Rig Veda Sukta 40
Mandala 8Sukta 4012 Mantras

Sukta 40

Sukta 8.40

Rishi

Nabhāka (as indicated by the refrain/epithet nabhāka-vat in the hymn; traditional attribution)

Devata

Indrāgnī (dual deity: Indra and Agni conjoint)

Chandas

Jagatī (probable; requires full metrical count verification against pada lengths)

Himne ini memanggil Indra–Agni sebagai daya tunggal kemenangan dan perlindungan, memohon “rayi” (kelimpahan/kekayaan) yang memberi ketahanan dan kejayaan dalam pertikaian yang “berteguh”. Berulang kali dipanjatkan doa agar para lawan tercerai-berai di gelanggang perjuangan yang sama, sementara api batin (Agni) menerobos rintangan laksana angin melaju di rimba. Penutupnya mengaitkan pujian kini dengan para resi leluhur serta memohon “damai bertumpu tiga” dan penguasaan atas segala kelimpahan

Recitation with translationRig Veda 8.40

Mantras

Mantra 1

इन्द्राग्नी युवं सु नः सहन्ता दासथो रयिम् । येन दृळ्हा समत्स्वा वीळु चित्साहिषीमह्यग्निर्वनेव वात इन्नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Wahai Indra dan Agni, kalian berdua adalah para penakluk; anugerahkan kepada kami rayi—kelimpahan kekayaan batin—yang dengannya, dalam pertempuran yang teguh, kami menang bahkan atas yang sukar ditembus. Semoga Api di dalam, laksana angin melintas rimba, menghalau yang lain di medan perjuangan yang sama.

Mantra 2

नहि वां वव्रयामहेऽथेन्द्रमिद्यजामहे शविष्ठं नृणां नरम् । स नः कदा चिदर्वता गमदा वाजसातये गमदा मेधसातये नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Kami tidak hendak menghalangi kalian; sebaliknya kami mempersembahkan yajña kepada Indra saja—yang terkuat, pahlawan di antara manusia. Semoga ia suatu waktu datang kepada kami dengan kudanya demi kemenangan vāja—kelimpahan daya—dan demi kemenangan medhā—kecerdasan bercahaya; semoga yang lain dihalau pergi di gelanggang yang sama.

Mantra 3

ता हि मध्यं भराणामिन्द्राग्नी अधिक्षितः । ता उ कवित्वना कवी पृच्छ्यमाना सखीयते सं धीतमश्नुतं नरा नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Wahai Indra dan Agni, kalian berdua ditegakkan di tengah gelombang serbuan dan beban-beban. Kalian berdua, para kavi (resi-penyair), dengan daya puisi dan penglihatan, saling bertanya dan bersahabat, lalu meraih pikiran yang terpadu; wahai para pahlawan, biarlah yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 4

अभ्यर्च नभाकवदिन्द्राग्नी यजसा गिरा । ययोर्विश्वमिदं जगदियं द्यौः पृथिवी मह्युपस्थे बिभृतो वसु नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Nabhāka’nın usulünce, tapınma sözü olan gīrā ile Indra ve Agni’ye yüksek sesle ilahi söyle. Çünkü bütün bu devinen âlem—bu gök ve bu engin yeryüzü—onların ikisinde tutulur; onların kucağında varlığın hazinesini taşırlar; ötekiler aynı alanda dağılıp savrulsun.

Mantra 5

प्र ब्रह्माणि नभाकवदिन्द्राग्निभ्यामिरज्यत । या सप्तबुध्नमर्णवं जिह्मबारमपोर्णुत इन्द्र ईशान ओजसा नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Kirimkanlah brahmāṇi (rumusan suci) sebagaimana Nabhāka dahulu, bagi Indra dan Agni. Mereka yang membuka samudra berlandas tujuh, kurungan berpalis miring itu—Indra, penguasa dengan kekuatannya—biarlah yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 6

अपि वृश्च पुराणवद्व्रततेरिव गुष्पितमोजो दासस्य दम्भय । वयं तदस्य सम्भृतं वस्विन्द्रेण वि भजेमहि नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Tebaslah, bahkan seperti dahulu kala, kekuatan yang terjalin-kusut itu—sebagaimana orang memutus ikatan milik pelanggar vrata; hancurkan daya sang Dāsa. Lalu semoga kami, bersama Indra, membagi-bagikan harta yang telah dihimpun; semoga yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 7

