Rig Veda 1.5.8: Mandala 1, Sukta 5, Mantra 8
Sukta 1.5
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism)
त्वां स्तोमा अवीवृधन्त्वामुक्था शतक्रतो । त्वां वर्धन्तु नो गिरः ॥
tvā́m stomā́ avīvṛdhan tvā́m ukthā́ śatakrato | tvā́m vardhantu no gíraḥ ||
يا إندرا، يا ذا مئةِ قدرةٍ في الفعلِ المُجدي، لقد زادتْكَ ستوما (أناشيدُ التمجيد)؛ وزادتْكَ أُكثا (الأقوالُ المُلهَمة). فلتزدْكَ كلماتُنا المتعدّدةُ للحقّ بناءً في داخلِنا.
Word by Word
- त्वाम्
- you (as object)Pronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्तोमाः
- praises, hymnsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- अवीवृधन्
- increased, made growVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथम पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot वृध् (धातु) "to grow, increase"
- त्वाम्
- youPronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उक्थाः
- recitations, laudatory chantsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot उक्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- शतक्रतो
- O Hundred-powered/Many-minded one (Indra)Noun (epithet / vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot शतक्रतु (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्रस्य विशेषण)
- त्वाम्
- youPronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वर्धन्तु
- may (they) increaseVerbलोट् (imperative/benedictive sense), परस्मैपद, प्रथम पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot वृध् (धातु) "to grow, increase"
- नः
- of us, ourPronounषष्ठी विभक्ति (enclitic), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- गिरः
- songs, words (hymns)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot गिर् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वाम् | स्तोमाः | अवीवृधन् | त्वाम् | उक्थाः | शतक्रतो | त्वाम् | वर्धन्तु | नः | गिरः । संहितायाम्: अवीवृधन् + त्वाम् → अवीवृधन्त्वाम् (न् + त् संयोगः)
- उक्थाः + शतक्रतो → उक्था शतक्रतो (आः + श् इत्यत्र विसर्गस्य लोपः/रुगागम-प्रकारः वैदिके)
- नः + गिरः → नो गिरः (अः + ग् इत्यत्र ओ-आदेशः/सवर्णदीर्घ-प्रकारः वैदिक-संहितायाम्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, our praises and recitations have increased you; may our songs further increase you, O hundred-powered one.
Inner meaning
Mantra and inspired utterance are not flattery but formative forces: they ‘increase’ Indra within—i.e., they build the capacity of illumined intelligence and effective action (śatakratu) in the practitioner. Stoma (affirmation) and uktha (inspired speech) concentrate the mind-force; repeated true speech (giraḥ) stabilizes it as an enduring power.
Universal truth
What we repeatedly affirm with truth and inspiration becomes stronger in our consciousness; right speech builds right power.
Themes
Indra-invocation, power-increase through hymn, speech as inner sacrifice, strengthening the divine force in the seeker
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.5.6, RV 1.5.7, RV 1.5.9, RV 1.5.10
Family tradition
A family of seers emphasizing Vāc (inspired speech) as a means of realization; early hymns train the sacrificer’s inner speech.
Significance
The rishi frames a core yogic method: intensify the divine faculty by repeated true utterance and inspired remembrance.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Indra, Śatakratu (hundred-powered)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (word/illumination), Sarasvatī (inspiration), Agni
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods; wielder of many effective means; sustainer of victories that open the worlds.
Inner power
Executive illumination—intelligence that can act in many ways without losing truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Stotra/śastra praise of Indra in Soma settings; general strengthening hymns before offerings.
त्वां स्तोमा॑ अवीवृध॒न्त्वामु॒क्था श॑तक्रतो । त्वां व॑र्धन्तु नो॒ गिर॑: ॥
त्वाम् । स्तोमाः॑ । अ॒वी॒वृ॒ध॒न् । त्वाम् । उ॒क्था । श॒त॒क्र॒तो॒ इति॑ शतऽक्रतो । त्वाम् । व॒र्ध॒न्तु॒ । नः॒ । गिरः॑ ॥
tvām | stomāḥ | avīvṛdhan | tvām | ukthā | śatakrato itiśata-krato | tvām | vardhantu | naḥ | giraḥ
24
3 pādas × 8 syllables
Repetitive parallelism (‘tvāṃ… tvām… tvāṃ…’) creates a hammering build-up.
Strengthens resolve and concentration; the repetition acts like japa that consolidates the Indra-force.
