Rig Veda 10.132.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 132, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.132
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
ता वां मित्रावरुणा धारयत्क्षिती सुषुम्नेषितत्वता यजामसि । युवोः क्राणाय सख्यैरभि ष्याम रक्षसः ॥
tā́ vāṃ mitrā́varuṇā dhāráyatkṣitī́ suṣumnéṣitatvatā́ yajāmasi | yuvóḥ krāṇā́ya sakhyáir abhí ṣyāma rákṣasaḥ ||
Was dwóch, Mitro i Waruno, którzy podtrzymujecie światy, czcimy pod wpływem waszej szczęśliwej łaski. Przez waszą przyjaźń i waszą wzmacniającą moc niech zatriumfujemy nad mocami zniekształcenia i ciemności.
Word by Word
- ताः
- those (things/acts)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाम्
- of you two / you twoPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया; द्विवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्रावरुणा
- O Mitra and VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot मित्र + वरुण (प्रातिपदिक; द्वन्द्व-समास)
- धारयत्
- hold, upholdVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √धृ (धारणे)
- क्षिती
- the two worlds/earth-and-heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; द्विवचनRole कर्मRoot क्षिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुषुम्नेषितत्वता
- by (your) well-being/benign ordinanceNoun (abstract) / Adverbialनपुंसकलिङ्ग (भाव); तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot सु-षुम्न + ईषितत्व (कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक; तृतीया-एकवचन रूप)
- यजामसि
- we worship, we sacrificeVerbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √यज् (देवपूजासंगतिकरणदानेषु)
- युवोः
- of you twoPronounषष्ठी; द्विवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्राणाय
- for the mighty/strong oneAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot क्राण (विशेषण/कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; ‘शक्त/वीर’)
- सख्यैः
- with friendships/alliancesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करणRoot सख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभि
- towards, againstIndeclinableअव्ययRole उपपद/दिशाRoot अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ष्याम
- may we be / may we becomeVerbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् (इच्छा/प्रार्थना); उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √अस् (भू/अस्ति) → स्य (भविष्यत्-आधार)
- रक्षसः
- from the Rākṣasa/evil spiritNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी; एकवचन (वेदे बहुधा ‘from the demon/evil’)Role अपादानRoot रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ताः | वाम् | मित्रावरुणा | धारयत् | क्षिती | सुषुम्नेषितत्वता | यजामसि | युवोः | क्राणाय | सख्यैः | अभि | ष्याम् | रक्षसः । प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) ता वाम् → ताः + वाम् (विसर्ग-सन्धि). (2) मित्रावरुणा (द्वन्द्व-समास; पदान्त-दीर्घ). (3) धारयत्क्षिती → धारयत् + क्षिती (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + क्). (4) सुषुम्नेषितत्वता: सु-षुम्न + ईषितत्व + ता (भाव/तृतीया-एकवचन प्रयोग; मन्त्रभाषायां करणार्थे). (5) अभि ष्याम: पदविभागे ‘अभि’ पृथक्
- ष्याम् = स्याम् (वेदिक-लिप्यन्तर/उच्चारण)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Mitra and Varuṇa as world-upholders: we worship them by their gracious impulse; by their friendship and strengthening power may we overcome rakṣas (harmful/demonic forces).
Inner meaning
Mitra-Varuṇa are the paired powers of harmony and vast law in the psyche: Mitra builds right relation, trust, and luminous concord; Varuṇa establishes wideness, truth-order (ṛta), and the pressure of conscience that refuses falsehood. Their “upholding of the worlds” becomes the stabilizing of our inner planes (mind–life–body) so the sacrifice (yajña = inner offering) can proceed. “Happy grace” (su-sumnā) is the inward smile of the Divine that impels aspiration. Rakṣas are distorters—thought-forms, impulses, and subconscient suggestions that twist truth into fear, doubt, or desire. The mantra asks that by friendship with the higher powers and their strengthening force, we prevail over distortion.
Universal truth
Human flourishing depends on alignment with truth-order and right relationship. When harmony (Mitra) and law/vastness (Varuṇa) govern consciousness, hostile distortions lose their hold and the being becomes a stable vessel for light.
Themes
Mitra-Varuṇa, Protection from rakṣas, Friendship with the gods, Cosmic order
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.132.1-6 (same hymn context; attribution uncertain)
Significance
The anonymity itself fits the hymn’s tone: a universal seeker-voice invoking the twin guardians of harmony and cosmic law to protect the inner work from distortion.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- dhārayat-kṣitī (world-upholders), asura (lordly power, esp. Varuṇa), ṛtasya gopā (guardians of ṛta, implied)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Ādityas, Sūrya, Indra (as ally against darkness)
Cosmic role
They maintain ṛta in the cosmos: social and moral concord (Mitra) and the vast binding law that holds worlds together (Varuṇa).
