Sukta 155
Sukta 10.155
This short apotropaic hymn is a forceful expulsion of Arāyi—privation, hostile want, and misfortune—commanded to depart to remote, uninhabited places (mountain, far bank of a river). It invokes the auxiliary power Śirimbiṭha as a driving, smiting force to push the affliction away, and it ends with a confident protective affirmation around Agni and the “cow/light,” declaring the protected circle unassailable.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
अरायि काणे विकटे गिरिं गच्छ सदान्वे । शिरिम्बिठस्य सत्वभिस्तेभिष्ट्वा चातयामसि ॥
हे दुश्मनी और कमिया, तुम अंधे हो, तुम्हारा रूग बिगड़ा है। पहाड़ की तरफ जाओ, तुम हमेशा पास रहते हो। शिरिम्बिथ की शक्ति से हम तुम्हे मारते हैं और तुम्हे हमसे दूर भगाते हैं।
Mantra 2
चत्तो इतश्चत्तामुतः सर्वा भ्रूणान्यारुषी । अराय्यं ब्रह्मणस्पते तीक्ष्णशृण्गोदृषन्निहि ॥
यहाँ से भाग जाओ, वहाँ से भाग जाओ, ऐसे ही सारे बुराई के विचार बिखेर जाओ। ब्रह्मणस्पति, तुम इस कमी को मार डालो। तुम्हारा सींग तीखा है, तुम्हारी नज़र तीखी है।
Mantra 3
अदो यद्दारु प्लवते सिन्धोः पारे अपूरुषम् । तदा रभस्व दुर्हणो तेन गच्छ परस्तरम् ॥
वो लकड़ी देखो जो नदी के उस पार तैर रही है, किसी आदमी ने उसको छुआ नही। उसे पकड़ लो, तुम्हे मारना मुश्किल है। उस पकड़ के तुम उस पार चले जाओ।
Mantra 4
यद्ध प्राचीरजगन्तोरो मण्डूरधाणिकीः । हता इन्द्रस्य शत्रवः सर्वे बुद्बुदयाशवः ॥
जब वो ताकत आगे बढ़ कर अंदर घुसी, तो इंद्र के दुश्मन मरे गए। वो दुश्मन जैसे पानी के बुलबुले थे, झूठी ताकत, झूठी चमक।
Mantra 5
परीमे गामनेषत पर्यग्निमहृषत । देवेष्वक्रत श्रवः क इमाँ आ दधर्षति ॥
यह लोग उस रोशनी को घेर के ले गए जैसे गाय को चलाया जाता है। अग्नि को भी घेर के खुश किया। देवियों में उनकी बड़ाई हो गई है। अब कौन इनपे हाथ उठा सकता है?
Inside Sukta 155
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Direct confrontation: Arāyi is named, shamed (blind, misshapen), and ordered to leave for the mountain.
- Development
The hymn intensifies the banishment through Śirimbiṭha’s driving powers and through liminal ‘sending-away’ imagery (river, far shore, untouched floating log).
- Climax
The decisive dispatch beyond boundaries—commanding the affliction to cross over and be removed from human reach.
- Where it settles
A protective seal: the circle around Agni and the inner ‘cow/light’ is affirmed as victorious and unassailable.
The deity: Arāyi as the expelled adversary
- Cosmic functionTo restore ṛta in the human sphere by removing the anti-order of scarcity and ill-luck, re-establishing safe boundaries (a protected enclosure) and securing prosperity and social well-being around the sacrificial fire.
- Inner significanceA psychological banishment of anxiety, lack-consciousness, and intrusive negativity: the mind draws a firm boundary, disidentifies from privation, and re-centers on Agni (clarity, will, inner heat) and the ‘cow/light’ (nourishment, insight).
The seer
- Anonymously transmitted (Khila/late Rigvedic tradition)Representative of the late Rigvedic apotropaic style: concise command-form mantras used to repel poverty, evil influence, and inauspiciousness rather than praise a single major deity.
Famous verses
arāyi kāṇe vikaṭe giriṃ gaccha
अदो यद्दारु प्लवते सिन्धोः पारे अपूरुषम् । तदा रभस्व दुर्हणो तेन गच्छ परस्तरम् ॥ka imām̐ ā dadharṣati
Attributes of the deity
- Apotropaic command and banishment
- Boundary-making and protection
- Use of liminal imagery (mountain, far shore, floating log)
- Invocation of auxiliary power (Śirimbiṭha) to ‘drive off’ harm
- Re-centering on Agni as a secure inner and ritual focus
Also by this seer
- Several late Mandala 10 hymns are similarly anonymous in the Anukramaṇī tradition, especially brief charms and expulsion hymns (rakṣohā/apotropaic).
The rite, step by step
- Prepare the fire or household hearth; establish a clean, bounded space (sprinkling/mental boundary).
- Recite the opening expulsion mantra(s) addressing Arāyi directly, commanding departure to remote places.
- Invoke Śirimbiṭha’s ‘satva’ as the compelling force that pushes the affliction away; repeat as needed for emphasis.
- Use the crossing/river imagery as a ‘sending-away’ act—symbolically dispatching the negativity beyond the far bank.
- Conclude with the protective affirmation around Agni and the ‘cow/light,’ sealing the boundary and confidence of safety.
Offerings
- Ghee (ājya) into Agni
- Simple oblations appropriate to a protective rite (milk/curds or grains)
- Water sprinkling (prokṣaṇa) as a boundary-marker (optional, traditional in protective contexts)
Frequently Asked Questions
Arāyi is not a beneficent deity here but the personified force of privation—poverty, lack, and hostile misfortune—addressed directly and commanded to leave.
Mountains and the far shore are symbolic “outside” zones. Sending Arāyi there means pushing misfortune beyond the community’s boundary, out of reach and influence.
Śirimbiṭha is invoked as an auxiliary power whose ‘satva’ (driving forces) can smite and propel the affliction away, strengthening the expulsion and making it effective.
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