Rig Veda 1.29.1: Mandala 1, Sukta 29, Mantra 1
Sukta 1.29
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यच्चिद्धि सत्य सोमपा अनाशस्ता इव स्मसि । आ तू न इन्द्र शंसय गोष्वश्वेषु शुभ्रिषु सहस्रेषु तुवीमघ ॥
yác cíd dhí satya somapā anāśastā́ iva smási | ā́ tú na indra śaṃsaya góṣv áśveṣu śubhríṣu sahásreṣu tuvīmagha ||
Auch wenn wir, o wahrhaftiger Soma-Trinker, gleichsam unbesungen und unzulänglich sind — so komm zu uns, o Indra, und mache uns des rechten Lobpreises würdig: unter den Kühen und Rossen, in den leuchtenden, in den tausendfachen Füllen, o Tuvīmagha, du Weitspendender.
Word by Word
- यत्
- that which / whateverPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध/विषय (यद्-तद् सम्बन्ध) / कर्म (अर्थानुसार)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / यद्-शब्द
- चित्
- even / indeedIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Role अलङ्कार/निपात (बलार्थक)Root चित् (निपात)
- हि
- for / indeedIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Role हेतु/समर्थन (निपात)Root हि (निपात)
- सत्य
- true / truthfulAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधन (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root सत्य (प्रातिपदिक; सत् + य)
- सोमपाः
- O Soma-drinkerNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (वेदे दीर्घ/प्लुत्यादि-प्रयोगः; पदे ‘सोमपा’)Role सम्बोधनRoot सोमपा (प्रातिपदिक; सोम + पा ‘पिबति’)
- अनाशस्ताः
- unpraised / not celebratedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (वयम्)Role कर्तृ (वयम्) विशेषणम्Root अनाशस्त (a- + √शंस् ‘स्तु’/‘प्रशंस्’ → आशस्त ‘praised’; नञ्-पूर्वक)
- इव
- as if / likeIndeclinableअव्ययRole उपमान-सूचकRoot इव (उपमा-अव्यय)
- स्म
- indeed / surelyIndeclinableनिपात (स्मरण/निश्चय/अनुवृत्ति-भाव)Role निपात (वाक्य-प्रवृत्त्यर्थ)Root स्म (निपात)
- अस्मसि
- we areVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (वयम्) क्रियाRoot √अस् (भू) ‘to be’
- आ
- hither / to usIndeclinableआह्वान/आगमनार्थक अव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषण (आह्वान/आगमन)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- तु
- but / thenIndeclinableअव्यय (अन्वर्थ/विरोध/अनुनय)Role निपातRoot तु (निपात)
- नः
- to us / ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एनक्लिटिक ‘नः’)Role सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्ध (अर्थानुसार: ‘to us’)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- शंसय
- proclaim / praise (us)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आज्ञा); कर्म: स्तुतिं/कीर्तिं (अध्याहृत)Root √शंस् (स्तु/प्रशंस्) + णिच् (causative)
- गोṣu
- among cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वेदे गोः), सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (in/among)Root गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- अश्वेषु
- among horsesNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (in/among)Root अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- शुभ्रिषु
- among the splendid (possessions/treasures)Noun/Adjective (substantivized)पुं/नपुंसक (वेदे), सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (in/among)Root शुभ्रि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bright, splendid’—सम्पत्ति/वस्तु-विशेष)
- सहस्रेषु
- among thousandsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (in/among)Root सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- तुवीमघ
- O much-giving / rich in giftsNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot तुवीमघ (प्रातिपदिक; तुवि ‘much’ + मघ ‘gift/wealth’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यत् + चित् + हि + सत्य + सोमपाः + अनाशस्ताः + इव + स्म + अस्मसि । आ + तु + नः + इन्द्र + शंसय । गोṣu + अश्वेषु + शुभ्रिषु + सहस्रेषु + तुवीमघ ॥ मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) यत्+चित् → यच्चित् (त् + च् = च्च्)
- (2) स्म+अस्मसि → स्मसि (अ-लोप/संहितायां संक्षेपः)
- (3) आ+तु → आतु (स्वर-संहित)
- अन्यत्र पदान्त-स्वर/विसर्ग-नियमाः लागू न सन्ति।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Even if we are as though unpraised, O truthful Soma-drinker (Indra), come and make us celebrated/commended among cows and horses, among shining thousandfold riches, O bountiful one.
