Sukta 174
Sukta 10.174
Attributed traditionally to a late (10th maṇḍala) seer-family context; commonly indexed as a Rāṣṭra/Abhivarta type hymn (exact r̥ṣi varies by recension/Anukramaṇī; requires edition-specific confirmation).
Brahmaṇaspati (with Indra invoked as the exemplar of victorious turning).
Likely Triṣṭubh (10.174 is typically triṣṭubh in many indices; verify per pada-count in the chosen Saṃhitā edition).
ಈ ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತ ತ್ರಿಷ್ಟುಭ್ ಸ್ತೋತ್ರವು ರಾಜ್ಯ/ಅಭೀವರ್ಥ (ಸಾರ್ವಭೌಮತ್ವ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಜಯ) ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಇಂದ್ರನ ವಿಜಯಕರ “ತಿರುಗಿಸುವಿಕೆ”ಯನ್ನು ಮಾದರಿಯಾಗಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು, ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಣಸ್ಪತಿಯನ್ನು ಆರಾಧಕನನ್ನು ಕ್ರಮಬದ್ಧ ಅಧಿಪತ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಯಶಸ್ಸಿನ ಕಡೆಗೆ “ತಿರುಗಿಸು” ಎಂದು ಬೇಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ಪ್ರತಿಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಶತ್ರುಬಲಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ರಕ್ಷಣಾತ್ಮಕ ಅಧಿಗಮನವನ್ನು ಕೋರುತ್ತದೆ; ಮತ್ತು ಅಭಿಷಿಕ್ತ ಹವಿಸ್ಸಿನ ಪರಿಣಾಮಕಾರಿತ್ವ ಹಾಗೂ ದೈವಾನುಗ್ರಹದಿಂದ ‘ಅಸಪತ್ನ’—“ಪ್ರತಿಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಗಳಿಲ್ಲದವನು”—ಆಗುವ ಭರವಸೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂತ್ಯಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ.
Mantras
Mantra 1
अभीवर्तेन हविषा येनेन्द्रो अभिवावृते । तेनास्मान्ब्रह्मणस्पतेऽभि राष्ट्राय वर्तय ॥
ಯಾವ ವಿಜಯಕರ ಹವಿಷಿನಿಂದ ಇಂದ್ರನು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಜಯದತ್ತ ತಿರುಗಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಾನೋ, ಅದೇ ಶಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ, ಹೇ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಣಸ್ಪತಿ (ವಾಕ್ಯದ ಅಧಿಪತಿ), ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದತ್ತ—ಧರ್ಮಸಂಯಮಿತ ಅಧಿಪತ್ಯದತ್ತ—ಅಭಿಮುಖವಾಗಿ ತಿರುಗಿಸು.
Mantra 2
अभिवृत्य सपत्नानभि या नो अरातयः । अभि पृतन्यन्तं तिष्ठाभि यो न इरस्यति ॥
ಸಪತ್ನರನ್ನು—ನಮಗೆ ಅಹಿತ ಮಾಡುವ ಶತ್ರುಶಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು—ಆವರಿಸಿ ಮೀರಿಸಿ; ನಮ್ಮ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಯುದ್ಧ ಮಾಡುವವನ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಂತಿರು; ಮತ್ತು ನಮಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಬಯಸುವವನ ಮೇಲೆಯೂ ನಿಂತಿರು.
Mantra 4
येनेन्द्रो हविषा कृत्व्यभवद्द्युम्न्युत्तमः । इदं तदक्रि देवा असपत्नः किलाभुवम् ॥
ಯಾವ ಹವಿಷಿನಿಂದ ಇಂದ್ರನು ದ್ಯುಮ್ನ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಮಯ ಶಕ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮನಾದನೋ—ಹೇ ದೇವರೆ, ಅದೇ ಕಾರ್ಯವನ್ನು ನೀವು ನೆರವೇರಿಸಿದ್ದೀರಿ; ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ನಾನು ಸಪತ್ನರಹಿತನಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ, ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಅಖಂಡ ಜಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಿರನಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ.
