Rig Veda · 566 of 1027
Mandala 7: HYMN L. Various Deities.
1.O MITRA-VARUNA, guard and protect me here: let not that come to me which nests within and swells. I drive afar the scorpion hateful to the sight: let not the winding worm touch me and wound my foot.
2.Eruption that appears upon the twofold joints, and that which overspreads the ankles and the knees, May the refulgent Agni banish far away let not the winding worm touch me and wound my foot.
3.The poison that is formed upon the Salmali, that which is found in streams, that which the plants produce, All this may all the Gods banish and drive away: let not the winding worm touch me and wound my foot.
4.The steep declivities, the valleys, and the heights, the channels full of water, and the waterless- May those who swell with water, gracious Goddesses, never afflict us with the Sipada disease, may all the rivers keep us free from Simida.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn keep asking different gods to protect the speaker from the 'winding worm' and disease?
The hymn lists Mitra-Varuna, Agni, and the Goddesses as specific protectors because each offers a particular power: Mitra-Varuna as guardian, Agni as purifier who can “banish far away,” and the water‑swelling Goddesses as controllers of floods and disease. Naming them stitches the plea into the world the rishis live in—cosmic law (Mitra‑Varuna), cleansing fire (Agni), and river or well spirits who regulate ailments like Sipada and Simida.
This is an ordinary Vedic move: invoke the deity most suited to the threat. The pattern matches other hymns in the Rigveda that pair specialist gods to specific dangers, and it echoes Atharva Veda remedies where gods are asked to expel poison and skin disease by their proper function.
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