Rig Veda 6.2.8: Mandala 6, Sukta 2, Mantra 8
Sukta 6.2
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
क्रत्वा हि द्रोणे अज्यसेऽग्ने वाजी न कृत्व्यः । परिज्मेव स्वधा गयोऽत्यो न ह्वार्यः शिशुः ॥
kratvā́ hi dróṇe ajyase’gne vājī́ na kṛtvyàḥ | paríjmāiva svadhā́ gáyo’tyó na hvā́ryaḥ śíśuḥ ||
কারণ তোমার ক্রতুশক্তি দ্বারা, হে অগ্নি, তুমি দ্রোণে (পাত্রে) অভিষিক্ত হও—বলসমৃদ্ধ বিজেতার ন্যায়। স্বধায় স্বয়ংসিদ্ধ, পরিজ্মের ন্যায় (পরিভ্রমণকারী) অশ্বের মতো সর্বদিকে গতিমান—তুমি প্রাণশক্তি; দ্রুত অশ্বের মতো, এবং অদম্য শিশুজ্বালার মতো।
Word by Word
- क्रत्वा
- by/with resolve (ritual power, intention)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनRole करणRoot क्रतु-
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपातRoot हि
- द्रोणे
- in the trough/vat (wooden vessel)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot द्रोण-
- अज्यसे
- you are anointed/smeared (with ghee)Verbलट्; मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRoot अञ्ज् (अज्) / अञ्ज् → अज्य-
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि-
- वाजी
- the prize-winner, vigorous oneNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वाजिन्-
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न
- कृत्व्यः
- active/energetic, fit for actionAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषण)Root कृत्व्य-
- परिज्मा
- a wheel/felly (rim), revolving (thing)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान)Root परिज्मन्-
- इव
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot इव
- स्वधा
- own power/natural impulse; (also) ritual ‘svadhā’Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (अव्ययीभाववत् ‘स्वधया’ अर्थेऽपि)Role करण/भावRoot स्वधा-
- गयः
- house/abode; life, vital seat (contextual)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot गय-
- अत्यः
- a steed, horseNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान)Root अत्य-
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न
- ह्वार्यः
- crooked/wayward; hard to restrain (epithet)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषण)Root ह्वार्य-
- शिशुः
- child, young oneNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot शिशु-
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: क्रत्वा हि द्रोणे अज्यसे अग्ने वाजी न कृत्व्यः । परिज्मा इव स्वधा गयः अत्यः न ह्वार्यः शिशुः ॥ 1) अज्यसेऽग्ने = अज्यसे + अग्ने (अ + अ → ’ अवग्रह)
- 2) परि॑ज्मेव = परिज्मा + इव (आ + इ → ए)
- 3) गयोऽत्यो = गयः + अत्यः (ः + अ → ’ अवग्रह; विसर्गलोप)
The meaning
Outer meaning
By conscious power Agni is anointed in the bowl like a victorious strong one. Self-sustained, moving around like a circling steed, he is life-force; like a swift horse, like a flame-child hard to assail.
Inner meaning
Agni is ‘anointed’ (ajyase) in the inner vessel (droṇa): the consciousness receives the divine Will through clarified substance (ghee = refined mind/heart energy). By kratu (conscious-force), Agni becomes a victorious dynamism (vājī). He then moves through the whole being (parijmā) as a self-supported power (svadhā), becoming gāyaḥ—vital life-energy yoked to the divine aim. As the swift horse (atyaḥ), he carries action forward; as the flame-child (śiśuḥ), he is ever-new, yet difficult for hostile forces (hvāryaḥ) to wound—an inner invincibility born of sincerity and conscious offering.
Universal truth
When will is united with consciousness and rightly ‘fed,’ it becomes self-sustaining energy that pervades life, accelerates progress, and resists inner adversities.
Themes
anointing-and-kindling, victorious-force, self-sustained-power, Agni-as-child
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.2.1, RV 6.2.5, RV 6.2.10
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa seer-line emphasizing Agni’s kratu and victorious movement through the being.
Significance
This verse is characteristic of Bharadvāja’s ‘yogic’ Agni: not only invoked, but installed in the inner vessel and made a circulating, self-sustained power for integral action.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Vājī (Victor/Forceful), Śiśu (Flame-child), Svadhāvan (Self-sustained, implied)
- Related deities
- Indra (victory/force), Soma (nourishment/bliss), Vāyu (prāṇa movement)
Cosmic role
Energizer of sacrifice; circulator of power through the worlds; giver of victorious force.
Inner power
Conscious dynamism that, once installed, pervades the vital and makes action swift, resilient, and divinely directed.
