Rig Veda 5.2.7: Mandala 5, Sukta 2, Mantra 7
Sukta 5.2
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha — traditional ascription for RV 5.2
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
शुनश्चिच्छेपं निदितं सहस्राद्यूपादमुञ्चो अशमिष्ट हि षः । एवास्मदग्ने वि मुमुग्धि पाशान्होतश्चिकित्व इह तू निषद्य ॥
śúnaś cic chépam níditaṃ sahásrād yū́pād amuñco áśamiṣṭa hí ṣáḥ | evā́smád agne ví mumugdhi pā́śān hótaś cikitva ihá tū́ níṣadya ||
حتى شوناḥشيبا، وإن كان مُوثَقًا، أطلقتَه من عمودِ القربان (يوبا)—فقد نالَ حقًّا مُرادَه. فهكذا، يا أغني، أرخِ لنا القيودَ التي تُمسِكُنا؛ يا هوتَر العارف، اجلسْ هنا في داخلِنا وخُذْ مقعدَك.
Word by Word
- शुनः
- of Śunaḥ (of the dog/Śunaḥ)Noun (Proper name)पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)Root शुन (प्रातिपदिक ‘शुन’/‘श्वन्’ ‘कुत्ता’ से; यहाँ नाम ‘शुनः’)
- चित्
- even, indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRoot चित् (अव्यय)
- शेपम्
- Śepa (i.e., Śunaḥśepa)Noun (Proper name component)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (of ‘अमुञ्चः’)Root शेप (प्रातिपदिक; ‘शेप’ = पूँछ/शिश्न; यहाँ नाम ‘शुनःशेप’ का अंश)
- निदितम्
- bound, fastenedParticiple (Past passive)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (शेपम् के विशेषण रूप)Role कर्म (qualifier)Root नि-दा (√दा ‘देना’/‘नियोजित करना’ से; ‘निदित’ = नियुक्त/बाँधा हुआ; वैदिक प्रयोग)
- सहस्रात्
- from a thousand (stakes/constraints)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी एकवचनRole अपादानRoot सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यूपात्
- from the sacrificial postNounपुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी एकवचनRole अपादानRoot यूप (प्रातिपदिक)
- अमुञ्चः
- you/ he released (released)Verbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद; मध्यम? नहीं—प्रथम पुरुष एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot मुच् (√मुच् ‘छोड़ना/मुक्त करना’) + अ (अग्मेंट)
- अशमिष्ट
- he sought/obtained well-being; he made it auspiciousVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद; प्रथम पुरुष एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot शम् (√शम् ‘शान्त/कल्याण करना’; ‘अशमिष्ट’ = aorist/इच्छार्थ-प्रयोग वैदिक)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRoot हि (अव्यय)
- षः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (वैदिक रूप ‘षः’ = ‘सः’)Role कर्तृRoot स (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- एव
- just so, in the same wayIndeclinableअव्ययRoot एव (अव्यय)
- अस्मत्
- of usPronounषष्ठी/पञ्चमी? यहाँ ‘अस्मत्’ = अस्मद्-सम्बन्ध (genitive plural sense ‘of us’ in Vedic usage)Role सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (Vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, asunder, forthIndeclinable (Preverb)अव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- मुमुग्धि
- release! set free!Verbलोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद; मध्यम पुरुष एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot मुच् (√मुच् ‘मुक्त करना’; reduplicated imperative ‘मुमुग्धि’ वैदिक)
- पाशान्
- the bonds, noosesNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचनRole कर्म (of ‘मुमुग्धि’)Root पाश (प्रातिपदिक)
- होतः
- O Hotar (invoking priest)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (वैदिक voc. ‘होतः’)Role सम्बोधनRoot होतृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- चिकित्वः
- O wise oneAdjective (Vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (अग्ने के विशेषण)Role सम्बोधनRoot चिकित्वस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘ज्ञानी/प्रज्ञावान्’)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot इह (अव्यय)
- तू
- but, and nowIndeclinableअव्ययRoot तु/तू (अव्यय; वैदिक ‘तू’ = ‘तु’)
- नि
- down, inIndeclinable (Preverb)अव्ययRoot नि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सद्य
- having sat down; sittingIndeclinable (absolutive-like)अव्ययRoot सद् (√सद् ‘बैठना’) + य (ल्यप्/अव्यय-निर्माण; ‘सद्य’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): शुनः चित् शेपम् निदितम् सहस्रात् यूपात् अमुञ्चः अशमिष्ट हि षः । एव अस्मत् अग्ने वि मुमुग्धि पाशान् होतः चिकित्वः इह तू नि सद्य । मुख्य वैदिक रूप: ‘षः’ = ‘सः’ (प्रथमा एकवचन सर्वनाम). ‘होतः’ वैदिक सम्बोधन. ‘तू’ = ‘तु’. ‘नि षद्य’ को ‘नि सद्य’ (√सद्) के रूप में लिया गया
- संहिता में ‘नि॒षद्य॑’ (उपसर्ग नि + सद्य/षद्य) ध्वन्यात्मक संधि से।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni once freed Śunaḥśepa bound to the sacrificial post; likewise loosen our bonds. O knowing Hotṛ, sit here.
