Rig Veda 3.37.4: Mandala 3, Sukta 37, Mantra 4
Sukta 3.37
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
पुरुष्टुतस्य धामभिः शतेन महयामसि । इन्द्रस्य चर्षणीधृतः ॥
puruṣṭutásya dhā́mabhiḥ śaténa mahayāmasi | índrasya carṣaṇīdhṛ́taḥ ||
শতটা দীপ্তিমান শক্তি-ধামৰ দ্বাৰা আমি বহুল-স্তুত ইন্দ্ৰক মহিমান্বিত কৰোঁ—মানৱ কুলসমূহৰ ধাৰক, যি আমাৰ কৰ্ম-ক্ষেত্ৰ আৰু বিকাশক ধৰি ৰাখে।
Word by Word
- पुरुष्टुतस्य
- of the much-praised (one)विशेषण/संज्ञापुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation) — ‘of …’Root पुरु-स्तुत (प्रातिपदिक) < स्तु (धातु, ‘स्तुति/प्रशंसा’)
- धामभिः
- with (his) abodes/powers/splendoursसंज्ञानपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot धामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- शतेन
- with a hundred (i.e., a hundredfold)संज्ञा/संख्यावाचकनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot शत (प्रातिपदिक)
- महयामसि
- we magnify / we exaltक्रियालट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: ‘वयम्’ implied)Root मह् (धातु; causative stem महय-)
- इन्द्रस्य
- of Indraसंज्ञापुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- चर्षणीधृतः
- of the supporter/sustainer of the peoples (men)विशेषण (इन्द्रस्य) / संज्ञापुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive apposition to ‘इन्द्रस्य’)Root चर्षणी-धृत् (प्रातिपदिक; धृत् < धृ ‘धारणे’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: पुरुष्टुतस्य | धामभिः | शतेन | महयामसि | इन्द्रस्य | चर्षणीधृतः || 1) ‘पुरुष्टुतस्य’ = पुरु + स्तुतस्य (समास; षष्ठी एकवचन)
- 2) ‘चर्षणीधृतः’ = चर्षणी + धृतः (समास; ‘धृत्’ कृत्-प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी एकवचन, ‘इन्द्रस्य’ के विशेषणरूपेण)
- 3) ‘धामभिः शतेन’ में दोनों तृतीया-करण, ‘महयामसि’ क्रिया के साधन/प्रकार सूचक।
The meaning
Outer meaning
With a hundred ‘stations’ (dhāmas) we magnify the much-praised Indra, supporter of the peoples/clans.
Inner meaning
The ‘hundred dhāmas’ are many luminous seats of force in the inner being—levels and centers where Indra’s light can establish itself. By activating these, the seeker magnifies Indra as carṣaṇīdhṛt, the upholder of the human field (our embodied life and works), so that growth proceeds under illumined governance.
Universal truth
Spiritual strength becomes stable when illumination is not occasional but organized into many standing powers within life; then the higher mind supports and uplifts the whole human movement.
Themes
magnification by praise, dhāman powers, Indra as supporter, collective protection
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthina lineage)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 3.33, Rig Veda 3.34, Rig Veda 3.35, Rig Veda 3.36, Rig Veda 3.37, Rig Veda 3.38, Rig Veda 3.39, Rig Veda 3.40, Rig Veda 3.41, Rig Veda 3.42, Rig Veda 3.43, Rig Veda 3.44, Rig Veda 3.45, Rig Veda 3.46, Rig Veda 3.47, Rig Veda 3.48, Rig Veda 3.49, Rig Veda 3.50, Rig Veda 3.51, Rig Veda 3.52, Rig Veda 3.53
Family tradition
Mantric tradition emphasizing expansion (wideness) and victory; harmonizing human ‘clans’ (inner parts) under a single luminous leadership.
Significance
His vision often treats the human being as a collective of powers that must be supported and unified by a higher, victorious intelligence.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Puruṣṭuta (much-praised), Carṣaṇīdhṛt (supporter of the peoples), Śatakratu
- Related deities
- Agni, Maruts, Aśvins
Cosmic role
Sustains the human world-order by bringing down luminous power and maintaining it in stable ‘seats’.
Inner power
Integrator and upholder—prevents dispersion; establishes luminous stability across the being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise in Soma liturgy; stotra for strengthening and ‘establishing’ Indra’s presence
पु॒रु॒ष्टु॒तस्य॒ धाम॑भिः श॒तेन॑ महयामसि । इन्द्र॑स्य चर्षणी॒धृत॑: ॥
पु॒रु॒ऽस्तु॒तस्य॑ । धाम॑ऽभिः । श॒तेन॑ । म॒ह॒या॒म॒सि॒ । इन्द्र॑स्य । च॒र्ष॒णि॒ऽधृतः॑ ॥
puru-stutasya | dhāma-bhiḥ | śatena | mahayāmasi | indrasya | carṣaṇi-dhṛtaḥ
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4 × ~11
Measured power—less explosive than pure battle verses; emphasizes establishment and support.
