Rig Veda 3.18.1: Mandala 3, Sukta 18, Mantra 1
Sukta 3.18
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
भवा नो अग्ने सुमना उपेतौ सखेव सख्ये पितरेव साधुः । पुरुद्रुहो हि क्षितयो जनानां प्रति प्रतीचीर्दहतादरातीः ॥
bhávā no agne sumánā upétau sákhāiva sákhye pitaréva sādhúḥ | purudrúho hí kṣitáyo jánānāṃ práti pratīcī́r dahatād árātīḥ ||
كُنْ لنا، يا أغني، حضورًا ذا سعادةٍ حين تقترب—كصديقٍ في الصداقة، وكأبٍ، عونًا صادقًا. فإنّ قوى العداء كثيرةٌ في مساكن الناس؛ فأحرِقْ وادفعْ إلى الوراء الهجماتَ العائدة، قوى سوء النيّة.
Word by Word
- भव
- be; becomeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root भू (धातु)
- नः
- for us; of usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुमनाः
- kindly; benevolentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (बहुव्रीहि: ‘सु-मनस्’ = good-minded)Role कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot सु- + मनस्- (प्रातिपदिक) → सुमनस्-/सुमनाः
- उप
- near; towardsIndeclinableअव्ययRole (क्रियाविशेषण/उपसर्गार्थ)Root उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- इतौ
- when approached/arrived near; in (your) coming nearKṛdanta (verbal adjective)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/सप्तमी?; वैदिक रूप ‘इतौ’ = ‘आगते/उपगते’ (locative/ vocative-like usage in Vedic)Role अधिकरण (आगमन-स्थित्यर्थ) / सम्बोधन-विशेषणRoot इ (धातु) → इत- (कृदन्त) / इता- (गन्ता) आधार
- सखेव
- like a friendNoun + Indeclinableसखा (पुं), प्रथमा, एकवचन + इवRole उपमान (उपमेय: अग्नि)Root सखि- (प्रातिपदिक) + इव (अव्यय)
- सख्ये
- in friendshipNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सख्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- पितरेव
- like a fatherNoun + Indeclinableपिता (पुं), प्रथमा, एकवचन + इवRole उपमानRoot पितृ- (प्रातिपदिक) + इव (अव्यय)
- साधुः
- good; beneficentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot साधु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरुद्रुहः
- much-harming; often-hostileAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (उपपद-विशेषण: ‘क्षितयः’)Root पुरु- (अव्यय/पूर्वपद) + द्रुह् (धातु) → द्रुह्/द्रुह- (प्रातिपदिक) बहुव्रीहि
- हि
- for; indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRole (सम्बन्ध/हेतुनिपात)Root हि (निपात)
- क्षितयः
- dwellings; settlements; peoplesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot क्षिति- (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनानाम्
- of men; of peoplesNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root जन- (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- against; towardsIndeclinableअव्ययRole (क्रियाविशेषण/दिशा)Root प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- प्रतीचीः
- turned back; opposing; facing (us)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (विशेषण: ‘अरा॑तीः’)Root प्रतीच्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- दहतात्
- let him burnVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root दह् (धातु)
- अरा॑तीः
- hostilities; harms; enemies’ maliceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अराति- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic): भव | नः | अग्ने | सुमनाः | उप | इतौ | सखा-इव → सखेव | सख्ये | पिता-इव → पितरेव | साधुः || पुरु-द्रुहः | हि | क्षितयः | जनानाम् | प्रति | प्रतीचीः | दहतात् | अरा॑तीः । सखेव/पितरेव: अ + इव → ए (गुणसन्धि)
- ‘उपेतौ’ को ‘उप + इतौ’ रूपेण ग्रहणम् (वैदिक प्रयोग; ‘उपेतौ’ = ‘उपगते/उपागते’ अर्थे)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Agni to come near with goodwill—like a friend and a fatherly helper—and to burn away the hostile forces that attack human dwellings.
Inner meaning
Invoke the inner Fire (Agni) as the benevolent Presence of the Divine Will in the psyche—intimate as friendship, protective as fatherhood. The “hostile powers” are recurring movements of negation (arātīḥ), doubt, resentment, and inertia that rise from the subconscient and the collective atmosphere. Agni is asked to turn back and consume these returning assaults, so the inner sacrifice (sādhanā) can proceed without leakage of energy.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a conscious inner flame that is at once kind, intimate, and strong; it protects the aspirant by transforming reactive negativity into fuel for growth.
Themes
protection, warding hostility, Agni as friend and father, inner battle
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthin lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.1, RV 3.2, RV 3.3, RV 3.4, RV 3.62 (Gāyatrī)
Family tradition
Viśvāmitra hymns often emphasize the disciplined kindling of Agni as inner power and the victory of illumination over resistance; a warrior-seer’s spiritual psychology.
Significance
Viśvāmitra embodies the conversion of force into light: tapas and aspiration organized into mantra-power (brahman) that calls down protection and illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- sumanāḥ (gracious), sādhuḥ (true helper), sahasas putra (son of Force, implicit in the hymn context)
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Uṣas, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine; carrier of offerings; purifier and protector who establishes ṛta in the sacrifice.
