसमिन्द्रास्मयुष्ट्वं कूचित्सन्तं सहसावन्नभिष्टये । सदा पाह्यभिष्टये मेदतां वेदता वसो ॥

Cette louange, ô Indra, tendue vers toi — fût-elle petite en apparence — reçois-la pour notre vraie protection, ô puissant. Garde-nous toujours pour le but, pour le refuge ; fais-nous croître en substance et en connaissance, ô Vasu.

Mantra 12

एतं मे स्तोमं तना न सूर्ये द्युतद्यामानं वावृधन्त नृणाम् । संवननं नाश्व्यं तष्टेवानपच्युतम् ॥

Ce stoma qui est mien, ils l’ont accru comme la course du Soleil, lointaine et rayonnante, parmi les hommes : un assemblage, tel un ouvrage de char bien façonné, ferme, sans glisser — afin que l’union intérieure de nos forces soit stable et durable.

Mantra 13

वावर्त येषां राया युक्तैषां हिरण्ययी । नेमधिता न पौंस्या वृथेव विष्टान्ता ॥

Ceux dont l’abondance se retourne et vient à la juste attelle, à eux s’unit l’éclat d’or. Leur force virile n’est pas retenue dans une simple demi-mesure ; elle ne gît pas éparse en vain, mais atteint son terme établi.

Mantra 14

प्र तद्दुःशीमे पृथवाने वेने प्र रामे वोचमसुरे मघवत्सु । ये युक्त्वाय पञ्च शतास्मयु पथा विश्राव्येषाम् ॥

Cela, je le proclame — dans l’étroite passe difficile et dans la vaste étendue, dans la joie de la quête, parmi les puissants seigneurs de la force : ceux qui, pour l’acte d’atteler (yoga), ont rendu largement célèbres cinq cents voies de notre aspiration.

Mantra 15

अधीन्न्वत्र सप्ततिं च सप्त च । सद्यो दिदिष्ट तान्वः सद्यो दिदिष्ट पार्थ्यः सद्यो दिदिष्ट मायवः ॥

Ici, il a établi soixante-dix et sept ; aussitôt il les a disposés pour vous — aussitôt le fondement terrestre, aussitôt les puissances formatrices de la conscience à l’œuvre.

Inside Sukta 93

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Heaven and Earth are hailed as great, wide, motherly, and ever-present, immediately asked to protect the worshipper from overpowering harm.

  2. Development

    The hymn expands from protection into the idea of right arrangement: cosmic order and sacrificial order mirror each other, and the rite gains an elevated potency beyond ordinary human action.

  3. Climax

    A peak vision of the yajña as an ‘other-than-human’ power—an action that, when harmonized, carries the sacrificer across difficulty and limitation.

  4. Where it settles

    The sukta closes by affirming that the cosmic measures and formative powers are already established (‘seventy and seven’), leaving the listener with assurance of stability, support, and well-set order.

The deity: Dyāvāpṛthivī

  • In the VedaDyāvā (Heaven) and Pṛthivī (Earth) are praised together as the broad, nurturing parents—‘rodasī’—who support beings, uphold ṛta (cosmic order), and shelter the sacrificer. They are addressed as ever-present, vast, and strong, capable of warding off hostile pressures and violence.
  • Cosmic functionThey form the fundamental cosmic dyad: the upper and lower realms that contain and sustain life, establish spatial order, and provide the stable field in which gods, humans, and sacrifice operate.
  • Inner significanceSpiritually, they symbolize the stable ground of consciousness: the higher luminous expanse (clarity, aspiration) and the embodied foundation (support, endurance). Invoking them is a way of asking for inner steadiness and protection so that the yajña (disciplined action) can become effective and uplifted beyond ordinary limitation.

The seer

  • Anonym (R̥gveda 10.93; late-maṇḍala attribution uncertain)The hymn’s distinctive blend of Dyāvāpṛthivī praise with a late-Vedic, expansive sacrificial-cosmic idiom (including R̥bhu imagery and “non-human” yajña power).

Famous verses

tebhir naḥ pātaṃ ("with them protect us")
Verse 10.93.1Programmatic opening: defines Dyāvāpṛthivī as vast, motherly supports and frames the hymn’s core petition—protection from overpowering forces and violent assault.Read verse 10.93.1 →
yajño na mānuṣaḥ ("the sacrifice [is] not human")
Verse 10.93.8Expresses the late-Vedic insight that a perfectly formed harmony makes the sacrifice a distinct, transpersonal power—capturing the hymn’s movement from protection to empowered rite.Read verse 10.93.8 →
saptatiṃ ca sapta ca ("seventy and seven")
Verse 10.93.15Concluding affirmation of established cosmic ordering (‘seventy and seven’), sealing the hymn with a sense of already-accomplished arrangement and support.Read verse 10.93.15 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Vast and all-encompassing (urvī, mahi)
  • Motherly/nurturing (nārī)
  • Supporters of ṛta and life
  • Protective guardians against harm
  • Paired unity (the Two Worlds acting together)

Also by this seer

  • Ascription to a specific named seer is not secure for RV 10.93 in common recensions; the hymn is treated as part of the largely anonymous or variably-attributed material of Maṇḍala 10.

The rite, step by step

  • Establish the sacred space and kindling of Agni; seat the rite within the ‘Two Worlds’ as its cosmic enclosure.
  • Recite opening verses to Dyāvāpṛthivī, naming their vastness and constant presence, and explicitly asking protection from sahyasa (overpowering forces) and śūṣaṇa (assailing violence).
  • Continue with praises that connect cosmic order to the efficacy of the rite, affirming that the yajña can become ‘non-human’ (transpersonal) in power when rightly arranged.
  • Optionally integrate related invocations (e.g., artisan/ordering powers like the R̥bhus) as images of perfected formation and harmonization of the rite.
  • Conclude with an affirmation of established cosmic measures/forces (‘seventy and seven’) as already set in place, sealing confidence and steadiness for the sacrificer.

Offerings

  • Ghee (ājya) into Agni
  • Soma libations (where applicable)
  • Grain/oblations consistent with the household or śrauta setting
  • Simple water and incense substitutes in later practice when soma is not available

Frequently Asked Questions

They are Heaven and Earth addressed together as the ‘Two Worlds’—vast parental powers that uphold life and provide protection and stability for the worshipper and the sacrifice.

The hymn chiefly asks Heaven and Earth to protect the sacrificer from overpowering pressures and violent attack, and to keep the ritual action firmly supported within cosmic order.

It means that when the rite is rightly harmonized and ‘arranged,’ it becomes larger than personal effort—an objective, uplifting power that carries the practitioner beyond ordinary limitation.

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