- stomāḥ
- Literal: praises, hymns. Symbolic: Affirmations that align the being with higher truth
- ukthā
- Literal: recitations, solemn utterances. Symbolic: Inspired speech carrying revelation-force
- avīvṛdhan / vardhantu
- Literal: have increased / may increase. Symbolic: Conscious formation—building a god-power as a stable faculty
- śatakrato
- Literal: of a hundred powers/acts. Symbolic: Multiplying effective energies; mastery in many operations of life-nature
- giraḥ
- Literal: songs/words. Symbolic: Mantric word-force shaping consciousness
Indra-invocation in Soma offerings (uktha/stoma context aligns with Soma-yajña recitations; usable in Agniṣṭoma-related praise sequences as part of Indra-stotra/śastra atmosphere)
During praise sequences to ‘increase’ the deity before/with libation and oblation.
Chanted as stoma/uktha; supports offering and invocation.
Use as affirmation practice: repeat with attention to build inner clarity and effective will before work or meditation.
Key terms: √vṛdh ‘to grow, strengthen’ → avīvṛdhan (intensive/perfect-like formation indicating repeated strengthening) and vardhantu (imperative ‘may they strengthen’). śatá-kratu: krátu from √kṛ ‘to do/make’ with sense of effective will, purposeful intelligence, executive power; epithet implies Indra’s manyfold capacities to act in the worlds and in the seeker. ukthá (from √vac/√ukṣ? traditional derivation treats as a technical term for a set recitation) denotes elevated hymn-recital; giráḥ (from √gṛ/√gir ‘to sing/utter’) indicates voiced mantra-bearing speech. Psychological justification: speech (stoma/gir/uktha) is not mere praise but a formative force—mantra as shakti—by which the invoked Power is ‘increased’ (made manifest and operative) in the human instrument.
mantra-śakti (speech as formative power), ṛta (right order expressed through true speech and effective will), kratu (will/intelligence as executive force)
Right speech aligned to Ṛta increases the truthful power (Indra) that maintains order against confusion.
Giraḥ as ‘words of truth’ when aligned to inner seeing; they become formative reality.
Creation by the Word: the god-power is ‘built’ through mantra.
Mantric-psychological approach (Vāc as shakti; deity as inner faculty).
Vibration of speech as a subtle fire that constructs luminous intelligence and multiplies effective energies.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The key mythic action is not a battle episode but the recurrent Vedic motif of ‘strengthening the god by hymn’—speech as an offering that increases Indra’s manifested might. In inner terms, the seeker’s luminous, rightly ordered utterance (stoma/uktha/gir) builds up the Indra-force (victorious, executive consciousness) so it can act against obstruction and establish the right order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vṛdh ‘grow, increase’ continues PIE *u̯erǵʰ- / *u̯r̥dʰ- type ‘to grow, become strong’ (cf. Sanskrit vṛdh-, Avestan vərəz- ‘to grow/increase’). The repeated tvā́m…tvā́m…tvā́m foregrounds the object (Indra) in a hymnically emphatic anaphora, a common Indo-European poetic device. krátu (purposeful power) aligns with the Indo-European valuation of effective ‘doing/making’ (PIE *kwer-/*ker- semantic field), here crystallized as manyfold executive capacities.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- It is reciprocal: the rishi offers empowered speech (stoma/uktha/gir) as inner oblation; the devatā, increased in manifestation through that offering, becomes more capable of acting within the human field. The verse frames the dakṣiṇā-like exchange not as material payment but as a circulation of force—true utterance evokes and augments the divine Will, which in turn supports the soul’s victory and ordered growth.
Mantra as builder: consciously ‘increase’ the illumined intelligence through truthful affirmation.
viśuddha (speech) and ājñā (illumined mind)
Brisk-energetic but controlled: inhale before each ‘tvāṃ’, exhale through the phrase; feel vibration in throat and brow.
Collected, empowered, will-forward.
Let repetition be precise, not mechanical; after several rounds, pause in silence and feel the strengthened clarity as a presence.
Keep consistent accenting across repeated ‘tvāṃ’; avoid drifting pitch between repetitions.
Give a clear lift on ‘śatakrato’; the final pāda should feel like a blessing/request rather than a statement.
tvāṃ: long ā, nasalization, stomā: long ā, avīvṛdhan: articulate vṛ (vocalic ṛ) cleanly, ukthā: aspirated ‘th’, vardhantu: dental ‘dh’, not retroflex, giraḥ: light visarga at end
Firm, resonant, slightly percussive on repetitions.
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