Sukta 77
Rishi: Traditionally Indra-hymn seers (RV provenance; in AVŚ 20, many hymns are Rigvedic borrowings—specific r̥ṣi attribution follows RV for the parallel).
Devata: Indra (Puruhūta), with mythic associates Saramā and the Aṅgirases
Chandas: Triṣṭubh/Jagatī-type cadence typical of RV Indra narratives (exact meter to be confirmed against pada-count of the RV parallel).
AVŚ 20.77は、勝利と繁栄を願うインドラ讃歌（RV由来）であり、「多く呼ばれる者」プルフータ・インドラに、事の瀬戸際にある障碍を取り除き、「岩を裂いて」、隠され差し止められた富を顕し取り戻すよう祈る。その富は、閉ざされた囲いに閉じ込められた水と牛群が解き放たれるものとして描かれる。サラマーとアンギラサたちを伴うインドラの原初の偉業を想起することで、神話を実効的な呪力へと転じ、賞品の獲得、敵対的拘束の打破、そして決定的瞬間の成功確保を目的とする。
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
आ स॒त्यो या॑तु म॒घवां॑ ऋजी॒षी द्रव॑न्त्वस्य॒ हर॑य॒ उप॑ नः । तस्मा॒ इदन्धः॑ सुषुमा सु॒दक्ष॑मि॒हाभि॑पि॒त्वं क॑रते गृणा॒नः
まことの者が来たれ——施与豊かなインドラ、搾り手（ソーマ搾り）の伴侶よ。彼の黄褐色の駿馬が、われらのもとへ走り来たれ。彼のためにわれらはソーマ（soma）の飲料をよく搾り、よく整えた。ここにて讃えつつある間に、彼はその飲用を自らのものとなすであろう。
Mantra 2
अव॑ स्य शू॒राध्व॑नो॒ नान्ते॒ऽस्मिन् नो॑ अ॒द्य सव॑ने म॒न्दध्यै॑ । शंसा॑त्यु॒क्थमु॒शने॑व वे॒धाश्चि॑कि॒तुषे॑ असु॒र्याऽय मन्म॑
勇士よ、道の果てにおいて彼がわれらを見捨てぬように——今日この搾取（savana）において、われらの歓喜のために。霊感ある智者は、ウシャナー（Uśanā）のごとく讃歌を宣言する。これは見分ける者のための聖なる意向（manman）であり、主権の力のためである。
Mantra 3
क॒विर्न नि॒ण्यं वि॒दथा॑नि॒ साध॒न् वृषा॒ यत् सेकं॑ विपिपा॒नो अर्चा॑त्। दि॒व इ॒त्था जी॑जनत् स॒प्त का॒रूनह्ना॑ चिच्चक्रुर्व॒युना॑ गृ॒णन्तः॑
聖見者（kavi）のごとく、隠された事と祭儀（vidatha）を成就し、雄牛（vṛṣa）は――甘き滴り（seka）を深く飲み、讃歌を歌い上げたとき――かくして天より七人の歌い手を生み出した。彼らは昼なお秩序（vayunā）に従い定められたはたらきをなし、声高く讃えた。
Mantra 4
स्व॑१र्यद् वेदि॑ सु॒दृशी॑कम॒र्कैर्महि॒ ज्योती॑ रुरुचु॒र्यद्ध॒ वस्तोः॑ । अ॒न्धा तमां॑सि॒ दुधि॑ता वि॒चक्षे॒ नृभ्य॑श्चकार॒ नृत॑मो अ॒भिष्टौ॑
讃歌によって天界を見いだし、それが麗しく見えると知ったとき、そして暁に大いなる光が輝き出たとき――そのとき彼は、揺り払われた盲き闇を見分け、人々のために、最も勇猛なる者として救いの護りを成した。
Mantra 5
व॒व॒क्ष इन्द्रो॒ अमि॑तमृजि॒ष्यु॑१भे आ प॑प्रौ॒ रोद॑सी महि॒त्वा। अत॑श्चिदस्य महि॒मा वि रे॑च्य॒भि यो विश्वा॒ भुव॑ना ब॒भूव॑
インドラは増大した——測り知れず、まっすぐに疾走する者。彼はその偉大さによって両界（天と地）を満たした。ゆえにその威光もまた量りなく広がる——万有の上に立ち、すべての存在となった者。
Mantra 6
विश्वा॑नि श॒क्रो नर्या॑णि वि॒द्वान॒पो रि॑रेच॒ सखि॑भि॒र्निका॑मैः । अश्मा॑नं चि॒द् ये बि॑भि॒दुर्वचो॑भिर्व्र॒जं गोम॑न्तमु॒शिजो॒ वि व॑व्रुः
シャクラ（強き者）は、あらゆる勇士の業を知り、望みのままに、仲間とともに水々を解き放った。言葉によってさえ岩を裂き、熱望する者たちは牛に富む囲いを開き放った。
