Rig Veda 4.47.4: Mandala 4, Sukta 47, Mantra 4
Sukta 4.47
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Vāyu
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
या वां सन्ति पुरुस्पृहो नियुतो दाशुषे नरा । अस्मे ता यज्ञवाहसेन्द्रवायू नि यच्छतम् ॥
yā́ vāṃ sánti puru-spṛ́ho ni-yúto dāśúṣe narā́ | asmḗ tā́ yajña-vāhasḗndra-vāyū ní yacchatam ||
وأيّ «نِيُوت» لكما ممّا يُشتهى كثيرًا، أيها القويّان، للواهب—فامنحانا إيّاها؛ يا إندرا ويا فايُو، يا حامِلَي اليَجْنَة، أثبتاها فينا تثبيتًا راسخًا.
Word by Word
- याः
- which (fem. pl.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (यच्छतम् इत्यस्य) / सम्बन्धः ‘नियुतः’ इत्यस्यRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाम्
- of you two / you twoPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘वाम्’)Role सम्बन्ध (your) / सम्भाव्य कर्म (you two) सन्दर्भेRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सन्ति
- areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रिया (अस्तित्व-निर्देश)Root अस् (धातु)
- पुरुस्पृहः
- much-desired, greatly longed-forAdjective(बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समास), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (नियुतः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Kartā-विशेषणRoot पुरु- + स्पृह (प्रातिपदिक; ‘बहु-इच्छा/बहु-काम्य’)
- नियुतः
- teams (yoked pairs), harnessingsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (सन्ति) / यच्छतम् इत्यस्य अपेक्षित-वस्तुRoot नि-युत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘युग्मित/जोडी, रथ-योजनाः/युगाः’)
- दाशुषे
- to the worshipper/giverNoun (participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot दाश्वस्/दाशुष् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दाश् ‘दान/पूजा/सेवा’)
- नरा
- O two men (heroes)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, द्विवचनRole सम्बोधन (इन्द्रवायू) / आह्वानRoot नर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मे
- among us / for usPronounसप्तमी (वेदिक-प्रयोगे ‘अस्मे’ = ‘अस्मासु/अस्माकम्’), बहुवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (among us / in our case)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ताः
- those (fem. pl.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole Karma (यच्छतम्) संदर्भे ‘नियुतः’ प्रतिRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञवाहसे
- O two who convey the sacrificeAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, द्विवचन (इन्द्रवायू-विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधन-विशेषणRoot यज्ञ-वाहस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘यज्ञं वहति’)
- इन्द्रवायू
- O Indra and VāyuNoun (dual deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र + वायु (द्वन्द्व-प्रातिपदिक)
- नि
- down, into; (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (यच्छतम् सह)Role क्रियाविशेषण (down/into, towards)Root नि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यच्छतम्
- grant, bestow / send (you two)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचनRole क्रिया (आदेशः)Root √यम् (यच्छ-; धातु ‘नियमन/प्रदान/निक्षेप’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: याः वाम् सन्ति पुरुस्पृहः नियुतः दाशुषे नरा । अस्मे ताः यज्ञवाहसे इन्द्रवायू नि यच्छतम् ॥ 1) ‘या’ + (स्त्री. बहु. प्रथमा) → ‘याः’ (विसर्ग). 2) ‘अस्मे’ वेदिक-रूपम्
- शास्त्रीये ‘अस्मासु/अस्मभ्यं/अस्माकम्’ इत्यर्थे सन्दर्भानुसारं, अत्र ‘for/among us’ इति ग्रहणम्. 3) ‘इन्द्रवायू’ द्वन्द्व-समासः, सम्बोधन-द्विवचनम्. 4) ‘नि यच्छतम्’ उपसर्ग ‘नि’ + लोट् द्विवचन ‘यच्छतम्’
The meaning
Outer meaning
Whatever niyuts (yoked teams/energies) of yours are much desired for the giver, O two heroes—grant those to us, O Indra and Vāyu, bearers of the sacrifice; hold/establish them within us.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks that the most desirable disciplined energies of Indra-Vāyu—those that truly serve the offering of the soul—be fixed in the being. ‘Dāśuṣe’ is the one who gives (offers himself, his works); to such a giver the higher powers respond. ‘Ni yacchatam’ becomes an inner injunction: stabilize these currents in us so the sacrifice is carried continuously, not in bursts.
Universal truth
Lasting transformation requires not only flashes of power and clarity, but their stable installation as habitual right energies within the personality.
Themes
Bestowal of powers, Soma-ritual, Inner stabilization, Divine-human reciprocity
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.20, RV 4.26, RV 4.47.3, RV 4.48.1
Family tradition
In Maṇḍala 4, Vāmadeva often prays not only for arrival of powers but for their right ordering and permanence—an integral movement from invocation to establishment.
Significance
This verse reflects the yogic demand for ‘niyama’ before later yogic terminology: energies must be yoked and then ‘set’ within, so the sacrifice becomes a stable path rather than episodic experience.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Vāyu
- Epithets
- narā (two heroes), yajñavāhasā (bearers of the sacrifice), puru-spṛhaḥ (much desired—referring to their niyuts)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Maruts, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
They convey Soma and the offerings; they remove obstruction by coordinated force (Indra) and swift movement (Vāyu).
