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Rig Veda · 946 of 1027
Mandala 10: HYMN CIX. Viśvedevas.
1.THESE first, the boundless Sea, and Mātariśvan, fierce-glowing Fire, the Strong, the Bliss-bestower. And heavenly Floods, first-born by holy Order, exclaimed against the outrage on a Brahman.
2.King Soma first of all, without reluctance, made restitution of the Brahman’s consort. Mitra and Varuṇa were the inviters: Agni as Hota; took her hand and led her.
3.The man, her pledge, must by her hand be taken when they have cried, She is a Brahman’s consort. She stayed not for a herald to conduct her: thus is the kingdom of a ruler guarded.
4.Thus spake of her those Gods of old, Seven Ṛṣis who sate them down to their austere devotion: Dire is a Brahman’s wife led home by others: in the supremest heaven she plants confusion.
5.The Brahmacari goes engaged in duty: he is a member of the Gods’ own body. Through him Bṛhaspati obtained his consort, as the Gods gained the ladle brought by Soma.
6.So then the Gods restored her, so men gave the woman back again. The Kings who kept their promises restored the Brahman’s wedded wife,
7.Having restored the Brahman’s wife, and freed them, with Gods’ aid, from sin, They shared the fulness of the earth, and won themselves extended sway.
Asked of Guide
Why do the gods and kings insist on returning the Brahman's wife?
The chapter shows restoring the Brahman’s wife as an act that preserves cosmic and social order: Agni, Mitra, Varuṇa, Soma, and the Seven Ṛṣis intervene because a Brahman’s wife taken by others “plants confusion” in the supreme heaven. The restitution is described as freeing the community “from sin” and allowing those who keep promise to “share the fulness of the earth.”
This recovery links religious duty to political legitimacy: kings who restore her win “extended sway,” and priests—Brahmacaris and Bṛhaspati—are integral to that order. For a parallel on ritual, see the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, which also ties correct ritual behavior to social harmony and royal authority.
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