Creates a sense of inner architecture: steadiness, breadth, and uplift.
- पुरुस्तुत (puruṣṭuta / puru-stuta)
- Literal: much-praised. Symbolic: the divine power repeatedly confirmed by experience in many struggles
- धामभिः (dhāmabhiḥ)
- Literal: by stations/abodes/luminous seats. Symbolic: stable inner formations of light; settled powers of consciousness
- शतेन (śatena)
- Literal: by a hundred. Symbolic: multiplicity, completeness of powers; many-sided integration
- महयामसि (mahayāmasi)
- Literal: we magnify. Symbolic: we enlarge the presence of the higher power in our being
- चर्षणिधृत् (carṣaṇīdhṛt)
- Literal: supporter of the clans/peoples. Symbolic: upholder of the human instruments—mind, life, body—in their right action
Indra-stotra in Soma rites; praise meant to ‘increase’ Indra’s might and stabilize supportive powers for the community/sacrificer
During sequences that magnify Indra before/after offerings; also suitable as a stabilizing recitation after agitation.
Stuti with offerings; mentally ‘seat’ Indra in multiple dhāmas (centers) while reciting.
Use as a ‘centering’ mantra: scan the body-mind and place light in multiple stations (head, heart, navel, hands) while repeating.
dhā́man from √dhā ‘to place, establish’ → ‘established seat/realm/power’; psychologically: settled luminous capacity in consciousness. mahayāmasi from √mah ‘to be great, increase’ causative/denominative sense ‘to magnify’. carṣaṇī-dhṛt: dhṛt from √dhṛ ‘to hold, support’; carṣaṇī ‘peoples’ (possibly from √kṛṣ/√carṣ ‘to plough/act’ per traditional debates), here taken as human collectivities/fields of action upheld by Indra.
R̥ta as stable establishment (√dhā) of right powers, collective human field upheld by divine force
Dhāma as ordered station: Ṛta is not only law but structured harmony in consciousness.
Praising (stuti) is remembrance of Truth’s effective action in life.
From scattered forces to organized luminous order—creation as establishment of stable light-forms.
Integral Yoga resonance: transformation requires ‘settled’ higher consciousness in many parts.
unspecified
unspecified
Multiple inner ‘lights’ awakened—distributed illumination rather than a single peak experience.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘making-great’ (mahayāmasi) of the god through praise: a reciprocal mythic economy where the deity’s strength increases in the human world when his dhāman-powers are affirmed. Indra is not only slayer but ‘holder’ (dhṛt) of the human collective—supporting the ordered life-field against collapse.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhā ‘place, set’ is PIE *dʰeh₁- (cf. Gk. τίθημι, Lat. faciō is different; but ‘do/put’ field shows PIE continuity). √dhṛ ‘hold’ aligns with PIE *dʰer- ‘hold, support’ (cf. Gk. θρόνος in extended formations; more securely: Skt dhar-, Av. dar- ‘hold’). The hymn’s lexicon foregrounds establishment and support as archaic Indo-European sacral themes.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi’s act is amplification: by invoking Indra’s many dhāman (settled powers), the seer expands the inner and communal capacity to receive Indra’s support. Indra answers as carṣaṇīdhṛt—stabilizing the human endeavor and its right order.
Establish Indra as ‘supporting intelligence’ in many inner stations (dhāmas).
From Maṇipūra (force) rising to Ājñā (illumination), with grounding in Anāhata (support).
Inhale: ‘dhāmabhiḥ’; exhale: ‘mahayāmasi’—feel expansion and stabilization.
Collected, organized, quietly powerful awareness.
After invoking, sit in silence and sense multiple points of light in the body; let them connect into one wide field.
Follow saṃhitā accents; maintain Triṣṭubh pacing with clear caesura after each pāda.
Keep ‘dhāmabhiḥ’ and ‘śatena’ crisp; do not drag consonant clusters; rise on marked udatta.
puruṣṭutasya: retroflex ṣ; keep ṭu-ta distinct, dhāma: long ā, carṣaṇīdhṛtaḥ: vocalic ṛ in car-; retroflex ṇī; final ḥ audible but light
Steady, full, supportive (less sharp than battle-invocation).
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