Rig Veda 1.159.3: Mandala 1, Sukta 159, Mantra 3
Sukta 1.159
- Rishi
- As RV 1.159
- Devata
- Dyāvāpṛthivī and their offspring-powers
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
ते सूनवः स्वपसः सुदंससो मही जज्ञुर्मातरा पूर्वचित्तये । स्थातुश्च सत्यं जगतश्च धर्मणि पुत्रस्य पाथः पदमद्वयाविनः ॥
té sū́naváḥ svápasaḥ su-dáṃsaso mahī́ jajñur mātárā pū́rva-cittaye | sthātúś ca satyáṃ jágatas ca dhármaṇi putrásya pā́thaḥ padám ádvayāvinaḥ ||
Jene Söhne, von gutem Wirken und schöner Macht, wurden groß geboren aus den zwei Müttern zur uranfänglichen Einsicht. Sie setzten die Wahrheit des Stehenden fest und das Gesetz (dharma) des Bewegten; für das Kind öffneten sie den Pfad – den Schritt des ungeteilten Sehers.
Word by Word
- ते
- they (those)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सूनवः
- sonsNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot सूनु (प्रातिपदिक) < √सू (प्रसव/जनन)
- स्वपसः
- of good work / well-workingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (सूनवः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot स्वपस् (प्रातिपदिक; सु- + अपस् ‘कार्य/कर्म’)
- सुदंससः
- of good prowess / wondrously mightyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (सूनवः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot सुदंसस् (प्रातिपदिक; सु- + दंसस् ‘शक्ति/कौशल/अद्भुतकर्म’)
- मही
- the great one (Earth)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot मही (प्रातिपदिक; ‘मह्’ भाव) अथवा स्त्री. ‘महान्’
- जज्ञुः
- they begot / generatedVerbलिट् (परोक्सभूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root √जन् (जनि/जनने)
- मातरौ
- the two mothersNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया/प्रथमा द्विवचनम् (अत्र कर्मत्वे: ‘two mothers’)Role KarmaRoot मातर् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पूर्वचित्तये
- for the primeval intention / for forethoughtNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot पूर्वचित्ति (प्रातिपदिक; पूर्व + चित्ति ‘चेतना/विचार/उद्देश्य’)
- स्थातुः
- of the standing one / of what is fixedNounपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot स्थातृ/स्थातु (प्रातिपदिक; √स्था ‘स्थाने’ से) अथवा √स्था-तुमुन् ‘स्थातुम्’ (परन्तु अत्र षष्ठी)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययम्Root च
- सत्यम्
- truth / the true (order)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (अत्र विधेय/कर्मरूपे)Role KarmaRoot सत्य (प्रातिपदिक) < √अस् ‘to be’
- जगतः
- of the moving worldNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot जगत् (प्रातिपदिक; √गम् ‘गत्यर्थ’ से ‘चलत्’)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययम्Root च
- धर्मणि
- in the law / in the established orderNounपुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot धर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) < √धृ ‘धारणे’
- पुत्रस्य
- of the sonNounपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- पाथः
- path / courseNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot पाथस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘पथ्/पाथ’ ‘मार्ग’)
- पदम्
- footstep / placeNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot पद (प्रातिपदिक) < √पद् ‘गत्यर्थ/पदे’
- अद्वयाविनः
- of the non-dual one / of him who is without a secondAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (पुत्रस्य इति सम्बन्धे विशेषणम्)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अद्वयाविन् (प्रातिपदिक; अ- + द्वय ‘द्वैत’ + -आविन् ‘युक्त/धारिन्’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (Vedic sandhi resolved): ते | सूनवः | स्वपसः | सुदंससः | मही | जज्ञुः | मातरौ | पूर्वचित्तये || स्थातुः | च | सत्यम् | जगतः | च | धर्मणि | पुत्रस्य | पाथः | पदम् | अद्वयाविनः || 1) सू॒नव॒: = सूनवः (विसर्ग-लेखनभेद)
- 2) स्था॒तुश्च॑ = स्थातुः + च (विसर्गस्य ‘श्’ आदेशः परे ‘च’)
- 3) जग॑तश्च॒ = जगतः + च (विसर्ग-लोप/रूपभेद; पदपाठे ‘जगतः च’)
- 4) पदमद्व॑याविनः = पदम् + अद्वयाविनः (म् + अ → म-अ, संधौ ‘म’ परे स्वरः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The “sons” born from the Two Mothers (Heaven and Earth) establish the truth for what is stable and the law for what moves; they open a path and a step for the Child, the undivided seer.
