Sukta 15
Rishi: RV-tradition seer(s) underlying AV 20 (Indra-stuti)
Devata: Indra
Chandas: Triṣṭubh-like RV meter (as transmitted in AV 20); exact scansion requires full pada accent/mātrā check
AVŚ 20.15 ialah pujian kepada Indra bergaya Rigveda yang dipelihara dalam korpus bacaan Atharvaveda, bertujuan memastikan Indra menerima pujian dengan penuh perhatian dan seterusnya melepaskan kurnia-Nya yang “tidak terhalang”. Himne ini membingkai kemakmuran sebagai hasil yang mantap dan berjaya daripada ucapan (vāc) yang disahkan, dipersembahkan melalui upacara yang tersusun (sam-adhvara), sambil menyeru keagungan Indra yang menggerunkan, kuasa pemberi kemasyhuran (indriya), serta kekayaan yang mengalir seperti air menuruni cerun.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
प्र मंहि॑ष्ठाय बृह॒ते बृ॒हद्र॑ये स॒त्यशु॑ष्माय त॒वसे॑ म॒तिं भ॑रे । अ॒पामि॑व प्रव॒णे यस्य॑ दु॒र्धरं॒ राधो॑ वि॒श्वायु॒ शव॑से॒ अपा॑वृतम्
Kepadanya—yang paling pemurah, besar, berharta besar, berdaya benar, yang perkasa—aku bawa persembahan fikiranku. Kurnianya, sukar ditahan, laksana air di cerun, terbuka mengalir tanpa sekatan; dengan kekuatannya ia mengurniai hayat bagi semua.
Mantra 2
अध॑ ते॒ विश्व॒मनु॑ हासदि॒ष्टय॒ आपो॑ नि॒म्नेव॒ सव॑ना ह॒विष्म॑तः । यत् पर्व॑ते॒ न स॒मशी॑त हर्य॒त इन्द्र॑स्य॒ वज्रः॒ श्नथि॑ता हिर॒ण्ययः॑
Kemudian semuanya, menurut tertib kepada engkau, bersukacita demi maksud yang dihajati, seperti air menuju lekuk; perahan soma si pembawa korban mengalir pada jalannya, tatkala di gunung ia tidak tertahan—vajra Indra yang keemasan, digerakkan kuda-kuda kekuningan, menghancurkan.
Mantra 3
अ॒स्मै भी॒माय॒ नम॑सा॒ सम॑ध्व॒र उषो॒ न शु॑भ्र॒ आ भ॑रा॒ पनी॑यसे । यस्य॒ धाम॒ श्रव॑से॒ नामे॑न्द्रि॒यं ज्योति॒रका॑रि ह॒रितो॒ नाय॑से
Kepadanya yang menggerunkan, dengan sembah hormat—wahai upacara yang tersusun—bawalah (persembahan), cerah seperti Fajar, bagi yang terpuji. Kedudukannya untuk kemasyhuran; namanya ialah daya-Indra: cahaya telah dinyatakan, dan kuda-kuda kekuningan dijadikan untuk memimpin.
Mantra 4
इ॒मे त॑ इन्द्र॒ ते व॒यं पु॑रुष्टुत॒ ये त्वा॒रभ्य॒ चरा॑मसि प्रभूवसो । न॒हि त्वद॒न्यो गि॑र्वणो॒ गिरः॒ सध॑त् क्षो॒णीरि॑व॒ प्रति॑ नो हर्य॒ तद् वचः॑
Ini, wahai Indra, adalah untukmu—ya, kami pun untukmu, wahai yang banyak dipuji—kami yang, berpegang padamu, berjalan dalam khidmatmu, wahai penguasa kekayaan yang luas. Kerana tiada selain engkau, wahai sahabat nyanyian suci, yang dapat menegakkan lagu-lagu kami hingga berhasil dengan pasti; maka, sebagaimana bumi-bumi teguh, sambutlah dengan gembira, sebagai jawapan, kata-kata kami ini.
Mantra 5
भूरि॑ त इन्द्र वी॒र्यं॑१ तव॑ स्मस्य॒स्य स्तो॒तुर्म॑घव॒न् काम॒मा पृ॑ण । अनु॑ ते॒ द्यौर्बृ॑ह॒ती वी॒र्यं मम इ॒यं च॑ ते पृथि॒वी ने॑म॒ ओज॑से
Banyak dan melimpah, wahai Indra, ialah daya kepahlawananmu; penuhilah sepenuhnya, wahai yang pemurah, hajat pemuji ini. Seiring denganmu, Langit yang luas mengikuti dengan kekuatan; dan Bumi milikmu ini—yang begitu dekat bagiku—memberikan bahagiannya yang terukur demi tenaga.
