Sukta 164
Sukta 10.164
Traditionally attributed within RV 10.164 to an Atharvaṇic/Āṅgirasa milieu (exact rishi varies by tradition)
Triṣṭubh (probable; confirm by scan)
RV 10.164 is an apotropaic and expiatory hymn that turns the mind away from Nirṛti (decay, destruction, ill-luck) and reorients awareness toward life, breadth, and auspicious direction. It prays that faults committed in waking or sleep—through fear, curse, or misguided intention—be removed by purifying powers (notably Agni), sealing the rite with a protective transfer of evil intent away from the sacrificer.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
अपेहि मनसस्पतेऽप क्राम परश्चर । परो निॠत्या आ चक्ष्व बहुधा जीवतो मनः ॥
हे मन का मालिक, अब चला जा। दूर हो जा और आगे बढ़ जा। नष्ट वाली तरफ मत देख। जीते हुए इंसान का मन चारों तरफ फैल जाता है।
Mantra 2
भद्रं वै वरं वृणते भद्रं युञ्जन्ति दक्षिणम् । भद्रं वैवस्वते चक्षुर्बहुत्रा जीवतो मनः ॥
लोग अच्छा ही चुनते हैं। वो अच्छे काम में लग जाते हैं। सूर्य के द्वारा जो दृष्टि मिलती है वो बड़ी अच्छी है। जीते हुए इंसान का मन बहुत जगह खुश रहता है।
Mantra 3
यदाशसा निःशसाभिशसोपारिम जाग्रतो यत्स्वपन्तः । अग्निर्विश्वान्यप दुष्कृतान्यजुष्टान्यारे अस्मद्दधातु ॥
उम्मीद या निराशा से, या किसी बड़ी बात से, हमने जो किया है, चाहे जागे रहें या सोते रहें, अग्नि सब बुरी हरकतें दूर कर दे। जो भगवान को पसंद नहीं आए वो सब हमसे दूर हो।
Mantra 4
यदिन्द्र ब्रह्मणस्पतेऽभिद्रोहं चरामसि । प्रचेता न आङ्गिरसो द्विषतां पात्वंहसः ॥
इंद्र, जो शब्द के भी मालिक हैं, अगर हम किसी से बुरा करते हैं या तोड़ देते हैं, तो अंगिरा रिशि हमें दुश्मनों के पाप और तकलीफ से बचा लें।
Mantra 5
अजैष्माद्यासनाम चाभूमानागसो वयम् । जाग्रत्स्वप्नः संकल्पः पापो यं द्विष्मस्तं स ऋच्छतु यो नो द्वेष्टि तमृच्छतु ॥
आज हम जीत गए। हमने अपना मान लिया और अब हम बिना दोष के हैं। जागने या सपने में जो बुरा इरादा आता है, वो उसके पास चला जाए जिसे हम नहीं पसंद करते। और जिसे हम पसंद नहीं करते वो भी वही चला जाए।
Inside Sukta 164
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A direct imperative to Manas-pati: step away, go beyond—turn the gaze away from Nirṛti and let the living mind see broadly.
- Development
The hymn expands from inner redirection to moral-ritual cleansing: faults arising from hope/hopelessness, curse/counter-curse, waking/sleep are acknowledged and handed to purifying power (Agni) to be driven far away.
- Climax
The decisive expiatory petition: Agni is asked to remove all duṣkṛta and what the gods do not accept, severing the chain between the sacrificer and inauspicious residue.
- Where it settles
A sealing formula declares victory and faultlessness, then wards off evil intention born of waking and dream by sending it away from the sacrificer, closing the protective circuit.
The deity: Manas-pati, with counter-force to Nirṛti
- In the VedaNirṛti appears as the negating presence—misfortune, dissolution, and the pull toward inauspiciousness—against which the hymn explicitly turns the gaze.
- Cosmic functionTo restore right orientation (ṛta-aligned directionality) in thought and perception, and to avert forces of dissolution; Agni functions as the cosmic purifier who carries away what is “unacceptable” (ajuṣṭa) and misdeeds (duṣkṛta).
- Inner significanceA disciplined redirection of attention: withdrawing the mind from depressive, fatalistic, or obsessive currents (Nirṛti) and re-establishing clarity, moral hygiene, and life-affirming resolve across waking and dream states.
The seer
- Traditionally linked to an Atharvaṇic/Āṅgirasa seer-group (specific rishi varies by recension and later tradition)Āṅgirasa / Atharvaṇic milieu (traditional attribution; not uniformly fixed) · Association with protective and expiatory (śānti/prāyaścitta) formulae, especially those addressing mental affliction, ill-omens, and Nirṛti.
Famous verses
paro nirṛtyā ā cakṣva
agniḥ ... apa duṣkṛtāni ... āre asmad dadhātu
jāgratsvapnaḥ saṃkalpaḥ
Attributes of the deity
- Mind-governance and reorientation
- Averting Nirṛti (ill-luck, decay, destruction)
- Purification of fault (doṣa) and misdeed (duṣkṛta)
- Protection across waking and sleep
- Ritual sealing through a final warding formula
Also by this seer
- Late Rigvedic strata (Mandala 10) hymns with apotropaic and healing tendencies (general Atharvaṇic coloring)
- Themes shared with Atharvaveda-style remedies: removal of curse (abhiśāpa), fear, and dream-born impurity
The rite, step by step
- Ācamana and sankalpa for śānti: naming the affliction (fear, curse, bad dream, inauspicious signs) and seeking aversion of Nirṛti.
- Recite RV 10.164.1 to command the mind’s withdrawal from destructive fixation and to establish “wide-seeing” life-oriented awareness.
- Recite the central expiatory verse(s) (e.g., RV 10.164.3) while kindling/approaching Agni, asking that all duṣkṛta and ajuṣṭa be set far away.
- Optional: silent japa focusing on breath and mental steadiness, linking ‘jāgrat–svapna’ (waking–dream) continuity to purification.
- Recite the sealing verse (RV 10.164.5) as a protective closure, followed by śānti-pāṭha or a concluding oblation to Agni.
Offerings
- Ghṛta (ghee) oblations to Agni
- Samidh (fuel sticks) and simple havis (e.g., rice/ajyabhāga as customary)
- Water for ācamana and sprinkling (prokṣaṇa) as a cooling/cleansing adjunct
Frequently Asked Questions
Manas-pati means “Lord of the mind.” In this hymn he is invoked to pull the mind away from destructive, inauspicious fixation (Nirṛti) and to restore clear, life-oriented perception.
It treats both states as sources of impurity or error—bad intentions, fear, or curse-effects can arise in waking or in dreams. The hymn asks that all such faults be purified and driven far away.
Its main intent is protection and expiation for the reciter. The final verse uses a warding formula—sending “evil intention” away from oneself—typical of apotropaic ritual language rather than a general ethic of aggression.
Ask anything about Sukta 164 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.
