Rig Veda 10.97.1: Mandala 10, Sukta 97, Mantra 1
Sukta 10.97
- Devata
- Oṣadhīs
- Chandas
- Anushtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
या ओषधीः पूर्वा जाता देवेभ्यस्त्रियुगं पुरा । मनै नु बभ्रूणामहं शतं धामानि सप्त च ॥
yā́ oṣádhīḥ pū́rvā jātā́ devébhyas triyugáṁ purā́ | manái nú babhrū́ṇām aháṁ śatáṁ dhā́māni saptá ca ||
اے پودوں، تم سب سے پہلے پیدا ہوئے، دیوتاؤں سے پہلے تین یگوں میں، اب میں تمہاری بھوری رنگ کی طاقتوں کو یاد کرتا ہوں: سو سات تمہاری جگہیں ہیں - تمہاری شفا کی موجودگی کی مستقل شکلیں۔
Word by Word
- याः
- which (those)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (sarvanāma-prātipadika ‘ya-’)
- ओषधीः
- herbs, healing plantsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot ओषधि- (prātipadika)
- पूर्वाः
- former, earlierAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (ओषधीः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot पूर्व- (prātipadika)
- जाताः
- born, arisenParticiple (past passive)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (ओषधीः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot √जन् (jan) → जात- (PPP)
- देवेभ्यः
- for the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot देव- (prātipadika)
- त्रियुगम्
- for three ages (three yugas)Adjective (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (काल-परिमाणवत्)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot त्रियुग- (tri-yuga-) (prātipadika)
- पुरा
- formerly, long agoIndeclinableअव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot पुरा (avyaya)
- मने
- in (my) mind, in thoughtNoun (Vedic locative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot √मन् (man) / मनस्- (Vedic loc. sg. ‘máne’)
- नु
- now, indeedParticleअव्ययRoot नु (avyaya)
- बभ्रूणाम्
- of the brown/reddish onesNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole Sambandha (genitive)Root बभ्रु- (prātipadika)
- अहम्
- IPronounउत्तमपुरुष, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अस्मद् (sarvanāma)
- शतम्
- a hundredNumeralनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (धामानि इति विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot शत- (prātipadika)
- धामानि
- abodes; stations; powersNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot धामन्- (prātipadika)
- सप्त
- sevenNumeralअव्यय (संख्याशब्दः)Role KarmaRoot सप्त (avyaya/indeclinable numeral)
- च
- andConjunctionअव्ययRoot च (avyaya)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: याः | ओषधीः | पूर्वाः | जाताः | देवेभ्यः | त्रियुगम् | पुरा | मने | नु | बभ्रूणाम् | अहम् | शतम् | धामानि | सप्त | च । (१) ओष॑धी॒: = ओषधीः (विसर्ग/दीर्घ-चिह्नः संहितायाम्)
- (२) दे॒वेभ्य॑स्त्रियु॒गं = देवेभ्यः त्रियुगम् (विसर्गः + त् →ः त्-प्रारम्भे संहितायां ‘ः’ लोप/समास-सन्धि-प्रभावः)
- (३) धामा॑नि = धामानि (स्वरचिह्न-भेदः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker addresses the medicinal plants, saying they were born first and are ancient—existing before the gods through three ages. He recalls their brown-hued powers and declares their many “stations” (forms/abodes of efficacy): 107.
Inner meaning
The oṣadhīs are not merely herbs but conscious healing forces in Nature—powers of restoration placed in the embodied being. “Born first” points to the primordial availability of healing intelligence in Prakṛti before the later, more specialized god-powers awaken in the seeker. “Triyugam” suggests a threefold cycle of inner time (body–life–mind; or waking–dream–sleep) through which these forces operate. “Brown-hued” (babhrūṇām) hints at the earth-rooted, tamasic/subconscient base where illness and imbalance lodge; the plants’ power works there to transmute and harmonize. The 107 dhāmanis are stable modalities/centers of healing action—specific inner ‘stations’ where the restoring Shakti can take hold.
Universal truth
Healing is intrinsic to existence: the same Nature that gives limitation also holds within it innumerable intelligences of repair. True remedy is a remembering (manai) of these latent powers and a conscious collaboration with them so that the being returns to wholeness.
Themes
healing hymn, plant deities, primordial remedies, enumeration (107)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 10.97 (entire sūkta), RV 10.60 (healing/protection motifs), RV 1.191 (disease/poison expulsion, often compared in theme)
Family tradition
Hymn 10.97 belongs to a medicinal-healing current within RV 10, close in spirit to Atharvavedic bhaiṣajya (remedy) hymns; the ‘seer’ is best taken as a collective voice of healers/ṛṣis.
Significance
The anonymity underscores universality: the healing Word is not a private revelation but a shared ṛṣi-knowledge of Nature’s inner remedial powers, usable by any aspirant seeking integral harmony.
The deity
- Devata
- Oṣadhīs (deified medicinal plants / healing powers)
- Epithets
- mātaraḥ (mothers), devīḥ (goddesses), puṣpavatīḥ (flowering), prasūvarīḥ (bringing good birth/production)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner fire that ‘cooks’ and assimilates the remedy), Soma (healing delight/ojas), Aśvins (divine physicians), Rudra (lord of medicines in later Vedic/Brāhmaṇa developments), Pṛthivī (Earth as matrix of herbs)
Cosmic role
They are the Earth’s remedial intelligence—agents of restoration that uphold the continuity of life and re-establish order when disorder (disease, poison, imbalance) enters.
Inner power
A harmonizing Shakti that reorganizes prāṇa and bodily substance, clears subconscient obstruction, and supports the recovery of the true Person (puruṣa) in the embodied field.
