Rig Veda 10.87.17: Mandala 10, Sukta 87, Mantra 17
Sukta 10.87
- Rishi
- Kavya Uśanas
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
संवत्सरीणं पय उस्रियायास्तस्य माशीद्यातुधानो नृचक्षः । पीयूषमग्ने यतमस्तितृप्सात्तं प्रत्यञ्चमर्चिषा विध्य मर्मन् ॥
saṃvatsarī́ṇaṃ páya usríyāyās tásya mā́ aśīd yātudhā́no nṛcákṣaḥ | pīyū́ṣam agne yatamáḥ titṛ́psāt táṃ pratyañcám arcíṣā vidhya márman ||
साल भर जमा हुआ दूध है, जैसे कोई चमकता हुआ गाय का। अग्नि, तुम इंसान की जान देख सकते हो। कोई बुरा इंसान इस दूध को न चख पाए। जो कोई भी अमृत पीना चाहता है, उसको तुम अपनी आग से मारो। उसकी जान में आग लगा दो।
Word by Word
- संवत्सरीणम्
- yearly, of a yearAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (पयः का विशेषण)Root संवत्सरीण- (प्रातिपदिक; संवत्सर- से व्युत्पन्न) अथवा संवत्सर-सम्बद्ध विशेषण
- पयः
- milk; sapNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पयस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- उस्रियायाः
- of the milch-cowNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (पयः का)Root उस्रिया- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘दुग्धवती गौः’)
- तस्य
- of him/itPronounपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- माशी
- in the monthNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वेदिक रूप: मासी/माशी)Role अधिकरण (काल)Root मास- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इद्यात्
- should go/comeVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot इ (धातु; ‘गच्छति/एति’)
- यातुधानः
- the Yātudhāna (demon)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यातुधान- (प्रातिपदिक)
- नृचक्षः
- man-eyed; watching menNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (यातुधानः का विशेषण)Root नृचक्षस्- (प्रातिपदिक; नृ + चक्षस् ‘मानव-दृष्टि/मानव-नेत्र’)
- पीयूषम्
- sweet drink; nectarNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पीयूष- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यतमः
- most controlling/most restraining (epithet)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (अग्नेः विशेषण)Role सम्बोधन-विशेषणRoot यतम- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अत्यन्त/अधिकतम’)
- तितृप्सात्
- may he desire to satiate; may he seek to drink his fillVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot तृप् (धातु; ‘तर्पणे/तृप्तौ’) + सन् (desiderative) → तितृप्स-
- तम्
- himPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रत्यञ्चम्
- turned toward (you); facingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (तम् का विशेषण)Role कर्म-विशेषणRoot प्रत्यञ्च- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘प्रति-अञ्च्’ = facing toward)
- अर्चिषा
- with flame, with radianceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot अर्चिस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विध्य
- pierce! strike!Verbलोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot व्यध्/विध् (धातु; ‘वेधने/भेदने’)
- मर्मन्
- in the vital spot; at the joint/marrow-pointNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरण (देश)Root मर्मन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-विग्रह): संवत्सरीणं पयः उस्रियायाः । तस्य माशी इद्यात् यातुधानः नृचक्षः । पीयूषम् अग्ने यतमः तितृप्सात् । तम् प्रत्यञ्चम् अर्चिषा विध्य मर्मन् ॥ 1) माशी = वेदिक सप्तमी ‘मासि’ का रूप (श्-आदेश). 2) इद्यात् = √इ (एति) का विधिलिङ् 3sg
- ‘इद्यात्’ वेदिक रूप. 3) तितृप्सात् = √तृप् का सन्-प्रत्यय (desiderative) ‘तितृप्स-’ + विधिलिङ् 3sg. 4) प्रत्यञ्चम् = प्रति + अञ्च् (प्रत्यञ्च-), ‘तम्’ का विशेषण. 5) अर्चिषा = अर्चिस् तृतीया एकवचन, करण
The meaning
Outer meaning
The ‘year-long milk’ of the shining cow is protected from the yātudhāna (harmful being). Agni is asked to pierce with flame the one who tries to drink the immortal sap (pīyūṣa) while turning back against us.
