Vishnu Sukta Sukta 154
Sukta 1.154
Dīrghatamas Āucathya (traditional for RV 1.154)
Triṣṭubh
This hymn proclaims Viṣṇu’s heroic “wide strides,” by which he measures out the earthly spaces, stabilizes the highest station, and upholds heaven and earth as a threefold foundation. It culminates in the vision of Viṣṇu’s “supreme step” (paramaṃ padam), a radiant, sought-for dwelling where the luminous “cows” (rays/insights) move unwearied, inviting the worshipper toward that highest light.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
विष्णोर्नु कं वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यः पार्थिवानि विममे रजांसि । यो अस्कभायदुत्तरं सधस्थं विचक्रमाणस्त्रेधोरुगायः ॥
मैं विष्णु की ताकत के बारे में बताता हूँ। उन्होंने ज़मीन को नाप कर दिया है। उन्होंने ऊपर वाली जगह को पकड़ कर खड़ा किया। वो तीन क़दम में सारी दुनिया को चल के ठीक किया। लोग उनकी बहुत तारीफ़ करते हैं।
Mantra 2
प्र तद्विष्णुः स्तवते वीर्येण मृगो न भीमः कुचरो गिरिष्ठाः । यस्योरुषु त्रिषु विक्रमणेष्वधिक्षियन्ति भुवनानि विश्वा ॥
इसलिए विष्णु की ताकत की पूजा होती है। वो बिल्कुल शेर जैसा है जो पहाड़ पर रहता है। उनके तीन बड़े क़दम में सारी दुनिया बस जाती है। वो इतने बड़े हैं कि सब उनमें समा जाते हैं।
Mantra 3
प्र विष्णवे शूषमेतु मन्म गिरिक्षित उरुगायाय वृष्णे । य इदं दीर्घं प्रयतं सधस्थमेको विममे त्रिभिरित्पदेभिः ॥
हमारी सोच विष्णु की तरफ जानी चाहिए। वो पहाड़ पर रहते हैं और बहुत बड़े हैं। उन्होंने सिर्फ़ तीन क़दम में पूरा आसमान और ज़मीन नाप लिया। वो अकेले ही यह काम कर सकते हैं।
Mantra 4
यस्य त्री पूर्णा मधुना पदान्यक्षीयमाणा स्वधया मदन्ति । य उ त्रिधातु पृथिवीमुत द्यामेको दाधार भुवनानि विश्वा ॥
विष्णु के तीन क़दम में शकर भरा है। वो कभी खत्म नहीं होता। उन्होंने ज़मीन और आसमान को पकड़ के रखा है। वो अकेले ही सारी दुनिया को उठा के चल रहे हैं।
Mantra 5
तदस्य प्रियमभि पाथो अश्यां नरो यत्र देवयवो मदन्ति । उरुक्रमस्य स हि बन्धुरित्था विष्णोः पदे परमे मध्व उत्सः ॥
हम भी उस रास्ते पर पहुँचें जहाँ भगवान के प्यारे लोग खुश रहते हैं। विष्णु के सबसे बड़े क़दम में शकर का पानी है। यह उनका असली घर है जहाँ सब खुश हैं।
Mantra 6
ता वां वास्तून्युश्मसि गमध्यै यत्र गावो भूरिशृङ्गा अयासः । अत्राह तदुरुगायस्य वृष्णः परमं पदमव भाति भूरि ॥
हम दोनों के लिए दुआ करते हैं कि हम उस जगह पहुँच जाएँ। वहाँ गायें हैं, उनके बहुत से सींग हैं, वो थकते नहीं हैं। वहाँ एक बड़ा पद चम्मकता है। वो पद विष्णु का है, जो बड़े कदम उठाता है।
Inside Sukta 154
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
The poet announces he will declare Viṣṇu’s vīrya—his mighty deeds in measuring the realms and stabilizing the highest station.
- Development
The hymn unfolds Viṣṇu’s cosmic action through the motif of the three strides: establishing the threefold order and bearing all worlds as a single sustaining power.
- Climax
The vision of the three steps ‘filled with honey’ and the shining disclosure of the paramaṃ padam—Viṣṇu’s supreme step—radiant and inexhaustible.
- Where it settles
The worshipper’s longing turns devotional and aspirational: to reach those luminous dwelling-places where the ‘cows’ (rays/insights) roam unwearied, resting in the highest light.
The deity: Viṣṇu
- In the VedaHis three steps are described as filled with sweetness (madhu) and as the highest, shining realm that seers seek.
- Cosmic functionTo order and expand cosmic space, establish the threefold world, and reveal the highest luminous station (the “supreme step”) that supports and orients all realms.
- Inner significanceThe power of consciousness to ‘take the three strides’—from ordinary perception to widening vision and finally to the supreme standpoint of clarity; the ascent from limited mind to the highest light and truth.
The seer
- Dīrghatamas ĀucathyaĀucathya (descendant of Ucathya; often linked with the Aṅgiras/Bhṛgu-Āṅgirasa seer line in later tradition) · A famed ṛṣi of profound, symbolic vision and “long darkness/long sight,” associated with enigmatic cosmological imagery and the inner meaning of Vedic speech (vāc).
Famous verses
viṣṇor nu kaṃ vīryāṇi pra vocam
yasya trī pūrṇā madhunā padāni
paramaṃ padam
Attributes of the deity
- Wide-striding (urukrama)
- Measurer of realms (vimame rajāṃsi)
- Upholder of the higher station (uttaraṃ sadhastham)
- Three steps/threefold foundation (tridhātu)
- Associated with honey/sweetness (madhu) and radiance
- Revealer of the supreme step (paramaṃ padam)
Also by this seer
- Rig Veda 1.140–1.164 (traditional attribution, including the celebrated riddle-hymn 1.164)
- Themes of cosmic order (ṛta), the sun’s course, and the mystery of speech found across the Dīrghatamas corpus
The rite, step by step
- Prepare the altar and kindle Agni; establish ritual boundaries as ‘measured space.’
- Invoke Viṣṇu with praise of his vīrya (heroic powers) and his world-measuring strides.
- Offer oblations while contemplating the three steps as earth–midspace–heaven (or three stations of light).
- Conclude with a meditative aspiration toward Viṣṇu’s paramaṃ padam, seeking guidance and protection for the sacrificer.
- Optional: integrate with Indra–Viṣṇu world-conquest framing in related rites, while keeping Viṣṇu as the hymn’s focus.
Offerings
- Ghee (ājya) into Agni
- Soma libations (where Soma ritual is performed)
- Grain cakes/oblations (puroḍāśa) in ancillary offerings
Frequently Asked Questions
It praises Viṣṇu as the wide-strider who measures and orders the worlds through his three strides, and it points to his highest, radiant “supreme step” (paramaṃ padam).
They describe Viṣṇu establishing the threefold cosmic order—often understood as earth, midspace, and heaven—and also symbolize an ascent to a highest station of light and truth.
“Paramaṃ padam” means Viṣṇu’s supreme step or highest place. The hymn treats it as a shining, sought-after realm—an image of the ultimate luminous goal for seers and worshippers.
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