In ritual
Where it is used
Healing rite / bhaiṣajya invocation; consecration of herbs and remembrance of their powers
या ओष॑धी॒: पूर्वा॑ जा॒ता दे॒वेभ्य॑स्त्रियु॒गं पु॒रा । मनै॒ नु ब॒भ्रूणा॑म॒हं श॒तं धामा॑नि स॒प्त च॑ ॥
याः । ओष॑धीः । पूर्वा॑ । जा॒ता । दे॒वेभ्यः॑ । त्रि॒ऽयु॒गम् । पु॒रा । मनै॑ । नु । ब॒भ्रूणा॑म् । अ॒हम् । श॒तम् । धामा॑नि । स॒प्त । च॒ ॥
yāḥ | oṣadhīḥ | pūrvā | jātā | devebhyaḥ | tri-yugam | purā | manai | nu | babhrūṇām | aham | śatam | dhāmāni | sapta | ca
32
4 pādas of ~8 syllables each
Compact, enumerative, memory-friendly cadence suited to naming/recalling powers.
Stabilizes attention and invokes a ‘catalogue of force’ effect—useful for calling the healing energies into ordered presence.
- oṣadhīḥ
- Literal: plants, herbs. Symbolic: healing powers of conscious Nature; restorative shaktis in the embodied being
- pūrvā jātā
- Literal: born first. Symbolic: primordial availability of healing intelligence prior to developed god-powers in the sadhaka
- devebhyaḥ purā
- Literal: before the gods. Symbolic: before higher illuminations awaken, the foundational healing force already works in the system
- triyugam
- Literal: through three ages. Symbolic: threefold inner time/cycle (body-life-mind; or three states) across which healing operates
- babhrūṇām
- Literal: brown-hued. Symbolic: earth/subconscient layer where disorder is lodged; grounding power that can transmute tamas
- dhāmāni
- Literal: stations, abodes, forms. Symbolic: fixed modalities/centers of efficacy; stable inner placements of healing force
- śataṃ…sapta ca
- Literal: a hundred and seven. Symbolic: a complete but differentiated totality of healing functions (wholeness expressed as many powers)
Bhaiṣajya (healing) recitation; Atharvanic-style medicinal charm within RV corpus; used for protection and cure.
During preparation/administration of herbal remedies; also in protection against disease/poison; recited when collecting plants or beginning treatment.
Addressing herbs as devīḥ; verbal ‘remembering’ (manai) to awaken efficacy; sprinkling/infusion/amulet preparation in later practice.
As a contemplative healing invocation before medicine intake or herbal tea: pause, recall the intelligence of Nature, and invite harmonization of body–prāṇa–mind.
oṣadhi is traditionally analyzed as oṣa ‘burning/heat’ + dhi ‘placing/holding’ or connected with healing potency; in RV it is the living remedial power. dhāman from √dhā ‘place’ indicates ‘settled station/form’—inner stable modalities of healing force. tri-yuga is archaic ‘threefold age’ (not later Purāṇic yuga-system). babhru ‘brown’ evokes earth-born potency and hidden virtue.
primordial powers prior to gods (cosmic antiquity of healing forces), dhāman as stable modalities of power, memory/invocation (manai) as calling the force
Illness is a disturbance of ṛta in the embodied system; oṣadhīs re-impose proportion and rhythm.
The ‘true form’ of the being tends toward integrity; remedy cooperates with that truth.
Primordial powers precede later differentiations: healing intelligence is ‘first-born’ in the field of manifestation.
Proto-integral (Aurobindonian) reading: Nature-forces as conscious powers supporting the soul’s recovery; resonant with Sāṃkhya-Yoga language of prakṛti as dynamic śakti.
Vegetal life symbolizes the self-renewing intelligence in the cells and prāṇa; earth-brown denotes the subconscient base where transformation must occur.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The primordiality of the healing plants: they are ‘born first’ and possess many ‘stations’ (dhāman). Mythically, remedies precede even the god-world; psychologically, healing powers are foundational energies embedded in nature and in the embodied being, accessible through recollection/invocation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √man ‘think’ continues PIE *men- ‘think’ (cf. Lat. mēns, Eng. mind). √jan ‘be born’ (jātā) continues PIE *ǵenh₁- ‘beget’ (cf. Gk génos, Lat. gignere). dhāman from √dhā reflects PIE *dʰeh₁- ‘put, place’ (cf. Gk títhēmi).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi approaches the plants as conscious powers with many fixed ‘forms’ (dhāman). By ‘remembering’ them (manai), he establishes a link of invocation: knowledge of their stations enables their effective presence as healers within the human vessel.
Invoke the ‘healing intelligence’ in the body; remember (manana) the many stations where harmony can re-establish itself.
Anahata (restoration/balance) and Manipura (assimilation/inner fire)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow 1:2 breathing while mentally placing healing light in affected regions.
Quiet receptive awareness with embodied sensing; allowing Nature-force to work without mental strain.
Before chanting, feel gratitude to the Earth-force; during chanting, visualize 107 points of soft light in the body (or simply ‘many centers’) re-ordering themselves; end with a few silent breaths letting the effect settle.
Notated Vedic svara varies by śākhā; chant with a simple udātta-led recitation if full accents unavailable (udātta = slightly raised pitch, anudātta = lowered, svarita = falling).
Keep clear word boundaries: yā oṣadhīḥ | pūrvā jātā | devebhyaḥ | triyugam purā || Emphasize long vowels (ī, ā) without dragging consonants.
oṣadhīḥ: retroflex ṣ; final ḥ lightly aspirated, triyugam: crisp ‘tri-’ and soft ‘yu’, babhrūṇām: ‘bhruu’ long ū; avoid ‘bar-’ sound, dhāmāni: long ā in dhā-
Warm, grounded, slightly nasal resonance to ‘earth’ the healing intention.
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.
