Rig Veda 1.2.8: Mandala 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 8
Sukta 1.2
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
ऋतेन मित्रावरुणावृतावृधावृतस्पृशा । क्रतुं बृहन्तमाशाथे ॥
ṛténa mitrā́varuṇāv ṛtā́vṛdhāv ṛtáspṛśā | kratúṃ bṛhántam āśā́the ||
ঋতেন—ঋত (সত্য-ব্যবস্থা)-এর শক্তিতে—মিত্র-বরুণ, ঋত-বর্ধক ও ঋত-স্পৃশ (ঋতকে স্পর্শকারী), আমাদের বৃহন্ত ক্রতু (মহৎ, দীপ্ত সংকল্প/সৎকর্ম-শক্তি) দান করুন।
Word by Word
- ऋतेन
- by/with ṛta (truth, cosmic order)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot ऋत (प्रातिपदिक) < √ऋ (गत्यर्थ) / ऋत- ‘cosmic order, truth’
- मित्रा
- Mitra (the god), (as one of the two)Noun (proper/deity)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक) ‘Mitra’
- वरुणा
- Varuṇa (the god), (as one of the two)Noun (proper/deity)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक) ‘Varuṇa’
- ऋतावृधा
- (you) two who grow/are strengthened by ṛtaAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, द्विवचन (मित्रावरुणयोः विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृRoot ऋतावृध (प्रातिपदिक; समास: ऋत + आवृध ‘growing/strengthened by ṛta’)
- ऋतस्पृशा
- (you) two who touch/attain ṛtaAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, द्विवचन (मित्रावरुणयोः विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृRoot ऋतस्पृश (प्रातिपदिक; समास: ऋत + स्पृश ‘touching’)
- क्रतुम्
- resolve/wise purpose (as object)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक) ‘resolve, power of will, intelligence; ritual power’
- बृहन्तम्
- greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (क्रतुम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘great, lofty’
- आशाथे
- you two attain/reachVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √अश् (अश्नुते/अश्नोति) ‘to reach, attain’ + आ- (उपसर्ग)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ऋतेन | मित्रा वरुणा | ऋतावृधा ऋतस्पृशा | क्रतुम् बृहन्तम् | आशाथे । 1) ‘मित्रावरुणा’ इति संहितायां द्वन्द्वसमास-रूपेण
- पदपाठे ‘मित्रा वरुणा’ (प्रथमा-द्विवचन) इति विग्रहः। 2) ‘ऋतावृधा’ ‘ऋतस्पृशा’ उभे प्रथमा-द्विवचन-विशेषणे, मित्रावरुणयोः। 3) ‘क्रतुम् बृहन्तम्’ कर्मपदम्
- ‘आशाथे’ (आ-√अश्) मध्यमपुरुष-द्विवचनम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
By ṛta, Mitra and Varuṇa—who increase and touch ṛta—grant us a vast kratu (will/resolve).
Inner meaning
The twin powers are invoked not merely as moral overseers but as active builders of truth-consciousness in us. Ṛta is the law of right seeing and right becoming; when they ‘touch’ it in our nature, they awaken bṛhat kratu—an expansive, luminous will that chooses truth and executes it steadily.
Universal truth
Alignment with truth-order generates a larger will: not egoic insistence, but a spacious resolve that naturally acts in harmony with reality.
Themes
Ṛta-establishment, Āditya-sovereignty, inner-discipline, truth-consciousness (satyam-ṛtam-bṛhat)
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.2.7, RV 1.2.9, RV 1.1.1
Family tradition
Vaiśvāmitra visionary discipline: establishing ṛta as the foundation for inspired action (kratu) in the human instrument.
Significance
The seer’s emphasis on ṛta and kratu marks an early Vedic yoga: truth first, then right will—an inner ethic that becomes an inner power.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- ṛtāvṛdhau, ṛtaspṛśā
- Related deities
- Aditi, Aryaman, Savitar
Cosmic role
Upholders of cosmic and moral order; they expand ṛta in the worlds and in the human being.
Inner power
They convert aspiration into truth-aligned will (kratu), strengthening the capacity to persist in the right movement without distortion.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invocations to Mitra–Varuṇa within early offering sequences; establishing ṛta before further deities are called
ऋ॒तेन॑ मित्रावरुणावृतावृधावृतस्पृशा । क्रतुं॑ बृ॒हन्त॑माशाथे ॥
ऋ॒तेन॑ । मि॒त्रा॒व॒रु॒णौ॒ । ऋ॒ता॒ऽवृ॒धौ॒ । ऋ॒त॒ऽस्पृ॒शा॒ । क्रतु॑म् । बृ॒हन्त॑म् । आ॒शा॒थे॒ इति॑ ॥
ṛtena | mitrāvaruṇau | ṛtāvṛdhau | ṛta-spṛśā | kratum | bṛhantam | āśātheiti
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3 × 8
Declarative and steady; the repeated ṛta-compounds create a firm, law-like cadence.
Builds conviction and inner straightness; the mantra feels like ‘setting a spine’ in consciousness—supporting resolve (kratu).