यदिन्द्राग्नी जना इमे विह्वयन्ते तना गिरा । अस्माकेभिर्नृभिर्वयं सासह्याम पृतन्यतो वनुयाम वनुष्यतो नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Bila bangsa-bangsa ini menyeru Indra dan Agni dengan suara mereka sendiri, maka bersama para lelaki kami semoga kami bertahan dan menang; semoga kami menaklukkan mereka yang berperang dan mereka yang hendak menang; semoga yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 8

या नु श्वेताववो दिव उच्चरात उप द्युभिः । इन्द्राग्न्योरनु व्रतमुहाना यन्ति सिन्धवो यान्त्सीं बन्धादमुञ्चतां नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Dua Yang Terang itu, yang bangkit dari langit dan mendekat dengan cahaya-cahaya mereka—mengikuti hukum (vrata) Indra dan Agni, sungai-sungai bergerak, membawa (airnya). Semoga mereka melepaskan mereka dari belenggu; semoga yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 9

पूर्वीष्ट इन्द्रोपमातयः पूर्वीरुत प्रशस्तयः सूनो हिन्वस्य हरिवः । वस्वो वीरस्यापृचो या नु साधन्त नो धियो नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Banyaklah pertolonganmu yang purba, wahai Indra; banyak pula pujian bagimu, wahai putra kekuatan, wahai penuntun kuda-kuda kuning keemasan. Sentuhan-sentuhan dari harta sang pahlawan ini—yang kini menuntaskan ilham pikiran kami—semoga yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 10

तं शिशीता सुवृक्तिभिस्त्वेषं सत्वानमृग्मियम् । उतो नु चिद्य ओजसा शुष्णस्याण्डानि भेदति जेषत्स्वर्वतीरपो नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Asahlah dia dengan kata-kata yang tersusun indah—dia yang bergelora, yang perkasa, yang layak bagi kidung. Sebab bahkan kini, dia yang dengan daya memecahkan telur-telur Śuṣṇa akan menaklukkan perairan yang mengandung langit bercahaya; semoga yang lain tercerai-berai di medan yang sama.

Mantra 11

तं शिशीता स्वध्वरं सत्यं सत्वानमृत्वियम् । उतो नु चिद्य ओहत आण्डा शुष्णस्य भेदत्यजैः स्वर्वतीरपो नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥

Asahlah dan siapkanlah kekuatan yajña yang benar dan terarah baik itu—daya yang bekerja pada musim yang tepat. Sebab sungguh, oleh kekuatannya ia memecahkan telur-telur Śuṣṇa; lalu perairan yang membawa cahaya Surya memancar dan bersinar pada tingkat lain yang lebih tinggi dari keberadaan yang sama.

Mantra 12

एवेन्द्राग्निभ्यां पितृवन्नवीयो मन्धातृवदङ्गिरस्वदवाचि । त्रिधातुना शर्मणा पातमस्मान्वयं स्याम पतयो रयीणाम् ॥

Demikianlah, kepada Indra–Agni diucapkan sabda yang lebih baru, sebagaimana para Pitṛ (Bapa Leluhur) bersabda, sebagaimana Mandhātṛ, sebagaimana para Ṛṣi Aṅgiras: lindungilah kami dengan śarma (kedamaian-perlindungan) yang bertumpu pada tiga landasan; semoga kami menjadi para tuan atas kelimpahan rayi (harta/kemakmuran) keberadaan.

Inside Sukta 40

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    A direct address to Indrāgnī as conquerors, requesting rayi and the power to prevail even over what is “hard to pierce.”

  2. Development

    The hymn expands into communal and competitive settings: when peoples invoke the gods, the poet asks that “our men” endure and win, while opponents are driven away—Agni’s force pictured as a sweeping wind.

  3. Climax

    The repeated wartime/protective refrain reaches its peak in the confident demand for victory and dispersal of rivals “in the same field,” grounded in divine companionship.

