Manyu suktam : righteous wrath personified
Introduction
Manyu is Divine Wrath personified. This devataa is often associated with Rudra, and later with Shri Narasimha Swamy. The story goes that one day when Vishnu decided to kill Hiranya Kashipu, he could not bring himself to cause violence and kill him, as by nature, Vishnu avoids conflicts and is a devataa of peace and prosperity. But since he had to bend to the will of his ardent lover-devotee-bhakta, i.e. Prahlaada, he decides to put an end though a fierce avatara. To create such a form, he requests Rudra to lend him his wrath -Manyu. Conceding to this, Rudra himself lovingly enters, as Manyu, into Vishnu’s body, thus amalgamating into Shri Narasimha- Nara tattva of Vishnu and the Simha tattva of Manyu. What manifests, is the most terrifying of all avataras of Vishnu, the protector as well as the destroyer. Many Vaishnava sampradayas therefore consider him the guardian deity, the equivalent of Bhairava in Shaiva and of Kaali in Shaakta sampradaayas. Hence, this ancient Rgvedic diad hymn came to be worshipful prayers directed to Shri (Ugra) Narasimha.
However, in the mantras themselves there is no iconography of any particular devata.
Mantra 1
यस्ते᳚ म॒न्यो-ऽवि॑धद् वज्र सायक॒ सह॒ ओजः॑ पुष्यति॒ विश्व॑मानु॒षक् ।
सा॒ह्याम॒ दास॒मार्य॒-न्त्वया᳚ यु॒जा सह॑स्कृतेन॒ सह॑सा॒ सह॑स्वता ॥ 1 ॥
Hey Manyu! You bear the Vajra(lightening) sword. You enrich our Sahas and Ojas - bravado and vigor, of he who worships you. You are uninterrupted in every sense. May we defend against the Dasas(the laymen) and Aryas(the nobility), with you on our side; you who are energised with valor, adventure and kindled spirit.
Mantra 2
म॒न्युरिन्द्रो᳚ म॒न्युरे॒वास॑ दे॒वो म॒न्युर् होता॒ वरु॑णो जा॒तवे᳚दाः ।
म॒न्युं-विँश॑ ईलते॒ मानु॑षी॒र्याः पा॒हि नो᳚ मन्यो॒ तप॑सा स॒जोषाः᳚ ॥ 2 ॥
Wrath is the Indra, wrath is the God, wrath is the Hotr (the yajna officiator), wrath is Varuna, wrath is Agni (who birthed the Vedas). Plunge into such wrath! Those humans (and their clans) who call upon you, Wrath, protect them, like an ally, with your heat.
Mantra 3
अ॒भी᳚हि मन्यो त॒वस॒स्तवी᳚या॒-न्तप॑सा यु॒जा वि ज॑हि शत्रू᳚न् ।
अ॒मि॒त्र॒हा वृ॑त्र॒हा द॑स्यु॒हा च॒ विश्वा॒ वसू॒न्या भ॑रा॒ त्व-न्नः॑ ॥ 3 ॥
Come hither Wrath. You are the heroest of heroes, with your heat, utterly vanquish the enemies. You kill the non-allies, the demons, the enemies. And fill our treasuries with all wealth.
Mantra 4
त्वं हि म᳚न्यो अ॒भिभू᳚त्योजा-स्स्वय॒म्भूर्भामो᳚ अभिमातिषा॒हः ।
वि॒श्वच॑र्-षणि॒-स्सहु॑रि॒-स्सहा᳚वान॒स्मास्वोजः॒ पृत॑नासु धेहि ॥ 4 ॥
You alone, Wrath, are self-born, are luster itself, are endowed with supreme valor. You defend us against insidious forces. You are the all-active, the all-mighty, the defenseful. Into our armies, pour the vigour.
Mantra 5
अ॒भा॒ग-स्सन्नप॒ परे᳚तो अस्मि॒ तव॒ क्रत्वा᳚ तवि॒षस्य॑ प्रचेतः ।
त-न्त्वा᳚ मन्यो अक्र॒तुर्जि॑हीला॒हं स्वात॒नूर्ब॑ल॒देया᳚य॒ मेहि॑ ॥ 5 ॥
I am struck with ill-luck. Defeated, I stand before you, mindful of your many heroic acts. Wrath! I beseech you, who are unmatched. Kill them! Come to me, with your true self, for bestowing strength.
Mantra 6
अ॒य-न्ते᳚ अ॒स्म्युप॒ मेह्य॒र्वाङ् प्र॑तीची॒न-स्स॑हुरे विश्वधायः ।
मन्यो᳚ वज्रिन्न॒भि मामा व॑वृत्स्वहना᳚व॒ दस्यू᳚न् ऋ॒त बो᳚ध्या॒पेः ॥ 6 ॥
Here I am, for you I exist. Come close. Look at me, lord. You sustain the entire world. You, almighty, have turned your back on me. Wrath! You wield the Vajra. Envelope me from all sides. Let’s defeat the enemies together. I stand stripped of necessary knowledge.
Mantra 7
अ॒भि प्रेहि॑ दक्षिण॒तो भ॑वा॒ मे-ऽधा᳚ वृ॒त्राणि॑ जङ्घनाव॒ भूरि॑ ।
जु॒होमि॑ ते ध॒रुण॒-म्मध्वो॒ अग्र॑मुभा उ॑पां॒शु प्र॑थ॒मा पि॑बाव ॥ 7 ॥
Come to me. Be close. Be to my right. Let’s absolutely slaughter hordes of enemies. I offer to you this bowl of the best honey. Sit beside me. Let us both, partake this first.