Inner meaning
The ‘shining Cow’ is the luminous consciousness (rays of knowledge) that yields a steady nourishment through the full cycle of inner time (‘year-long’). The yātudhāna is the perverting force in the subconscient-vital that tries to appropriate higher delight/knowledge for egoistic enjoyment. Agni (divine Will and purifier) must prevent that mixture: the seeker who approaches the nectar with a hostile recoil (pratyañc) is to be struck at the ‘marman’—the vulnerable vital knot—so the perversion is cut at its root.
Universal truth
Higher knowledge and bliss must be safeguarded from egoic appropriation. Spiritual power (fire of discernment) protects the inner sacrifice by exposing and burning the vital falsehood at its sensitive center.
Themes
Guarding inner nourishment, Recoil of hostile forces, Precision strike (marman)
The seer
- Rishi
- Kavya Uśanas (Uśanā Kāvya)
- Lineage
- Kāvya (Bhṛgu-line association in later tradition)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.87 (traditional attribution to Uśanas for much of the hymn)
Family tradition
Uśanas is remembered as a seer-poet with mastery of mantra-power and a sharp discernment between divine and demonic movements; in inner reading, he embodies the discriminating intelligence that protects the yajña from perversion.
Significance
Represents the seer-force that detects subtle hostile appropriation of spiritual light and calls Agni to purify the vital nature so the nectar can be held without distortion.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- nṛcákṣas (soul-seeing), arcisvat (flame-bearing, implied), pāvaka (purifier, implied)
- Related deities
- Soma (pīyūṣa as bliss-essence), Aditi (wide truth-consciousness, background of protection), Indra (illumined mind that supports Agni’s victory, thematic)
Cosmic role
Priest of the sacrifice, mediator between human and divine; guardian who burns hostile forces and establishes right order in the offering.
Inner power
The awakened will and discernment that protects aspiration, separates true delight from vital craving, and strikes falsehood at its vulnerable center.
In ritual
Where it is used
Rakṣohāna/Apotropaic use within soma-sacrifice or protective recitations around the altar (general anti-rakṣas frame of RV 10.87).
सं॒व॒त্স॒रीणं॒ पय॑ उ॒स्रिया॑या॒स्तस्य॒ माशी॑द्यातु॒धानो॑ नृचक्षः । पी॒यूष॑मग्ने यत॒मस्तितृ॑प्सा॒त्तं प्र॒त्यञ्च॑म॒र्चिषा॑ विध्य॒ मर्म॑न् ॥
स॒व्ँम्व॒त्स॒रीण॑म् । पयः॑ । उ॒स्रिया॑याः । तस्य॑ । मा । अ॒शी॒त् । या॒तु॒ऽधानः॑ । नृ॒ऽच॒क्षः॒ । पी॒यूष॑म् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । य॒त॒मः । तितृ॑प्सात् । तम् । प्र॒त्यञ्च॑म् । अ॒र्चिषा॑ । वि॒ध्य॒ । मर्म॑न् ॥
saṃvatsarīṇam | payaḥ | usriyāyāḥ | tasya | mā | aśīt | yātu-dhānaḥ | nṛ-cakṣaḥ | pīyūṣam | agne | yatamaḥ | titṛpsāt | tam | pratyañcam | arciṣā | vidhya | marman
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (RV triṣṭubh cadence)
Forceful, forward-driving; suited to command and protection formulas.
Builds a sense of vigilant intensity; the rhythm supports a decisive ‘cutting’ action of inner fire against intrusion.
