Rig Veda 8.13.12: Mandala 8, Sukta 13, Mantra 12
Sukta 8.13
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
इन्द्र शविष्ठ सत्पते रयिं गृणत्सु धारय । श्रवः सूरिभ्यो अमृतं वसुत्वनम् ॥
índra śaviṣṭha satpate rayíṃ gṛṇátsu dhāraya | śrávaḥ sūríbhyò amṛ́taṃ vasutvánam ||
يا إندرا، يا أشدَّهم بأسًا، يا سيّدَ الحقّ، ثبّتِ الوفرةَ في الذين يُرنّمون التسبيح. وامنحِ الرِّشيّين المستنيرين صيتًا لا يموت وحالَ الغِنى في الوجود.
Word by Word
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- शविष्ठ
- O most mightyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (इन्द्र-विशेषण)Role सम्बोधनRoot शविष्ठ (शव- ‘बल’ + इष्ठ, अतिशयार्थक-तम/इष्ठ प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
- सत्पते
- O lord of the good/true (men)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सत्पति (सत् + पति; प्रातिपदिक)
- रयिम्
- wealth, bountyNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृणत्सु
- among the praising (singers)Participle (Adjectival noun)पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (लोक/समूहवाचक: ‘स्तुवत्सु’)Role अधिकरणRoot गृणत् (√गृ ‘स्तुति/गान’ + शतृ; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- धारय
- hold, maintain, bestowVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √धृ (धारणे)
- श्रवः
- fame, gloryNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन (अत्र कर्मरूपेण)Role कर्मRoot श्रवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सूरिभ्यः
- to the patrons/wise menNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot सूरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अमृतम्
- immortal, deathlessAdjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (श्रवः-विशेषण/अप्पोज़िशन)Role कर्मRoot अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
- वसुत्वनम्
- state of wealth; rich prosperityNoun (abstract)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अमृतम्/श्रवः-सम्बद्धम्)Role कर्मRoot वसुत्वन (वसु + त्वन्/त्वन; भाव/अवस्था-वाचक प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (असन्धि-रूप): इन्द्र | शविष्ठ | सत्पते | रयिम् | गृणत्सु | धारय | श्रवः | सूरिभ्यः | अमृतम् | वसुत्वनम् ।
- ‘गृणत्सु’ = गृणत् (शतृ) + सु (सप्तमी-बहुवचन), ‘सत्पते’ = सत् + पते (सम्बोधन)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, most mighty, lord of the true, hold firm the wealth in those who sing; grant to the seers deathless fame and the state of rich being.
Inner meaning
Indra as śaviṣṭha (most powerful) and satpati (lord of the true) is asked to stabilize rayi—not merely material wealth but the plenitude of capacities and supports—in the consciousness that chants (gṛṇatsu), i.e., that forms mantric alignment. He is further asked to give śravas amṛtam: a deathless ‘hearing/fame’—the enduring vibration of truth-recognition in the worlds—and vasutvanam: the very condition of abundant being, where the soul lives in a stable richness of light and force.
Universal truth
When consciousness aligns with truth through sincere invocation, higher power consolidates our inner resources and establishes an enduring value—an immortal meaning and fullness of being.
Themes
Boon of plenitude, Immortal fame, Truth-lordship, Indra as sustainer
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.13.1-13 (Indra-focused sequence)
Significance
This is a compact siddhi-prayer: stabilization (dhāraya) of plenitude in the practitioner, and the granting of an immortal value (amṛta śravas) culminating in a settled rich-being (vasutvanam).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- śaviṣṭha (most puissant), satpati (lord of the true)
- Related deities
- Agni (who carries the chant/offerings upward), Soma (immortal essence linked with amṛta), Sūrya (principle of illumination behind sūri)
Cosmic role
Victorious power that establishes truth in mind and life; bestower of plenitude and enduring glory.
Inner power
Stabilizing illumination: not only breakthrough but consolidation—holding the gains of sādhanā firm.
In ritual
Where it is used
Benedictive request (āśis) within Indra-Soma praise
इन्द्र॑ शविष्ठ सत्पते र॒यिं गृ॒णत्सु॑ धारय । श्रव॑: सू॒रिभ्यो॑ अ॒मृतं॑ वसुत्व॒नम् ॥
इन्द्र॑ । श॒वि॒ष्ठ॒ । स॒त्ऽप॒ते॒ । र॒यिम् । गृ॒णत्ऽसु॑ । धा॒र॒य॒ । श्रवः॑ । सू॒रिऽभ्यः॑ । अ॒मृत॑म् । व॒सु॒ऽत्व॒नम् ॥
indra | śaviṣṭha | sat-pate | rayim | gṛṇat-su | dhāraya | śravaḥ | sūri-bhyaḥ | amṛtam | vasu-tvanam
44
4 x ~11 syllables
Strong, steady, ‘holding’ rhythm matching dhāraya (hold firm).
