Rig Veda 10.72.3: Mandala 10, Sukta 72, Mantra 3
Sukta 10.72
- Rishi
- Bṛhaspati / Angirasa-tradition
- Devata
- Devāḥ collectively
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
देवानां युगे प्रथमेऽसतः सदजायत । तदाशा अन्वजायन्त तदुत्तानपदस्परि ॥
devā́nāṃ yugé prathamé 'sataḥ sád ajāyata | tád āśā́ ánv ajāyanta tád uttāná-padas pári ||
في الدورةِ الأولى للآلهة، نهضَ الكائنُ (sat) من اللاكائنِ (asat). ثم وُلِدتْ الجهاتُ المفعمةُ بالشوقِ والتطلّع؛ ومعها الأسسُ الواسعةُ الخُطا، التي حولَها يستطيعُ العالمُ أن يقوم.
Word by Word
- देवानाम्
- of the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- युगे
- in the age/epochNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot युग (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रथमे
- in the first (one)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (युगे इति विशेषणम्)Role अधिकरणRoot प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
- असतः
- from non-being / from the unrealNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole अपादान (source; ‘from’)Root असत् (प्रातिपदिक; न + सत्)
- सत्
- being / the realNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ/भाव (subject of arising)Root सत् (प्रातिपदिक; √अस् ‘to be’ → present participle)
- अजायत
- was born / aroseVerbलुङ् (अorist); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRoot √जन् (जायते)
- तत्
- then / thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (अत्र ‘that/then’)Role सम्बन्ध/अन्वय (deictic: ‘thereupon/that’)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आशाः
- the directions / quartersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot आशा (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after; in successionIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)Root अनु
- अजायन्त
- were born / aroseVerbलुङ् (अorist); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनRoot √जन् (जायन्ते)
- तत्
- then / thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध/अन्वयRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उत्तानपदः
- having outstretched steps/feetAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (तद् इति सर्वनाम्नः विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ/भाव (as predicate/descriptor of ‘that’)Root उत्तानपद (प्रातिपदिक; उत्तान ‘outstretched’ + पद ‘foot/step’)
- परि
- around; from all sidesIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot परि
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: देवानाम् | युगे | प्रथमे | असतः | सत् | अजायत | तत् | आशाः | अनु | अजायन्त | तत् | उत्तानपदः | परि || सन्धि-निर्णयः: (1) प्रथमेऽसतः = प्रथमे + असतः (ए + अ → एऽ)
- (2) सद॑जायत = सत् + अजायत (त् + अ → द् + अ; जश्त्व/सवर्ण-सम्बन्धेन ‘त्’ → ‘द्’)
- (3) तदाशाः = तत् + आशाः (त् + आ → दा; जश्त्व)
- (4) अन्वजायन्त = अनु + अजायन्त (उ + अ → व; ‘अनु’ → ‘अन्व्’)
- (5) तदुत्तानपदः = तत् + उत्तानपदः (त् + उ → दु; जश्त्व)
The meaning
Outer meaning
In the earliest age of the gods, manifested Being (sat) arises out of the unmanifest (asat). Then the “directions” (āśāḥ) come into being, and with them the wide-stepping foundations (uttānapadaḥ) that allow the world-order to stand and spread.
Inner meaning
The first inner creation: from apparent non-being/undifferentiated subconscient (asat) the awakened principle of conscious existence (sat) emerges. With this awakening, aspiration and orientation of consciousness (āśāḥ) are born—inner “directions” toward the Divine. Then stable bases of the widened consciousness (uttānapadaḥ) are established: the psyche finds firm supports for an integral life, a ground on which higher light can descend and act.
Universal truth
All true becoming begins with a reversal: consciousness rises out of obscurity; aspiration appears as the first compass; stable foundations of widened awareness then support an ordered world within and without.
Themes
Cosmogony, Emergence of order, Directions as powers, Foundation of worlds
The seer
- Rishi
- Bṛhaspati (Angirasa-tradition)
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- RV 10.72 (entire sūkta, cosmogonic), RV 4.50 (Bṛhaspati hymn), RV 2.23 (Bṛhaspati as lord of prayer/word)
Family tradition
Angirasa seers: pioneers of the inner sacrifice, bringers of hidden light (go/arka) from the cave of concealment; associated with the Word (vāc) and right formation of thought.
Significance
Bṛhaspati represents the power of inspired thought and the effective mantra—vision becoming formative speech that establishes inner order (ṛta) and opens the concealed light.
The deity
- Devata
- Devāḥ (collectively) as powers of the cosmogonic process
- Epithets
- amṛtabandhavaḥ (bound to immortality—echoed in 10.72.5), pūrvye (the primeval ones, in the first age)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Dakṣa, Sūrya, Agni, Indra
Cosmic role
Agents of manifestation: they organize the transition from unmanifest potential to ordered worlds and their supporting laws.
