Rig Veda 2.35.2: Mandala 2, Sukta 35, Mantra 2
Sukta 2.35
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Apāṃ Napāt
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इमं स्वस्मै हृद आ सुतष्टं मन्त्रं वोचेम कुविदस्य वेदत् । अपां नपादसुर्यस्य मह्ना विश्वान्यर्यो भुवना जजान ॥
imáṃ svásmai hṛdá ā́ sutáṣṭaṃ mántraṃ vocema kúvid asyá védat | apā́ṃ nápād asúryasya máhnā víśvāny aryó bhúvanā jajāna ||
হৃদয়ৰ পৰা সু-গঠিত এই মন্ত্ৰখন আমি তেওঁৰ বাবে উচ্চাৰণ কৰোঁ—তেওঁ কি ইয়াক জানিব? অপাং নপাত্, অসুৰ্য (ঈশ্বৰীয়) মহিমাৰ বলত, অন্তৰ্যামী আৰ্য-নায়ক ৰূপে সকলো ভুবনক জন্ম দিলে।
Word by Word
- इमम्
- this (hymn/one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वस्मै
- for him (for his own)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हृदः
- from (the) heartNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (अभ्यस्त-वेदिक प्रयोगः: ‘from the heart’); एकवचनRole अपादानRoot हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- forth, toIndeclinableउपसर्गः (गत्यर्थ-सम्प्राप्त्यर्थः)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- सुतष्टम्
- well-fashionedAdjective/Participleनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (मन्त्रं विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषणम्)Root सु-तष्ट (कृदन्त; √तक्ष् ‘to fashion, carve’)
- मन्त्रम्
- hymn, sacred formulaNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- for you (pl.)Pronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन-एन्क्लिटिक रूप; अत्र प्रायः चतुर्थी ‘for you’Role सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वोचेम
- may we speak / let us utterVerbलोट्/विधिलिङ् (वैदिक: इच्छार्थ/प्रार्थनार्थ); उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole कर्तृ (वक्ता)Root √वच् (to speak)
- कुवित्
- whether indeed? perhaps?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थ-अव्ययम्Root कु + वित् (निपात; प्रश्नार्थ/संशयार्थ)
- अस्य
- of him/thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वेदत्
- may he know / will he perceiveVerbलोट् (वैदिक: आशंसार्थ/संभावनार्थ) वा लृट्-सदृश-आशीर्लिङ्-प्रयोगः; तृतीयपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole कर्तृ (ज्ञाता)Root √विद् (to know)
- अपाम्
- of the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नपात्
- offspring, son (Apām Napāt)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot नपात् (प्रातिपदिक)
- असुर्यस्य
- of the lordly (power)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचन (मह्ना इत्यस्य सम्बन्धः)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root असुर्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘asuric/Asura-like, lordly’)
- मह्ना
- by (his) greatness/mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot मघन्/मह्न् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘might, greatness’)
- विश्वानि
- all (things)Adjective (substantive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्यः
- the noble one, Arya (lord)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- भुवना
- worlds, beingsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
- जजान
- begot, generatedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श भूत); तृतीयपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole कर्तृRoot √जन् (to beget, generate)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-style): इ॒मं | स्व॑स्मै | हृ॒दः | आ | सुत॑ष्टम् | मन्त्रम् | वः | वोचेम | कुवित् | अस्य | वेदत् || अपाम् | नपात् | असुर्यस्य | मह्ना | विश्वानि | अर्यः | भुवना | जजान || Notable: ‘हृद आ’ → ‘हृदः आ’ (visarga before ā)
- ‘कुविदस्य’ in saṃhitā = ‘कुवित् अस्य’
- ‘अपां नपादसु॒र्य॑स्य’ = ‘अपाम् नपात् असुर्यस्य’
The meaning
Outer meaning
The seer speaks a well-crafted mantra from the heart to Apāṃ Napāt, wondering if he will recognize it. He declares that the Child of the Waters, by the greatness of his lordly power, has generated all the worlds as their noble master.
