Rig Veda 10.155.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 155, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.155
- Devata
- Brahmaṇaspati
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism)
चत्तो इतश्चत्तामुतः सर्वा भ्रूणान्यारुषी । अराय्यं ब्रह्मणस्पते तीक्ष्णशृण्गोदृषन्निहि ॥
cattó itáś cattā́m utáḥ sárvā bhrūṇā́ny āruṣī́ | arāyyáṃ brahmaṇas pate tīkṣṇaśṛṅgodṛṣán níhi ||
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।
Word by Word
- चत्तः
- fallen down, cast downAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (PPP in -त, used predicatively)Role Kartā (as predicate of an implied subject) / descriptiveRoot चद् (√चद्/छद् ‘to fall/decay’; here as past passive participle)
- इतश्
- from hereIndeclinableअव्यय (ablatival adverb)Role Apādāna (source: ‘from here’)Root इतः (इदम्-प्रातिपदिक; ablatival adverb)
- चत्ताम्
- fallen downAdjective/Participleस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (PPP in -त)Role Kartā (as predicate of an implied feminine subject) / descriptiveRoot चद् (√चद्/छद् ‘to fall/decay’; PPP)
- उत
- and, alsoIndeclinableअव्यय (conj./emphatic particle)Root उत
- सर्वाः
- allAdjective (pronominal)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (subject of an implied verb/nominal sentence)Root सर्व (sarva)
- भ्रूणानि
- embryos, foetusesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole Kartā (with ‘सर्वाः’ as collective subject) / or Karma depending on construalRoot भ्रूण (bhrūṇa)
- आरुषी
- the ruddy one; reddish (female)Adjective/Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (as epithet; Vedic usage)Role Kartā (as apposition/epithet) / descriptiveRoot आरुषी (āruṣī)
- अराय़्यम्
- hostile, harmful (thing/force)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (object to be struck/repelled)Root अराय़्य (arāyya) < अराति/अराय (enemy, harm) + -य्य
- ब्रह्मणस्पते
- O Lord of sacred speech (Bṛhaspati)Noun (vocative, deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole Sampradāna/Address (invoked deity)Root ब्रह्मणस्-पति (brahmaṇas-pati)
- तीक्ष्णशृङ्गः
- sharp-hornedAdjective (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (epithet of the addressed deity)Root तीक्ष्ण-शृङ्ग (tīkṣṇa-śṛṅga)
- दृशन्
- seeing, beholdingParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वर्तमान कृदन्त)Role Kartā (epithet: ‘seeing’)Root दृश् (√दृश् ‘to see’) → present participle
- निहि
- put down, lay (it) downVerbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; नि-धाः/निधेहि type → ‘निहि’ (Vedic)Role Kriyā (main verb)Root धा (√धा ‘to put, place’) with नि-; Vedic imperative form
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): चत्तो → चत्तः (visarga before vowel lost in saṃhitā)
- इतश्चत्ताम् → इतः + चत्ताम् (ś + c sandhi; underlying visarga/ḥ restored as इतः)
- उतः → उत (particle) + (saṃhitā visarga before pause)
- भ्रूणान्या॒रुषी → भ्रूणानि + आरुषी (i + ā sandhi → yā)
- ब्रह्मणस्पते तीक्ष्णशृण्गोदृशन् → ब्रह्मणस्पते + तीक्ष्णशृङ्गः + दृशन् (ḥ + d sandhi gives -o- in saṃhitā: शृङ्गो + दृशन्)
- दृशन्निहि → दृशन् + निहि (n+n assimilation in saṃhitā). Accents retained as in saṃhitā
- pada-forms shown without explicit accent marks except where inherent in the given text
The meaning
Outer meaning
A formula of scattering: ‘Driven away from here, driven away from there’—may the red broodings be dispersed. Brahmaṇaspati is invoked as sharp-horned, keen-sighted to descend and strike Arāyi.
Inner meaning
The ‘red broodings’ are agitated, feverish formations—restless anxieties, impulsive cravings, and irritant thought-swarms that incubate misfortune. Brahmaṇaspati, lord of the inner Word and right formulation, is called to bring incisive discrimination (sharp horn) and luminous perception (keen sight) to pierce and break these formations, removing the root-pattern of privation.
Universal truth
Right speech and right thought (the true Word) are not passive—they are powers that can cut through mental contagions. When the inner Logos descends, distorted formations scatter and the being regains coherence.
Themes
protective mantra, word-force, purification by expulsion
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.155.1, Rig Veda 10.155.3, Rig Veda 10.155.4, Rig Veda 10.155.5
Significance
The seer here is the awakened mental being invoking Brahmaṇaspati—the archetypal power of the Word—to cleanse subtle seeds of disturbance before they mature.
The deity
- Devata
- Brahmaṇaspati
- Epithets
- Bṛhaspati-like lord of the Word, tīkṣṇaśṛṅga (sharp-horned), keen-sighted (dṛśan)
- Related deities
- Agni (priest-fire), Indra (illumined mind), Sarasvatī (inspired flow of word)
Cosmic role
Priest and power of the formative Word that establishes order, breaks hostile formations, and leads the inner sacrifice through right articulation.
