Rig Veda 10.87.24: Mandala 10, Sukta 87, Mantra 24
Sukta 10.87
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
प्रत्यग्ने मिथुना दह यातुधाना किमीदिना । सं त्वा शिशामि जागृह्यदब्धं विप्र मन्मभिः ॥
praty agne mithunā daha yātudhānā kimīdinā | saṃ tvā śiśāmi jāgṛhy adabdham vipra manmabhiḥ ||
अग्नि, उन बुरी आत्माओं को जला दो जो गलत काम करते हैं। मैं तुम्हे तेज बना रहा हूँ। जाग के रहो, तुम्हारे पास पावर है। हमारी सोच तुम्हारे साथ है। तुम कोई भी नहीं हरा सकता।
Word by Word
- प्रति
- towards; againstIndeclinableRoot प्रति (upasarga/avyaya)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- मिथुना
- in pairs; twofoldAdjective (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (अव्ययीभाव/क्रियाविशेषणवत् प्रयोगः)Root मिथुन (प्रातिपदिक)
- दह
- burn!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot दह् (धातु)
- यातुधानान्
- the sorcerers/demons (Yātudhānas)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot यातुधान (प्रातिपदिक)
- किमीदिनान्
- the Kīmīdins (a class of harmful beings)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (यातुधानानाम् अपि विशेषण/समुच्चित-कर्म)Root किमीदिन (प्रातिपदिक)
- सम्
- together; completelyIndeclinableRoot सम् (upasarga/avyaya)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शिशामि
- I sharpen/rouse (you); I make you readyVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot शिश्/शिशा (धातु; ‘to whet, sharpen, make ready’)
- जागृह्य
- having awakened; being awakeVerbक्त्वा/ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (पूर्वक्रिया)Root जागृ (धातु)
- अदब्धम्
- undeluded; unharmed; unassailableAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अग्निम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म-विशेषणRoot अदब्ध (प्रातिपदिक; a- + dabdhá ‘deceived/harmed’)
- विप्र
- O inspired sage (Agni)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- मन्मभिः
- with hymns/thoughtsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot मन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘thought, hymn, devotion’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: प्रति | अग्ने | मिथुना | दह | यातुधानान् | किमीदिनान् | सम् | त्वा | शिशामि | जागृह्य | अदब्धम् | विप्र | मन्मभिः । 1) प्रत्यग्ने = प्रति + अग्ने (इकारस्य अकारे संधिः → य्-आगमः: इ + अ → य + अ). 2) यातुधाना किमीदिना (संहितापाठ) इति पदान्त-दीर्घ/अनुनासिक-लोपादि
- पदपाठे द्वितीया-बहुवचनौ: यातुधानान्, किमीदिनान् (कर्मद्वयम्). 3) सं त्वा = सम् + त्वा (अनुस्वारः परे तकारे ‘ं’). 4) जागृह्यदब्धम् = जागृह्य + अदब्धम् (अ + अ संधिः → अ; संहितायां ‘जागृह्यदब्धम्’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is asked to burn back, in pairs, the yātudhānas and kimīdins. The speaker says he sharpens/whets Agni and urges him to wake and be vigilant, invincible, by their thought-formations.
Inner meaning
The mantra addresses paired or alternating attacks of hostile forces (mithunā)—waves of obstruction that come as complementary temptations (e.g., depression/overexcitement, doubt/fanaticism). The seeker ‘whets’ Agni by manma (formed thought, intention, mantra-formation), calling the inner Fire to wake (jāgṛhi): to become consciously alert in the front of the nature, not merely latent. Adabdha signals an inviolable flame: will that cannot be tricked by subconscient disguises.
Universal truth
Lasting protection is not passive; it is wakeful consciousness. Right formation of thought and intention can awaken an invincible inner force that neutralizes recurring patterns of obstruction.
Themes
Anti-sorcery, Awakening Agni, Mantric intensification, Repulsion of hostile pairs
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.87.22, Rig Veda 10.87.23, Rig Veda 10.87.25
Significance
The seer stresses vigilance (jāgṛhi) and the efficacy of manma—formed thought as a spiritual tool. This aligns strongly with the inner-Vedic idea that the Word/Thought can shape the field of consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- vipra (inspired), adabdha (invincible/unbeguiled), jāgṛvat (wakeful; implied)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (power of formed word), Indra (force that breaks coverings)
Cosmic role
Guardian flame that detects and destroys occult/hidden forces; awakener of the sacrifice.