Inner power
Psychic fire that discerns, rejects falsehood, and converts hostile movements into clarified energy for ascent.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / evening-morning fire offering; also protective invocations in soma and iṣṭi contexts
भवा॑ नो अग्ने सु॒मना॒ उपे॑तौ॒ सखे॑व॒ सख्ये॑ पि॒तरे॑व सा॒धुः । पु॒रु॒द्रुहो॒ हि क्षि॒तयो॒ जना॑नां॒ प्रति॑ प्रती॒चीर्द॑हता॒दरा॑तीः ॥
भव॑ । नः॒ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । सु॒ऽमनाः॑ । उप॑ऽइतौ । सखा॑ऽइव । सख्ये॑ । पि॒तराऽइव । सा॒धुः । पु॒रु॒ऽद्रुहः॑ । हि । क्षि॒तयः॑ । जना॑नाम् । प्रति॑ । प्र॒ती॒चीः । द॒ह॒ता॒त् । अरा॑तीः ॥
bhava | naḥ | agne | su-manāḥ | upa-itau | sakhāiva | sakhye | pitarāiva | sādhuḥ | puru-druhaḥ | hi | kṣitayaḥ | janānām | prati | pratīcīḥ | dahatāt | arātīḥ
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Firm, forward-driving, declarative; suited to protection and conquest of obstacles.
Builds steadiness and courage; supports a protective inner stance while keeping warmth and devotion.
- अग्ने (agne)
- Literal: Fire; Agni. Symbolic: Divine Will and inner priest-power that leads transformation
- सुमनाः (sumanāḥ)
- Literal: Good-minded, gracious. Symbolic: Benevolent divine disposition experienced as inner consent and clarity
- उपेतौ (upetau)
- Literal: On coming near/approaching. Symbolic: Descent/awakening of the inner Presence in consciousness
- सखा / सख्ये (sakhā / sakhye)
- Literal: Friend / friendship. Symbolic: Intimate alliance with the divine force; loyal companionship in practice
- पितराइव (pitarā-iva)
- Literal: Like a father. Symbolic: Protective guidance; sustaining power that upholds the seeker
- पुरुद्रुहः (purudruhaḥ)
- Literal: Much-harming, many-hostile. Symbolic: Multiple formations of resistance—habits, impulses, collective suggestions
- क्षितयः (kṣitayaḥ)
- Literal: Dwellings/abodes/settlements. Symbolic: Planes and habitual stations of consciousness where forces lodge
- अरातीः (arātīḥ)
- Literal: Ill-will, hostility, misfortune. Symbolic: Anti-force: denial, depression, sabotage, divisive impulses
- प्रतीचीः (pratīcīḥ)
- Literal: Returning, turned back toward. Symbolic: Recurrent waves of old nature returning after progress
- दहतात् (dahatāt)
- Literal: May he burn. Symbolic: Psychic combustion: purification and transmutation
Protective Agni prayer; used for warding hostility and securing auspicious approach of the fire in rites.
At the kindling/approach of Agni and at moments of perceived obstruction or hostile influence
Inviting Agni to the altar; offering ghee; protective burning away of negativities
Before meditation or work: invoke inner goodwill and protection; brief recitation to clear reactive atmospheres and recurring negative loops.
arāti: from a-rāti ‘non-giving’ (negation of rā ‘to give’) → miserliness/ill-will; psychologically the refusal of the being to open to abundance. dahatāt: optative/imperative from √dah ‘burn’ → transformative destruction of hostile formations.
friend/father archetypes (ethical intimacy with the divine), hostile formations (inner and outer), purification through burning
Agni restores ṛta by burning deviations—forces that disturb harmony in the human settlements of consciousness.
Truth as loyal friendship with the Divine; falsehood appears as arātī (ill-will) that must be exposed and consumed.
Approach of Agni as the descent of formative power that refashions the human field.
Proto-Vedāntic and yogic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap): deities as powers of consciousness; sacrifice as inner transformation.
twilight (typical for protective Agni invocations)
Fire = will and discernment; ‘dwellings’ = habitual mental-vital formations; ‘returning attacks’ = resurfacing samskāras.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as guardian who repels hostile forces: the mythic action is the burning-back of ‘arātīḥ’—obstructive powers that attack the sacrificer. Psychologically, these are formations of refusal, envy, and constriction opposed to the widening (bṛhat) movement.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dah ‘burn’ belongs to an IE fire/heat semantic network (cf. related burning terms across IE languages, though exact cognates vary). The social metaphors ‘friend’ and ‘father’ as divine relations are also common IE poetic strategies to express reciprocity and protection.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks for a relational closeness: Agni must arrive as friend/father—intimate protector—then actively transmute hostility by burning it, establishing a safe field for the yajña and inner growth.
Kindle a friendly but firm inner will; feel Agni near the heart as protective warmth and clear discernment.
anahata (heart)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 6–8 rounds, then soft internal repetition with exhale emphasis on ‘dahatāt’.
Centered, vigilant calm; receptive strength.
Begin with gratitude (friend/father), then offer the recurring ‘returning’ patterns to the fire; do not fight them—hand them to Agni for transformation.
Vedic svara as per Śākala tradition (udātta/anudātta/svarita); preserve udātta peaks on key invocatory words (agne, sumanāḥ, dahatāt).
Keep a clear lift on udātta syllables; avoid flattening ‘sumanā́ upétaū’; let ‘dahatāt’ land as a decisive cadence.
: ‘ag-ne’ (not ‘ag-nee’), : final visarga light but audible, : long ī, and palatal ‘c’ (ch-like) not ‘k’, : long ā and ī; roll ‘r’ gently
Warm, steady, protective; not harsh—strength with benevolence.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