Inner meaning
Śunaḥśepa is the symbolic human soul/aspiration bound by many constraints (sahasrāt—‘a thousand’ bonds) to the yūpa (fixed post: rigid formality, fate, social-mental conditioning). Agni, the liberating will-flame, releases the bound being so it can ‘win its desire’—the true desire for freedom and divine fulfillment. The prayer asks the same inner liberation: vi mumugdhi pāśān—untie the knots of fear, habit, and limitation. Then the key movement: Agni as cikitvaḥ hotā is invited to ‘sit here’—to take his seat inwardly as the priest of the inner sacrifice, establishing a constant guiding presence.
Universal truth
Liberation is not merely breaking outer chains; it is the descent and seating of the inner guide (divine will and discernment) that unties the knots of conditioning and makes the soul’s true aspiration effective.
Themes
bond-release, inner priesthood (Hotṛ within), deliverance through Agni, mythic exemplum (Śunaḥśepa)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha (traditional ascription for this verse in RV 5.2 per provided data)
- Lineage
- Vāsiṣṭha
- Other hymns
- RV 7.1, RV 7.2, RV 7.3
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s tradition emphasizes ṛta, liberation through truth, and the role of Agni/Varuṇa-Mitra in establishing inner law; Śunaḥśepa’s story is later linked with Vasiṣṭha/Viśvāmitra cycles in broader tradition.
Significance
The seer invokes a remembered archetype of deliverance to activate the same liberating power in the present inner struggle.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Hotṛ (invoker-priest), Cikitvān/Cikitvaḥ (the Knower), Mocaka (liberator, functional)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (bonds and release), Indra (breaker of obstacles), Savitṛ (impeller)
Cosmic role
Deliverer from constraint; installer of the divine working within the human; awakener of effective aspiration.
Inner power
Liberating discernment and will that unties knots and establishes the inner sacrifice.
In ritual
Where it is used
Śrauta sacrificial setting (yūpa is explicit); verse functions as praise and petition to Agni in offering sequence
शुन॑श्चि॒च्छेपं॒ निदि॑तं स॒हस्रा॒द्यूपा॑दमुञ्चो॒ अश॑मिष्ट॒ हि षः । ए॒वास्मद॑ग्ने॒ वि मु॑मुग्धि॒ पाशा॒न्होत॑श्चिकित्व इ॒ह तू नि॒षद्य॑ ॥
शुनः॒ऽशेप॑म् । चि॒त् । निऽदि॑तम् । स॒हस्रा॑त् । यूपा॑त् । अ॒मु॒ञ्चः॒ । अश॑मिष्ट । हि । सः । ए॒व । अ॒स्मत् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । वि । मु॒मु॒ग्धि॒ । पासा॑न् । होत॒रिति॑ । चि॒कि॒त्वः॒ । इ॒ह । तु । नि॒ऽसद्य॑ ॥
śunaḥ-śepam | cit | ni-ditam | sahasrāt | yūpāt | amuñcaḥ | aśamiṣṭa | hi | saḥ | eva | asmat | agne | vi | mumugdhi | pāsān | hotariti | cikitvaḥ | iha | tu | ni-sadya
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4 × 11
Narrative force in first half, imperative release in second; strong forward thrust
Energizes liberation-intent; the imperatives ‘vi mumugdhi’ and ‘niṣadya’ imprint a decisive inner action.
- शुनःशेप (śunaḥśepa)
- Literal: Śunaḥśepa (proper name). Symbolic: the bound soul/aspiration in the human; the seeker in extremity
- निदितम् (niditam)
- Literal: bound down, fastened. Symbolic: consciousness fixed by habit, fear, karmic/vital knots
- सहस्रात् (sahasrāt)
- Literal: from a thousand. Symbolic: innumerable bindings; multiplicity of subconscient ties
- यूपात् (yūpāt)
- Literal: from the sacrificial post. Symbolic: rigid support-structure of the lower ritual/form; fixed ego-identity
- अमुंचः (amuñcaḥ)
- Literal: you released. Symbolic: divine act of liberation by inner fire
- पाशान् (pāśān)
- Literal: nooses, bonds. Symbolic: mental-vital knots: fear, craving, guilt, inertia
- होतृ (hotṛ)
- Literal: invoking priest. Symbolic: the inner priestly consciousness that calls in higher powers
- चिकित्वः (cikitvaḥ)
- Literal: knowing, discerning. Symbolic: illumined will with precise guidance
- नि षद्य (niṣadya)
- Literal: sit down, take seat. Symbolic: establish yourself in the heart as a stable presence
Agni-invocation within Soma-sacrifice setting; suitable to Agni’s Hotṛ-function in Agniṣṭoma/Soma-yāga contexts (release from obstacles before offering).