Inner meaning
The mantra is an inner formation shaped in the heart (hṛdā sutaṣṭam): a conscious crystallization of aspiration. The question ‘will he know it?’ points to resonance—whether the human vibration matches the divine truth. Apāṃ Napāt as asurya (lordly, sovereign power) is the concealed creator-force in life that brings forth all planes of experience; inwardly, he is the psychic-creative power that can re-create the seeker’s worlds when the heart’s mantra is true.
Universal truth
A word born from the heart becomes effective when it is aligned with the sovereign truth-power that creates and sustains worlds; inner sincerity is the key to divine recognition and transformative response.
Themes
Cosmogony (inner and outer), Power of heart-born mantra, Divine recognition (vedat)
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhārgava (traditional)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.4 (hymn-craft and invocation), RV 2.35.1, RV 2.35.3
Family tradition
A family-seer tradition emphasizing the efficacy of true speech and the inner yajña; mantras are seen as ‘well-made’ instruments for calling down divine powers.
Significance
Here the rishi models the yogic principle that mantra must be shaped in the heart—precision plus sincerity—so the deity ‘knows’ it as his own truth.
The deity
- Devata
- Apāṃ Napāt
- Epithets
- apāṃ napāt, asuryasya (of sovereign might), aryo (noble master)
- Related deities
- Prajāpati (creation aspect), Agni (hidden fire), Varuṇa (cosmic sovereignty)
Cosmic role
Creator and lord within the worlds, bringing them to birth through a hidden luminous power in the waters (cosmic and terrestrial).
Inner power
Psychic creator-force: generates new inner worlds (states of consciousness) and governs them as a noble ruler when invoked by heart-born mantra.
In ritual
Where it is used
Recited in praise sequences for Apāṃ Napāt/Āpas within śrauta liturgy; can accompany water offerings or purification rites as a cosmological affirmation.
इ॒मं स्व॑स्मै हृ॒द आ सुत॑ष्टं॒ मन्त्रं॑ वोचेम कु॒विद॑स्य॒ वेद॑त् । अ॒पां नपा॑दसु॒र्य॑स्य म॒ह्ना विश्वा॑न्य॒र्यो भुव॑ना जजान ॥
इ॒मम् । सु । अ॒स्मै॒ । हृ॒दः । आ । सुऽत॑ष्टम् । मन्त्र॑म् । वो॒चे॒म॒ । कु॒वित् । अ॒स्य॒ । वेद॑त् । अ॒पाम् । नपा॑त् । अ॒सु॒र्य॑स्य । म॒ह्ना । विश्वा॑नि । अ॒र्यः । भुव॑ना । ज॒जा॒न॒ ॥
imam | su | asmai | hṛdaḥ | ā | su-taṣṭam | mantram | vocema | kuvit | asya | vedat | apām | napāt | asuryasya | mahnā | viśvāni | aryaḥ | bhuvanā | jajāna
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4 × ~11
Measured and declarative; suited to statements of cosmic creation and sovereignty.
Stabilizes the mind; gives a sense of vastness and ordered power; supports ‘heart-to-cosmos’ expansion.
- हृदः (hṛdaḥ)
- Literal: from the heart. Symbolic: psychic center; sincerity and soul-intent
- सुतष्टम् (sutaṣṭam)
- Literal: well-fashioned, well-chiselled. Symbolic: mantra as a precise inner formation; disciplined thought-sound
- मन्त्रं (mantram)
- Literal: sacred formula. Symbolic: vibration that carries consciousness; instrument of transformation
- कुवित् (kuvit)
- Literal: will he? perhaps?. Symbolic: humility before grace; test of inner truth
- वेदत् (vedat)
- Literal: may he know/recognize. Symbolic: divine recognition through resonance; illumination answering aspiration
- असुर्यस्य (asuryasya)
- Literal: of lordly/supreme power. Symbolic: sovereign truth-force; mastery of consciousness
- मह्ना (mahnā)
- Literal: by greatness. Symbolic: vastness of divine potency beyond ego-effort
- विश्वानि भुवना (viśvāni bhuvanā)
- Literal: all worlds. Symbolic: all states/planes of consciousness within the being
Mantra as crafted inner offering; emphasizes recognition by the deity—core to Vedic sacrificial reciprocity in Soma and related rites.
