2025, Vol. 11, Issue 5, Part D

author(s)
Kukila Rajkhowa

abstract
The Vedas are a blessing for mankind. The Vedas are a gem of knowledge that has been flowing from eternity, aiming for the great ocean. Among all the Vedas, the Ṛgveda is the first and most renowned. In the Tenth Maṇdala of the Ṛgveda there is a famous Sūkta, named Aksha Sūkta (Ṛgveda 10.34). This Sūkta is also known as the Kitava Sūkta and has been designated as a Laukika Sūkta.This Sūkta portrays the life of a gambler who lost everything due to his bad habit of gambling. It provides an example, how the desire and habit of earning wealth through gambling can fully destroy a person. The Aksha Sūkta is a successful illustration of how gambling can become a cause of hardship and can completely ruin an individual. At the end of the Sūkta, it teaches the lesson of forsaking, the vice of gambling and focusing on one’s duties, as hard work in one’s proper karma is far superior. In this Sūkta, gambling is merely a symbol of bad deeds. The primary purpose of the Sūkta is to guide people to abandon sinful actions and turn towards virtuous deeds—a teaching that remains relevant and instructive for today’s society as well.