Rig Veda 10.161.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 161, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.161
- Rishi
- Healing/recall hymn context
- Devata
- Implicitly the healing power
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Karuna (compassion)
यदि क्षितायुर्यदि वा परेतो यदि मृत्योरन्तिकं नीत एव । तमा हरामि निॠतेरुपस्थादस्पार्षमेनं शतशारदाय ॥
yádi kṣitā́yur yádi vā páréto yádi mṛtyór ántikaṃ nī́ta evá | tám ā́ harāmi nírṛter upásthād áspārṣam enaṃ śatáśāradāya ||
اگر اس کا مقررہ زندگی ختم ہو گیا ہے، یا اگر وہ آگے چلا گیا ہے، یا اگر موت کے قریب لے جایا گیا ہے، پھر بھی میں اسے نرتی کی گود سے واپس لاتا ہوں۔ میں اسے بغیر چھوئے بحال کرتا ہوں، سو خزاں کے لیے، پوری زندگی کے لیے۔
Word by Word
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्त (conditional particle)Root यदि (avyaya)
- क्षितायुः
- one whose life is diminished/shortenedNoun (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (of implied ‘is/has become’ in the conditional clause)Root क्षितायु (प्रातिपदिक; क्षिति + आयुस्)
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्तRoot यदि (avyaya)
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्प (disjunctive)Root वा (avyaya)
- परेतः
- gone forth; departed (as if dead)Adjective/Participle used substantivelyपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (in the conditional clause)Root परेत (ppp of √इ with परा-; ‘gone away’)
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्तRoot यदि (avyaya)
- मृत्योः
- of deathNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of death’)Root मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्तिकम्
- near; into proximityAdjective (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (goal/limit: ‘near’)Root अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
- नीतः
- (has been) ledParticiple (passive past)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (patient-subject of passive: ‘has been led’)Root √नी (नी + त; ppp)
- एव
- indeed; justIndeclinableनिश्चय/अवधारणRoot एव (avyaya)
- तम्
- himPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- आ
- back; towardsIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्ग (towards, back)Root आ (upasarga/avyaya)
- हरामि
- I bring/take (him) backVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole Kriyā (with speaker as Kartā)Root √हृ (हर्) with आ-
- निः
- out of; away fromIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्ग (out, away)Root निः/निस् (upasarga/avyaya)
- ऋतेः
- of Nirr̥ti (goddess of dissolution/misfortune)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole Apādāna (source: ‘from Nirr̥ti’)Root निऋति (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपस्थात्
- from the lap/abodeNoun (ablative)पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole Apādāna (source: ‘from the lap/seat’)Root उपस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्पार्षम्
- I did not let (it) touch; I warded off contactVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; नकारार्थक ‘अ-’Role Kriyā (speaker as Kartā)Root √स्पृश् (aorist) with अ- (neg.)
- एनम्
- this one; himPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot एतद्/इदम् (enad-pronoun)
- शतशारदाय
- for a hundred autumns (i.e., years)Adjective (dative of purpose)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole Sampradāna (purpose/benefit: ‘for … years’)Root शत-शारद (compound; शत + शारद ‘autumnal year’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada): यदि | क्षितायुः | यदि | वा | परेतः | यदि | मृत्योः | अन्तिकम् | नीतः | एव || तम् | आ | हरामि | निः | ऋतेः | उपस्थात् | अस्पार्षम् | एनम् | शतशारदाय || प्रमुख संधि: (1) क्षितायु॒र्यदि॑ → क्षितायुः + यदि (visarga before y). (2) परे॑तो॒ यदि॑ → परेतः + यदि (visarga before y). (3) अन्ति॒कं नी॑त → अन्तिकम् + नीतः (m + n sandhi; anusvāra in saṃhitā). (4) तमा ह॑रामि → तम् + आ + हरामि (m + ā; vowel sandhi). (5) निॠ॑तेरु॒पस्था॒द् → निः + ऋतेः + उपस्थात् (visarga before vowel; saṃhitā shows niṛter-). (6) अस्पा॑र्षमेनम् → अस्पार्षम् + एनम् (m + e sandhi). Accents retained as in saṃhitā
- pada text given without accent marks
The meaning
Outer meaning
Even if his life is exhausted, or he has departed, or has been led close to Death, the speaker brings him back from the lap of Nirṛti and restores him untouched for a hundred autumns.
Inner meaning
This is a mantra of recall from the edge of dissolution. ‘Mṛtyu’ is not only physical death but the pull toward unconsciousness and collapse. ‘Nirṛti’ is the power of disintegration, misfortune, and entropy—psychologically, the downward gravitation into despair, fragmentation, and negation. The rishi asserts a victorious will: the soul can be retrieved from the very ‘lap’ (upasthā) of dissolution, restored ‘untouched’ (aspārṣam)—not marked by the dark contact—so the being may re-enter the rhythm of growth (śataśāradāya).
Universal truth
No matter how near collapse, a higher will and truth can recall the being from disintegration; restoration is possible when consciousness refuses the verdict of darkness.
Themes
Healing, Longevity, Rescue from Death, Nirṛti (dissolution) overcome
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 10.161.1, RV 10.161.3, RV 10.161.4
Family tradition
Late Maṇḍala 10 āyuṣya-revival tradition, close in tone to Atharvanic recall-from-death formulas.
Significance
The rishi embodies the ‘will to life’ as a spiritual act—affirming that the soul’s journey is not to be cut short by forces of dissolution.
The deity
- Devata
- Healing/recall power (operative continuity with Indrāgnī; opposing forces named: Mṛtyu, Nirṛti)
- Epithets
- Mṛtyu (death-force) as adversary, Nirṛti (dissolution) as adversary
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Aśvins, Savitṛ
Cosmic role
The mantra stands at the threshold between life and disintegration, asserting the supremacy of restoring powers over entropy.
