Sukta 145
Sukta 10.145
This short hymn is a practical oṣadhi-sūkta: a charm that invokes a potent plant-power to remove a “sapatnī” (rival/obstructing presence) and to restore attraction, harmony, and rightful union. The speaker ritually “digs up” and applies the herb as a compelling, victory-giving force so that the desired person’s mind turns and runs back—like a cow to her calf—while the rival is sent far away.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
इमां खनाम्योषधिं वीरुधं बलवत्तमाम् । यया सपत्नीं बाधते यया संविन्दते पतिम् ॥
मैं यह जड़ी-बूटी निकाल रहा हूँ। यह बहुत ताकतवर है। इस्से दूसरी औरत को हराया जा सकता है। इस्से पति फिर से मिलता है।
Mantra 2
उत्तानपर्णे सुभगे देवजूते सहस्वति । सपत्नीं मे परा धम पतिं मे केवलं कुरु ॥
हे पौधे, तुम भगवान की शक्ति हो। तुम्हारा काम है राइवल को भगा देना। मेरा पति सिर्फ मेरा हो, किसी और का नहीं।
Mantra 3
उत्तराहमुत्तर उत्तरेदुत्तराभ्यः । अथा सपत्नी या ममाधरा साधराभ्यः ॥
मैं सबसे ऊपर उठता हूँ। बाकी सब लोग नीचे रहते हैं। जो राइवल है, वो और भी नीचे चला जाता है।
Mantra 4
नह्यस्या नाम गृभ्णामि नो अस्मिन्रमते जने । परामेव परावतं सपत्नीं गमयामसि ॥
मैं उसका नाम भी नहीं लेता। वो लोगों में रहकर भी खुश नहीं है। हम उसे बहुत दूर भेज देते हैं।
Mantra 5
अहमस्मि सहमानाथ त्वमसि सासहिः । उभे सहस्वती भूत्वी सपत्नीं मे सहावहै ॥
मैं ताकत से जीता हूँ और तुम भी जीते हो। दोनों मिलके बहुत स्ट्रांग हो जाते हैं। फिर साथ में राइवल को हरा देते हैं।
Mantra 6
उप तेऽधां सहमानामभि त्वाधां सहीयसा । मामनु प्र ते मनो वत्सं गौरिव धावतु पथा वारिव धावतु ॥
मैं तुम पर इतनी ताकत डाल देता हूँ कि तुम हार मान जाओ। और इससे भी बड़ी ताकत से मैं तुमपे दबाव डालता हूँ। तुम्हारा मन मेरे पीछे भागे जैसे गाय अपने बछड़े के पीछे भागती है। जैसे पानी अपना रास्ता बनाके भागता है, वैसे ही तुम्हारा मन मेरे तरफ आए।
Inside Sukta 145
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
The hymn opens with the decisive ritual act: the speaker digs up a ‘most potent’ plant-power to overcome the rival and recover the true partner/bond (10.145.1).
- Development
The herb is treated as an active force that both repels division and reorders social/psychic dynamics—rivalry is denied standing and pushed out of the community.
- Climax
The peak is the compelling image of redirected mind: “may your mind run after me like a cow to her calf, like waters in their channel” (10.145.6).
- Where it settles
The rite resolves by banishing the rival ‘far beyond’ and stabilizing the intended union/return, leaving the community free from the disruptive presence (cf. 10.145.4).
The deity: Oṣadhi
- Cosmic functionThey mediate between earth and life: drawing nourishment, restoring wholeness, and serving as tangible vehicles for mantra to effect change in body, mind, and social order.
- Inner significanceThe herb symbolizes concentrated will and restorative prāṇa: the capacity to remove intrusive patterns (rivalry, division) and re-align desire and attention toward rightful relationship and inner integration.
The seer
- AnāmāThis sukta is transmitted without a named rishi; such late-maṇḍala hymns often preserve applied ritual speech (mantra for healing/compulsion) where the efficacy of the formula is foregrounded over authorial identity.
Famous verses
इमां खनाम्योषधिं वीरुधं बलवत्तमाम् । यया सपत्नीं बाधते यया संविन्दते पतिम् ॥parām eva parāvataṃ
vatsaṃ gaur iva dhāvatu
Attributes of the deity
- Earth-born potency (khanāmi—dug up, rooted power)
- Balavat-tamā—‘most forceful’ efficacy
- Protective and expulsive (drives away the rival/obstruction)
- Compelling/attractive (turns the mind to return)
- Practical mantra-vehicle (used in applied rites rather than praise-only hymnody)
Also by this seer
- Attributed as ‘unknown’ in the Anukramaṇī tradition for RV 10.145; no secure additional hymns can be assigned to a specific named rishi on internal evidence.
The rite, step by step
- Select the intended oṣadhi (a vigorous vīrudh) and ritually ‘dig it up’ while reciting RV 10.145.1 to establish its potency.
- Consecrate the herb with spoken intention: it is the force by which the rival influence is overcome and the desired bond is restored.
- Symbolically ‘send away’ the rival/obstructing presence with the expulsive verses (e.g., RV 10.145.4), directing it ‘to the far distance’.
- Apply or carry the herb as an amulet/charge (touching, binding, or placing near the person/threshold), reciting the compelling formula (e.g., RV 10.145.6) so the mind ‘runs after’ the speaker.
- Conclude by reaffirming separation from the rival and establishment of concord in the household/community. (Exact handling varies by later prayoga.)
Offerings
- The oṣadhi itself (as the primary ‘offering’/instrument)
- Water for sprinkling/cleansing (common in herb rites)
- Optional: ghee into the domestic fire if integrated into a gṛhya-style setting
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a short Vedic charm that uses a powerful herb (oṣadhi) to remove a rival or obstructing influence and to bring back harmony and attraction in a relationship or household.
The main invoked power is Oṣadhi, the living force of medicinal/efficacious plants. The hymn treats the herb itself as a divine instrument through which mantra works.
It is a poetic way to say that attention and affection should naturally return—swiftly and directly—just as a cow runs to her calf and water runs in its channel.
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