Verses 1, 2
पू॒र्वीर॒हं श॒रदः॑ शश्रमा॒णा दो॒षा वस्तो॑रु॒षसो॑ ज॒रयं॑तीः । मि॒नाति॒ श्रियं॑ जरि॒मा त॒नूना॒मप्यू॒ नु पत्नी॒र्वृष॑णो जगम्युः ॥
pūrvī́rahám śarádaḥ śaśramāṇā́ doṣā́ vástoruṣáso jaráyantīḥ ǀ minā́ti śríyam jarimā́ tanū́nāmápyū nú pátnīrvṛ́ṣaṇo jagamyuḥ ǁ
ये चि॒द्धि पूर्व॑ ऋत॒साप॒ आस॑न्त्सा॒कं दे॒वेभि॒रव॑दन्नृ॒तानि॑ । ते चि॒दवा॑सुर्न॒ह्यंत॑मा॒पुः समू॒ नु पत्नी॒र्वृष॑भिर्जगम्युः ॥
yé ciddhí pū́rva ṛtasā́pa ā́santsākám devébhirávadannṛtā́ni ǀ té cidávāsurnahyántamāpúḥ sámū nú pátnīrvṛ́ṣabhirjagamyuḥ ǁ
In these opening verses, Queen Lopāmudrā speaks out with profound psychological and spiritual depth. She has spent countless years serving as the ascetic partner to the great sage Agastya, enduring the relentless passage of days and nights that sap the youth and beauty from their mortal bodies. She observes that even the ancient sages who walked closely with the cosmic order and spoke truth with the gods eventually yielded to human nature and sought union with their partners. Her words are not merely a complaint of marital neglect, but an existential reminder that mortal existence requires both ascetic striving and fruitful harmony. Lopāmudrā's voice bridges the gap between the rigorous demands of tapas (spiritual austerity) and the sacred duty of the gṛhastha (householder). She challenges the one-sided pursuit of transcendence, arguing that the divine cosmic law (ṛta) itself encompasses union and continuation. By noting that even the ancient seers could not fully exhaust the infinite depth of this truth without experiencing human companionship, she invites Agastya to recognize that spiritual power and human affection are not mutually exclusive.
Verse 1: Toiling through countless autumns, day and night, growing old while wearing down the radiance of our bodies, aging overtakes us; yet now the wives have drawn close to their energetic lords.
Verse 2: Those ancient ones who walked closely with the cosmic truth and spoke divine laws with the gods—even they reached its bounds, yet they sought the wives together with their vital lords.
Sāyaṇa interprets these verses through the lens of the traditional narrative where Lopāmudrā persuades Agastya to fulfill his marital duties so they can beget offspring. Modern and psychological commentators like Sri Aurobindo view these hymns as symbolic of the inner marriage between the active human soul and the divine force.
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| पूर्वीः | pūrvīḥ | many, abundant |
| शरदः | śaradaḥ | autumns, years |
| शश्रमाणा | śaśramāṇā | toiling, exhausting oneself |
| जरयन्तीः | jarayantīḥ | aging, wearing out |
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ऋतसापः | ṛtasāpaḥ | guardians or worshippers of ṛta (cosmic order) |
| देवेभिः | devebhiḥ | with the gods |
| ऋतानि | ṛtāni | divine truths, cosmic laws |
Picture a devoted queen standing under the starry night sky, counting the passing years and reminding her ascetic husband that the rhythm of the cosmos beats for union, not isolation.
Verses 3, 4
न मृषा॑ श्रां॒तं यदवं॑ति दे॒वा विश्वा॒ इत्स्पृधो॑ अ॒भ्य॑श्नवाव । जया॒वेदत्र॑ श॒तनी॑थमा॒जिं यत्स॒म्यंचा॑ मिथु॒नाव॒भ्यजा॑व ॥
ná mṛ́ṣā śrāntám yádávanti devā́ víśvā ítspṛ́dho abhyáśnavāva ǀ jáyāvédátra śatánīthamājím yátsamyáñcā mithunā́vabhyájāva ǁ
न॒दस्य॑ मा रुध॒तः काम॒ आग॑न्नि॒त आजा॑तो अ॒मुतः॒ कुत॑श्चित् । लोपा॑मुद्रा॒ वृष॑णं॒ नी रि॑णाति॒ धीर॒मधी॑रा धयति श्व॒संतं॑ ॥
nadásya mā rudhatáḥ kā́ma ā́gannitá ā́jāto amútaḥ kútaścit ǀ lópāmudrā vṛ́ṣaṇam nī́ riṇāti dhī́ramádhīrā dhayati śvasántam ǁ
Sage Agastya responds to Lopāmudrā's plea, acknowledging that striving supported by the gods is never in vain. He agrees that together they can conquer all obstacles and win the great hundred-path contest of life if they move as a harmonious couple. This verse highlights the Vedic view of life as a noble competition or race (āji) where husband and wife run side by side, pooling their spiritual and physical energies. In verse four, Lopāmudrā describes the irrepressible nature of desire. The longing for her husband—who had been holding back like a swollen river—comes over her from every direction. The imagery is vivid and elemental: the eager wife channels the forceful stream of the virile sage, while her restless, passionate nature embraces his deep, breathing presence. Here, the raw power of human passion is elevated into a cosmic dance of complementary forces.