Inner meaning
The “Two Mothers” are the higher and lower hemispheres of our being (mental heaven and physical-vital earth). From their right conjunction are born luminous powers (sūnavaḥ)—faculties of the soul that do good works (svapasaḥ) and carry beautiful efficacies (sudaṃsasaḥ). These powers found in us a stable truth (satyaṃ sthātuḥ: the settled poise of consciousness) and a right law for movement (dharma jagataḥ: right becoming). They clear the inner passage for the psychic being / evolving divine child (putra), enabling the decisive “step” (padam) into non-division (advaya): the integrality where knower, knowledge, and known converge.
Universal truth
When the higher and lower principles are harmonized, awakened faculties establish an unshakable truth in the stable parts of life and a righteous order in its changing parts; then the soul’s evolutionary impulse finds an unobstructed way into unity-consciousness.
Themes
cosmic-ordering, birth-of-powers, path-of-ascent
The seer
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Aucathya (traditionally associated with RV 1.158–164; verify for 1.159 in Anukramaṇī)
- Lineage
- Aucathya (Angirasa-related tradition; traditional attribution)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.158, RV 1.160, RV 1.164
Family tradition
Visionary hymns on cosmic formation and symbolic cosmology; language often encodes psychological correspondences (Sri Aurobindo’s preferred field).
Significance
The seer’s mode is “cosmic-psychological”: he reads the world-parents and their offspring as powers that build the inner order (ṛta/satya) and open the way for the soul’s unity-realization.
The deity
- Devata
- Dyāvāpṛthivī (Heaven-and-Earth) with their offspring-powers
- Epithets
- mātarā (two Mothers), world-founders (implicit), upholders of satya and dharma (implicit)
- Related deities
- Savitar (as impulsion behind right becoming, nearby in 1.159.5), Sūrya (lawful mover between them, in 1.160.1), Agni (inner leader of the sacrifice, as the usual awakener of these powers)
Cosmic role
Cosmic parents who generate and support the ordered worlds; establish stability and movement in right relation.
Inner power
The harmonizing embrace of higher consciousness and embodied nature that births luminous faculties and clears the path for the psychic/divine emergence.
In ritual
Where it is used
Recitation for establishing satya/dharma in the rite and in the practitioner; aligns the sacrificer with stable truth and dynamic law.
ते सू॒नव॒: स्वप॑सः सु॒दंस॑सो म॒ही ज॑ज्ञुर्मा॒तरा॑ पू॒र्वचि॑त्तये । स्था॒तुश्च॑ स॒त्यं जग॑तश्च॒ धर्म॑णि पु॒त्रस्य॑ पाथः प॒दमद्व॑याविनः ॥
ते । सू॒नवः॑ । सु॒ऽअप॑सः । सु॒ऽदंस॑सः । म॒ही इति॑ । ज॒ज्ञुः॒ । मा॒तरा॑ । पू॒र्वऽचि॑त्तये । स्था॒तुः । च॒ । स॒त्यम् । जग॑तः । च॒ । धर्म॑णि । पु॒त्रस्य॑ । पाथः । प॒दम् । अद्व॑याविनः ॥
te | sūnavaḥ | su-apasaḥ | su-daṃsasaḥ | mahī iti | jajñuḥ | mātarā | pūrva-cittaye | sthātuḥ | ca | satyam | jagataḥ | ca | dharmaṇ i | putrasya | pāthaḥ | padam | advayāvinaḥ
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4 × 11 syllables (typical Triṣṭubh cadence)
Forward-driving, declarative, suited to cosmic assertion and establishment of law.
Creates a sense of firm founding and onward movement—good for contemplating ‘truth in the stable’ and ‘law in the moving’.
