Sukta 101
Sukta 7.101
Vasiṣṭha (Vasiṣṭha-gotra; traditional attribution for RV 7)
Parjanya (Rain/Thundering Power) conceived also as vṛṣabha (the Bull of fertilizing force)
Triṣṭubh
This hymn to Parjanya praises the thundering Rain-Power as the vṛṣabha (Bull) whose seed-bearing force quickens plants, fills the world with sweetness, and establishes fertility. Vasiṣṭha frames the rain as a cosmic distribution of waters and essences—triple in movement and form—culminating in a prayer that Ṛta (truth-order) and svasti (harmonious well-being) protect the worshipper for a long life.
Mantras
Mantra 1
तिस्रो वाचः प्र वद ज्योतिरग्रा या एतद्दुह्रे मधुदोघमूधः । स वत्सं कृण्वन्गर्भमोषधीनां सद्यो जातो वृषभो रोरवीति ॥
तीन बातें बोलो जिनका पहला रोशनी है। उनसे मधु निकलता है जैसे गाय का दूध। वो बैल अभी पैदा हुआ है और तुरंत बोलने लगा। यह पौधों के बीज को जीवन देता है।
Mantra 2
यो वर्धन ओषधीनां यो अपां यो विश्वस्य जगतो देव ईशे । स त्रिधातु शरणं शर्म यंसत्त्रिवर्तु ज्योतिः स्वभिष्ट्यस्मे ॥
वो पौधों को बढ़ाता है, पानी का मालिक है, और सारी दुनिया पर राज करता है। वो तीन चीज़ों से बना आसरा दे हमें। वो अंदर से रोशनी भरे जो तीन तरफ घूमती है। हमारा भला करे।
Mantra 3
स्तरीरु त्वद्भवति सूत उ त्वद्यथावशं तन्वं चक्र एषः । पितुः पयः प्रति गृभ्णाति माता तेन पिता वर्धते तेन पुत्रः ॥
यह दुनिया तुमसे बनी है। तुमसे ही पैदा होता है सब। जैसे तुम चाहो वैसे शरीर बनता है। माँ बाप का दूध लेती है। उससे बाप भी बढ़ता है, बेटा भी बढ़ता है।
Mantra 4
यस्मिन्विश्वानि भुवनानि तस्थुस्तिस्रो द्यावस्त्रेधा सस्रुरापः । त्रयः कोशास उपसेचनासो मध्वः श्चोतन्त्यभितो विरप्शम् ॥
जिसमे सारी दुनिया टिक गई है। तीन आसमान और पानी तीन तरफ से बह रहे हैं। तीन बर्तन हैं जिसमे मीठा रस टपक रहा है। वो हर तरफ फैल रहा है।
Mantra 5
इदं वचः पर्जन्याय स्वराजे हृदो अस्त्वन्तरं तज्जुजोषत् । मयोभुवो वृष्टयः सन्त्वस्मे सुपिप्पला ओषधीर्देवगोपाः ॥
यह बात पर्जन्य के लिए है जो खुद का राजा है। यह दिल में रहे, वो मान ले। बारिश हमे खुशी दे। पौधों में अच्छे फल आएँ, भगवान उनकी रक्षा करें।
Mantra 6
स रेतोधा वृषभः शश्वतीनां तस्मिन्नात्मा जगतस्तस्थुषश्च । तन्म ऋतं पातु शतशारदाय यूयं पात स्वस्तिभिः सदा नः ॥
वो बीज रखता है, हमेशा के लिए मज़बूत है। उसमे ही सबकी जान है जो चलता है और जो खड़ा है। वो मुझे सौ साल तक बचाए। तुम हमेशा हमें रक्षा करो।
Inside Sukta 101
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A summons to utter the luminous ‘threefold Word’ and behold the honey-yielding udder of abundance, introducing Parjanya as the newly-born roaring Bull of fertility.
- Development
The hymn expands Parjanya from meteorological force to cosmic bearer: worlds are set in him; heavens and waters move in triple courses; vessels of sweetness pour around the broad-form.
- Climax
Parjanya is declared retodhā (seed-holder), the Bull of the eternities, in whom the self of all moving and still beings abides—rain as universal life-principle under Ṛta.
- Where it settles
The poet turns the vision into prayer: may Ṛta guard for a hundred autumns, and may protective harmonies (svasti) continually shelter the worshippers.
The deity: Parjanya
- In the VedaParjanya is the thunderer and rain-bringer who roars, releases the waters, and makes the earth fruitful; he is praised as a bull whose fertilizing seed becomes the embryo of herbs and crops.
- Cosmic functionTo gather, contain, and pour down the celestial waters, renewing the cycles of growth, food, and life; to mediate between heaven’s reservoirs and earth’s fertility through thunder, rain, and seasonal order.
- Inner significanceThe awakening power that ‘waters’ the inner field—reviving vitality, clarity, and generative intention; the disciplined release of stored energies in accord with Ṛta, producing sweetness (madhu) as mature outcome.
The seer
- VasiṣṭhaVasiṣṭha-gotra · Foremost seer of the Seventh Maṇḍala, celebrated for hymns of Ṛta, royal prosperity, and the spiritual authority of the Vasiṣṭhas; later tradition remembers him as a paradigmatic brahmarṣi and counselor of kings.
Famous verses
tisro vācaḥ… jyotiragrāḥ
यस्मिन्विश्वानि भुवनानि तस्थुस्तिस्रो द्यावस्त्रेधा सस्रुरापः । त्रयः कोशास उपसेचनासो मध्वः श्चोतन्त्यभितो विरप्शम् ॥tan ma ṛtam pātu śataśāradāya
Attributes of the deity
- Rain and thunder (roaring, cloud-bearing power)
- Fertility and seed-bearing potency (retodhā, vṛṣabha)
- Distributor of waters/essences in ordered channels
- Source of madhu (sweetness, nourishment)
- Cosmic support in which worlds are set firm
- Protector through Ṛta and svasti
Also by this seer
- Rigveda Maṇḍala 7 (many hymns traditionally attributed to Vasiṣṭha and his lineage)
- Hymns to Varuṇa and Ṛta emphasizing moral-cosmic order (notably within RV 7)
- Later Vedic-Itihāsa tradition associates Vasiṣṭha with the Vasiṣṭha-dharma and Vasiṣṭha-smṛti corpus (attributional)
The rite, step by step
- Prepare the altar and kindle Agni; establish a calm, ordered space (ṛta-oriented intention).
- Recite the hymn in Triṣṭubh cadence, invoking Parjanya as the bull who releases waters and quickens plants.
- Contemplate the ‘triple’ imagery (threefold word/heavens/waters) as ordered distribution rather than mere storm.
- Offer oblations while requesting madhu (sweet nourishment) for fields, cattle, and people.
- Conclude with a protective prayer for long life and continuous svasti (well-being) for the household/community.
Offerings
- Ghṛta (ghee) oblations into Agni
- Soma (where applicable in Śrauta context)
- Payas (milk) and/or anna (grain) as symbolic gifts of fertility
- Ājya and water libations (as complements to rain-invocation)
Frequently Asked Questions
Parjanya is the Vedic power of thunder and rain. Here he is praised as a bull whose seed-bearing force makes plants grow and brings sweetness and nourishment to the world.
The sukta uses “threefold” language to show ordered distribution—speech, heavens, and waters moving in structured channels. It suggests rain is not random, but follows Ṛta, a cosmic rule of harmony.
It is recited to seek timely rain, fertility, and prosperity, and to restore balance when conditions feel dry or disordered. The closing prayer asks for long life and continual well-being (svasti) under Ṛta.
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