Verse 3: Not in vain is the toil when the gods favor us; we shall overcome all hostile forces. We shall win here the hundred-pathed race, as we move forward together as a harmonious pair.
Verse 4: The desire of the resistant, roaring stream has reached me, coming from here, from there, from anywhere. Lopāmudrā directs the potent male, and the restless woman embraces the breathing, steadfast sage.
Yāska and later commentators focus on the literal dialogue between husband and wife to explain the birth of their son. Esoteric readings see 'nadasya' as the inner sound or spiritual current that wells up when vital and mental energies unite.
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| मृषा | mṛṣā | in vain, falsely |
| श्रान्तम् | śrāntam | weariness, toil |
| शतनीथम् | śatanītham | having a hundred paths or methods |
| मिथुनौ | mithunau | a pair, male and female coupled |
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| नदस्य | nadasya | of the roaring river or the calling man |
| लोपामुद्रा | lopāmudrā | Lopāmudrā (the Ṛṣikā) |
| धीरम् | dhīram | steadfast, wise, deep |
| अधीरा | adhīrā | restless, passionate |
Visualize two powerful rivers merging into a single, majestic current, cutting through rocky terrain with unstoppable grace and mutual strength.
Verses 5, 6
इ॒मं नु सोम॒मंति॑तो हृ॒त्सु पी॒तमुप॑ ब्रुवे । यत्सी॒माग॑श्चकृ॒मा तत्सु मृ॑ळतु पुलु॒कामो॒ हि मर्त्यः॑ ॥
imám nú sómamántito hṛtsú pītámúpa bruve ǀ yátsīmā́gaścakṛmā́ tátsú mṛḷatu pulukā́mo hí mártyaḥ ǁ
अ॒गस्त्यः॒ खन॑मानः ख॒नित्रैः॑ प्र॒जामप॑त्यं॒ बल॑मि॒च्छमा॑नः । उ॒भौ वर्णा॒वृषि॑रु॒ग्रः पु॑पोष स॒त्या दे॒वेष्वा॒शिषो॑ जगाम ॥
agástyaḥ khánamānaḥ khanítraiḥ prajā́mápatyam bálamicchámānaḥ ǀ ubháu várṇāvṛ́ṣirugráḥ pupoṣa satyā́ devéṣvāśíṣo jagāma ǁ
As the dialogue resolves into harmony, Agastya offers a prayer invoking the Soma drunk within their hearts. He asks for forgiveness for any inadvertent transgressions or imbalances committed during their long separation and intellectual austerities, acknowledging that mortality is defined by manifold desires. The Soma here represents the inner bliss and divine intoxication that transcends ordinary human friction. The Sūkta concludes with a powerful benediction celebrating Agastya's accomplishment. While digging the earth with his tools, desiring offspring, progeny, and strength, the fierce sage nourished both worlds (or both paths of life—ascetic and householder). His heartfelt prayers offered to the gods bore true fruit, cementing his legacy as a master of both inner realization and worldly creation.
Verse 5: I invoke close at hand this Soma drunk within our hearts; whatever transgression we have committed against it, may that fulfiller of many desires grant us grace, for man is full of desires.
Verse 6: Agastya, digging with his tools, desiring progeny, offspring, and strength, nourished both realms. The fierce sage attained his true prayers among the gods.
Traditional exegetes emphasize that Agastya's 'digging' refers to his tireless performance of rituals and physical labors. Spiritual commentators interpret it as the deep inner excavation required to unearth the hidden waters of spiritual consciousness.
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| सोमम् | somam | Soma, the divine elixir |
| हृत्सु | hṛtsu | in the hearts |
| आगः | āgaḥ | fault, sin, transgression |
| पुलुकामः | pulukāmaḥ | having manifold desires |
| Devanāgarī | IAST | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| अगस्त्यः | agastyaḥ | Sage Agastya |
| खनमानः | khanamānaḥ | digging, excavating |
| प्रजाम् | prajām | progeny, children |
| उग्रः | ugraḥ | fierce, mighty |
Picture a wise sage planting a golden tree with his own hands, its roots deep in the earth of human duty and its branches reaching up into divine grace.