Rig Veda 10.116.5: Mandala 10, Sukta 116, Mantra 5
Sukta 10.116
नि तिग्मानि भ्राशयन्भ्राश्यान्यव स्थिरा तनुहि यातुजूनाम् । उग्राय ते सहो बलं ददामि प्रतीत्या शत्रून्विगदेषु वृश्च ॥
ní tigmā́ni bhrā́śayan bhrā́śyāny áva sthirā́ tanúhi yātu-jū́nām | ugrā́ya te sáho bálaṃ dadāmi pratī́tyā śátrūn vi-gadéṣu vṛśca ||
తీక్ష్ణమైన ఆయుధాలను కిందికి పడగొట్టి, మెరుస్తున్న శక్తులను కూడా చెదరగొట్టు; యాతుధానుల (మాయావి దాడిచేయువారి) దృఢంగా నిలిచిన బలాలను సడలించి కూలదోపు. ఓ ఉగ్రా! నీకు ‘సహ’ను, ‘బల’ాన్ని నేను ఇస్తున్నాను; ముందుకు సాగి, శత్రు-శక్తులను వారి గ్రంథులు, చిక్కుల్లోనే నరికివేయి.
Apotropaic/warrior petition within Soma hymn: breaking hostile bindings (yātu-jū) and cutting enemy knots; usable in protective rites and Indra invocations.
cutting knots (release from bindings), battle against illusion/distortion (yātu), application of force (sahas, balam)
Hostiles disrupt r̥ta through glamour and rigidity; Indra restores right movement by severance.
True strength is the capacity to cut illusion at its binding points.
Unbinding as a creative act: freeing blocked energies so the right flow can manifest.
Integral-yogic hermeneutic: hostile forces as formations in consciousness; liberation by discrimination and higher force.
Weapons=mental-vital instruments; flashing=glamour; knots=granthis of habit; cutting=liberating insight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is Indra’s cutting down of hostile, sorcerous attackers and severing enemies in their ‘knots’. Inner sense: the divine force breaks fixed subconscious bindings and dismantles deceptive impulses that entangle the being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √tan, √dā (dadāmi), and √vraśc are old IE roots; the imperative style (tanuhi, vṛśca) matches inherited hymn-command diction, where the poet’s word functions as a performative act.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi ‘gives’ (dadāmi) sahas and balam—i.e., supplies energizing affirmation and offering—so Indra can act as the fierce cutter of bonds. The reciprocity is explicit: human invocation empowers divine action, which returns as liberation from inner enemies.
Identify recurring ‘knot’ (trigger → thought → craving → action). Invoke Indra-Ugra to cut at the trigger-link.
Maṇipūra (courage) and Ājñā (discrimination).
Brisk kapalabhāti (3 rounds of 30–60 strokes) if suitable, then steady breathing; chant on stable exhale to embody ‘cutting’.
Fierce clarity; protected, unentangled attention.
Chant 7 or 11 times; then silently name the knot once; imagine a single vajra-strike at its binding point; rest in quiet firmness without reaction.
Rigvedic three-tone; exact accents require svara text for RV 10.116.5.
Emphasize imperatives (ava, tanuhi, vṛśca) with clean consonants; keep compounds clear (yātu-jūnām).
tigmāni: hard ‘g’ (not ‘j’), bhrāśayan/bhrāśyāni: aspirate ‘bh’; ‘śy’ cluster distinct, sthirā: ‘sth’ cluster; avoid ‘sith’, pratītyā: long ī; dental ‘t’, vigadeṣu: soft ‘g’, retroflex ‘ṣ’
Sharp, commanding, well-articulated.
7
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