Inner power
Mantric intelligence—clear naming, right thought-formation, and decisive speech that dissolves subconscious seeds.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protection/expulsion; warding off misfortune and hostile influences
च॒त्तो इ॒तश्च॒त्तामुत॒: सर्वा॑ भ्रू॒णान्या॒रुषी॑ । अ॒रा॒य्यं॑ ब्रह्मणस्पते॒ तीक्ष्ण॑शृण्गोदृ॒षन्नि॑हि ॥
च॒त्तो इति॑ । इ॒तः । च॒त्ता । अ॒मुतः॑ । सर्वा॑ । भ्रू॒णानि॑ । आ॒रुषी॑ । अ॒रा॒य्य॑म् । ब्र॒ह्म॒णः॒ । प॒ते॒ । तीक्ष्ण॑ऽशृङ्ग । उ॒त्ऽऋ॒षन् । इ॒हि॒ ॥
catto iti | itaḥ | cattā | amutaḥ | sarvā | bhrūṇānyi | āruṣī | arāyyam | brahmaṇaḥ | pate | tīkṣṇa-śṛṅga | ut-ṛṣan | ihi
Two half-verses with strong imperative refrains.
Incantatory, with a driving refrain effect (‘catto…catto…’).
Produces a scattering/clearing sensation—like breaking up a swarm of thoughts.
- चत्तो (catto)
- Literal: driven away! (imperative/exclamatory). Symbolic: act of rejection; psychic command that breaks obsessive recurrence
- भ्रूणानि (bhrūṇāni)
- Literal: embryos, broodings. Symbolic: incipient formations in the subconscient/inner vital that are not yet full events but seed tendencies
- आरुषी (āruṣī)
- Literal: reddish, ruddy. Symbolic: rajasic heat—agitation, anger, feverish desire
- ब्रह्मणस्पति (brahmaṇaspati)
- Literal: lord of brahman (sacred word/prayer). Symbolic: master of right thought-form and mantric power that orders consciousness
- तीक्ष्णशृङ्ग (tīkṣṇa-śṛṅga)
- Literal: sharp-horned. Symbolic: penetrating discrimination; power to pierce coverings
- दृशन्/उतृषन् (dṛśan/ut-ṛṣan)
- Literal: keen-sighted / rising up, setting down (textual nuance). Symbolic: luminous vigilance descending into the lower field to act
Apotropaic rite: use of performative cries and invocation of Brahmaṇaspati to pierce and cast out hostile formations.
At onset of anxiety, feverish agitation, bad dreams, or persistent ‘seed thoughts’ of failure.
Recited as a dismissal formula; can be paired with conscious ‘casting out’ gesture and re-centering in breath.
Use as a cognitive-mantric reset: repeat to interrupt spirals and re-establish right inner speech.
/: onomatopoetic/ritual expulsion cry; functions performatively. : ‘embryo, germ’ from √bhṛ/related formation; here ‘germs’ of misfortune. : from aruṣa ‘ruddy’ (often fire/redness). : brahman ‘formulation/word-power’ + pati ‘lord’. : from √tij/tīkṣ ‘sharp’. : horn. : ut- + √ṛṣ ‘to rise, spring’.
brahman (word-power as ordering consciousness), removal of hostile samskāras (bhrūṇa as germ-formations)
Brahmaṇaspati restores rita by correcting and dispersing false formations.
Keen sight that recognizes seeds before they become fate.
Formation by the Word; de-formation of hostile embryos.
Mantra-vidyā orientation; anticipates Upanishadic emphasis on vāṅ-manas discipline.
Horn = piercing force of discrimination; red = rajasic excitation; scattering = pranic release and mental clearing.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Ritual expulsion by Word-lord: Brahmaṇaspati as the piercer who casts down privation and its ‘broods’. Innerly, it is the use of right formulation (brahman) to break nascent negative formations before they mature.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pati ‘lord’ is PIE *pótis (cf. Greek pósis). The performative cry (cattā) resembles widespread IE charm diction where sound-symbolic imperatives enact the banishment.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi calls Brahmaṇaspati not for distant grace but for immediate operative action—‘rise up’ and ‘strike’. The reciprocity is precision of utterance → effective protection.
Bring attention to ‘seed-thoughts’ (bhrūṇa) and dissolve them with precise inner naming and refusal.
Vishuddha (word/clarity)
4-4 rhythm: inhale to gather, chant on exhale; brief pause after ‘catto’ to feel the scattering.
Focused clarity (dhāraṇā) with vigilant discernment.
Chant 12 times, then sit 2 minutes watching the mind; whenever a ‘red’ agitation arises, invoke ‘tīkṣṇaśṛṅga’ as a beam of insight cutting the knot.
Mixed Vedic accents as marked; keep the refrain-like ‘catto’ crisp and elevated where accented.
Strike ‘catto’ with clear onset; soften into ‘sarvā bhrūṇāni’ then intensify again at ‘tīkṣṇaśṛṅga’.
: double ‘tt’ with dental stop, /: clear visarga ḥ at ends, : long ū; retroflex ṇ, : maintain ‘sp’ cluster, : kṣṇ cluster—tiik-ṣṇ-a
Bright, incisive, mantra-like; avoid heaviness.
12
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