Sukta 51
Sukta 7.51
Vasiṣṭha
Ādityas / Aditi (collective cosmic guardians of ṛta)
Triṣṭubh (likely; verify)
This brief Triṣṭubh hymn of Vasiṣṭha invokes the Ādityas with Aditi for ever-fresh protection, blamelessness (anāgas), and the stable establishment of the sacrifice within ṛta. It asks the chief Ādityas—Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuṇa—to guard the worshippers and to drink Soma for their strengthening aid, then widens into a universal appeal to all gods for lasting svasti (well-being).
Mantras
Mantra 1
आदित्यानामवसा नूतनेन सक्षीमहि शर्मणा शंतमेन । अनागास्त्वे अदितित्वे तुरास इमं यज्ञं दधतु श्रोषमाणाः ॥
आदित्य देवताओं की नई मदद से हम उनके साथ रहें, उनकी सुरक्षा में। बिना किसी बुरी बात के, बड़े दिल में, वो तेज़ शक्तियाँ इस यज्ञ को संभालें, हमारी सुन कर।
Mantra 2
आदित्यासो अदितिर्मादयन्तां मित्रो अर्यमा वरुणो रजिष्ठाः । अस्माकं सन्तु भुवनस्य गोपाः पिबन्तु सोममवसे नो अद्य ॥
आदित्य और अदिति खुश हों। मित्र, अर्यमन, वरुण, जो सीधे और चमकदार हैं, वो दुनिया के रक्षक हों। आज वो सोम रस पी कर हमारी मदद करें, हमें आगे बढ़ा दें।
Mantra 3
आदित्या विश्वे मरुतश्च विश्वे देवाश्च विश्व ऋभवश्च विश्वे । इन्द्रो अग्निरश्विना तुष्टुवाना यूयं पात स्वस्तिभिः सदा नः ॥
सारे आदित्य, सारे मरुत, सारे देवता, सारे ऋभु, सब को बुलाते हैं। इंद्र, अग्नि, अश्विनी कुमार, इन सब की हम स्तुति करते हैं। इन सब से यह प्रार्थना है कि वो हमेशा हमें अच्छेसे रखें। वो हमारे अंदर शांति बनाए रखें।
Inside Sukta 51
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A plea for the Ādityas’ ever-renewed protection and for entry into Aditi’s blameless wideness, so the sacrifice may be firmly established.
- Development
Specific naming of Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuṇa as strong, straight (right-order) guardians; request that they drink Soma to empower their aid toward the worshipper.
- Climax
Expansion from the Ādityas to a comprehensive invocation of all divine powers—Maruts, Viśve Devāḥ, Ṛbhus, Indra, Agni, Aśvins—seeking total protection.
- Where it settles
A closing safeguard: the gods are asked to guard the worshippers ‘always’ with svasti, establishing enduring auspiciousness.
The deity: Ādityas / Aditi
- In the VedaThe Ādityas are luminous guardians of ṛta—upholders of truth, law, and social-cosmic order—often led in this hymn by Mitra (harmony/contract), Aryaman (noble fellowship), and Varuṇa (vast sovereign of moral law). Aditi is the ‘unbounded’ mother-principle, the wide, faultless space of belonging in which protection and freedom from guilt are sought.
- Cosmic functionTo maintain ṛta by guarding the worlds, overseeing right conduct, and granting shelter (śarman) and safety; to empower sacrifice by attentive hearing and by receiving Soma, thereby sustaining the reciprocal bond between gods and humans.
- Inner significanceRepresents the inner conscience and the widening of awareness into ‘blamelessness’—a state where one aligns thought, speech, and action with truth; Aditi signifies inner vastness and release from constriction, while the Ādityas symbolize ethical clarity and protective order.
The seer
- VasiṣṭhaVasiṣṭha (Maitrāvaruṇa) gotra; one of the Saptarṣi · Foremost seer-poet of Mandala 7, celebrated for hymns on ṛta, Varuṇa–Mitra, royal legitimacy, and the spiritual-ethical power of truth (satya) and right order.
Famous verses
anāgāstve adititve
bhuvanasya gopāḥ
pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ
Attributes of the deity
- Guardians of ṛta (cosmic and moral order)
- Bestowers of śarman (peaceful shelter)
- Anāgas (freedom from fault/guilt) and purification
- Attentive hearing of prayer (śroṣamāṇāḥ)
- World-guardians (bhuvanasya gopāḥ)
- Luminous straightness/rightness (rjū/ṛju quality implied by rajiṣṭhāḥ)
Also by this seer
- Rig Veda Mandala 7 (majority of sūktas)
- Hymns to Varuṇa and Mitra-Varuṇa emphasizing ṛta and moral law
- Traditional attribution in later literature to parts of the Vasiṣṭha-dharma and Vasiṣṭha-smṛti streams (later texts, not Rigvedic)
The rite, step by step
- Prepare the altar and kindle Agni; perform ācamana and preliminary quieting.
- Recite RV 7.51.1 to invite the ‘ever-new help’ (nūtana avas) of the Ādityas and to set the intention of anāgas and adititva (blameless wideness).
- Offer Soma (or Soma-substitute in later practice) with RV 7.51.2, explicitly calling Mitra, Aryaman, Varuṇa as guardians; request their fostering aid (avasa).
- Conclude with RV 7.51.3 as a universal protective seal (rakṣā), extending the prayer to all gods for continuous svasti.
- Perform circumambulation/namaskāra and close with śānti or svasti formulas appropriate to the śrauta/gṛhya context.
Offerings
- Soma libation (primary)
- Ghee (ājya) into Agni
- Optional: water oblation and simple food offering according to household rite adaptations
Frequently Asked Questions
The hymn primarily praises the Ādityas together with Aditi, especially Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuṇa. In the final verse it also calls on all gods (Viśve Devāḥ), including Maruts, Ṛbhus, Indra, Agni, and the Aśvins.
It asks for peaceful shelter (śarman), protection as guardians of the world, and a state of ‘blamelessness’ (anāgas) within Aditi’s wide, freeing presence. It also asks them to establish and support the sacrifice by listening to the prayer.
Soma is the offering that strengthens the gods’ helping power in the ritual relationship. The hymn requests the Ādityas to drink Soma ‘today’ so their fostering aid (avasa) actively protects and supports the worshippers.
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