Sukta 135
Sukta 10.135
Yama (with the Devāḥ; ancestral-father principle also present)
अयं संक्षिप्तो गूढार्थो मन्त्रः यमस्य लोकं पितृयाणं च चिन्तयति। पितरः “सुपर्णपर्णे वृक्षे” कल्प्यन्ते, यत्र यमो देवैः सह संवादं करोति; प्रेतः पिता च पुरातने पथि रमते। युवानं रथं प्रवर्तयन्तं इव, अनुगामिनं च सामगानं वहकवत् इति पहेलिकोपमाभिः सूच्यते यत् ऋतबद्धा वाक् सम्यगाहुतिश्च आत्मनः यात्रां मोक्षं च नयतः।
Mantras
Mantra 1
यस्मिन्वृक्षे सुपलाशे देवैः सम्पिबते यमः । अत्रा नो विश्पतिः पिता पुराणाँ अनु वेनति ॥
यस्मिन् सुपलाशे वृक्षे देवैः सह यमः सोमं सम्पिबते, तत्रैव नः पिता विश्पतिः पुराणानामनु वेनन् हृष्टः सञ्चरति, ज्योतिष्मतां पितॄणां सनातनं पन्थानं अन्विष्यन्।
Mantra 2
पुराणाँ अनुवेनन्तं चरन्तं पापयामुया । असूयन्नभ्यचाकशं तस्मा अस्पृहयं पुनः ॥
पुराणानामनु वेनन्तं सञ्चरन्तं तं पापया मयूया अभ्यायात्; असूयया शत्रुदृष्टिम् अभ्यचाकशत्। तथापि तस्मिन् (सत्यपथे) अहं पुनरस्पृहयं—असूयातमसोऽतिक्रम्य सम्यगिच्छया प्रत्यावर्ते।
Mantra 3
यं कुमार नवं रथमचक्रं मनसाकृणोः । एकेषं विश्वतः प्राञ्चमपश्यन्नधि तिष्ठसि ॥
हे कुमार, यं नवं रथं त्वं मनसैवाकृणोः—अचक्रं एकधुरं सर्वतः प्राञ्चम्—तस्मिन्नधि तिष्ठसि पश्यन्: स रथो मनोमयः अन्तर्गतेः वाहनम्।
Mantra 4
यं कुमार प्रावर्तयो रथं विप्रेभ्यस्परि । तं सामानु प्रावर्तत समितो नाव्याहितम् ॥
हे कुमार, यं रथं त्वं विप्रेभ्यः परितः प्रावर्तयः, तमनु सामापि प्रावर्तत तेनैव सह परिववृते—नाव्याः नाभौ निधिरिव समाहितम्; स एव स्तोत्रः यात्रायाः वहनं भवति।
Mantra 5
कः कुमारमजनयद्रथं को निरवर्तयत् । कः स्वित्तदद्य नो ब्रूयादनुदेयी यथाभवत् ॥
कः कुमारमजनयत्? कः रथं निरवर्तयत्? कः स्विदद्य नः तद्गुह्यं ब्रूयात्—अनुदेयी यथाभवत्, सत्यस्य संप्रेषणविधिः कः?
Mantra 6
यथाभवदनुदेयी ततो अग्रमजायत । पुरस्ताद्बुध्न आततः पश्चान्निरयणं कृतम् ॥
यथाभवदनुदेयी ततोऽग्रमजायत; पुरस्ताद्बुध्न आततः पश्चान्निरयणं कृतम्॥
Inside Sukta 135
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A visionary scene: Yama with the gods at a radiant tree, and the father as ‘lord of the people’ delighting in the ancient way.
- Development
The hymn shifts into symbolic mechanics of passage—youth/charioteer imagery and the Sāman following like a treasured support—suggesting mantra as vehicle.
- Climax
The ordering of the path is disclosed in cosmogonic terms: foundation laid, first point arising, and an ‘outlet’ (nirayaṇa) made—death and release framed as structured, not chaotic.
- Where it settles
The riddle resolves into reassurance: the ancestral route is established, guided by right offering and right speech, leading toward safe passage and continuity with the Ancients.
The deity: Yama
- In the VedaYama appears as the first of mortals who found the path, a king in the other world who gathers and hosts the departed among the Fathers, and who is approached with reverence rather than terror. Here he is pictured ‘drinking with the gods’ at a radiant, life-giving tree, while the father follows the ancients.
- Cosmic functionGuardian and regulator of the passage from mortal life to the ancestral realm; keeper of the ‘path of the Fathers’ and the order that integrates death into ṛta (cosmic rightness).
- Inner significanceRepresents the inner guide through endings and transitions: the capacity to relinquish, to follow the time-tested way (pitṛyāṇa), and to be carried by disciplined mantra/chant into clarity rather than confusion.
Famous verses
यस्मिन्वृक्षे सुपलाशे देवैः सम्पिबते यमः । अत्रा नो विश्पतिः पिता पुराणाँ अनु वेनति ॥यं कुमार प्रावर्तयो रथं विप्रेभ्यस्परि । तं सामानु प्रावर्तत समितो नाव्याहितम् ॥nirayaṇaṃ kṛtam
Attributes of the deity
- First-finder of the path
- King of the departed/Fathers
- Upholder of order (ṛta) in the transition of death
- Associated with ancestral communion and hospitality
- Linked with the ‘way out’/release (nirayaṇa) and right offering
Also by this seer
- Several hymns in Rigveda Mandala 10 are transmitted without stable rishi attribution; this hymn is typically treated within that anonymous/uncertain group in traditional listings.
The rite, step by step
- Establish the sacred fire (or ancestral offering place) and perform ācamana and sankalpa for pitṛs and Yama.
- Recite the hymn with mental visualization of the ‘fair-leaved tree’ and the Fathers’ assembly, requesting guidance on the ancient path.
- Offer oblations while naming the Fathers/ancestors (as appropriate to the performer’s tradition), asking for protection and right direction.
- Conclude with a prayer for ‘nirayaṇa’—a clear outlet/release—and for auspicious continuity for the living family line.
Offerings
- Piṇḍa (rice-balls) and water (tarpana) according to gṛhya custom
- Ghee oblations into fire (if agni is used)
- Sesame and water in ancestral libations
- Sāman/chanting as the non-material offering (vāc) emphasized by the hymn’s imagery
Frequently Asked Questions
It reflects on Yama and the realm of the Fathers, describing an ancient, established path for the departed and the role of sacred chant and right offering in guiding that passage.
The tree is a symbolic meeting-place of life and immortality: a luminous locus where Yama and the gods commune, and where the Fathers are imagined as moving in delight along timeless ancestral ways.
In context it points to an ‘outlet’ or ‘way of release’—the ordered opening that allows transition beyond death, framed as something established by cosmic order rather than random fate.
Ask anything about Sukta 135 of the Rig 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 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.
