Rig Veda Sukta 117
Mandala 10Sukta 1179 Mantras

Sukta 117

Sukta 10.117

Devata

Didactic/ethical hymn (no single devatā; addresses the law of giving under divine order)

Chandas

Trishtubh (common for RV 10.117; verification required)

Rigveda 10.117 ialah sebuah himne lewat yang bersifat didaktik, mengajarkan dharma kemurahan hati: kekayaan sepatutnya beredar, dan sesiapa yang enggan berkongsi akan ditinggalkan—secara rohani dan sosial. Ia membingkai pemberian (pṛṇ-) sebagai keselarasan dengan ṛta (tatanan kosmik), serta memberi amaran bahawa menimbun dan mengabaikan yang memerlukan membawa kepada kemerosotan, sedangkan berkongsi memelihara pemberi dan masyarakat.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 10.117

Mantras

Mantra 1

न वा उ देवाः क्षुधमिद्वधं ददुरुताशितमुप गच्छन्ति मृत्यवः । उतो रयिः पृणतो नोप दस्यत्युतापृणन्मर्डितारं न विन्दते ॥

Para dewa tidak menetapkan lapar sebagai pembunuh; namun maut mendekati orang yang tidak ternutrisi. Tetapi rayi (kelimpahan) tidak mengkhianati orang yang mengenyangkan orang lain; dan yang tidak mengenyangkan tidak menemukan penyembuh, juga tidak penyelamat.

Mantra 2

य आध्राय चकमानाय पित्वोऽन्नवान्त्सन्रफितायोपजग्मुषे । स्थिरं मनः कृणुते सेवते पुरोतो चित्स मर्डितारं न विन्दते ॥

Sesiapa yang, walau memiliki makanan, mengeraskan hatinya terhadap pengembara yang berhajat—yang datang mencari minum dan santapan—dia hanya berkhidmat pada kepentingan sempitnya sendiri; namun begitu dia tidak menemukan penyembuh, bahkan kemudian pun tidak.

Mantra 3

स इद्भोजो यो गृहवे ददात्यन्नकामाय चरते कृशाय । अरमस्मै भवति यामहूता उतापरीषु कृणुते सखायम् ॥

Dialah sebenarnya penikmat sejati: yang di rumahnya memberi kepada pengembara yang kurus, yang berjalan mencari makanan. Baginya, perjalanan yang dipanggil oleh keperluan menjadi lurus dan mencukupi; bahkan di laluan yang paling jauh pun dia menjadikan seorang sahabat.

Mantra 4

न स सखा यो न ददाति सख्ये सचाभुवे सचमानाय पित्वः । अपास्मात्प्रेयान्न तदोको अस्ति पृणन्तमन्यमरणं चिदिच्छेत् ॥

Dia bukan sahabat—yang tidak memberi dalam persahabatan kepada teman yang datang mencari pemeliharaan. Berpalinglah daripadanya; itu bukan kediaman yang sebenar. Carilah yang lain—yang mengenyangkan—walaupun dia seorang asing.

Mantra 5

पृणीयादिन्नाधमानाय तव्यान्द्राघीयांसमनु पश्येत पन्थाम् । ओ हि वर्तन्ते रथ्येव चक्रान्यमन्यमुप तिष्ठन्त रायः ॥

Hendaklah dia mengisi yang berkekurangan; hendaklah dia memandang sepanjang jalan yang lebih jauh dan lebih luas. Kerana kekayaan berputar dan kembali seperti roda di jalan; kini pada yang seorang, kini pada yang lain, ia datang dan berhenti.

Mantra 6

मोघमन्नं विन्दते अप्रचेताः सत्यं ब्रवीमि वध इत्स तस्य । नार्यमणं पुष्यति नो सखायं केवलाघो भवति केवलादी ॥

Sia-sialah si tidak sedar memperoleh makanan; benar aku berkata—kebinasaanlah bahagiannya. Ia tidak memelihara Aryaman, dan tidak juga seorang sahabat; ia menjadi dosa semata dan pemakan yang menyendiri.

Mantra 7

कृषन्नित्फाल आशितं कृणोति यन्नध्वानमप वृङ्क्ते चरित्रैः । वदन्ब्रह्मावदतो वनीयान्पृणन्नापिरपृणन्तमभि ष्यात् ॥

Bahkan bajak, apabila bekerja, menghasilkan makanan; kerana dengan geraknya ia membersihkan jalan. Brahmana yang berkata lebih mulia daripada yang diam; yang mengisi (memberi) itulah penolong sejati—hendaklah ia berdiri menentang yang tidak mengisi.

Mantra 8

एकपाद्भूयो द्विपदो वि चक्रमे द्विपात्त्रिपादमभ्येति पश्चात् । चतुष्पादेति द्विपदामभिस्वरे सम्पश्यन्पङ्क्तीरुपतिष्ठमानः ॥

Dari yang berkaki satu ia bergerak lagi menuju yang berkaki dua; dari yang berkaki dua ia mengekori dari belakang lalu mencapai yang berkaki tiga. Ia melangkah ke yang berkaki empat, bergema kembali kepada yang berkaki dua; melihat barisan-barisan yang tersusun, ia berdiri dekat dan mengambil tempatnya.

