Medha Suktam
Medha Suktam
Medha Suktam
medhā sūktam
taittirīyāraṇyakam - 4, prapāṭhakaḥ - 10, anuvākaḥ - 41-44
oṃ-ya~śchanda̭sāmṛṣa॒bho vi॒śvarṷ̄paḥ |
chando॒bhyo-'dhya॒mṛtā᳚thsamba॒bhūva̭ |
sa mendro̭ me॒dhayā᳚ spṛṇotu |
a॒mṛta̭sya deva॒dhāra̭ṇo bhūyāsam |
śarī̭ra-mme॒ vica̭rṣaṇam |
ji॒hvā me॒ madhṷmattamā |
karṇā᳚bhyāṃ॒ bhūri॒viśrṷvam |
brahma̭ṇaḥ ko॒śo̭-'si me॒dhayā pi̭hitaḥ |
śru॒ta-mmḙ gopāya ||
oṃ śānti॒-śśānti॒-śśāntiḥ̭ ||
o-mme॒dhāde॒vī ju॒ṣamā̭ṇā na॒ āgā᳚-dvi॒śvācī̭ bha॒drā sṷmana॒sya mā̭nā |
tvayā॒ juṣṭā̭ nu॒damā̭nā du॒ruktā᳚-nbṛ॒hadva̭dema vi॒dathḙ su॒vīrāḥ᳚ |
tvayā॒ juṣṭa̭ ṛ॒ṣirbha̭vati devi॒ tvayā॒ brahmā̭-''ga॒taśrī̭ru॒ta tvayā᳚ |
tvayā॒ juṣṭa̭ści॒traṃ-vi~̭ndate vasu॒ sā no̭ juṣasva॒ dravi̭ṇo na medhe ||
me॒dhā-mma॒ indro̭ dadātu me॒dhā-nde॒vī sara̭svatī |
me॒dhā-mmḙ a॒śvinā̭vu॒bhā-vādha̭ttā॒-mpuṣka̭rasrajā |
a॒psa॒rāsṷ ca॒ yā me॒dhā ga̭ndha॒rveṣṷ ca॒ yanmanaḥ̭ |
daivī᳚-mme॒dhā sara̭svatī॒ sā mā᳚-mme॒dhā su॒rabhi̭-rjuṣatā॒g॒ svāhā᳚ ||
āmā᳚-mme॒dhā su॒rabhi̭-rvi॒śvarṷ̄pā॒ hira̭ṇyavarṇā॒ jaga̭tī jaga॒myā |
ūrja̭svatī॒ paya̭sā॒ pinva̭mānā॒ sā mā᳚-mme॒dhā su॒pratī̭kā juṣantām ||
mayi̭ me॒dhā-mmayi̭ pra॒jā-mmayya॒gni-stejo̭ dadhātu॒,
mayi̭ me॒dhā-mmayi̭ pra॒jā-mmayīndra̭ indri॒ya-nda̭dhātu॒,
mayi̭ me॒dhā-mmayi̭ pra॒jā-mmayi॒ sūryo॒ bhrājo̭ dadhātu ||
[oṃ haṃ॒sa॒ haṃ॒sāya̭ vi॒dmahḙ paramahaṃ॒sāya̭ dhīmahi |
tanno̭ haṃsaḥ praco॒dayā᳚t || (haṃsagāyatrī)]
oṃ śānti॒-śśānti॒-śśāntiḥ̭ ||
About This Stotram
Overview
The Medha Suktam is a Sanskrit Vedic hymn from the Taittiriya Aranyaka (10th Prapathaka, Anuvakas 41–44) of the Krishna Yajurveda, composed to invoke and strengthen medha — the faculty of intellect, comprehension, and memory. The principal deity invoked is Indra, who in the Vedic framework is associated with both power and the bestowal of intelligence. The text belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda's Taittiriya tradition and holds an established place in Vedic educational practice.
What are the benefits of chanting Medha Suktam?
- Enhances memory, comprehension, and intellectual clarity
- Supports students and scholars in their studies
- Invokes divine assistance for the acquisition of knowledge
- Strengthens the ability to grasp philosophical and scriptural teachings
When is the best time to recite this?
Morning recitation, especially before beginning study or intellectual work, is the standard practice. Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja) is a particularly auspicious occasion for this suktam.
What is the historical and traditional background?
The Medha Suktam is part of the Taittiriya Aranyaka, a text appended to the Taittiriya Samhita of the Krishna Yajurveda. Aranyakas represent the transitional literature between the ritual Samhitas and the philosophical Upanishads, and they were composed during the later Vedic period. The composition is attributed to the ancient Vedic Rishis in the tradition of Shruti (revealed scripture), and no individual author is identified. The suktam has been used in the context of Vedic education and the initiation of students (upanayana) for centuries.
Available scripts
This text is available in 14 scripts: devanagari, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, gujarati, bengali, iast, gurmukhi, oriya, assamese, sinhala, itrans, hk. Use the script selector above to switch between them.
Related Texts
- Saraswati Stotram — a devotional hymn to the goddess of knowledge, sharing the thematic focus on learning and intellectual capacity
- Mantra Pushpam — another text from the Taittiriya Aranyaka tradition within the same Krishna Yajurveda corpus