Rig Veda 6.74.4: Mandala 6, Sukta 74, Mantra 4
Sukta 6.74
तिग्मायुधौ तिग्महेती सुशेवौ सोमारुद्राविह सु मृळतं नः । प्र नो मुञ्चतं वरुणस्य पाशाद्गोपायतं नः सुमनस्यमाना ॥
tigmā́yudhau tigmáhetī suśévau somā́rudrāv ihá sú mṛḷataṃ naḥ | prá no muñcataṃ váruṇasya pā́śād gopā́yataṃ naḥ sumanasyámānā ||
ఓ సోమ-రుద్రా! తీక్ష్ణ ఆయుధాలు, తీక్ష్ణ శరాలు కలవారై, అయినా సుశేవులు (కృపాళువులు)—ఇక్కడే మాపై బాగా కరుణ చూపండి. వరుణుని పాశం నుండి మమ్మల్ని ముందుకు విడిపించండి; సుమనస్సుతో (శుభమనస్సుతో) మమ్మల్ని కాపాడండి.
Prayer for release from pāśa and for protection; applicable in rites of expiation/prāyaścitta and protective recitations.
Ṛta as law that binds (Varuṇa’s pāśa), grace that releases (mṛḷ, √muc)
Varuṇa’s noose is ṛta’s corrective pressure; release implies restoration to right order.
Freedom comes by moving toward Satya, not by evasion; the noose loosens as truth is embraced.
Maintenance of cosmic harmony through binding and release; mercy as part of order.
Ethico-spiritual psychology: law (Varuṇa) becomes inner conscience; grace (Soma-Rudra) enables transformation.
Sharp discernment cuts bondage; benevolent consciousness protects the new freedom.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A classic Vedic mythologem: release from Varuṇa’s noose. The gods who can strike (tigma-) are asked to turn that force into merciful cutting of bonds—transforming punitive law into liberating grace.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘binding/releasing’ pair is again prominent: pāśa (noose) and √muc (release). Indo-Iranian shares strong lexical correspondences for binding (Avestan band-, and snare terms), reflecting an inherited legal-moral metaphor: cosmic order as a cord that restrains deviation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi appeals to a complex divine psychology: the same powers that punish (sharp weapons) can also heal and free (mṛḷ, muñc). The reciprocity is trust-based: the worshipper seeks not mere victory but a benevolent divine disposition (sumanasyamānā).
Feel where ‘noose’ constriction sits (throat/solar plexus); invoke cutting clarity with compassion.
Viśuddha (throat—truth/bond) and Maṇipūra (control/fear).
Inhale with ‘su mṛḻatam’; exhale long on ‘pra no muñcataṃ’ imagining the bond loosening and sliding off.
Liberated calm with vigilant protection.
Confess inwardly the false movement without self-hate; invite Rudra to cut it, Soma to soothe, and hold the mind in sumanas (benevolence) toward oneself and others.
Tri-svara; keep ‘pra no muñcataṃ’ clearly articulated; svarita transitions should not blur consonants.
Slightly intensify on tigmāyudhau/tigmahetī (awe), soften on su mṛḻatam (mercy), then firm on pra no muñcataṃ (release).
‘tigmāyudhau’: pronounce dhau as aspirated dh + au, ‘mṛḻatam’: retroflex ḻ; if difficult, approach as mṛḍatam with care depending on recensional norm, ‘pāśāt’: long ā; clear ś, ‘sumanasyamānā’: keep -sy- conjunct clean
Reverent and steady; compassionate warmth on mercy phrases.
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