  4. Where it settles

    The closing verse situates the praise in a lineage of ancestral utterance (Fathers, Mandhātṛ, Aṅgiras) and ends with a benediction: triple-founded peace and lordship over plenitudes (rayīṇām).

The deity: Indrāgnī

  • In the VedaIndra-and-Agni are praised as joint “overcomers” who grant rayi, empower victory in contests, and protect the worshipper; Agni is the swift inner/fire-force, while Indra is the conquering, obstacle-breaking might.
  • Cosmic functionThey coordinate celestial power (Indra’s victory, rain/force, breaking of resistance) with terrestrial-sacrificial power (Agni as the carrier of offerings and the igniting principle), ensuring order, protection, and successful outcomes in conflict and rite.
  • Inner significanceIndra represents decisive will and conquering clarity; Agni represents aspiration, discipline, and the awakened flame of consciousness. Together they signify integrated power—right impulse + right execution—by which inner and outer adversities are dispersed.

The seer

  • NabhākaTraditionally connected with the Nabhāka/Nābhāka line; specific gotra is not securely preserved in the Rigvedic Anukramaṇī tradition for this hymn. · Remembered as an ancient seer-name preserved through the hymn’s refrain/epithet (nabhāka-vat), associated with forceful, battle-ready invocations seeking victory and increase of rayi.

Famous verses

agnir vaneva vātaḥ
Verse 8.40.1Sets the hymn’s core petition: Indrāgnī as overcomers, grantors of rayi, enabling victory in firm conflicts; includes the vivid image of Agni driving through like wind in a forest.Read verse 8.40.1 →
यदिन्द्राग्नी जना इमे विह्वयन्ते तना गिरा । अस्माकेभिर्नृभिर्वयं सासह्याम पृतन्यतो वनुयाम वनुष्यतो नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥
Verse 8.40.7Expresses the social-competitive dimension: amid rival invocations, the poet asks that one’s own group endure and win, and that opponents be scattered in the same arena.Read verse 8.40.7 →
tridhātunā śarmaṇā
Verse 8.40.12Concluding benediction tying present praise to ancestral seers and requesting “tridhātu” protection and mastery of rayi—an elevated, sealing close to the sukta.Read verse 8.40.12 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Dual deity invoked as a single cooperative power
  • Victory and protection in samat (contests/battles)
  • Bestowers of rayi (wealth, abundance, inner plenitude)
  • Agni as driving, purifying force “like wind in a forest”
  • Indra as obstacle-breaker and champion of the invoking clan

Also by this seer

  • Traditional attribution of RV 8.40 to Nabhāka (via Anukramaṇī-style notices and internal refrain markers)
  • Later Vedic/Itihāsa memory preserves the name Nābhāga/Nabhāka in royal-seer contexts, though direct Rigvedic hymn attribution beyond this sukta is uncertain

The rite, step by step

  • Prepare the āhavanīya fire; establish purity (ācamanam/saṃskāra as per śrauta/gṛhya setting).
  • Kindle/brighten Agni and begin invocations to Indrāgnī with the opening verse(s), stating the aim: rayi and victory.
  • Offer ghee (ājyāhuti) and, where applicable, soma oblations while reciting selected mantras (notably 8.40.1 and allied verses).
  • Make protective/warding intention explicit: prayer that hostile forces be scattered and that one’s own men/forces endure (as in 8.40.7).
  • Conclude with the final verse (8.40.12), sealing the rite with the request for “tridhātu śarma” (triple-founded peace/protection) and stable prosperity.
  • Perform śānti/closing oblations and circumambulation/namaskāra according to the ritual tradition followed.

Offerings

  • Ghṛta (clarified butter) into Agni
  • Soma (in śrauta context)
  • Samidh (fuel sticks) and fragrant offerings where customary

Frequently Asked Questions

Indrāgnī means Indra and Agni praised as a single allied power. Indra brings conquering force and breakthrough, while Agni is the igniting, purifying fire that carries offerings—together they grant protection, success, and abundance.

It asks for rayi (wealth/inner plenitude), the strength to endure and win in contests, and the scattering of hostile forces in the same field of struggle.

It is a request for stable, well-established protection and well-being on three levels—often understood as firm security in body, life-force, and mind (or in earth, midspace, and heaven), so prosperity can endure.

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