Rig Veda 10.97.16: Mandala 10, Sukta 97, Mantra 16
Sukta 10.97
- Rishi
- Bhiṣaj / Oṣadhi hymn tradition
- Devata
- Oṣadhayaḥ as liberators
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
मुञ्चन्तु मा शपथ्यादथो वरुण्यादुत । अथो यमस्य पड्बीशात्सर्वस्माद्देवकिल्बिषात् ॥
muñcántu mā śapathyā̀d átho varuṇyā̀d utá | átho yámasya paḍbīśā́t sárvasmād deva-kílbiṣāt ||
यह सब मुझे कसम की गल्ती से आज़ाद करें। वरुण की पबंदी से भी छुटकारा दिलाएं। यम की फांसी से भी बचा लें। हर तरह की बुरी बात से, जो भगवान के नियम के खिलाफ हो, मुझे मुक्त कर दें।
Word by Word
- मु॒ञ्चन्तु॑
- let (them) releaseVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot मुच् (मुचँ)
- मा
- mePronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (अहम्) सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक
- शप॒थ्या॒त्
- from the (binding) oath/curseNounपञ्चमी, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (द्रव्य/भाववाचक)Role अपादानRoot शपथ्य (शपथ + य) प्रातिपदिक
- अथो॑
- and also / moreoverIndeclinableनिपात (समुच्चय/अनुक्रम)Root अथ + उ (निपात-संयोग)
- वरु॒ण्या॑त्
- from (that) of Varuṇa; from Varuṇa’s (bond/sin)Adjective (used substantively)पञ्चमी, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्गRole अपादानRoot वरुण्य (वरुण-सम्बद्ध) प्रातिपदिक
- उ॒त
- and / alsoIndeclinableनिपात (समुच्चय)Root उत्/उत (निपात)
- अथो॑
- and furtherIndeclinableनिपात (अनुक्रम/समुच्चय)Root अथ + उ (निपात-संयोग)
- य॒मस्य॒
- of YamaNoun (proper)षष्ठी, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्गRole सम्बन्धRoot यम प्रातिपदिक
- पड्बी॑शात्
- from the fetter/noose (of Yama)Nounपञ्चमी, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्गRole अपादानRoot पड्बीश (पद्/पाद + बीश/बीष ‘बंधन/फन्दा’ इत्यर्थे) प्रातिपदिक
- सर्व॑स्मात्
- from everything / from all (harm)Adjective (used substantively)पञ्चमी, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्गRole अपादानRoot सर्व प्रातिपदिक
- देवकिल्बि॒षात्
- from sin/offence against the godsNoun (compound)पञ्चमी, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्गRole अपादानRoot देवकिल्बिष (देव + किल्बिष ‘पाप/दोष’) प्रातिपदिक
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: मुञ्चन्तु मा शपथ्यात् अथो वरुण्यात् उत । अथो यमस्य पड्बीशात् सर्वस्मात् देवकिल्बिषात् ॥ 1) शपथ्या॒३॒॑दथो॑ = शपथ्यात् + अथो (त् + अ → द्, संधि-परिवर्तन)
- 2) वरु॒ण्या॑दु॒त = वरुण्यात् + उत (त् + उ → द्)
- 3) सर्व॑स्माद्देवकिल्बि॒षात् = सर्वस्मात् + देवकिल्बिषात् (त् + द् → द्द्, जश्त्व/संयोग)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer that the healing powers (oṣadhayaḥ) release the speaker from the consequences of a broken/false oath, from Varuṇa’s binding, from Yama’s noose, and from every offense against the gods and their law.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks the descending healing consciousness to dissolve inner bindings: (1) śapathya—false self-binding by wrong speech/intent; (2) varuṇya—tightness of conscience, guilt, and the imprisoning pressure of cosmic Law when one deviates; (3) yamasya paḍbīśa—fatal compulsion of inertia and death-mindedness; and (4) devakilbiṣa—errors against the divine powers within (misuse of will, mind, life-force). The ‘release’ is a psychic untying so the inner sacrifice can proceed in freedom.