- saṃvatsarīṇam
- Literal: year-long, lasting through the year. Symbolic: the full cycle of inner time; steady ripening of consciousness through periods of practice
- payaḥ
- Literal: milk. Symbolic: nourishing essence of knowledge and strength drawn from higher consciousness
- usrīyā (usriyā)
- Literal: shining cow. Symbolic: luminous consciousness yielding rays (go) and their nourishment
- yātudhāna
- Literal: sorcerer/demonic being. Symbolic: subconscient-vital perverter that steals/taints spiritual gains
- nṛcákṣas
- Literal: man-seeing, soul-seeing. Symbolic: Agni as the knower of inner movements, discerner of truth in the human
- pīyūṣa
- Literal: immortal sap, nectar. Symbolic: divine Ananda/bliss-essence supporting immortality-consciousness
- pratyañc
- Literal: turned back, facing inward/backward. Symbolic: recoil into ego; reversal of aspiration into hostility or self-serving motive
- arcis/arcīṣā
- Literal: flame, radiance. Symbolic: illumined will that cuts through obscurity
- marman
- Literal: vital spot, vulnerable joint. Symbolic: psychic-vital knot where desire and fear can be struck and released
Protection of the ‘milk/essence’ gained by rite and yoga; guarding the inner soma-like delight from hostile appropriation
During protective moments: before/around offerings, when guarding soma/oblation from impurity; also in night/liminal times in ritual sequences.
Recitation to ward off hostile beings and prevent defilement of the offering/nectar; invocation of Agni’s burning strike.
Use as a protective mantra before meditation/prāṇāyāma: ‘May the inner fire guard the nectar of practice from egoic theft and vital distortion.’
‘year’ (sam + vatsara). ‘milk’ from √pā ‘to drink’ (nourishment). ‘shining cow’ from √vas/√usr ‘dawn, shine’ semantic complex. : ‘sap, ambrosia’ (later amṛta-like). : prati + añc ‘turn’ (√añc ‘to bend/turn’).
Amṛta-like essence (pīyūṣa), Sustained illumination (year-cycle symbolism)
Agni’s flame restores ṛta by preventing the wrong enjoyment of divine essence.
Truth is preserved by striking false motive at its ‘marman’—the vital hinge where untruth enters.
The cow’s milk as the continuous yield of luminous creation; the nectar as immortalizing essence guarded from the Inconscient.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent of consciousness, protection from vital perversion.
year-cycle (saṃvatsara)
Fire = transformative will; Cow/Milk = luminous knowledge-nourishment; Year = full maturation cycle; Nectar = bliss of higher consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The guarding of ambrosial nourishment (milk/pīyūṣa) from demons—an inner ‘soma protection’ mythologem where the hostile tries to drink immortality.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Milk/drink vocabulary (payas; √pā) is deeply IE; the ‘ambrosial drink’ theme parallels other IE nectar motifs. The turning (añc) root is common IE spatial metaphor for reversal/recoil.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Agni to act as guardian of attained essence—spiritual gains must be protected by vigilant inner fire, not merely achieved.
Protect the ‘nectar’ of practice (quiet joy, clarity) from egoic/vital appropriation; invoke inner fire to expose the subtle hostile recoil.
Maṇipūra (fire of will) with support into Anāhata (purified vital-emotion).
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana 6–6 or 6–6–6 (optional kumbhaka) while inwardly ‘kindling’ Agni in the navel region.
Alert, luminous vigilance (wakeful tapas) rather than passive calm.
Before meditation, offer one clear intention: ‘Let only the true aspiration drink the nectar.’ When a craving/ego-motive appears, visualize Agni’s flame touching the exact ‘knot’ and releasing it.
Vedic svara as in śākhā tradition (udātta/anudātta/svarita); preserve udātta on key lifts such as pīyū́ṣam, ágne (per recensional marking).
Keep the udātta syllable slightly raised; do not ‘sing’—maintain measured pitch steps; let caesura after | be a clear breath-space.
saṃvatsarīṇam: keep ‘ṃv’ nasal assimilation smooth, usrīyāyās: long ī and ā; avoid reducing vowels, yātudhāna: retroflex ḍh; aspirate clearly, pratyañcam: palatal ñ before c, arcīṣā: long ī; ṣ retroflex, marman: roll ‘r’ lightly; keep both m’s clear
Bright, steady, slightly forceful (protective tone)
Ask anything about this verse
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.