Inner power
Awakened faculties of the integral being—illumined mind, aspiring will, harmonizing powers—working together to found stable consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Cosmogonic recitation supporting the doctrine of sequential manifestation; general śastra usage.
दे॒वानां॑ यु॒गे प्र॑थ॒मेऽस॑त॒: सद॑जायत । तदाशा॒ अन्व॑जायन्त॒ तदु॑त्ता॒नप॑द॒स्परि॑ ॥
दे॒वाना॑म् । पू॒र्व्ये । यु॒गे । अस॑तः । सत् । अ॒जा॒य॒त॒ । तत् । आशाः॑ । अनु॑ । अ॒जा॒य॒न्त॒ । तत् । उ॒त्ता॒नऽप॑दः । परि॑ ॥
devānām | pūrvye | yuge | asataḥ | sat | ajāyata | tat | āśāḥ | anu | ajāyanta | tat | uttāna-padaḥ | pari
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Forward-driving, expansive cadence suited to proclamation and world-founding statements.
Builds a sense of emergence and establishment—good for meditating on ‘arising’ and ‘grounding’ of consciousness.
- yuga (युग)
- Literal: age/cycle. Symbolic: a cycle of manifestation; a phase of inner evolution
- asat (असत्)
- Literal: non-being/unmanifest. Symbolic: inconscience, undifferentiated potential, subconscient darkness
- sat (सत्)
- Literal: being. Symbolic: awakened conscious existence; truth of being
- āśāḥ (आशाः)
- Literal: directions, quarters. Symbolic: lines of aspiration; orientations of the will and mind toward the Truth
- uttānapadaḥ (उत्तानपदः)
- Literal: wide-stepping feet/bases. Symbolic: stable foundations of expanded consciousness; supports for the worlds/planes
- pari (परि)
- Literal: around. Symbolic: all-encompassing establishment; the field of manifestation made coherent
Cosmogonic recitation supporting the doctrine of sequential manifestation; general śastra usage.
Cosmogonic recitation contexts; reflective portions of soma/agnicayana-style contemplations in later reception rather than a fixed domestic use.
Use as a ‘beginning-of-practice’ mantra: invoke the shift from inertia to being, then set aspiration and inner foundations before meditation or study.
: from ā-√śās/√āś ‘to wish, hope, seek’ → aspiration and orientation. : uttāna ‘stretched out, extended’ + pada ‘step/footing’ (√pad ‘to go/step’) → bases of expansion; psychologically, stable supports for the ascent/extension of consciousness.
emanation/sequential unfolding, orientation of consciousness (āśā) after being arises, foundation/footing (pada) as establishment of order (ṛta)
The ‘foundations’ symbolize ṛta as stability and right arrangement enabling worlds to stand.
Sat as truth-being emerging; satya as fidelity to that awakened reality.
Manifestation arises from the unmanifest; aspiration/directions and supporting bases appear as first structures of cosmos.
Proto-Upaniṣadic cosmogony; resonates with Vedāntic sat/asat inquiry and Aurobindonian evolution from Inconscience to Superconscience.
Directions = vectors of aspiration; foundations = stable inner poise (adhāra) for higher consciousness to descend.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Sequential cosmogony: after sat is born, ‘āśāḥ’ (directions/aspirations) arise—an ordering of space and intention—followed by ‘uttāna-padaḥ’, the firm wide-stepping foundations. Mythically it is the installation of a world that can be inhabited; psychologically it is the arising of orientation and stable bases in the seeker after the first awakening of being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pada ‘foot/step’ continues PIE *ped- (Latin pes, Greek pous), a central IE metaphor for ‘path/measure/foundation’. The cosmogony uses spatial ordering (quarters/steps) typical of IE world-building poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi reads creation as an inner map: the Gods’ first age is re-enacted in the human when being awakens, then aspiration finds its directions, and consciousness establishes its footing for further expansion.
Track the inner transition from dullness/blankness to vivid presence; then consciously generate aspiration and establish a steady inner seat.
Muladhara to Ajna (grounding foundations rising toward orientation/vision)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 7–12 cycles, then silent pause on ‘sat’.
From tamasic inertia to settled, aspiring wakefulness.
Before japa, feel the ‘asat’ as obscurity; invoke ‘sat’ as a steady flame of being; let aspiration open the quarters of the mind; end by sensing a broad, stable base in the body and life.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā tradition; preserve udātta peaks on key nouns (devānām, sat, āśāḥ).
Let udātta carry the ‘arising’ words (ajāyata/ajāyanta); keep connecting particles (tad, pari) lighter.
Hold long vowels clearly: devānāṃ, prathame, ajāyata, Retroflex ṭ/ḍ not prominent here; keep dental ‘t’ in tad, Avoid swallowing visarga/ḥ in asataḥ; release a soft aspiration
Clear, steady, slightly rising energy through the second half to convey establishment.
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