Inner power
Capacity to install luminous-forceful habits: right breath, right impulse, right discernment—so aspiration can be continuously carried.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma yajña—invocation to Indra-Vāyu for their niyuts/support in the offering sequence
या वां॒ सन्ति॑ पुरु॒स्पृहो॑ नि॒युतो॑ दा॒शुषे॑ नरा । अ॒स्मे ता य॑ज्ञवाह॒सेन्द्र॑वायू॒ नि य॑च्छतम् ॥
याः । वा॒म् । सन्ति॑ । पु॒रु॒ऽस्पृहः॑ । नि॒ऽयुतः॑ । दा॒शुषे॑ । न॒रा॒ । अ॒स्मे इति॑ । ताः । य॒ज्ञ॒ऽवा॒ह॒सा॒ । इन्द्र॑वायू॒ इति॑ । नि । य॒च्छ॒त॒म् ॥
yāḥ | vām | santi | puru-spṛhaḥ | ni-yutaḥ | dāśuṣe | narā | asme iti | tāḥ | yajña-vāhasā | indravāyūiti | ni | yacchatam
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Supplicatory yet firm; the final imperative ‘ni yacchatam’ gives a sealing cadence.
Creates a sense of ‘locking in’—helpful for sankalpa-like stabilization after invocation.
- नियुतः (niyutaḥ)
- Literal: yoked teams/energies. Symbolic: Regulated prāṇic and mental currents aligned to ṛta
- पुरुस्पृहः (puru-spṛhaḥ)
- Literal: much desired. Symbolic: Most sought capacities—clarity, force, swift progress
- दाशुषे (dāśuṣe)
- Literal: to the giver/offerer. Symbolic: The consecrated doer; one who offers works and ego into the inner yajña
- नरा (narā)
- Literal: O two strong men/heroes. Symbolic: Twin powers of luminous mind and life-force as heroic helpers
- यज्ञवाहसा (yajña-vāhasā)
- Literal: bearers of the sacrifice. Symbolic: Powers that carry aspiration/offering upward and bring down response
- नि यच्छतम् (ni yacchatam)
- Literal: hold down, establish. Symbolic: Fix the higher energies in the system; make them steady and inwardly governed
Soma-yajña: request for the deities’ ‘niyuts’ (teams/energies) to be made available to the sacrificer; in inner practice, stabilization of vital and mental forces.
During Soma offerings where Indra-Vāyu are called to assist and partake; also as reinforcement for successful carrying of the rite.
Requesting the deity’s ‘teams/energies’ and their firm establishment for the sacrificer.
Use after pranayama or before focused work: a short prayer to stabilize ordered energies (attention, breath, will) within the system.
puru- ‘much’ (PIE *pl̥h₁u- ‘many’). spṛh- ‘to desire’ √spṛh. dāśuṣe: dat. sg. of dāśvant- ‘giver, worshipper’ from √dāś ‘to offer, worship’. yajña- from √yaj ‘to sacrifice, worship’ (PIE *h1yeh2g-). yacchatam: dual impv. √yam/√yacch (Vedic present of √yam ‘to hold, restrain, grant’), with ni- indicating inward fixing.
R̥ta as inward establishment (ni yacchatam), Reciprocity of offering and divine bestowal (dāśuṣ-), Embodiment: powers placed 'in us' (asmé)
The mantra asks for energies that are not random but yoked to cosmic order to be implanted in the seeker.
The ‘giver’ aligns with truth by offering without egoistic distortion; the gods respond to satya in will.
Sustained creation of a higher nature occurs by ‘establishing’ divine energies in the embodied field.
Integral-psychological reading: transformation through stabilization of higher forces in mind-life.
Morning (Vāyu’s swift approach; Soma context)
Ordered breath currents and luminous impulses become steady supports for inner offering and delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘granting of the niyuts’ mythologem: the gods’ yoked teams are requested as an endowment to the sacrificer. Inwardly, it is the settling of regulated energies that carry the sacrifice (aspiration) effectively toward the Truth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yaj in yajña is a key Indo-Iranian religious inheritance (Avestan yasna). The imperative yacchatam reflects archaic verbal governance with preverb ni-, typical of early Indo-European poetics where directionality encodes metaphysical ‘placing’ of power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi speaks as dāśuṣ (giver): the offering establishes a claim in r̥ta, and the gods respond by ‘placing’ their effective energies within the practitioner, enabling the sacrifice to be carried (yajña-vāhasa) to fulfilment.
Stabilization: invite disciplined breath-energy and clear will to settle in the body as a steady support for practice.
Maṇipūra (will/force) harmonized with Ājñā (clarity).
Box-breath (equal inhale-hold-exhale-hold) gently to ‘ni yaccha’—hold energies in balance; then release into natural breath.
Steady, governed, quietly powerful.
After chanting, scan the system: where energy scatters, gently ‘yoke’ it back to the central axis; affirm that the best energies are being established for the inner sacrifice.
Maintain clear udātta lifts on invocatives (narā, indravāyū) and a decisive settling tone on ‘ni yacchatam’.
Slight pause after ‘dāśuṣe narā’; emphasize ‘yajñavāhasā’ as functional epithet; end with firm but calm imperative.
puru-spṛhaḥ: roll lightly into spṛ-, keep ṛ vocalic, dāśuṣe: long ā, retroflex ṣ, yajñavāhasā: ‘yajña’ with palatal ñ, vā- long, indravāyū: long ū at end, ni yacchatam: double cch clearly (yac-cha-)
Even, composed, authoritative at the end.
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.