Inner power
Wakeful will and discriminative heat that cannot be deceived; power to dissolve alternating attacks of the lower nature.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective Agni invocation against yātudhāna/rakṣas; used to secure the rite and the sacrificer
प्रत्य॑ग्ने मिथु॒ना द॑ह यातु॒धाना॑ किमी॒दिना॑ । सं त्वा॑ शिशामि जागृ॒ह्यद॑ब्धं विप्र॒ मन्म॑भिः ॥
प्रति॑ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । मि॒थु॒ना । द॒ह॒ । या॒तु॒ऽधाना॑ । कि॒मी॒दिना॑ । सम् । त्वा॒ । शि॒शा॒मि॒ । जा॒गृ॒हि । अद॑ब्धम् । वि॒प्र॒ । मन्म॑ऽभिः ॥
prati | agne | mithunā | daha | yātu-dhānā | kimīdinā | sam | tvā | śiśāmi | jāgṛhi | adabdham | vipra | manma-bhiḥ
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4×8
Commanding and awakening; alternating beats echo ‘paired’ assaults.
Rouses alertness; strengthens the ‘witness + will’ combination in practice.
- मिथुना (mithunā)
- Literal: in pairs/couples. Symbolic: dual waves of obstruction; alternating polarities that trap the mind
- यातुधान (yātudhāna)
- Literal: sorcerer/demonic being. Symbolic: distorting forces that feed on consciousness; deceptive impulses
- किमीदिन (kimīdin)
- Literal: harm-doer (obscure class). Symbolic: subtle nibbling doubts, anxieties, draining suggestions
- शिशामि (śiśāmi)
- Literal: I whet/sharpen. Symbolic: I intensify the will; kindle Agni by focused practice
- जागृहि (jāgṛhi)
- Literal: wake! be vigilant!. Symbolic: bring the fire to conscious forefront; sustained awareness
- अदब्ध (adabdha)
- Literal: uninjured, unbeguiled. Symbolic: invincible, not deceived by lower nature
- मन्मभिः (manmabhiḥ)
- Literal: by thought-formations. Symbolic: mantric formations of dhī; intentional structuring of consciousness
Explicit anti-yātudhāna formula; sharpening/waking Agni corresponds to kindling and intensifying the ritual fire and the inner vigilance.
During protective segments; when ‘occult’ obstruction is suspected
Recitation to awaken Agni; mental sharpening and guarding
Use when facing recurring cyclical moods or alternating distractions; as a ‘wake-up’ mantra before meditation.
yātudhāna- traditionally ‘sorcerer/demon’; from yātu (magic/witchcraft) + √dhā ‘to put/hold’: ‘one who places harmful workings’. kimīdin- opaque; treated as a hostile class; possibly from interrogative kim + √īd/√īḍ?; in ritual language denotes mysterious injurers. √śiś/√śī ‘sharpen’ → śiśāmi ‘I whet’ (causative/intensive nuance). a-dabdha- from √dabh ‘to deceive, injure’ → ‘not deceived/overcome’.
Manman (thought as mantra-force), A-dabdha (invincibility of awakened consciousness), Duality/pairing of hostile impulses (mithunā)
Wakefulness is a condition of ṛta: right order must be consciously held, not left to habit.
Adabdha embodies satya’s immunity to distortion and self-deception.
Awakening of the inner fire enables a new becoming (bhava) free from hostile recurrence.
Psychological Veda; bridges toward Upaniṣadic ‘jāgrat’ (waking consciousness) as a spiritual category
night-to-dawn vigilance (implied by ‘wake!’)
Fire = conscious force; waking = bringing inner power to the surface mind; paired demons = alternating patterns.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘awakening and whetting of the divine weapon’ mythologem: Agni is stirred to vigilant intensity to destroy yātudhāna-type hostile magic—forces that distort consciousness through deception and perversion.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The wakefulness imperative jāgṛhi continues an Indo-European theme of the ‘waking’ guardian (cf. PIE *weg- ‘be strong/awake’ semantic field in various branches). The negative prefix a- in a-dabdha is inherited Indo-European privation morphology.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi actively ‘sharpens’ Agni with manman (thought-formulations): the human mind becomes the fuel and whetstone; Agni becomes the awakened executor who burns the hostile formations.
Cultivate ‘wakeful Agni’: combine aspiration with vigilant witnessing of subtle suggestions.
Ājñā (wakeful discernment)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) for 6 rounds; on hold, feel Agni ‘whetted’; on exhale, burn back paired distractions.
Alert, luminous watchfulness (jāgrat within meditation).
Identify your common ‘pair’ (e.g., restlessness/dullness). Recite once naming it mentally, then sit and watch its arising without consent; invoke Agni to dissolve it at inception.
Honor udātta marks; give ‘jāgṛhi’ a clear upward lift then settle, to embody awakening.
Keep ‘saṃ tvā śiśāmi’ joined smoothly (saṃ as nasalized ‘sam’), then a decisive pause before ‘jāgṛhi’.
mithunā: dental th (not aspirated t), long ā, yātudhānā: clear long ā vowels; keep dh aspirated, kimīdinā: long ī; keep retroflex ḍ sound if present in your recension; here ‘dinā’ dental, adabdhaṃ: cluster dbdh—articulate as a-dab-dham with voiced stops, manmabhiḥ: pronounce nm smoothly; final ḥ audible
Wakeful, bright, slightly urgent.
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