Inside Sukta 174
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
The hymn opens by naming the ‘conquering oblation’ that makes Indra turn fully toward victory, then asks Brahmaṇaspati to turn the worshipper likewise toward rāṣṭra.
- Development
It expands from aspiration to protection: hostile forces, rivals, and aggressors are to be encompassed and overruled by the invoked divine power.
- Climax
Victory is framed as luminous excellence (dyumny uttamaḥ): the same sacrificial force that elevated Indra is claimed as operative here and now.
- Where it settles
The prayer resolves in accomplished assurance—‘asapatnaḥ’: the worshipper stands established without rivals, by the gods’ effective act through the offering.
The deity: Brahmaṇaspati
- In the VedaBrahmaṇaspati is the lord of brahman—sacred utterance, hymn-power, and priestly formulation—who makes the rite effective and sets right what is obstructed; he is invoked to direct (√vṛt) the worshipper toward success. Indra appears as the model of one who is made wholly victorious through the properly empowered oblation.
- Cosmic functionHe governs the efficacy of mantra and sacrifice, clears obstacles, and establishes right order (ṛta) in communal and inner life; through him the offering becomes a force that turns events toward victory and stable rule.
- Inner significanceThe organizing intelligence of speech and intention: disciplined word-power that gathers scattered energies, overrules inner ‘rivals’ (doubt, fear, hostility), and installs sovereignty of the self—clear direction, confidence, and luminous strength (dyumna).
The seer
- Anukramaṇī-attribution varies (late 10th-maṇḍala seer-family context)Associated in indices with rāṣṭra/abhīvarta-type hymns that function as royal/communal victory-formulas
Famous verses
abhīvartena haviṣā … brahmaṇas pate ’bhi rāṣṭrāya vartaya
अभिवृत्य सपत्नानभि या नो अरातयः । अभि पृतन्यन्तं तिष्ठाभि यो न इरस्यति ॥asapatnaḥ
Attributes of the deity
- Lord of sacred speech (brahman) and ritual mastery
- Obstacle-remover and stabilizer of order
- Turns the tide toward victory (abhīvarta)
- Protector against rivals and hostility
- Bestower of dyumna (luminous power) and asapatnatā (rival-less standing)
Also by this seer
- Late 10th-maṇḍala pragmatic hymns used for protection, rivalry-subduing, and rāṣṭra (polity/sovereignty) stabilization (edition-dependent attributions).
- Connected in traditional usage to abhīvarta-style verses employed in consecratory and protective rites (prayoga-based rather than author-centric).
The rite, step by step
- Prepare the fire (āhavanīya) and seat the officiant; establish calm and intention for rāṣṭra-stability.
- Invoke Brahmaṇaspati with the opening verse, explicitly requesting the ‘turning’ toward rāṣṭra (ordered dominion).
- Offer the abhīvarta oblation while reciting the rivalry-subduing verse, visualizing the overruling of hostile forces and conflict.
- Recite the dyumna/asapatna verse as an affirmation of accomplished protection and rival-less standing; conclude with śānti-style settling of intention.
- Optionally repeat as a short japa-cycle in contexts of contest, litigation, elections, leadership transitions, or inner resolve.
Offerings
- Ghee (ājya) oblation into fire
- Cooked offering/oblatory food (havis) as specified by local prayoga
- Optional soma-substitute in later practice contexts (where applicable)
Frequently Asked Questions
It asks Brahmaṇaspati to direct the worshipper toward stable sovereignty (rāṣṭra)—outer success and inner self-rule—using Indra’s victory through offering as the model.
Because it is an abhīvarta-style prayer: it seeks to ‘overrule’ hostile forces and competition, so the worshipper becomes asapatna—free from effective opposition.
Traditionally it fits fire-offering contexts for protection and success (leadership, important decisions, contests). In personal practice it can be recited as a short prayer for clarity, confidence, and overcoming inner and outer obstacles.
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