Universal truth
Healing is not only curing symptoms; it is liberation from inner contracts, guilt-bonds, and death-compulsions that constrict consciousness. True remedy restores harmony with ṛta (right order) and reopens the flow of life and light.
Themes
Bondage and release, Varuṇa’s law, Yama as restrainer, Expiation within healing
The seer
- Rishi
- Bhiṣaj (healer-seer), within the Oṣadhi hymn tradition (RV 10.97)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.97.1-23 (Oṣadhi Sūkta)
Family tradition
Late Rigvedic healing/medicine hymn current; a seer-physician voice where mantra and herb are one power.
Significance
Bhiṣaj represents the archetype of the inner physician: the seeing consciousness that diagnoses bondage (bandha) and invokes liberating forces to restore wholeness and right order (ṛta).
The deity
- Devata
- Oṣadhayaḥ (Healing Powers/Herbs) as liberators; with Varuṇa and Yama named as binding powers to be transcended
- Epithets
- mocayitrīḥ (liberators, implied by muñcantu), divyāḥ (heaven-sent, context of the sūkta), somarājñīḥ (Soma-ruled queens, in the surrounding verses)
- Related deities
- Soma, Bṛhaspati, Agni (as inner healer/fire), Aśvins (divine physicians), Varuṇa, Yama
Cosmic role
They mediate between heaven’s renewing energies and embodied life, restoring harmony with cosmic law and protecting life from decay and death.
Inner power
A harmonizing prāṇic-intuitional force that loosens knots of fear, guilt, compulsion, and restores free flow of life-energy under the soul’s consent.
In ritual
Where it is used
Healing rite / medicinal application with mantra-recitation for release from affliction and ‘sin’ (kilbiṣa)
मु॒ञ्चन्तु॑ मा शप॒थ्या॒३॒॑दथो॑ वरु॒ण्या॑दु॒त । अथो॑ य॒मस्य॒ पड्बी॑शा॒त्सर्व॑स्माद्देवकिल्बि॒षात् ॥
मु॒ञ्चन्तु॑ । मा॒ । श॒प॒थ्या॑त् । अथो॒ इति॑ । व॒रु॒ण्या॑त् । उ॒त । अथो॒ इति॑ । य॒मस्य॑ । पड्बी॑शात् । सर्व॑स्मात् । दे॒व॒ऽकि॒ल्बि॒षात् ॥
muñcantu | mā | śapathyāt | atho iti | varuṇyāt | uta | atho iti | yamasya | paḍabaḍhabadabadrahṇīśāt | sarvasmāt | deva-kilbiṣāt
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Firm, forward-driving cadence with a juridical/decisive tone suited to petitions for release.
Builds a sense of moral and psychological unbinding; the rhythm supports resolve, confession, and purification leading to relief.
- मु॒ञ्चन्तु (muñcantu)
- Literal: let them release/loosen. Symbolic: grace of inner powers that untie knots in consciousness
- शपथ्या॑त् (śapathyāt)
- Literal: from oath-fault/perjury. Symbolic: false self-binding by wrong resolve, untrue speech, or distorted intention
- वरु॒ण्या॑त् (varuṇyāt)
- Literal: from Varuṇa’s fetter. Symbolic: bond of cosmic law felt as constriction, guilt, or karmic pressure urging purification
- य॒मस्य॒ पड्बी॑शात् (yamasya paḍbīśāt)
- Literal: from Yama’s noose. Symbolic: death-compulsion: inertia, fear, and limiting habits that drag awareness downward
- देवकिल्बि॒षात् (devakilbiṣāt)
- Literal: from godward offense/sin. Symbolic: misalignment with inner divine faculties (will, light, joy), causing fragmentation
Expiatory-healing interface: used where illness is experienced as bondage from transgression; overlaps with prāyaścitta and protective rites, seeking release from ‘bonds’ (pāśa/bandha) attributed to cosmic law.