Mantra 7
अ॒पो वृ॒त्रं व॑व्रि॒वांसं॒ परा॑ह॒न् प्राव॑त् ते॒ वज्रं॑ पृथि॒वी सचे॑ताः । प्रार्णां॑सि समु॒द्रिया॑ण्यैनोः॒ पति॒र्भवं॒ छव॑सा शूर धृष्णो
水々——それらを取り囲んでいたヴリトラを——彼は打ち払った。大地は同意して、汝のために金剛（ヴァジュラ）を推し進めた。海のごとき奔流がほとばしり出る。力によってその主となれ、勇士よ、胆力ある者よ。
Mantra 8
अ॒पो यदद्रिं॑ पुरुहूत॒ दर्द॑रा॒विर्भु॑वत् स॒रमा॑ पू॒र्व्यं ते॑ । स नो॑ ने॒ता वाज॒मा द॑र्षि॒ भूरिं॑ गो॒त्रा रु॒जन्नङ्गि॑रोभिर्गृणा॒नः
多く呼ばれる者よ、汝がその岩を裂いたとき、水は姿を現して湧き出で、サラマー（Saramā）もまた顕れた――それは汝の古き業である。われらの導き手となれ。ここに豊かな戦利・恵み（vāja）を示し来たらせ。アンギラス族（Aṅgirasa）に讃えられつつ、牛囲い（go-trā）を打ち破り、群牛を解き放て。
Inside Sukta 77
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Indra is approached as the heroic helper who must not fail the patrons at the ‘end of the path’ and is invited into the pressing/recitation for exhilaration and response.
- What it asks
That Indra lead the performers, reveal abundant prize (vāja/bhūri), and open what is sealed—waters and cattle/wealth—by breaking the enclosure (gotra/vraja).
- Where its power lies
The hymn asserts efficacy by rehearsing Indra’s earlier cosmic victories: releasing waters, splitting stone, and the Aṅgirases’ praise-power that opens the cow-rich pen; Saramā’s manifestation signals discovery and disclosure.
- How it closes
A final leadership-and-prize petition: Indra, praised with the Aṅgirases, breaks the cow-stalls and ‘shows’ the wealth—sealing the rite with the image of opened enclosures and flowing abundance.
Famous verses
adhvano nānte (‘at the end of the path’)
aśmānaṃ cid ye bibhidur vacobhiḥ (‘even the stone they clave with words’)
go̱trā ru̱jann aṅgirobhir gṛṇānaḥ (‘breaking the cow-stalls, praised with the Aṅgirases’)
Kind of hymn
Paustika (Prosperity) / Apotropaic victory-charms (Indraic)
What it is for
Unblocking of impediments and successful acquisition of prize/wealth (especially cattle/valuables), with protection against defeat at a critical endpoint and empowerment of the performer’s undertaking.
Who it is for
Householders seeking prosperity, leaders/warriors seeking victory and prize, and ritualists applying RV-Indra narrative as an Atharvanic ‘success charm’ for contested gains.
