Atharva Veda 20.2.3: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 3
Sukta 2
इन्द्रो॑ ब्र॒ह्मा ब्राह्म॑णात् सु॒ष्टुभः॑ स्व॒र्कादृ॒तुना॒ सोमं॑ पिबतु
índro bráhmā brā́hmaṇāt suṣṭúbhaḥ svarkā́d ṛtúnā sómaṁ pibatu
Let Indra—(as) the Brahman—duly hymned, from the Brahman’s station, from the bright heaven, in season and in right order, drink the Soma.
ഇന്ദ്രൻ—ബ്രഹ്മാ (ബ്രാഹ്മണരൂപത്തിൽ)—സുഷ്ടുഭ (ശ്രേഷ്ഠസ്തുതിയാൽ സ്തുതിക്കപ്പെട്ടവൻ)—ബ്രാഹ്മണന്റെ സ്ഥാനത്തിൽ നിന്ന്, സ്വർക് (പ്രകാശമയ സ്വർഗ്ഗം) മുതൽ, ഋതുനായും ഋതയും അനുസരിച്ച് സോമം പാനം ചെയ്യട്ടെ.
Rishi: RV-tradition attribution (not recoverable from excerpt alone)
Devata: Indra
Chandas: Yajus-style invitatory formula (non-metrical/irregular in this excerpt)
Primary: vira
Secondary: shanta
Sāyaṇa commonly construes such station-ablatives as ‘from the place/office of X priest’. ‘brahmā’ is taken in the śrauta sense (the supervising priest), and the mantra links Indra’s Soma-drinking to brahmanic oversight: the rite succeeds when guarded by brahman and performed yathāvidhi.
To secure Indra’s presence and empowerment through Soma, thereby transferring victory/strength to the sacrificer
Not a healing charm; parallels leadership psychology: strength moderated by oversight and process.
paustika
Indra in Soma sacrifice context
Invite Indra’s empowered presence through Soma to confer victory, strength, and successful rite-performance.
Śrauta invitatory with role-identification (Indra as Brahman) + stationing + timing clause.
Ritual failure; loss of strength; adversarial forces
Victory, vigor, success
A liturgical invitatory: Indra, in the role of Brahman (sacred power/overseer), from the Brahman’s station and from bright heaven, in due season and order, is to drink Soma.
Indra here is not only warrior power but regulated authority (brahman-function): strength yoked to oversight and right speech. Soma becomes the fuel of victorious clarity under ethical/ritual governance.
Power is safest and most fruitful when guided by wisdom, procedure, and accountability.
- इन्द्र (indra)
- victory-force, executive power, capacity to overcome obstacles
- ब्रह्मा (brahmā)
- governing intelligence; sacred oversight that stabilizes power
- ब्राह्मणात् (brāhmaṇāt)
- authority rooted in correct knowledge and ritual order
- सुस्तुभ् (suṣṭubh)
- speech that properly empowers and constrains force
- ऋतु (ṛtu)
- strategic timing; alignment with natural and moral order
- सोम (soma)
- inspiration, vigor, victorious intoxication under control
- स्वर्क (svarka)
- clarity, legitimizing radiance of right order
Invoke inner Indra (courage) under inner Brahman (discernment/ethics).
Maṇipūra (will) with Ājñā (discernment)
Box-breath (equal counts) to embody ‘ṛtunā’ (order) before action.
Steady, decisive attention.
Before confronting obstacles, recite once, then pause: ask what ‘Brahman-station’ (principle/constraint) will govern the action so power remains auspicious.
Clear stress on ‘indro’ and ‘brahmā’; keep the rest even; resolve firmly on ‘pibatu’.
Separate brāhmaṇāt (brāh-ma-ṇāt) cleanly; avoid collapsing vowels in sva-rkāt ṛ-tu-nā.
brāhmaṇāt: retroflex ṇ, long ā, indro: short o; do not overlengthen, suṣṭubhaḥ: ṣṭ cluster crisp
Officiant-like, steady, authoritative.
Śrauta sequencing matters more than repetition; recite at the correct ritual cue if used in rite.
1
Formal yajña contexts; or modern use when seeking strength guided by principle (oversight).
Before demanding tasks requiring courage and discipline; in structured ritual settings.
Confidence with restraint; sense of ordered power.
Not a domestic healing charm; if used personally, keep intention ethical—avoid using ‘Indra-power’ for aggression.
पदच्छेदः: इन्द्रः | ब्रह्मा | ब्राह्मणात् | सुष्टुभः | स्वर्कात् | ऋतुना | सोमम् | पिबतु । सन्धि-विशेषः: (1) ‘इन्द्रो॑’ = ‘इन्द्रः’ (विसर्ग-लोप/पदसन्धि; पदान्त ‘ः’ का उच्चारण-संस्कार)। (2) ‘स्व॒र्कादृ॒तुना॒’ = ‘स्वर्कात् ऋतुना’ (तकारान्त + ऋ-आदि: त् + ऋ → द् + ऋ, अर्थात् ‘त्’ का घोषीकरण होकर ‘द्’)।
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