During rites involving binding/animal symbolism or when invoking release from impediments; also as a general prayer for deliverance
Recite while offering and mentally ‘cutting’ bonds; invite Agni to be seated as Hotṛ
Mantra for liberation from anxiety, addiction, compulsions; useful before meditation to ‘untying’ inner knots.
Key roots: √muc ‘to release, let go’ (amuñcaḥ; mumugdhi) underlies the central action: liberation from pāśa ‘noose’ (cf. √paś ‘to bind’ in later etymologizing; pāśa is ‘snare/bond’). √cit ‘to perceive, notice, know’ → cikitvaḥ ‘the discerning/wise’. yūpa ‘sacrificial post’ is the fixed axis of offering; psychologically, the fixed support where the limited being is ‘tied’ until released by the divine Fire. ni-√sad ‘sit down, settle’ indicates establishment of Agni as the inner Hotṛ.
Ṛta (right order expressed as right release and right establishment), tapas (inner heat/aspiration through Agni), mokṣa-like motif (release from bonds within Vedic frame)
Bonds represent deviation/limitation; Agni restores the being to ṛta by freeing and seating right action.
The remembered deliverance is a satya-example: what the divine has done can be done again.
Transformation of bound mortal into free participant of the sacrifice—re-creation of the human as instrument of the gods.
Yoga of the inner yajña: liberation by installing the inner priest (Agni) and offering the knots into the fire.
Post = fixed ego-structure; ropes = samskaric bindings; fire = liberating will; seated fire = stable inner guidance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Śunaḥśepa exemplum: the bound seeker is released from the yūpa (stake). Mythically it recalls salvation from sacrificial binding; psychologically it encodes the soul’s release from constricting knots (pāśa) by Agni, the divine Will that breaks fixation and restores forward movement in Ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √muc ‘release’ (amuñcaḥ, mumugdhi) aligns with Indo-European liberation verbs (cf. Latin mūnus? not cognate; better: the widespread IE semantic field ‘loosen/free’). √cit ‘perceive’ (cikitvaḥ) reflects the IE *ḱei-/*ḱit- ‘notice, set in motion/know’ complex seen in Sanskrit cit-, Greek tíō? (uncertain), but solidly within Indo-Iranian where cit- = ‘notice/know’. The verse’s tight particle use (cit, hi, eva, tu) is characteristically Vedic for emphasis and injunction-like force.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer invokes Agni not merely as outer ritual fire but as the inner Hotṛ who must ‘sit here’ (iha niṣadya) — i.e., take stable residence in the practitioner. The reciprocity is: the human offers aspiration and praise; Agni answers by loosening bonds and establishing right action, enabling the sacrifice/inner work to proceed in Ṛta.
Feel the ‘ropes’ in the body-mind (tightness, fear) and offer them into Agni; then invite Agni to sit in the heart as the inner Hotṛ.
anāhata (seat of Agni as inner priest) and maṇipūra (cutting bonds of desire/fear)
slow_meditative: inhale 4, exhale 6 while silently repeating ‘vi mumugdhi pāśān’; then 1 minute natural breath on ‘iha tū niṣadya’
From bondage to liberated, centered presence
Practice 12 repetitions; on each, relax one identified bond (a worry, compulsion, resentment). End by sitting still, sensing a warm flame ‘seated’ in the heart.
Triṣṭubh with clear udatta on śúnaś, yūpā́t, amúñco, ví, mumúgdhi, hótaḥ; keep imperatives crisp; observe svarita glides where marked in saṃhitā.
Two-part delivery: first two pādas as remembrance (narrative), last two as direct petition and invitation; pause at pāda ends.
śunaś cic: keep ‘śu’ and ‘naś’ distinct; ‘cic’ lightly doubled, yūpād: long ū; retroflex? (p is labial), keep d clear, vi mumugdhi: ‘mu-mug-dhi’ with voiced ‘gdh’ cluster carefully articulated, niṣadya: retroflex ṣ; ‘ni-ṣa-dya’ three beats
bright, cutting, liberative; then warm and inviting on ‘niṣadya’
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