Rig Veda 1.7.3: Mandala 1, Sukta 7, Mantra 3
Sukta 1.7
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
इन्द्रो दीर्घाय चक्षस आ सूर्यं रोहयद्दिवि । वि गोभिरद्रिमैरयत् ॥
índro dīrghā́ya cákṣasa ā́ sū́ryaṃ rohayad diví | ví góbhir ádrim airayat ||
إندرا، لأجلِ بصرِ الروحِ البعيدِ المدى، رفعَ الشمسَ في السماء؛ وبالأشعّةِ المضيئةِ شقَّ الصخرةَ الحاجبةَ ودفعها، فأطلقَ النورَ الذي كان محبوسًا.
Word by Word
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दीर्घाय
- for long (duration)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन (दीर्घ-आय; दत्त्यर्थे)Role सम्प्रदानRoot दीर्घ (प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्षसे
- for sight; for seeingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot चक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- up; towardsIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गः (रोहयत् इत्यस्य)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सूर्यम्
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- रोहयत्
- made (it) rise; caused to ascendVerbलङ् (अद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √रुह् (रुहँ आरोहणे) → caus. रोहय-
- दिवि
- in heaven; in the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot द्यौ/दिव् (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौस्)
- वि
- apart; forth; asunderIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गः (ऐरयत् इत्यस्य)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- गोभिः
- with cows; with rays (figuratively)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वैदिके बहुधा), तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- अद्रिम्
- the rock; mountain (obstruction)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऐरयत्
- set in motion; drove; impelledVerbलङ् (अद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √ईर्/√इर् (ईरँ गतौ/प्रेरणे) → caus. ईरय-
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: इन्द्रः | दीर्घाय | चक्षसे | आ | सूर्यम् | रोहयत् | दिवि | वि | गोभिः | अद्रिम् | ऐरयत् । संहितायाम्: चक्षस॒ आ = चक्षसे + आ (ए/आ संधिः; एकारस्य दीर्घत्वेन ‘ए’ स्थिरः, पदान्त ‘-e’ परे ‘आ’ इति पृथक् उच्चारणः वैदिके दृश्यते)
- रोहयद्दिवि = रोहयत् + दिवि (त् + द् → द्द्, जश्त्व/व्यञ्जनसन्धिः)
- गोभिरद्रिम् = गोभिः + अद्रिम् (ः + अ → र्, विसर्गसन्धिः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra lifted the Sun into heaven for long-ranging vision; with the rays he drove apart the obstructing rock.
Inner meaning
Indra establishes the higher seeing (dīrghāya cakṣase) by raising the inner Sun (sūrya)—the supramental light—into the heaven of consciousness (divi). Then, using the released rays of knowledge (gobhiḥ), he splits the rock (adri)—the hard formation that holds back light in the subconscient—so illumination can flow and the being can see far and true.
Universal truth
True vision comes when inner light is enthroned above the mind’s turbulence; then the fixed knots of ignorance break, and knowledge-rays are released for a wider life.
Themes
Indra as opener of the Light, release of the cows (rays/knowledges), victory over obstruction, inner awakening / ascent of consciousness
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.7.1, RV 1.7.2, RV 1.7.4, RV 1.7.5
Family tradition
Seers of conquest: the Indra-myth is read as an inner victory releasing light and truth.
Significance
This verse is a classic psychological key: Indra’s act is the raising of inner Sun and the liberation of ‘cows’ (rays) from the rock—an archetype of awakening and breaking subconscious resistance.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Sūrya-rohaya (raiser of the Sun), Go-vid (finder/releaser of the rays), Vṛtra-han (slayer of the coverer—implied)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Uṣas, Bṛhaspati, Sarasvatī
Cosmic role
Releaser of light; establishes the solar order in heaven and opens the hidden treasures.
Inner power
Illumined mind-force that gives higher vision and breaks rigid ignorance-patterns.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise in Soma ritual; mythic recitation supporting the theme of release of light/waters.
इन्द्रो॑ दी॒र्घाय॒ चक्ष॑स॒ आ सूर्यं॑ रोहयद्दि॒वि । वि गोभि॒रद्रि॑मैरयत् ॥
इन्द्रः॑ । दी॒र्घाय॑ । चक्ष॑से॑ । आ । सूर्य॑म् । रो॒ह॒य॒त् । दि॒वि । वि । गोभिः॑ । अद्रि॑म् । ऐ॒र॒य॒त् ॥
indraḥ | dīrghāya | cakṣase | ā | sūryam | rohayat | divi | vi | gobhiḥ | adrim | airayat
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3 × 8
Clear narrative thrust; second pāda peaks on ‘divi’, third pāda releases with ‘vi gobhir’.
Creates an inner ‘lifting’ sensation followed by a felt ‘opening’—useful for meditation on clarity and breakthrough.