Inner power
Psychic recall: the capacity to reverse the downward pull, re-knit the threads of prāṇa and consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āyuṣya / mṛtyu-nivāraṇa (warding off death) and recovery rites
यदि॑ क्षि॒तायु॒र्यदि॑ वा॒ परे॑तो॒ यदि॑ मृ॒त्योर॑न्ति॒कं नी॑त ए॒व । तमा ह॑रामि॒ निॠ॑तेरु॒पस्था॒दस्पा॑र्षमेनं श॒तशा॑रदाय ॥
यदि॑ । क्षि॒तऽआ॑युः । यदि॑ । वा॒ । परा॑ऽइतः । यदि॑ । मृ॒त्योः । अ॒न्ति॒कम् । निऽइ॑तः । ए॒व । तम् । आ । ह॒रा॒मि॒ । निःऽऋ॑तेः । उ॒पऽस्था॑त् । अस्पा॑र्षम् । ए॒न॒म् । श॒तऽशा॑रदाय ॥
yadi | kṣita-āyuḥ | yadi | vā | parāitaḥ | yadi | mṛtyoḥ | antikam | ni-itaḥ | eva | tam | ā | harāmi | niḥ-ṛteḥ | upa-sthāt | aspārṣam | enam | śata-śāradāya
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4×~11 with strong caesura after yadi-clauses
Conditional waves (yadi… yadi… yadi…) followed by a firm reversal (tam ā harāmi…).
Moves the listener from fear-possibility to decisive retrieval; the rhythm itself enacts ‘turning back’.
- मृत्यु (mṛtyu)
- Literal: death. Symbolic: pull toward unconsciousness; cessation of forward soul-movement
- निरृति (nirṛti)
- Literal: decease, dissolution, misfortune. Symbolic: disintegrating force; downward gravitation into negation/subconscient night
- उपस्थ (upastha)
- Literal: lap, seat, abode. Symbolic: zone of holding—where a force ‘keeps’ the being bound
- आ हरामि (ā harāmi)
- Literal: I bring back. Symbolic: act of recall; retrieval of the psychic being from collapse
- अस्पार्षम् (aspārṣam)
- Literal: untouched, uncontacted. Symbolic: purity preserved; no lasting stain from the dark passage
- शतशारदाय (śataśāradāya)
- Literal: for a hundred autumns. Symbolic: full term of ripening; complete span for inner maturation
Life-restoration/āyusya usage: mantra to ‘bring back’ one near death; protective rite for longevity (śataśāradāya)
Critical illness, fainting/collapse, near-death states; also as preventive longevity prayer.
Recitation over the person; in later usage, paired with offerings and protective amulets/water sprinkling.
For crises (panic, shutdown, depressive collapse): a ‘recall’ practice—bring attention back from numbness; affirm return to life and wholeness.
nirṛti is the power of ‘undoing/dissolution’ (ni- + √ṛ ‘to go, move’ with semantic of ‘loss, misfortune’ in Vedic). √hṛ ‘carry, bring’ enacts retrieval. śarad ‘autumn/year’ is a standard Vedic life-measure. aspārṣam from √spṛś ‘touch’ indicates restoration without the stain/contact of death-force.
combat with Death as a reversible threshold through right power, Nirṛti as dissolution opposed by retrieval into Ṛta (right order of life)
Nirṛti is anti-ṛta (dis-order); the mantra reasserts the right course of life.
Truth refuses finality of the death-pull; ‘aspārṣam’ affirms an untouched core (psychic purity).
Reversal of dissolution—re-creation of the person by recall from the dark matrix.
Integral-psychological: forces of death/dissolution as real energies, countered by will and light.
night (implied by Nirṛti)
autumn (śarad)
Night = subconscient obscurity; autumn = ripening of consciousness; threshold = liminal states where will must choose life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘recall from Death’ mythologem: even when led to Mṛtyu and held by Nirṛti, the being can be retrieved—death is a grasp/threshold, not an absolute finality, when opposed by right mantra-force and divine power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √hṛ ‘carry/bring’ is a common IE action-root (cf. Greek pher- ‘carry’ is different root; but the functional ‘bring back’ formula is widespread). The conditional triad (yadi… yadi… yadi…) is a classic archaic rhetorical intensification, building total coverage of possibilities.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi speaks as an agent of restoration, using mantra as operative power to reverse Nirṛti’s hold. The devatā-field is implicit: the luminous powers support the retrieval so the person returns ‘untouched’ and re-enters the ordained span of life.
Recall from Nirṛti: bring awareness from the ‘void’ back into the heart and breath; affirm the untouched inner core.
mūlādhāra (stability)
grounding breath: inhale 4, exhale 6; on inhale feel ‘ā harāmi’ (I bring back) drawing life upward.
Re-stabilization; re-entry into embodied presence.
Use in moments of shutdown: touch the earth or sit firmly; recite slowly; visualize retrieving a small flame from a dark cave and placing it in the heart; rest in the sense of being ‘aspārṣa’—untouched at the core.
Rigvedic accentuation; emphasize the three yadi-clauses evenly, then a stronger lift on ā harāmi.
Keep ‘mṛtyór antikam’ clearly articulated; pause slightly after each yadi phrase; let ‘aspārṣam’ be clean and unbroken.
kṣitāyur: ‘kṣi’ crisp; avoid ‘khi’, pareto: roll r lightly; long e maintained, nirṛter: vocalic ṛ clear; not ‘nirit’, śataśāradāya: keep śa-ta-śā-ra-dā-ya distinct, long ā in śā and dā
Low, steady, grounding—like a protective vow.
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