Inner power
They establish truthful wideness and right relation in the seeker, creating a protected field where illumination can act without distortion.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āditya-focused offerings; protective prayers within soma-less or soma contexts (general)
ता वां॑ मित्रावरुणा धार॒यत्क्षि॑ती सुषु॒म्नेषि॑त॒त्वता॑ यजामसि । यु॒वोः क्रा॒णाय॑ स॒ख्यैर॒भि ष्या॑म र॒क्षस॑: ॥
ता । वा॒म् । मि॒त्रा॒व॒रु॒णा॒ । धा॒र॒यत्क्षि॑ती॒ इति॑ धा॒र॒यत्ऽक्षि॑ती । सु॒ऽसु॒म्ना । इ॒षि॒त॒त्वता॑ । य॒जा॒म॒सि॒ । यु॒वोः । क्रा॒णाय॑ । स॒ख्यैः । अ॒भि । स्या॒म॒ । र॒क्षसः॑ ॥
tā | vām | mitrāvaruṇā | dhārayatkṣitī itidhārayat-kṣitī | su-sumnā | iṣitatvatā | yajāmasi | yuvoḥ | krāṇāya | sakhyaiḥ | abhi | syāma | rakṣasaḥ
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Firm, forward-driving cadence suited to protection and victory-prayer
Builds steadiness and moral clarity; the rhythm supports a sense of guarded wideness and confident overcoming.
- मित्रावरुणा (mitrāvaruṇā)
- Literal: Mitra and Varuṇa. Symbolic: Concord/rightness (Mitra) + Vast truth-law and moral order (Varuṇa) acting together
- धारयत्क्षिती (dhārayat-kṣitī)
- Literal: upholding the worlds/earths. Symbolic: Stabilizing the inner planes; sustaining the psychological cosmos for sādhanā
- सुसुम्ना (su-sumnā)
- Literal: happy grace, good favor. Symbolic: Benign divine influence that awakens aspiration and confidence
- इषितत्वता (iṣitatvatā)
- Literal: by the impelling/instigation. Symbolic: The inner push of the higher Will guiding the offering
- सख्यैः (sakhyaiḥ)
- Literal: by friendships. Symbolic: Alliance/companionship with the gods—steady intimacy with higher consciousness
- क्राणाय (krāṇāya)
- Literal: for strengthening, making firm. Symbolic: Consolidation of inner force; making the will and mind steadfast
- रक्षसः (rakṣasaḥ)
- Literal: rakṣas, harmful beings. Symbolic: Powers of distortion, obscurity, and perversion in the subconscient and hostile vital
Protective and harmonizing invocation; suited to rites seeking ṛta-support and warding of rakṣas during offerings.
Invocations for protection, truth-order, and social/ethical harmony; before undertaking a rite or vow
Recitation with offering (ghee/oblations) to Ādityas; seeking pānti (guardianship)
Use as a daily ‘inner protection’ mantra before meditation/work: invoke harmony (Mitra) and truth-law (Varuṇa) to resist distortion (compulsion, misinformation, reactive speech).
mitra from √mi ‘to bind’ → ‘friend, contract, harmony’; varuṇa from √vṛ ‘to cover/encompass’ → ‘the vast enveloper, lord of law’. iṣita from √iṣ ‘impel, set in motion’. rakṣas from √rakṣ ‘to guard’ but in RV denotes hostile ‘guarders’ of darkness—semantic inversion typical of adversarial beings.
Ṛta (Varuṇa’s law, Mitra’s concord), divine impulsion (iṣ), victory over inner distortion
Mitra–Varuṇa are archetypal upholders of ṛta; victory over rakṣas is restoration of right order.
Truthfulness in thought/speech as the psychic defense against distortion.
Worlds are ‘held’ by law and harmony; creation persists by conscious order, not chaos.
Proto-Vedāntic and Yogic reading (Aurobindo): gods as powers of consciousness; yajña as inner transformation.
Stability of inner worlds and a clear ‘atmosphere’ where hostile formations cannot cloud the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Alliance with Mitra-Varuṇa to defeat rakṣas: the law-and-harmony powers uphold the worlds and enable the sacrificer to overcome forces that disrupt order and consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mitra corresponds to Indo-Iranian *mitra- (Avestan miθra-), reflecting a shared concept of covenant/friendship. varuṇa is Indo-Aryan specific but built on PIE *wer- ‘cover, enclose’ (cf. Latin ver- in ‘to cover’ derivatives).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi seeks not merely external protection but an inner ‘sakhya’—friendship—so that their impulsion (iṣita) becomes operative in the human will, turning worship into effective strength against obscuring impulses.
Establish ‘truthful wideness’: feel a vast, clear space above and around the mind; offer reactive impulses into that clarity.
anahata (Mitra: harmony/relationship) and ajna (Varuṇa: law/clarity)
Nadi-śodhana (alternate nostril) 6–12 rounds, then chant once per exhale
Quiet vigilance with expansive clarity (wideness + ethical firmness)
Before speech or decision, repeat the mantra and inwardly ask: ‘Is this aligned with truth-order and right relation?’ Let distortive impulses be seen as rakṣas and refused without struggle.
Not fully recoverable from provided text; chant in a steady Vedic recitation style with udatta peaks on accented syllables as marked in the Saṃhitā.
Follow the Saṃhitā accents: raise pitch on udātta-marked syllables; glide on svarita; keep anudātta low. Maintain pāda pauses after each quarter.
mitrāvaruṇā: keep long ā; retroflex ṇ in varuṇa, dhārayatkṣitī: articulate kṣ as a conjunct (k+ṣ), not ‘kh’, su-sumnā: clear ‘mn’ cluster, rakṣasaḥ: kṣ conjunct; final ḥ as soft visarga
Clear, steady, protective—more ‘firm’ than lyrical
Ask anything about this verse
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 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.