Mantra 6
त्वं तमि॑न्द्र॒ पर्व॑तं म॒हामु॒रुं वज्रे॑ण वज्रिन् पर्व॒शश्च॑कर्तिथ । अवा॑सृजो॒ निवृ॑ताः॒ सर्त॒वा अ॒पः स॒त्रा विश्वं॑ दधिषे॒ केव॑लं॒ सहः॑
Engkau, wahai Indra, gunung itu—besar dan luas—engkau, wahai pemegang vajra, belah dengan vajra, engkau kerat sendi demi sendi. Engkau lepaskan air yang terkurung dan terhalang supaya mengalir keluar; dan seluruhnya engkau menegakkan segala-galanya dengan daya—kekuatan murni yang tidak bercampur.
Inside Sukta 15
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by sending forth thought (mati) toward Indra as the most bounteous and great in riches, whose gift is already poised to be released.
- What it asks
That Indra be brought near through ordered rite and reverent praise, accept the singers’ word, and convert it into tangible prosperity, fame, and power.
- Where its power lies
No other deity can ‘set’ the hymns into sure success; Indra alone stabilizes the praise so it bears results as firmly as lands stand.
- How it closes
A concluding turn of address asking Indra to take delight in the spoken word (vac) and respond favorably, thereby completing the praise-to-boon circuit.
Famous verses
apām iva pravaṇe … apāvṛtam
jyotir akāri harito nāyase
nahi tvad anyo … prati no harya tad vacaḥ
Kind of hymn
Paustika (Prosperity) / Royal-Invocatory (Indra-stuti within AV 20 RV-recitational corpus)
What it is for
Prosperity that is both abundant and steady: wealth released without obstruction, fame and sovereign strength, and the successful “landing” of the hymn so results are secured.
Who it is for
Kings/patrons, householders seeking prosperity and status, and ritualists reciting AV 20’s RV-style stotras for success and protection.
Also used as
- Rājanya/Royal-Invocatory
- Rakṣoghna (protective coloration through bhīma-Indra)
- Āyuṣya (longevity coloration via viśvāyu)
The deity
Indra here is the sovereign power of victorious force and patronal generosity—terrible in presence (bhīma), yet delighted by well-formed praise and responsive to the sacrificer’s word. He is portrayed as the opener of wealth and life-force, whose radiance and tawny steeds signal the arrival of divine aid.
Powers of the deity
- Unstoppable release of bounty (rādhas) “opened out” and hard to withstand
- Bestowal of wealth, success, and patronal prosperity
- Granting of fame (śravas) and sovereign potency (indriya)
- Protection through awe and dominance over threats
- Animating auspicious radiance (jyotis) and theophanic presence
- Delighting in and “setting” hymns into effective success (siddhi)
Why the deity is called
To have Indra accept and ratify the hymn’s praise so that speech becomes efficacious—bringing stable success, wealth-flow, fame, and power to the patron and officiants.
The seer
- RV-tradition seer(s) of the underlying Indra-stutiAngiras. Stotra-based royal invocations (Indra-stuti) used for prosperity, patronal success, and the stabilization of ritual speech into siddhi; protective reinforcement through praising the deity’s overwhelming power.
Other hymns of this seer
- AVŚ 20.1–20.63 (RV-derived stotras; r̥ṣi varies by RV source)
Preparing for the rite
- Establish a clean recitation space; seat the patron facing east or north.
- Perform ācamana and a brief saṅkalpa for prosperity, success, and Indra’s favor.
- Optional: prepare a small water vessel as a symbolic ‘flow’ of bounty (in line with the hymn’s apām-iva imagery).
The rite
- Recite the 6 mantras in a steady Triṣṭubh-like cadence, maintaining clear articulation of praise epithets (puruṣṭuta, giṛvaṇaḥ, prabhūvasu).
- At verses emphasizing ‘opening’ and ‘flowing bounty,’ lightly touch or gaze upon the water vessel as a ritual cue (symbolic, not required by the text).
- Conclude with a brief namas to Indra, mentally ‘sealing’ the request that the word become successful (vacasaḥ siddhi).
What it needs
- None required by the hymn text
- Optional: clean water (symbolic support for ‘apām-iva pravaṇe’ imagery)
When
Daytime recitation, especially morning (dawn-bright imagery) or before royal/competitive undertakings where success and patronal favor are sought.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is primarily used to obtain prosperity and stable success by invoking Indra’s generosity and asking him to make the recited praise effective in results (siddhi).
No. The hymn works through stotra (praise) and the ordering of speech in ritual. Water can be kept symbolically, but it is not required by the text.
Because it treats correct, devoted praise as the mechanism that ‘locks in’ success. The hymn explicitly says no one but Indra can make the songs succeed, so the goal is Indra’s acceptance of the word (vac).
Ask anything about Sukta 15 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
