Sukta 117
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (Anṛṇya-sūkta; specific ṛṣi attribution varies in ancillary lists)
Devata: Agni (as bond-loosener) with implicit reference to Yama’s pāśas
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant for this cluster)
This brief Anṛṇya-sūkta is a legal-moral and eschatological charm that seeks release from the coercive bondage of unpaid obligations, imagined as Yama’s nooses. Agni is invoked as purifier, witness, and bond-loosener who “knows all the pāśas,” enabling repayment, removal of the evil of unpaid consumption, and safe passage debtless through the worlds.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
आनृण्यम्। अ॒प॒मित्य॒मप्र॑तीत्तं॒ यदस्मि॑ य॒मस्य॒ येन॑ ब॒लिना॒ चरा॑मि । इ॒दं तद॑ग्ने अनृ॒णो भ॑वामि॒ त्वं पाशा॑न् वि॒चृतं॑ वेत्थ॒ सर्वा॑न्
मैं कर्ज़ा चुका देना चाहता हूँ। जो भी बुरा काम मैंने किया, जो रिन बाकी है, जिससे मैं यम के पास फंसा हूँ, आज से मैं उससे आज़ाद हूँ। अग्नि, तू हर बंधन जानता है, मुझे आज़ाद कर दे।
Mantra 2
इ॒हैव सन्तः॒ प्रति॑ दद्म एनज्जी॒वा जी॒वेभ्यो॒ नि ह॑राम एनत्। अ॒प॒मित्य॑ धा॒न्यं॑१ यज्ज॒घसा॒हमि॒दं तद॑ग्ने अनृ॒णो भ॑वामि
जब तक ज़िन्दा हैं, हम अपना कर्ज़ा चुका देते हैं। हम जीते हैं, दूसरों को भी जीते हैं, और बोझ हल्का कर लेते हैं। जो अन्न मैंने खाया है, उसके बदले मैं कर्ज़ा चुका देता हूँ। अग्नि, तुम्हारे साथ मैं आज़ाद हूँ।
Mantra 3
अ॒नृ॒णा अ॒स्मिन्न॑नृ॒णाः पर॑स्मिन् तृ॒तीये॑ लो॒के अ॑नृ॒णाः स्या॑म । ये दे॑व॒यानाः॑ पितृ॒याणा॑श्च लो॒काः सर्वा॑न् प॒थो अ॑नृ॒णा आ क्षि॑येम
इस दुनिया में कर्ज़ा से आज़ाद, दूसरी दुनिया में भी आज़ाद, तीसरी दुनिया में भी आज़ाद, ऐसा हम हों। भगवान वाला रास्ता, पित्र वाला रास्ता, सब रास्ते हम कर्ज़ा चुका के चलेंगे।
Inside Sukta 117
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Begins by naming the goal—ānṛṇyam (freedom from debt)—and identifying the binding condition as standing within Yama’s sphere under coercive constraint.
- What it asks
Agni is asked to make the performer anṛṇa by loosening every pāśa and removing the burden/enas connected with unpaid dues and consumed goods.
- Where its power lies
The hymn asserts efficacy through present-tense rectification—‘here, while living, we repay’—and by treating repayment as a complete removal of the burden.
- How it closes
Concludes with a three-world blessing: debtless in this world, the next, and the third; may all paths of gods and fathers be reached and dwelt in without impediment.
Famous verses
tvam pāśān vicṛtaṃ vettha sarvān
ihaiva santaḥ prati dadma enat
anṛṇā asminn anṛṇāḥ parasmin
Kind of hymn
Paustika (Prosperity) / Apotropaic (release from binding liabilities)
What it is for
To complete/ritually seal repayment, remove the misfortune and coercive bondage of unpaid debt, and ensure debtlessness across all realms and paths.
Who it is for
Householders, debtors seeking discharge, families safeguarding reputation and afterlife prospects, and ritual specialists performing rectificatory rites tied to repayment or settlement.
Also used as
- Apotropaic
- Shantika
- Social-legal (ṛṇa discharge)
- Eschatological (post-mortem impediment removal)
The deity
Agni functions as the purifying fire and truthful witness who can dissolve binding liabilities—ritual, social, and moral—and prevent them from hardening into post-mortem impediments under Yama’s jurisdiction.
Powers of the deity
- Purifies and ‘burns up’ taint (pāpa/enas) connected with unpaid dues
- Acts as witness to repayment and rectification
- Loosens bonds/nooses (pāśa) and releases from constraint (balinā)
- Guards transitions between worlds and supports safe passage on devayāna/pitṛyāna paths
Why the deity is called
He is called to neutralize the enas of unpaid obligation, to ‘cut/undo’ every noose of liability, and to establish the performer as anṛṇa (free of debt) in this world and beyond.
The seer
- Atharvanic seer (Anṛṇya-sūkta; variable attribution in ancillary lists)Atharvan. Paustika-apotropaic charms for social-legal well-being: discharge of debts (ṛṇa), removal of misfortune (apamitya), and release from binding constraints framed as pāśa (noose).
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.116 (adjacent prosperity/constraint cluster; ancillary attributions vary)
- AV 6.118 (adjacent cluster; ancillary attributions vary)
Preparing for the rite
- Settle or formally acknowledge the debt/obligation to be discharged (materially or by vow of repayment).
- Kindle a clean domestic fire (Agni) as witness; maintain ritual cleanliness and truthful intent.
- Prepare a small offering portion (e.g., grain/clarified butter) representing what is repaid or ‘borne away’.
- Seat the performer facing the fire; calm speech and resolve (satya-saṅkalpa) emphasizing restitution.
The rite
- Recite 6.117.1 as a direct appeal to Agni to know and undo all nooses; contemplate Yama’s pāśas as dissolved.
- Recite 6.117.2 while symbolically ‘paying back’—placing grain/oblation into fire or handing repayment to the creditor; mentally transfer the burden away.
- Recite 6.117.3 as an affirmation of debtlessness in the three worlds and for unobstructed devayāna/pitṛyāna access; conclude with a final oblation and silent resolve to keep accounts clear.
What it needs
- Fire (Agni)
- Dhānya (grain) as emblem of consumed/owed goods
- Ghee or simple oblation (optional but customary with Agni-witness framing)
- Water for purification (ācamanā)
When
Preferably at the time of repayment/settlement, or at dawn/evening by the household fire; also suitable before major rites or journeys when clearing obligations is emphasized.
The main substance
Dhānya (grain) offered/returned as the emblem of owed consumption, with Agni as witness-purifier
How it is prepared
Keep a portion of grain (or the repayment substance) as the ritual representative of the obligation; purify with water, then offer into Agni or transfer to the creditor during recitation, sealing the act as ‘burden removed’.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anṛṇya means being free from debt or obligation (ṛṇa). In AV 6.117 it also implies freedom from the moral-spiritual burden that unpaid dues can create.
Agni is the purifier and truthful witness of human actions. Here he is specifically asked to ‘know all nooses’ and to loosen the binding consequences of unpaid obligations.
No. It emphasizes repayment ‘here, while living’ and treats restitution as the proper way to remove the burden and prevent it from becoming an afterlife impediment.
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