Rig Veda Sukta 162
Mandala 10Sukta 1626 Mantras

Sukta 162

Sukta 10.162

Rishi

Late Maṇḍala 10 protective/healing tradition; specific r̥ṣi uncertain in common catalogs.

Devata

Agni (rakṣohā) empowered by brahman; protective exorcistic-healing frame.

Chandas

Likely Tr̥ṣṭubh; requires scansion confirmation.

この短い護身の讃歌は、ブラフマン(brahman)の力によって強められたラクショーハ(害あるものを討つ者)としてのアグニを呼び、子宮に入り込み受胎と子孫を脅かすと信じられた、衰弱をもたらす不吉な名の存在を追い払うよう求める。侵入の様態として、外での潜伏、ヨーニ(yoni)内での忍び入り、夢と闇による惑乱が挙げられ、除去する力に危難を遠ざけよと繰り返し命じる。このスークタは、豊穣・妊娠・家系の継続を守るための、祓いと治癒の祈りとして機能する。

Recitation with translationRig Veda 10.162

Mantras

Mantra 1

ब्रह्मणाग्निः संविदानो रक्षोहा बाधतामितः । अमीवा यस्ते गर्भं दुर्णामा योनिमाशये ॥

ブラフマン(brahman)の力によって、アグニ(Agni)—正しい知において目覚めきり、ラクシャス殺しなる者—ここより追い払え、汝の胎(yoni)に悪名をもって潜み、産処に横たわるその衰耗の禍を。

Mantra 2

यस्ते गर्भममीवा दुर्णामा योनिमाशये । अग्निष्टं ब्रह्मणा सह निष्क्रव्यादमनीनशत् ॥

汝の胎に横たわり、悪名を負い、母胎(yoni)に宿るその衰耗の禍を—アグニ(Agni)はブラフマン(brahman)とともに外へ追い出し、打ち砕き退けた。生臭きものと腐敗を食らう者のごとく。

Mantra 3

यस्ते हन्ति पतयन्तं निषत्स्नुं यः सरीसृपम् । जातं यस्ते जिघांसति तमितो नाशयामसि ॥

翼を得て飛び立たんとするものを打ち倒す者、なお生に落ち着かんとするものを害する者、這い進む成長を襲う者—汝のために生まれしものを殺さんとする者を、われらはここより滅ぼし尽くす。

Mantra 4

यस्त ऊरू विहरत्यन्तरा दम्पती शये । योनिं यो अन्तरारेळ्हि तमितो नाशयामसि ॥

汝の両腿のあいだをさまよい、夫婦のあいだに横たわる者よ。内より胎(よに)に忍び入る者よ——その者を、ここより我らは滅ぼす。

Mantra 5

यस्त्वा भ्राता पतिर्भूत्वा जारो भूत्वा निपद्यते । प्रजां यस्ते जिघांसति तमितो नाशयामसि ॥

汝に仮の姿で近づく者——「兄弟」となり、「夫」となり、「恋人」となって身を寄せる者。汝の子孫を害そうとする者——その者を、ここより我らは滅ぼす。

Mantra 6

यस्त्वा स्वप्नेन तमसा मोहयित्वा निपद्यते । प्रजां यस्ते जिघांसति तमितो नाशयामसि ॥

夢と闇とによって汝を惑わし、近づき伏す者。汝の子孫を害そうとする者——その者を、ここより我らは滅ぼす。

Inside Sukta 162

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Agni, strengthened by brahman and right awareness, is invoked to expel a wasting, ill-named presence lodged in the womb/birthplace.

  2. Development

    The hymn specifies the hostile agent’s modes of approach—moving between the thighs, lying between the married pair, creeping within the yoni—making the threat concrete and ritually addressable.

  3. Climax

    A forceful, repeated banishing command (‘tam ito nāśayāmasi’) targets the intruder directly, asserting the community’s mantra-backed authority to destroy and remove it.

  4. Where it settles

    The sukta closes by extending protection to progeny against dream-and-darkness delusion, sealing the rite with a final expulsion and the implied restoration of safety and fertility.

The deity: Agni, empowered by Brahman

  • In the VedaAgni is invoked as fully awakened in right understanding (saṃvidānaḥ), the rakṣas-slayer who drives away amīvā (wasting affliction) and hostile intruders by the force of brahman (sacred formulation).
  • Cosmic functionAs the sacrificial fire and divine messenger, Agni mediates between human and divine realms, purifies spaces, and repels disordering forces that threaten life, lineage, and ritual order.
  • Inner significanceAgni here symbolizes the clarifying, protective intelligence of mantra—lucid awareness that burns through fear, confusion, and invasive negativity, restoring safety to the generative center (yoni) and to the future (prajā).

The seer

  • Anirukta (late Maṇḍala 10 healing/protective tradition; r̥ṣi uncertain)Associated (in style and function) with the late Rigvedic apotropaic corpus that deploys brahman/mantra as a therapeutic and exorcistic power, especially for threats to pregnancy and offspring.

Famous verses

brahmaṇāgniḥ saṃvidāno rakṣohā
Verse 10.162.1Sets the core frame: Agni as rakṣohā, empowered by brahman, commanded to drive away amīvā lodged in the womb—defining the hymn’s healing-exorcistic purpose.Read verse 10.162.1 →
tam ito nāśayāmasi
Verse 10.162.4Names the intruder’s liminal ‘between’ spaces (between thighs, between spouses, within the womb), a hallmark of apotropaic diagnosis and targeted banishment.Read verse 10.162.4 →
यस्त्वा स्वप्नेन तमसा मोहयित्वा निपद्यते । प्रजां यस्ते जिघांसति तमितो नाशयामसि ॥
Verse 10.162.6Links the threat to dream/darkness (svapna, tamas) and explicitly protects progeny (prajā), broadening the rite from bodily intrusion to psychological/occult assault.Read verse 10.162.6 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Rakṣohā (protector, demon-slayer)
  • Purifier and remover of pollution
  • Mantra-empowered (brahmaṇā)
  • Awake discernment (saṃvidānaḥ)
  • Guardian of life, fertility, and progeny

Also by this seer

  • Attributed broadly to the late Maṇḍala 10 rakṣoghna/bhaiṣajya (protective-healing) stream rather than a single stable family r̥ṣi
  • Comparable in tone and ritual aim to other late RV protective hymns used for warding off amīvā, rakṣas, and hostile influences

The rite, step by step

  • Kindle or approach the household/ritual fire, establishing Agni as witness and protector.
  • Recite the sukta as a rakṣoghna prayer, directing the command ‘drive away from here’ toward the perceived affliction.
  • Perform protective circumambulation or blessing gestures around the woman/couple (or the designated ritual space), synchronizing with the repeated expulsion formulae.
  • Conclude with a sealing prayer for protection of the garbha/prajā and restoration of auspiciousness in the yoni and household.

Offerings

  • Ghee (ājya) into Agni
  • Simple oblations appropriate to a household rite (e.g., samidh/fuel-sticks)
  • Water for purification (ācamana/prokṣaṇa) as a supportive act

Frequently Asked Questions

It is a protective healing hymn that calls on Agni, strengthened by sacred speech (brahman), to drive away a wasting affliction or hostile presence thought to have entered the womb and to safeguard future offspring.

Because the ritual aim is fertility and safe continuation of the family line. The sukta treats threats to conception and pregnancy as something that can be expelled through Agni and mantra.

Typically alongside a fire rite: the household fire is kindled, oblations like ghee are offered, and the verses are recited as a banishing prayer to remove harm and re-establish protection around the couple and the womb.

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