Rig Veda 8.7.4: Mandala 8, Sukta 7, Mantra 4
Sukta 8.7
- Rishi
- Kaṇva lineage
- Devata
- Maruts
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Raudra (fury) and Vira (heroism)
वपन्ति मरुतो मिहं प्र वेपयन्ति पर्वतान् । यद्यामं यान्ति वायुभिः ॥
vápanti marúto míhaṃ prá vepayanti párvatān | yádyāmaṃ yā́nti vāyú-bhiḥ ||
মরুতেরা কুয়াশা/ধূসরতা (মিহম্) ছড়িয়ে দেয়; তারা পর্বতসমূহকে কাঁপিয়ে তোলে—যখন তারা বায়ুদের (প্রাণ-বায়ু) সঙ্গে নির্ধারিত যাম (যাত্রা/পথ) ধরে অগ্রসর হয়।
Word by Word
- वपन्ति
- they scatter / they strewVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role (क्रिया) —Root √वप् (वपन) ‘to strew/sow, scatter’
- मरुतः
- the MarutsNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot मरुत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मिहम्
- mist / fine rainNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot मिह्/मिह (प्रातिपदिक) ‘mist, drizzle’
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्गः (क्रियाविशेषकः)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- वेपयन्ति
- they make (them) trembleVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role (क्रिया) —Root √विप्/√वेप् (कारण) → वेपय ‘to cause to tremble’
- पर्वतान्
- mountainsNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role कर्मRoot पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- when / ifIndeclinable (relative) / Pronounसम्बन्धार्थे अव्ययम् ‘when/if’ (यदा-सम्बन्ध)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यामम्
- a course / a march (their onward course)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot याम (प्रातिपदिक) ‘course, going, march; watch of night’
- यान्ति
- they goVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role (क्रिया) —Root √या ‘to go’
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्पार्थकः निपातः ‘or/indeed’Root वा (निपात)
- आयुभिः
- with windsNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role करणRoot वायु (प्रातिपदिक) ‘wind’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: वपन्ति | मरुतः | मिहम् | प्र | वेपयन्ति | पर्वतान् | यत् | यामम् | यान्ति | वा | वायुभिः । Sandhi/phonetics: (1) मरुतो मिहम्: पदान्त -o (प्रगृह्य/स्वरित-प्रभावित) + म-
- साधारण-संयोगः। (3) पर्वतान् यत्: -न् + य-
- संहितायां दीर्घस्वर-उच्चारण/स्वरचिह्न (उदात्त/स्वरित) दर्शितः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Maruts scatter the mist and make the mountains tremble when they go on their course with the winds.
Inner meaning
The Maruts ‘cast’ (vapanti) mih (mist): not only meteorological cloud but the inner haze—confusion, obscurity, subconscient blur—that veils perception. Their coming sets the parvatas trembling: fixed structures and hardened certitudes shake under the pressure of truth-impelled energy. When they proceed on their yāma with the vāyus, the life-breath itself becomes their vehicle—prāṇa aligned with the transformative host, dispersing obscurity and loosening rigidity.
Universal truth
Dynamic, truth-aligned energy clears inner fog and destabilizes rigid patterns; transformation begins when the breath and will move together in an ordered march.
Themes
Maruts, storm as inner purification, breaking of inertia, dynamic advance
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva lineage (Mandala 8 context)
- Lineage
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.7.1, RV 8.7.2, RV 8.7.3
Family tradition
The Kaṇva tradition often depicts purification as a dynamic process: obscurity is dispersed and rigidities are shaken by divine forces entering through breath and rhythm.
Significance
This verse gives a practical inner sign: when the Marut-force is active, fog clears and old structures tremble—symptoms of real transformation rather than mere calm.
The deity
- Devata
- Maruts
- Epithets
- Rudra’s sons (Rudriyāḥ), Storm-host (gaṇa), Bright ones (śubhrāḥ, implied from adjacent verses)
- Related deities
- Rudra, Indra, Vāyu, Parjanya
Cosmic role
They drive winds, scatter clouds, bring the rain; they prepare the world for Indra’s victory and the release of light.
Inner power
Purifying dynamism that disperses tamas (mih) and breaks the inertia of fixed patterns (parvata).
In ritual
Where it is used
Marut invocation for purification and energizing movement in Soma rites
वप॑न्ति म॒रुतो॒ मिहं॒ प्र वे॑पयन्ति॒ पर्व॑तान् । यद्यामं॒ यान्ति॑ वा॒युभि॑: ॥
वप॑न्ति । म॒रुतः॑ । मिह॑म् । प्र । वे॒प॒य॒न्ति॒ । पर्व॑तान् । यत् । याम॑म् । यान्ति॑ । वा॒युऽभिः॑ ॥
vapanti | marutaḥ | miham | pra | vepayanti | parvatān | yat | yāmam | yānti | vāyu-bhiḥ
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Probable 4 × 11; confirm by full saṃhitā pada syllable count.