Mantra 9

समौ चिद्धस्तौ न समं विविष्टः सम्मातरा चिन्न समं दुहाते । यमयोश्चिन्न समा वीर्याणि ज्ञाती चित्सन्तौ न समं पृणीतः ॥

Bahkan dua tangan yang kelihatan sama pun tidak bergerak dengan daya yang setara; bahkan dua ibu pun tidak mengeluarkan susu yang sama. Bahkan pada pasangan kembar, kekuatan-kekuatan tidaklah serupa; bahkan dalam kalangan kaum kerabat yang bersama, pemberian pun tidak seimbang.

Inside Sukta 117

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    A stark teaching: hunger is not meant as a divine ‘executioner,’ yet the unfed fall toward death; the one who refuses to nourish others loses support and remedy.

  2. Development

    The hymn argues that wealth is not fixed property but a moving current; one should ‘fill’ the needy and choose the wider path of generosity, because fortune shifts like wheels on a road.

  3. Climax

    The central revelation is the law of circulation: riches come to rest with one and then another—therefore hoarding is short-sighted and contrary to ṛta.

  4. Where it settles

    It closes with a realistic observation of human inequality (even among seeming equals), implying that one must consciously awaken the capacity to give rather than presume sameness or automatic fairness.

The deity: Dāna-Dharma under Ṛta

  • In the VedaThe hymn speaks in the idiom of the gods and ṛta: hunger is not ordained as a ‘slayer,’ yet death approaches the unfed; prosperity (rayi) supports the one who ‘fills’ others, while the non-giver finds no helper.
  • Cosmic functionTo maintain social and cosmic balance by ensuring that resources circulate; generosity becomes a stabilizing law that protects life, kinship, and communal continuity.
  • Inner significanceA discipline of expanding the self beyond fear and scarcity—training the mind to loosen grasping, recognize impermanence of possession, and cultivate a steady capacity to support others.

The seer

  • Kutsa Āṅgirasa (traditional attribution)Āṅgirasa (Angiras lineage; traditional) · Associated in Vedic tradition with hymns that combine practical counsel with a strong moral sense of ṛta; here, the voice functions as a social-ethical teacher rather than a single-deity celebrant.

Famous verses

न वा उ देवाः क्षुधमिद्वधं ददुरुताशितमुप गच्छन्ति मृत्यवः । उतो रयिः पृणतो नोप दस्यत्युतापृणन्मर्डितारं न विन्दते ॥
Verse 10.117.1Foundational thesis of the hymn: non-giving leads to vulnerability and social-spiritual abandonment, while the giver is sustained by rayi (plenitude).Read verse 10.117.1 →
rathyeva cakrā… rāyaḥ
Verse 10.117.5Classic Rigvedic image of impermanent possession: wealth turns like wheels, teaching that generosity is prudent, not merely pious.Read verse 10.117.5 →
समौ चिद्धस्तौ न समं विविष्टः सम्मातरा चिन्न समं दुहाते । यमयोश्चिन्न समा वीर्याणि ज्ञाती चित्सन्तौ न समं पृणीतः ॥
Verse 10.117.9Concluding reflection on unequal capacities even among apparent equals; it pushes the listener toward deliberate cultivation of strength and right giving.Read verse 10.117.9 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Ethical instruction rooted in ṛta
  • Circulation of wealth (rayi) as a natural law
  • Condemnation of hoarding and neglect
  • Protection of life through sharing
  • Community cohesion and reciprocity

Also by this seer

  • Various Rigvedic hymns traditionally linked to the Āṅgirasa stream (attributions vary by Anukramaṇī and modern scholarship)
  • Didactic and reflective material in the late Rigveda (Mandala 10) often grouped with similar ethical instruction

The rite, step by step

  • Saṅkalpa: intention to give in accordance with ṛta (truthful, timely, non-harmful giving).
  • Ācamana/śuddhi: simple purification and settling of breath and speech.
  • Agni or household fire remembrance (optional): brief invocation to witness the vow of generosity.
  • Recite selected mantras (notably 10.117.1 and 10.117.5) before the act of giving.
  • Actual dāna: offer food, wealth, or support to a person in need, guest, or communal cause.
  • Concluding prayer: wish for the ‘wheel’ of wealth to turn for all, and for the giver to remain open-handed without pride.

Offerings

  • Food (anna), water, milk/ghee (as available)
  • Cloth or basic necessities
  • Cows/wealth (symbolic or literal, according to capacity)
  • Hospitality to guests (atithi-sevā)

Frequently Asked Questions

It is an ethical hymn urging generosity. It says that refusing to share harms both the needy and the hoarder, while giving keeps prosperity and social support alive.

Not directly. It uses the language of the gods and ṛta (cosmic order), but its focus is moral instruction—especially the duty to feed and support those in want.

To show that riches are not permanent. Like wheels that keep turning, wealth moves from person to person, so it is wise and righteous to share rather than hoard.

Ask anything about Sukta 117 of the Rig Veda

Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.

Not sure where to start?

A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.

Read Rig 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.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Continue reading in the Vedapath app

Open in App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play