When establishing the deity’s greatness and creative role; suitable at the beginning of a meditation session to widen consciousness.
Stotra/śastra praise; symbolic offering of a ‘well-shaped’ mantra as oblation.
Use as a ‘heart-mantra calibration’: speak slowly, then pause to sense whether the inner state matches the words (truth-resonance practice).
mantra from √man ‘think’ + instrumental power of speech: ‘that which forms by thought’. su-taṣṭa ‘well-carved’ from √takṣ ‘fashion’ (PIE *teks- ‘craft’, cf. Latin texere ‘weave/build’). √vid ‘know’ (PIE *weid- ‘see/know’, cf. English wit). asura/asurya in early RV often ‘lordly power’ (from √as ‘be’ → ‘possessing vital being/power’), later demonized in post-RV strata. √jan ‘beget’ (PIE *gen-).
Mantra as formative consciousness, Asurya (sovereign power) as divine mastery, Cosmogony: generation of bhuvanas
Worlds are born through ordered truth-power; the deity is ‘aryah’—noble, upholding right order within creation.
The deity ‘knows’ the mantra when it carries satya—integrity of inner and outer speech.
Cosmogony through hidden luminous power in the waters; immanent lordship within all worlds.
Integral Vedantic/psychological: creation as emergence of planes of consciousness from a concealed divine source.
Waters = undifferentiated life-substance; worlds = stratified consciousness; heart = psychic center shaping mantra as creative seed.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The heart-fashioned mantra offered to a cosmogonic power: Apāṃ Napāt as generator of worlds by sovereign might. Inwardly, the worlds are also inner planes; the deity ‘knows’ the mantra when the heart’s formation matches ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid (vedat) is PIE *weid- ‘see/know’ (Greek οἶδα, English wise/wit). √jan (jajāna) is PIE *gen- (Greek γίγνομαι, Latin gignere). √takṣ (taṣṭa) is PIE *teks- (Latin texere). The verse’s craft-metaphor (‘carved mantra’) is an IE poetic inheritance linking making and speaking.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers a deliberately shaped inner form (su-taṣṭa mantra) and asks for divine recognition (vedat). The devatā is acknowledged as arya/master who has already generated the worlds; thus the human act of mantra-making mirrors the deity’s cosmic making.
Shape a single sentence of aspiration ‘from the heart’ and offer it inwardly; cultivate truth-resonance so the inner Divine ‘recognizes’ it.
anahata
Inhale gently to the heart-space; exhale with the mantra. After each verse, hold a natural pause (bahya kumbhaka) for 2–3 seconds to feel resonance.
heart-centered stillness expanding into vastness; sense of inner rulership (aryatva) replacing ego-control.
1) Place attention in the heart. 2) Recite once with full clarity. 3) Ask inwardly ‘does the Divine know this as true?’ 4) Wait in silence; adjust intention until calm certainty arises.
Rigvedic accent pattern with clear udātta on key words (hṛdáḥ, mantrám, apā́m napā́t).
Keep ‘hṛdá ā sutaṣṭam’ connected; avoid over-pause after ‘kuvit’—carry the question into ‘asya vedat’.
‘hṛdaḥ’ with vocalic ṛ (hṛ), ‘sutaṣṭam’ with retroflex ṭṭ (taṣ-ṭam), ‘bhuvanā’ long ā at end, Maintain voiced aspirate in ‘mahnā’ (mh) gently without adding extra vowel
steady, intimate, heart-toned; soften volume on the questioning phrase, broaden on the creation statement.
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