Also used as
- Apotropaic (obstruction-removal)
- Saṃgrāmika/Vijaya (victory-support)
- Rāṣṭra/Āsurya (lordly power; sovereignty-toned)
The deity
Indra here is the much-invoked breaker of restraints who opens what is sealed—waters, cattle, and victory—by force and by inspired speech; Saramā functions as the revealer/tracker of hidden wealth, and the Aṅgirases as the praising allies who help ‘split the enclosure.’
Powers of the deity
- Cleave rock/stone obstructions (adri/aśman-bheda)
- Release and redirect waters (āpaḥ as prosperity-flow and purification)
- Break cow-stalls/cattle-pens (gotra/vraja) and disclose hidden wealth
- Grant vāja (prize, strength, competitive success)
- Lead safely to the goal, preventing failure at the end of the path
- Empower effective speech (vacas/uktha) as a ritual weapon
Why the deity is called
To make Indra’s archetypal ‘opening’ acts operative for the patron: reveal concealed resources, defeat withholding rivals, and secure a decisive win and abundant gains.
The seer
- RV-parallel Indra-hymn seer(s) (traditional RV attribution for the corresponding ṛk-sūkta)Angiras. Indra-stuti used as paustika and saṃgrāmika/apotropaic charms: unblocking (āpaḥ release), prize-finding (vāja, go), and victory over obstruction (adri/aśman, gotra/vraja).
Other hymns of this seer
- AVŚ 20 (Rigvedic borrowings): Indra narrative and victory hymns in the same RV-derived cluster (exact RV concordance to be confirmed for this sukta).
Preparing for the rite
- Select a clean place oriented toward the east or toward flowing water; establish a small fire or lamp if customary.
- Prepare a vessel of clean water (āpaḥ) for sprinkling; keep a stone/pebble as the ‘obstruction-symbol’ (adri/aśman).
- If the rite is prosperity-focused, place a token of wealth (grain, coin, or a cattle-hair/tether if available) near the reciter.
The rite
- Recite the sukta in full (8 mantras), with emphasis on verses describing release of waters and opening of the cow-pen.
- At the ‘rock-cleaving’ moments, touch or tap the stone and then set it aside, symbolically ‘broken/opened.’
- Sprinkle water forward (or around the boundary of the worksite/household) while reciting the release motifs, directing the flow toward the intended goal.
- Conclude by asking Indra to ‘lead’ (netā) and ‘show the prize’ (vājam ā darśi), then distribute a small portion of water as a blessing.
What it needs
- Clean water (āpaḥ)
- A small stone/pebble (adri/aśman) as obstruction-symbol
- Optional: wealth token (grain/coin), cattle-related token where culturally appropriate
- Optional: soma-analogue offering (milk/clarified butter) in lieu of RV soma context
When
Best at a liminal ‘end-point’ of an undertaking: before a decisive meeting/battle/competition, at the final stage of a journey, or at the close of a pressing/offering session (savana motif).
The main substance
Water (āpaḥ) as the released prosperity-flow and purifier
Amulets
- Small stone/pebble kept as a ‘blocked-to-opened’ token (adri/aśman)
- Wealth-token bundle (grain/coin) tied in cloth as a paustika reminder
How it is prepared
Fill a clean vessel with water; keep a small stone beside it during recitation. At the release-verses, touch the stone and sprinkle the water outward to ‘open’ pathways and invite disclosed gains.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used to ‘open what is blocked’: to overcome obstacles, prevent failure at a crucial final stage, and obtain withheld or hidden gains—symbolized as waters and cattle/prize.
Saramā represents discovery and tracking of concealed wealth, while the Aṅgirases represent the praising allies whose sacred speech helps open the enclosure; together they make Indra’s victory-and-revelation myth actionable.
No. The hymn’s imagery is already the method: water for sprinkling (prosperity-flow) and a small stone as the ‘obstruction’ symbol are sufficient for a simple paustika/apotropaic application.
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