Mantra 3

Sukta 135

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अलाबूनि पृषातकान्यश्वत्थपलाशम्। पिपीलिकावटश्वसो विद्युत्स्वापर्णशफो गोशफो जरितरोऽथामो दैव

IAST Transliteration

alā́būni pṛṣā́takāny áśvattha-palā́śam | pipī́likā vaṭa-śvásaḥ vidyút svā́parṇa-śaphó gośaphó jaritaro ’thā́mo daiváḥ

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Gourds, and the speckled things; the leaf of the Aśvattha; the ant; the banyan-breath; lightning; the fair-leafed, hoofed one; the cow-hoofed: O Singer—then, the divine raw might.

Word by Word

अलाबूनिgourds (bottle-gourds)

पृषातकानिspeckled ones / a kind of plant (pṛṣātaka)

अश्वत्थपलाशम्leaf of the aśvattha (sacred fig)

पिपीलिकावटश्वसःthe ‘ant-banyan-breath’ (a named creature/being; lit. ant + banyan + breath)

विद्युत्स्वापर्णशफःthe ‘lightning–fair-leaf–hoofed’ one (a named being)

गोशफःthe cow-hoofed one

जरितरःthe singer/praiser

अथthen / and now

अमोAm(a) (a proper/name-like term; exact sense uncertain)

दैवdivine; a divine (thing/being)

Attribution

Rishi: Tradition aligns AV 20 hymns with Rigvedic attributions; specific r̥ṣi for 20.135 is treated as RV-derived (uncertain here without padānukramaṇī cross-check).

Devata: Deva/Daiva efficacy; broadly sacrificial powers rather than a single deity in this verse.

Chandas: Mixed/irregular (catalogue line); AV 20 often preserves RV meters but this segment is not cleanly anuṣṭubh.

Mantra Rasa

{"primary_rasa":"adbhuta","secondary_rasa":"vira","emotional_arc":"Wonder at many forms → surge of empowered might.","listener_experience":"A charged, talismanic feeling—like holding many protective items at once.","intensity":5}