Tremor-like pulses (‘vepayanti’); alternating scatter-and-shake movement.
Clears mental heaviness; induces a ‘vibration’ sense that loosens rigid inner holds.
- वपन्ति (vapanti)
- Literal: they scatter, cast, sow. Symbolic: dispersal of obscurity; sowing dynamic force into the field of nature
- मिहम् (miham)
- Literal: mist, fog. Symbolic: inner haze—tamasic confusion, subconscient blur, half-light thinking
- प्र वेपयन्ति (pra vepayanti)
- Literal: they make tremble strongly. Symbolic: shaking of fixed formations; dislodging inertia and rigid habit
- पर्वतान् (parvatān)
- Literal: mountains. Symbolic: fixed structures—mental dogmas, vital knots, bodily inertia
- यामम् (yāmam)
- Literal: course/march. Symbolic: disciplined movement of progress under Ṛta
- वायुभिः (vāyubhiḥ)
- Literal: with winds. Symbolic: with breath-currents; prāṇa as carrier of transformation
Likely used in Marut-invocations within Soma liturgy as an energizing call for the storm-powers to aid the sacrifice; exact śrauta assignment uncertain without pada-indexed Anukramaṇī cross-check.
When seeking to remove obstacles/obscurity in the rite; in sequences praising Marut storm-action
Recitation to invoke clearing (mih) and shaking (parvata) powers; supports momentum of the sacrifice
Chant as an ‘inner weather change’: to clear brain-fog, lethargy, and rigid moods—especially before meditation or disciplined work.
: √vap ‘to strew, sow, scatter’ (3pl pres. act.)—suggests a deliberate ‘casting’ of a medium to be transformed. : miha- ‘mist’ (acc. sg.), from a root sense ‘to sprinkle/obscure’ (Vedic usage: cloud/mist). : causative of √vip/√vep ‘to tremble’ → ‘make tremble’ (3pl). : parvata- ‘mountain’ (acc. pl.), from parvan ‘joint/knuckle; segment’, hence ‘mass with ridges/segments’ → fixed formation. : yāma- from √yā ‘to go’—course, stretch, regulated movement. : vāyu- ‘wind’ from √vā ‘to blow’ (instr. pl.).
R̥ta as regulated movement (yāma) of divine powers, removal/transmutation of obscuration (miha)
Their yāma is the lawed march of transformation—energy moving under Ṛta rather than impulse.
Clearing mih is restoring Satya-vision—seeing without haze.
Purification precedes creation: fog disperses so new order can manifest.
Vedic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap): gods as conscious forces acting on tamasic layers and fixed formations.
Mist = obscurity; wind = prāṇa; mountains = fixed habit structures; storm-motion = transformative tapas.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The storm-host’s advance: the Maruts move in ordered ‘yāma’ with the winds, casting mist and shaking mountains—an archetype of divine forces that disrupt fixed resistance so the path for a higher order can open.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vā ‘blow’ in vāyu- aligns with PIE *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’ (cf. Latin ventus ‘wind’ via related formations). √yā ‘go’ (yānti, yāma-) reflects PIE *h₁ey- ‘go’ (broadly comparable to motion roots across IE). The causative from √vep/√vip ‘tremble’ parallels IE tremble/quake semantics (though direct cognates are less secure).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Implicit reciprocity: the seer recognizes the Maruts as powers whose ordered movement can disturb inner rigidity; by naming their action (mist cast, mountains shaken), the hymn aligns human aspiration with their force, inviting them to act within the sacrifice and the being.
Clear inner fog; invite dynamic purification through breath-led force.
Viśuddha (clearing) and Maṇipūra (shaking inertia)
Kapalabhāti (mild, if appropriate) or 1–2 minutes of brisk exhale emphasis to ‘scatter mist’; then settle to slow breathing.
Cleansed, awake, mobile clarity.
Chant 3–5 times briskly to invoke clearing, then sit in stillness and watch the mind’s ‘mist’ dissolve; if agitation arises, lengthen exhale to re-order the Marut force into ṛta-movement.
RV accenting; keep energetic rise on ‘vapanti’ and a tremulous emphasis on ‘vepayanti’; maintain clear caesura before ‘yad yāmam’.
Articulate ‘miham’ softly (as haze), then sharpen consonants in ‘vepayanti parvatān’ to enact shaking.
: dental t, not retroflex, : short i; final m audible, : clear ‘ve’ and palatal y, : sandhi feel ‘yad yāmam’ with slight separation, : aspirate bh
Forceful but controlled; let the breath carry the energy, not throat tension.
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