During treatment, expiation, or recovery—especially where illness is felt as binding, guilt, or fate.
Recite while preparing/consuming herbal remedy; symbolic ‘untying’ gesture or sprinkling; prayer for absolution and restoration.
Use as a guided forgiveness-and-release mantra: pair with journaling of self-binding vows, followed by conscious renunciation and a healing breath practice.
śapathyá- relates to śapátha ‘oath, imprecation’; the inner sense is the self-binding by false affirmation. varuṇyá- invokes Varuṇa’s bond: √vṛ ‘to cover/encompass’ underlies Varuṇa as the power of cosmic law that ‘encloses’ the violator in limitation until truth is restored. yáma ‘restrainer’ (√yam ‘to hold, rein in’) indicates the limiting power that arrests deviation. kilbiṣá ‘fault, stain’ suggests a psychic ‘stain’ against the devas (truth-powers), not merely social guilt.
Ṛta and law (Varuṇa), Restraint/measure (Yama as niyama), Sin-as-constriction and healing-as-release
Varuṇa embodies ṛta; deviation creates constriction; restoration comes by realignment and truth.
Śapathya highlights the necessity of truth in speech/resolve; healing requires satya to dissolve inner falsehood.
Re-integration: the cosmos within is re-ordered when bonds are loosened and energies flow rightly.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral Yoga compatible reading: purification of nature and liberation of consciousness by higher powers.
Herbs symbolize descending remedial energies that re-pattern the nervous-vital system; fetters/noose symbolize constricted channels (nāḍī-like) and compulsive samskāras.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is ‘release from the bonds’—Varuṇa’s binding law, Yama’s restraining noose, and the self-incurred knot of false oath. Healing is framed as unbinding the soul from restrictive cords so life-force can flow in ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yam ‘to hold/restrain’ continues PIE *yem- ‘to hold’ (cf. Sanskrit yama-, Avestan yəma-; also the Indo-European figure Yemo in comparative myth as a primordial counterpart). The metaphor of ‘binding’ for guilt and ‘release’ for restoration is a deep IE poetic inheritance.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi asks the herbs to act as mediators between human limitation and cosmic law: not to abolish ṛta, but to cleanse the stain (kilbiṣa) so Varuṇa’s and Yama’s constraining action is no longer necessary.
Release from inner contracts: silently name the binding (fear/guilt/compulsion), then offer it to the healing power descending from above the head into the heart.
Anāhata (heart) and Viśuddha (truth in speech/resolve)
Slow exhale-focused breathing (e.g., 4–6 inhale, 6–8 exhale) while mentally repeating muñcantu mā on each exhale.
From constricted, burdened mind to quiet, reconciled clarity; a felt ‘loosening’ in chest and throat.
Practice satya: one truthful sentence of resolve after chanting; visualize knots dissolving and a clear current of life-force returning.
Use the Rigvedic three-tone contour: udatta (raised), anudatta (lower), svarita (falling). Key lifts often occur on finite verbs and emphasized nouns (e.g., muñcantu, varuṇyāt, yamasya).
Keep clear stress on long vowels and consonant clusters: śa-pa-thyā́t, va-ru-ṇyā́t, paḍ-bī́-śāt, devá-kil-bi-ṣā́t.
: ‘ñc’ as in ‘inch’ (muñ-can-tu), : aspirate ‘th’ (śa-pa-thyāt), not ‘t’, : retroflex ṇ in varuṇa; ‘yāt’ with clear long ā, : pronounce ḍb cluster distinctly (paḍ-bī-śāt), : ‘ṣ’ retroflex, tongue curled slightly back
Low, steady, penitential-to-relieved tone; let the final pāda open into softness.
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