In ritual
Where it is used
Oblation sequences where Agni is ‘anointed’ with ghee; Soma-yajña ancillary praise
क्रत्वा॒ हि द्रोणे॑ अ॒ज्यसेऽग्ने॑ वा॒जी न कृत्व्य॑: । परि॑ज्मेव स्व॒धा गयोऽत्यो॒ न ह्वा॒र्यः शिशु॑: ॥
क्रत्वा॑ । हि । द्रोणे॑ । अ॒ज्यसे॑ । अग्ने॑ । वा॒जी । न । कृत्व्यः॑ । परि॑ज्माऽइव । स्व॒धा । गयः॑ । अत्यः॑ । न । ह्वा॒र्यः । शिशुः॑ ॥
kratvā | hi | droṇe | ajyase | agne | vājī | na | kṛtvyaḥ | parijmāiva | svadhā | gayaḥ | atyaḥ | na | hvāryaḥ | śiśuḥ
44
4 × 11 (likely)
driving, kinetic, martial
Elicits vigor and forward movement; good for energizing practice and overcoming inertia.
- क्रतु (kratu/kratvā)
- Literal: will, intelligence, conscious power. Symbolic: conscious-force that directs transformation
- द्रोण (droṇa)
- Literal: bowl, trough. Symbolic: inner vessel of receptivity (mind/heart) where offerings are prepared
- अज्यसे (ajyase)
- Literal: you are anointed with ghee. Symbolic: the will is nourished by refined substance—clarified intention, devotion, understanding
- वाजी (vājī)
- Literal: prize-winner, vigorous. Symbolic: victorious dynamic force in action
- परिज्मा (parijmā)
- Literal: moving around, circling. Symbolic: pervasion of the whole being; integrative circulation of force
- स्वधा (svadhā)
- Literal: self-power, inherent law. Symbolic: self-sustaining energy; inner autonomy of the divine movement
- गयः (gayaḥ)
- Literal: life, vital power. Symbolic: prāṇa-force uplifted and yoked to the soul’s aim
- अत्य (atya)
- Literal: steed, swift horse. Symbolic: rapid executive force of the vital under higher guidance
- शिशु (śiśu)
- Literal: child. Symbolic: ever-new flame of becoming; fresh beginnings
- ह्वार्य (hvārya)
- Literal: to be harmed/assailed. Symbolic: resistance/hostile suggestions unable to injure the true flame
Anointing of Agni with ghee in the offering-bowl; supports Soma-rite and domestic fire-cult; emphasizes kratu as correct ritual/inner method.
During ghee offerings and strengthening invocations
Anointing/feeding the fire; affirming Agni’s victorious force
Use before disciplined work, study, or tapasya to awaken steady energy that circulates without strain.
krátu-: from √kṛ ‘to do’ with sense of ‘power of effective will/intelligence’; psychological key: will that knows how to act. ajyase: middle/passive of √añj ‘anoint’; ghṛta-anointing = clarifying, luminous substance feeding the flame of aspiration. vājín-: from vā́ja ‘strength, prize, plenitude’ (rooted in notions of vigor); inner: fullness of force. svadhā́: ‘own placing/own power’ (sva- + √dhā ‘set, place’) → self-sustaining law. gáya-: life-force/household vitality; in inner reading, the vital being energized by Agni.
Kratu (effective will-intelligence), Svadhā (self-sustaining inner law), Vāja (plenitude of force)
Right circulation (parijmā) indicates harmonized movements under ṛta rather than scattered desire.
Conscious-force in the vessel aligns action to truth rather than impulse.
Installation of divine energy in the ‘bowl’ of being; pervasion and swift execution.
Yoga of works (karmayoga archetype) within Vedic symbolism
Ghee is refined mental/emotional substance; the bowl is receptivity; the horse is executive vital energy; the child-flame is ever-renewing aspiration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘newborn yet invincible’ Agni is ritually anointed and becomes a victorious, circling power—mythically the flame that, once fed by clarified offering, ranges through the worlds/being as a steed of conquest.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- triangulation of √kṛ (do/make) and kratu (effective intelligence) mirrors inherited IE linkage between making and ordering. aśva/atya ‘horse’ continues PIE *h₁éḱwos (horse), central to Indo-European poetic diction for speed/power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi provides the clarified offering and right ‘kratu’ (methodical will); Agni reciprocates by becoming vājī (plenitude of victorious force) and by making the life-energy (gayaḥ) swift, protected from assault.
Consecrate the ‘inner bowl’ (mind-heart) and feel energy begin to circulate evenly through the body as a calm, swift force.
Maṇipūra (fire/will) with distribution through Nāḍīs (circulation)
kapālabhāti-light (if suitable) or 6-2-6 breathing; on inhale ‘anoint’ the inner flame, on exhale feel it circulate
dynamic concentration (tapas with clarity)
Recite 7 times; then sit 2 minutes sensing even circulation—avoid strain; let svadhā (self-sustaining) replace effortful pushing.
Triṣṭubh cadence: keep four pādas distinct; allow a slight lift at each pāda start and a firm settle at cadence.
Stress kratúvā, ajyase, vājī, svadhā, atyo, śiśuḥ; keep ‘na’ comparisons light but clear.
kratvā: cluster rtvā clean, droṇe: long ō, ajyase: jya conjunct, parijmeva: pronounce jme as a tight cluster, svadhā: dh aspirated, hvāryaḥ: hv cluster; long ā
firm, bright, energizing
7
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
