Mantra 6
Agni as the invited sacrificial guest who manifests among men with the gods and removes obstacles to the rite
त्वं नो अग्ने महोभिः पाहि विश्वस्या अरातेः उत द्विषो मर्त्यस्य
tvaṃ no agne mahobhiḥ pāhi viśvasyā arāteḥ uta dviṣo martyasya
tvaṃ1 no2 agne1 mahobhiḥ2 pāhi1 viśvasyā2 arāteḥ1 uta2 dviṣo1 martyasya2
Do thou, Agni, with thy mighty powers, protect us from all injury, and also from the hatred of the mortal.
tvam | naḥ | agne | mahobhiḥ | pāhi | viśvasyāḥ | arāteḥ | uta | dviṣaḥ | martyasya
{ "prastava": "Stobha prelude (traditionally brief) to kindle the melodic ‘fire-bed’.", "udgitha": "tvaṃ no agne mahobhiḥ pāhi (main petition)", "pratihara": "viśvasyā arāteḥ (response focusing the object of protection)", "upadrava": "uta dviṣo martyasya (secondary threat named and released)", "nidhana": "Collective cadence sealing the rakṣā.", "structure_notes": "The semantic twofold (‘all harm’ + ‘human hater’) maps naturally onto udgītha + upadrava sections.", "singer_assignments": "Udgātṛ emphasizes the petition; Pratihartṛ crisply articulates ‘arāteḥ’; all join the closing nidhana." }
{ "gloss_summary": "Sāyaṇa glosses arāti as hiṃsā/antarāya—injury or obstruction, especially that which impedes the sacrifice; dviṣ as the human enemy whose hostility manifests as hindrance to yajña. The prayer ‘pāhi’ is thus primarily for safeguarding ritual continuity and its fruits.", "ritual_interpretation": "Averting obstacles during Soma performance—errors, interruptions, or adversarial interference—by invoking Agni’s might.", "theological_insight": "Agni protects not only bodies but the rite’s ‘path’ (devayāna) by which offerings reach devas; protection is preservation of ṛta in action.", "etymology_highlights": "arāti as ‘non-gift/hostility’ → obstruction; dviṣ from √dviṣ (to hate); pāhi from √pā (to protect)." }