- ऋतेन (ṛtena)
- Literal: By ṛta; through truth-order. Symbolic: By truth-consciousness as the operative power in the being
- ऋतावृधौ (ṛtāvṛdhau)
- Literal: Growers/increasers of ṛta. Symbolic: Forces that expand truth in mind, life, and action
- ऋतस्पृशा (ṛtaspṛśā)
- Literal: Touchers of ṛta. Symbolic: Immediate contact with truth—making it felt and effective in us
- क्रतु (kratu)
- Literal: Will, resolve, intelligent purpose. Symbolic: Luminous will of right action; soul-intent guided by dhī
- बृहन्त (bṛhantam)
- Literal: Vast, expansive. Symbolic: Widened consciousness and large, unfragmented purpose
Prātaranuvāka / early Soma-liturgy context: used as an invocation within the Agni-Soma framework, calling the Ādityas (Mitra-Varuṇa) to establish ṛta and right will in the sacrifice; applicable broadly in Soma-yajñas (e.g., Agniṣṭoma) as part of morning recitations.
At beginnings of recitation/offerings where right order and truthful intention are required
Stuti to invoke ṛta-supporting powers; mental consecration of will
Recite before committing to a vow, ethical decision, or disciplined practice; use as ‘truth-alignment’ mantra.
ṛténa: instr. sg. of ṛtá- from √ṛ (to go, fit, order) → that which is rightly fitted/ordered; in Vedic, the truth-law that governs right movement. mitra: from *mitra- related to √mi (to bind/measure) and the idea of covenant/harmony; varuṇa: from √vṛ (to cover/encompass) → the all-encompassing sovereign who binds by law. ṛtā-vṛdhau: compound; vṛdh- (to grow, increase) → increasers of ṛta. ṛta-spṛśā: √spṛś (to touch, contact) → those who make contact with ṛta. krátum: acc. of krátu-; commonly linked with √kṛ (to do/make) and the sense of formative power of will/resolve; in inner sense, the effective intelligence-will that shapes action. bṛhántam: from √bṛh (to grow, expand) → the Vast (bṛhat). āśā́the: 2nd dual middle, present of √aś (to attain, reach; also ‘to obtain/secure’), indicating reciprocal efficacy: the gods ‘secure’ the attainment for the human.
Ṛta (Truth-Order), Satya (truth in being and speech), Bṛhat (the Vast; expansive consciousness), Kratu (intelligent will / effective resolve)
Explicit: ṛta is both means (ṛtena) and object (ṛtāvṛdhau/ṛtaspṛśā).
Kratu becomes ‘true will’ when born from ṛta rather than desire.
Truth-order as the creative law that shapes effective becoming; will as an instrument of creation when aligned to ṛta.
Vedic psychological symbolism; bridges to Upaniṣadic satya-ṛta and yogic sankalpa purified by truth.
cosmic order as the regularity of sky-waters-light (Ṛta as the law behind seasons and celestial movements)
Morning (ṛta as awakening order)
Regularity of sun/season = inner regularity of truth; ‘touching ṛta’ = intuitive contact with rightness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the enthronement of Ṛta through the sovereign pair Mitra–Varuṇa: cosmic and ethical order is not merely observed but actively increased (ṛtā-vṛdhau) and made operative (ṛta-spṛśā) by divine powers, who then bestow kratu—the effective will that allows the human sacrificer to act in accord with Ṛta. The ‘mythic action’ is thus the divine stabilization of truth-order within the human and ritual field.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Ṛta (ṛtá-) aligns with Indo-Iranian *ṛta- and Avestan aša (truth/order), continuing a PIE notion of ‘rightly joined’ order (often connected to the semantic field of fitting/ordering). Varuṇa’s binding sovereignty resonates with wider IE themes of the ‘binder by law’ (juridical sacral kingship). The collocations ‘ṛta-’ + action nouns (vṛdh-, spṛś-) show a productive Vedic compounding strategy to express abstract cosmic principles as actionable forces—typical of early IE poetics where order is enacted, not merely described.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi approaches Mitra–Varuṇa not as distant gods but as inner governors of harmony and vast law: by invoking them ‘through ṛta’ (ṛténa), he positions his own aspiration within the truth-principle. The reciprocity is implicit: the human offers alignment and sincerity in the sacrifice (inner and outer), and the deities respond by granting bṛhat-kratu—an enlarged, luminous will—so the sacrificer can embody ṛta in thought, speech, and act.
Rest awareness in a sense of ‘rightness’ (ṛta). From that felt rightness, let a single vast intention (bṛhat kratu) arise.
maṇipūra (will) refined by ājñā (truth-seeing)
Inhale: ‘ṛtena’; exhale: ‘kratum bṛhantam’—slowly, cultivating steady resolve
Truth-aligned determination; reduced inner contradiction.
When scattered, return to ṛta: notice what is true and simple now; choose one right action and sustain it without strain.
Maintain Vedic recitation with clear udātta on key ṛta-compounds; keep compound words unbroken in flow.
Let ‘ṛtena’ open with a clean, slightly lifted start; keep ‘kratum bṛhantam’ weighty and grounded.
(ṛtena): vocalic ṛ, not ‘ri’, (mitrāvaruṇau): long ‘ā’; ‘ṇ’ retroflex in varuṇa, (ṛtāvṛdhau): keep ‘vṛ’ with vocalic ṛ, (āśāthe): long ‘ā’ vowels, soft ‘ś’
Steady, law-like, calm firmness; minimal vibrato.
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