- द्यावापृथिवी (mātarā)
- Literal: Heaven and Earth, the two Mothers. Symbolic: Higher mind and lower nature; the two foundational fields whose harmony births inner powers
- सूनवः (sūnavaḥ)
- Literal: sons. Symbolic: Emanated faculties/powers of consciousness arising from the twofold nature
- स्वपसः (svapasaḥ)
- Literal: of good work. Symbolic: Rightly-effective energies of will and practice in the inner yajña
- सुदंससः (sudaṃsasaḥ)
- Literal: of beautiful powers/acts. Symbolic: Harmonious, luminous efficacies—powers that act with truth and beauty
- पूर्वचित्तये (pūrvacittaye)
- Literal: for the primal awareness. Symbolic: For the original seeing (seed-intuition) that precedes discursive mind
- सत्यम् (satyam)
- Literal: truth. Symbolic: Truth-consciousness as stable foundation (not mere factuality)
- धर्मणि (dharmaṇi)
- Literal: in the law/order. Symbolic: Right rhythm of becoming; the true order of dynamic life
- पाथः (pāthaḥ)
- Literal: path. Symbolic: Opened inner passage for growth from division to unity
- पदम् (padam)
- Literal: step/footing. Symbolic: Decisive station in consciousness; a realized plane
- अद्वयाविन् (advayāvin)
- Literal: the undivided seer. Symbolic: Integral vision beyond dualities; unity-seeing consciousness
Recitation for establishing satya/dharma in the rite and in the practitioner; aligns the sacrificer with stable truth and dynamic law.
General praise/recitation in hymnic context; suitable for dawn or contemplative recitation on cosmic order.
Use as a meditation-text for integrating higher aspiration with embodied life; recite before practice to ‘open the path’ for unified seeing.
apas ‘work’ (PIE *h₃ep- ‘work/produce’ debated) functions as effective energy. dharman (from √dhṛ ‘to hold’) is ‘that which holds’ the moving world in right order. advaya ‘not-two’ signals integrative consciousness rather than later philosophical systematization.
satya, dharma (as sustaining law), advaya (undivided vision)
The verse explicitly aligns stability and movement with truth/law—core ṛta as ordered becoming.
Satya is the stable ground (sthātuḥ) that prevents spiritual life from becoming mere fluctuation.
World-formation through paired principles; emergence of powers that build ordered existence and open evolutionary passages.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (unity-seeing advaya), compatible with Sri Aurobindo’s psychological exegesis.
Heaven/Earth = higher mind & embodied nature; path/step = inner passage to a higher plane; ‘sons’ = awakened faculties that establish order in life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Cosmic ordering through offspring-powers: from the two Mothers arise effective sons who set satya for the stable and dharma for the moving, and who open the graded ‘step’ for the Child—symbol of the growing soul or inner Agni.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The opposition of ‘standing’ vs ‘moving’ echoes archaic IE cosmological binaries (fixed order vs dynamic becoming). dhárman (√dhṛ ‘hold’) parallels IE notions of a ‘supporting law’ that keeps the cosmos from collapse.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi recognizes the devatā-functions as architects of inner progress: they not only sustain the worlds but provide a traversable path/step for the seeker’s evolving center (the ‘child’), enabling undivided seeing.
Unite ‘what stands’ (stable awareness) with ‘what moves’ (life-force and thought) under an inner law; contemplate the opened path to advaya (non-division).
Anāhata to Ājñā (heart-soul emergence guided into clear seeing)
Nādī-śodhana (gentle alternate-nostril) to balance higher/lower currents; then quiet natural breath while holding the idea of satya/dharma.
Settled witness with dynamic harmony (sthiti + pravṛtti aligned).
Begin with a few recitations; then sit and feel a vertical alignment (heaven-to-earth). Offer movements of mind/vital into the stable truth; allow a ‘step’ into a wider, undivided seeing.
Vedic accents as per Śākala tradition: udatta on marked syllables, svarita following udatta rises; consult pada + saṃhitā for exact svara placement in recitation line.
Keep udatta clear and slightly lifted; do not over-musicalize—maintain triṣṭubh’s firm cadence.
(te): short e, crisp dental t, (sūnavaḥ): long ū; final ḥ lightly aspirated, (dharmaṇi): clear dh + short a; retroflex ṇ, (advayāvinaḥ): cluster dv; keep long ā in -vā-
Steady, grounded, luminous (avoid harsh force).
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