Sukta 134
Sukta 1.134
Gautama Rāhūgaṇa (traditional for RV 1.134)
Jagatī (probable; extended lines typical of Vāyu hymns here)
This hymn invites Vāyu, the swift Wind, to come first to the Soma-pressing and accept the earliest draught, bringing uplifted truth (sūnṛtā) and a poised, knowing mind to the rite. It praises his life-giving power that opens the dawn’s radiance, releases abundance like a milking cow, and connects him with the Maruts’ birth from the luminous heaven. The purpose is both ritual—securing Vāyu’s presence at the first Soma—and spiritual—aligning breath, movement, and clarity with the sacrifice’s power (makha).
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
आ त्वा जुवो रारहाणा अभि प्रयो वायो वहन्त्विह पूर्वपीतये सोमस्य पूर्वपीतये । ऊर्ध्वा ते अनु सूनृता मनस्तिष्ठतु जानती । नियुत्वता रथेना याहि दावने वायो मखस्य दावने ॥
वायु भगवान के लिए यह पुकार है। तेज हवा जल्दी से आओ, सोम पीने का टाइम हो गया है। पहला प्याला तुम्हारे लिए रखा है। सच्चाई तुम्हारे साथ चले, दिमाग साफ रहे। अपनी रथ में घोड़े जोड़ के आओ, यह पूजा के लिए है, भगवान के लिए देना है।
Mantra 3
वायुर्युङ्क्ते रोहिता वायुररुणा वायू रथे अजिरा धुरि वोळ्हवे वहिष्ठा धुरि वोळ्हवे । प्र बोधया पुरंधिं जार आ ससतीमिव । प्र चक्षय रोदसी वासयोषसः श्रवसे वासयोषसः ॥
वायु लाल घोड़े जोड़ता है, और पीले भी। उनका रथ बहुत तेज है, सबसे अच्छा है। जैसे कोई अपने प्यारे को जगाता है, वैसे ही इस जगह को जगा दो। आसमान और धरती को खुला कर दो, सवेरे की रोशनी लाए।
Mantra 4
तुभ्यमुषासः शुचयः परावति भद्रा वस्त्रा तन्वते दंसु रश्मिषु चित्रा नव्येषु रश्मिषु । तुभ्यं धेनुः सबर्दुघा विश्वा वसूनि दोहते । अजनयो मरुतो वक्षणाभ्यो दिव आ वक्षणाभ्यः ॥
तुम्हारे लिए सवेरे की रोशनी आती है, दूर से। वो चमकदार कपड़े बना रही है, नई किरण में। तुम्हारे लिए गाय दूध देती है, सब कुछ देती है। तुमने मरुत देवताओं को पैदा किया, आसमान से।
Mantra 5
तुभ्यं शुक्रासः शुचयस्तुरण्यवो मदेषूग्रा इषणन्त भुर्वण्यपामिषन्त भुर्वणि । त्वां त्सारी दसमानो भगमीट्टे तक्ववीये । त्वं विश्वस्माद्भुवनात्पासि धर्मणासुर्यात्पासि धर्मणा ॥
तुम्हारे लिए चमकदार और साफ लोग तेज़ी से आते हैं। वो खुशी में मगन होके सब तरफ फैलते हैं, पानी भी उड़ा देते हैं। जो ढूंढता है वो दूसरे कदम पर तुम्हे भगवान मानता है। तुम सब दुनिया की हिफाज़त करते हो, अपने धरम से बुरी चीज़ों से बचाते हो।
Mantra 6
त्वं नो वायवेषामपूर्व्यः सोमानां प्रथमः पीतिमर्हसि सुतानां पीतिमर्हसि । उतो विहुत्मतीनां विशां ववर्जुषीणाम् । विश्वा इत्ते धेनवो दुह्र आशिरं घृतं दुह्रत आशिरम् ॥
वायु, तुम सबसे अलग हो। सोम पीने का पहला हक़ तुम्हारा है, जो रस निकाला है उसका पहला प्याला तुम्हारा है। जो लोग सही धरम पे चलते हैं, उनका भी तुम्हारे लिए कुछ है। सब गायें तुम्हे अच्छा दूध देती हैं, घी जैसा साफ और पवित्र।
Inside Sukta 134
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A direct summons: Vāyu is urged to come swiftly to the ‘first drinking’ of Soma, with truth and a knowing mind set upright.