Grounding and consolidating; after energizing verses, this one seals the invocation into stability and confidence.
- शविष्ठ (śaviṣṭha)
- Literal: most strong. Symbolic: supreme effective force of illumination capable of establishing results
- सत्पते (sat-pate)
- Literal: lord of the true/good. Symbolic: sovereign of truth-consciousness; ruler of right being and right movement
- रयिम् (rayim)
- Literal: wealth, treasure. Symbolic: plenitude of inner resources—light, strength, harmony, capacities for the work
- गृणत्सु (gṛṇatsu)
- Literal: in those who sing/praise. Symbolic: in the consciousness actively forming mantra and aspiration
- श्रवः (śravaḥ)
- Literal: fame, glory; that which is heard. Symbolic: enduring resonance of truth; inner ‘name’ in the worlds—recognition by the higher planes
- अमृतम् (amṛtam)
- Literal: deathless, immortal. Symbolic: that which does not decay—stable consciousness, lasting realization
- वसुत्वनम् (vasutvanam)
- Literal: state of wealth/possession. Symbolic: abiding rich being (a settled prosperity of consciousness, not transient gain)
- सूरिभ्यः (sūribhyaḥ)
- Literal: to the wise/illumined patrons/seers. Symbolic: to those in whom light (sūrya principle) has awakened—illumined understanders
Boon-request in soma praise: sustaining rayi in the chanters and granting śravas/amṛta to the sūris—typical of mid-rite petitions for increase of inner and outer power.
After praise/invitation, at the request-for-boon moment in Soma rite; also suited for daily prayer for steadiness and inner prosperity.
Boons requested: rayi, śravas, amṛta, vasutva.
Chant as a ‘consolidation mantra’ after meditation or before important work to stabilize gains and invoke enduring clarity.
śavas ‘force’ is Indra’s signature energy. rayi is ‘plenitude’ (root sense of shining/possession) and can be read as fullness of consciousness. sat-pati links Indra to satya/ṛta: lordship over the true movements. vasutvana is an abstract state (‘-tvan’) of vasu: stable luminous wealth-being.
sat (truth/existence), amṛta (deathless consciousness), rayi (plenitude of being)
dhāraya implies fixing the right order so that gains do not leak away.
satpati: truth is not abstract; it has a lordship that can be invoked to govern life.
From transient effort to enduring formation: amṛta as stable consciousness; vasutva as settled plenitude.
Vedantic-yogic trajectory: from illumination to abiding being (sat) with ananda-support (amṛta).
Wealth = concentrated powers of consciousness; immortality = non-decaying awareness; sun = inner illumination that makes one a sūri.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as giver and establisher of rayi and śravas: the mythic distribution of ‘wealth and fame’ becomes an inner endowment—plenitude of being and deathless resonance of truth in the seer-community.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pati (< PIE *pótis) and √dhṛ ‘hold’ (PIE *dher- ‘hold, support’, cf. Greek thronos via related notions; English ‘firm’ is different but semantic field overlaps) show inherited governance/support imagery. √śru (śravas) continues PIE *ḱleu- tying ‘hearing’ to ‘fame’ across IE poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi speaks as one of the gṛṇats (chanters) and for the sūris: offering praise in exchange for stabilization of rayi (inner fullness) and for amṛta-śravas (deathless truth-resonance). The reciprocity is explicitly ethical-spiritual: Indra is satpati, responding to truth-aligned aspiration.
Stabilize inner gains: feel a ‘treasury of light’ held steady in the heart and brow by Indra’s power.
Anāhata (inner richness) and Ājñā (truth-governance)
Slow exhale-lengthening (e.g., inhale 4, exhale 8) while chanting to embody dhāraya (holding).
From peak experience to integrated, sustainable realization.
After chanting, sit quietly and affirm: ‘Let what is true in me be held firm; let my resources be gathered; let my work carry an enduring vibration.’
Keep the cadence steady; treat ‘indra śaviṣṭha satpate’ as a strong opening with clear udātta peaks per accent tradition.
Emphasize: índra / śavíṣṭha / sátpate / rayím / gṛṇátsu / dhāraya / śrávaḥ / sūríbhyō / amṛtám / vasutvánam.
śaviṣṭha: ś + a; keep ṭh aspirated and retroflex, satpate: crisp t + p cluster; avoid inserting a vowel, dhāraya: long ā; roll lightly into ‘r’, amṛtam: vocalic ṛ; do not say ‘amritam’ with ri too strong
Steady, grounded, slightly deeper tone to convey ‘holding’ and assurance.
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