- दी॒र्घाय॒ चक्ष॑से (dīrghāya cakṣase)
- Literal: for long vision. Symbolic: Vast, sustained seeing; enduring spiritual discernment
- सूर्यं (sūryam)
- Literal: the Sun. Symbolic: Inner solar consciousness; truth-light, supramental illumination
- दिवि (divi)
- Literal: in heaven. Symbolic: Higher plane of mind/illumined consciousness above ordinary mentality
- गोभिः (gobhiḥ)
- Literal: with cows/rays. Symbolic: Rays of knowledge and illumination (not cattle) released into mind
- अद्रिम् (adrim)
- Literal: rock, stone. Symbolic: Obstructing formation; subconscient hardness that imprisons light
- वि ... ऐरयत् (vi ... airayat)
- Literal: drove apart, set in motion/dispersed. Symbolic: Breakthrough: separation of obstruction, liberation of blocked energies and light
Indra-stotras in Soma ritual contexts (e.g., Agniṣṭoma/Ukthya sequences): recitation to invoke Indra’s force for opening the ‘paths’ and bringing the Light (Sūrya) through the pressings (savana).
During Indra-stotras recalling his victorious deeds; supportive of offerings seeking illumination and victory.
Chanting as remembrance (smaraṇa) of Indra’s archetypal act—raising light, breaking obstruction.
Meditate on ‘raising the Sun’ before study/creative work; use the verse to break mental fog and inertia.
Key roots and forms: (1) rohayat: causative imperfect (3sg parasmaipada) of √ruh ‘to rise, grow, mount’ → ‘caused to rise/established aloft’. (2) cakṣase: dative singular of cakṣas- ‘sight, vision’ (from √cakṣ ‘to see, perceive’). (3) divi: locative singular of dyu-/div- ‘heaven, luminous realm’ (PIE *dyeu- ‘sky/daylight’). (4) gobhiḥ: instrumental plural of go- ‘cow; ray of light; knowledge’, a multivalent Vedic symbol (go as ‘that which shines/moves’ → rays). (5) adrim: accusative singular of adri- ‘stone, mountain, press-stone’; in mythic-psychological reading, the hard ‘covering’ that pens in light. (6) airayat: imperfect (3sg) of causative/denominative from √īr/√ir ‘to set in motion, impel, raise’ → ‘he impelled/drove apart’. Accent note: the IAST accents are supplied from the given Saṃhitā accenting (e.g., índro, ā́, sū́ryaṃ, diví, ví, góbhir, ádrim) to preserve oral-phonetic semantics.
Ṛta (right order through the establishment of true light), Satyam (truth) as illumined seeing (cakṣas), release of hidden knowledge/light from obstruction (bandha → mokṣa motif in Vedic form)
Raising the Sun in ‘heaven’ symbolizes restoring Ṛta—the right luminous order—within consciousness.
Sūrya is Satya’s visible sign; enthroning it means truth becomes the governing principle.
Release of hidden light from the inconscient; ascent (raising) and unveiling (splitting the rock).
Aurobindonian evolutionary reading: emergence of supramental light through breaking the subconscient lid.
dawn-to-morning transition (sun ‘raised’)
Sun = truth-consciousness; heaven = higher mind; rays/cows = knowledges; rock = subconscious obstruction/ignorance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘raising of the Sun’ and ‘driving apart the Rock with the cows (rays)’: a classic release-myth where Indra establishes the solar Truth-light in the heavenly plane and breaks the obstructing enclosure that withholds illumination. Psychologically, it describes the awakening of higher sight (cakṣas) through Indra’s force, resulting in the emergence of the supramental light (Sūrya) and the liberation of rays/knowledges (go) from the subconscient hardness (adri).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- diví ‘in heaven’ continues PIE *dyeu- ‘sky, daylight’ (cf. Greek Zeus < *dyēus, Latin diēs). The semantic pairing of ‘heaven/daylight’ with ‘sun’ reflects an inherited Indo-European poetic complex. The verb complex around motion/ascent (√ruh ‘rise’) aligns with common IE ‘rise/mount’ imagery for dawn/sun. The formulaic use of preverbs ā́ (‘up/toward’) and ví (‘apart’) is also characteristically archaic, encoding spatial metaphors for cognitive/ritual transformations.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer invokes Indra not as an external storm-god alone but as an inward executive power that acts ‘for vision’ (dīrghāya cakṣase). The reciprocity is implicit: the rishi’s aspiration for extended seeing calls Indra’s action; Indra answers by establishing Sūrya (truth-light) in the inner heaven and by dispersing obstruction. The ‘gift’ is thus illumination and widened consciousness, rather than material gain—an exchange of will (human) and force (divine) that restores Ṛta in the being.
‘Raise the inner Sun’: visualize a golden orb above the brow, stabilizing in a clear sky of consciousness; then feel rays descending through the mind.
ājñā
slow_meditative breathing; inhale ‘ā sūryaṃ’, exhale ‘rohayad divi’; pause, then exhale ‘vi gobhir adrim airayat’ as a release
Illumined, wide seeing; breakthrough from dullness.
When stuck in repetitive thoughts, invoke Indra; hold attention above the mind (divi), then let insight-rays (go) work on the hard knot (adri) without strain.
Observe accents as marked (इन्द्रो॑, दी॒र्घाय॒, चक्ष॑स, सूर्यं॑, दि॒वि, गोभि॒रद्रि॑म्).
Give a slight lift on sūryaṃ and divi; articulate ‘vi gobhiḥ’ as an opening gesture in sound.
cakṣase: keep kṣ as a single cluster (not ‘k-sha’ separated)., rohayat: clear ‘ha’ aspiration, avoid ‘ro-yat’., adriṃ: short a, crisp dr cluster.
Luminous and expansive; broaden tone on ‘dīrghāya cakṣase’.
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