- Development
The hymn expands Vāyu’s sphere—his arrival by yoked teams, his right to the earliest draught, and his power to set beings and energies into auspicious motion, yielding nourishment and abundance.
- Climax
Vāyu is celebrated as the unparalleled first Soma-drinker and as the force through which abundance ‘milks out’—a peak image of plenitude and clarified richness flowing from his domain.
- Where it settles
The praise resolves into a stable ritual assurance: Vāyu’s presence sanctifies the rite, and his gifts—nourishment, clarity, and right movement—are secured for the community.
The deity: Vāyu
- In the VedaHe is invoked as a power that moves through the worlds, bringing vitality, clarity, and the right motion of the rite, and is poetically linked with dawn-radiance and the Maruts’ emergence.
- Cosmic functionHe governs atmospheric movement and life-breath, mediating between heaven and earth; as a divine carrier, he hastens the offerings and awakens the energies that make the sacrifice effective.
- Inner significanceVāyu signifies prāṇa—regulated breath and inner movement—by which aspiration becomes steady, the mind becomes ‘knowing’ and upright, and truth-speaking (sūnṛtā) can follow the seeker’s intention.
The seer
- Gautama RāhūgaṇaGautama gotra (Āṅgirasa line) · A Gautama-family seer associated with early Vāyu/Soma invocations that emphasize Vāyu’s right to the first Soma-drink and his role as the swift carrier of sacred impulse.
Famous verses
pūrvapītaye somasya
तुभ्यमुषासः शुचयः परावति भद्रा वस्त्रा तन्वते दंसु रश्मिषु चित्रा नव्येषु रश्मिषु । तुभ्यं धेनुः सबर्दुघा विश्वा वसूनि दोहते । अजनयो मरुतो वक्षणाभ्यो दिव आ वक्षणाभ्यः ॥somānāṃ prathamaḥ pītim arhasi
Attributes of the deity
- Swift, impelling force (javas)
- First Soma-drinker (pūrvapā / pūrvapītaye)
- Yoked teams/chariot (niyutvat ratha)
- Life-giving breath and motion
- Bringer of clarity and right direction
- Linked with dawn’s radiance and Marut energy
Also by this seer
- Traditionally linked with adjacent Vāyu hymns in RV Mandala 1 (Gautama family cluster around the early Soma/Vāyu praises)
- Part of the broader Gautama seer tradition in the Rigveda noted for hymns on divine order, sacrifice, and luminous powers (Uṣas/Marut/Indra contexts)
The rite, step by step
- Preparation of the Soma-pressing space and seating of the priests (ṛtvij)
- Recitation invoking Vāyu’s swift arrival and entitlement to the first draught
- Offering of the first Soma-cup to Vāyu (often in tandem with Indra-Vāyu practice in Soma rites, though this sukta centers Vāyu)
- Praise of Vāyu’s life-giving action: dawn’s radiance, abundance, and energizing hosts (Maruts)
- Concluding petition for nourishment, clarified richness, and effective sacrificial giving (dāvana/makha)
Offerings
- Soma (first pressed draught)
- Ghee/clarified butter imagery and associated oblations
- Optional supporting offerings: milk/curds as Soma accompaniments in practice
Frequently Asked Questions
Because Vāyu is invoked to arrive first at the Soma-pressing and receive the earliest cup; this marks him as the swift opener of the rite and the one who sets the sacrifice in right motion.
Sūnṛtā is ‘true, well-ordered speech’ or ‘upright truth.’ The hymn asks that truthful clarity accompany Vāyu’s movement, so the ritual and the mind stay aligned with what is right.
Vāyu also symbolizes prāṇa (breath) and inner momentum. Reciting or reflecting on the hymn can be taken as a way to steady the mind, invite clarity, and awaken life-energy for disciplined action.
Ask anything about Sukta 134 of the Rig Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