Inner meaning
Even if our aspiration feels inarticulate or unrecognized (anāśastāḥ), you, Indra the illumined Mind who drinks Soma (delight), come and make our inner speech true and effective (śaṃsaya). Establish us in the rays of knowledge (goṣu) and the powers of action (aśveṣu), in bright plenitudes (śubhriṣu sahasreṣu)—a thousandfold wideness of fulfilled consciousness.
Universal truth
When the soul feels inadequate, the higher Mind can restore right expression and right self-affirmation. True praise is not ego-display but alignment with Truth that brings light, force, and abundance.
Themes
Indra-invocation, prayer for plenitude, Light-and-Force recovery
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.29.2, RV 1.29.3, RV 1.29.4, RV 7.18, RV 7.33
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha hymns often combine humility of the human instrument with confident invocation of the divine power to set right speech and right order.
Significance
The seer voices the psychological fact of ‘insufficient praise’—the mantra in us not yet fully formed—and calls Indra to rectify speech into truth-bearing affirmation.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- satya (truthful), somapā (Soma-drinker), tuvīmagha (wide-giving)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati (lord of the word), Uṣas
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods who breaks the coverer and releases light, waters, and plenitude; sustains the victorious ascent of consciousness.
Inner power
Illuminated mind-force: the capacity to affirm truth, dispel doubt, and convert delight into strength and right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma praise in Soma-related offerings; stotra/śastra contexts where Indra is invoked for strength and plenty
यच्चि॒द्धि स॑त्य सोमपा अनाश॒स्ता इ॑व॒ स्मसि॑ । आ तू न॑ इन्द्र शंसय॒ गोष्वश्वे॑षु शु॒भ्रिषु॑ स॒हस्रे॑षु तुवीमघ ॥
यत् । चि॒त् । हि । स॒त्य॒ । सो॒म॒ऽपा॒ । अ॒ना॒श॒स्ताःऽइ॑व । स्मसि॑ । आ । तु । नः॒ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । शं॒स॒य॒ । गोषु॑ । अश्वे॑षु । शु॒भ्रिषु॑ । स॒हस्रे॑षु । तु॒वी॒ऽम॒घ॒ ॥
yat | cit | hi | satya | soma-pā | anāśastāḥ-iva | smasi | ā | tu | naḥ | indra | śaṃsaya | goṣu | aśveṣu | śubhriṣu | sahasreṣu | tuvī-magha
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4 × ~12; the repeated pāda ‘ā tū na indra śaṃsaya…’ functions as a rhythmic anchor
Expansive and insistent; the refrain creates a mantra-like ‘return’ that reinforces invocation and establishment.
Builds confidence through repetition: the mind repeatedly ‘turns’ toward Indra and stabilizes in the aspiration for light/force/plenitude.
- satya
- Literal: true, truthful. Symbolic: truth-consciousness; alignment with Satya beyond opinion
- somapā
- Literal: Soma-drinker. Symbolic: the power that receives and converts bliss into strength and illumination
- anāśastāḥ
- Literal: unpraised, uncelebrated, not spoken of. Symbolic: inexpressive aspiration; parts of the being not yet affirmed by true mantra/speech
- śaṃsaya
- Literal: make (us) praised; cause to proclaim/commend. Symbolic: make our word/mantra effective; establish right self-expression in truth
- goṣu
- Literal: in cows. Symbolic: in rays of light/knowledge
- aśveṣu
- Literal: in horses. Symbolic: in vital energies/forces of action
- śubhriṣu
- Literal: in the shining ones. Symbolic: in clarified, luminous movements of consciousness
- sahasreṣu
- Literal: in thousands. Symbolic: in vast plenitudes; multiplicity of fulfilled powers
- tuvīmagha
- Literal: wide/abundant giver. Symbolic: the divine largesse that widens being and bestows inner riches
Indra invocation in Soma context; refrain suggests usage in a Soma offering sequence where repeated petition accompanies pressing/drinking
During Indra-focused recitations in Soma rites; also adaptable to daily japa as an Indra-mantra for courage and clarity
Recitation with offering of Soma/libation; communal refrain-like chanting
Use when feeling unseen or ineffective: chant as an affirmation-prayer for right speech, confidence, and luminous energy in work.
satya from sat 'being' + -ya: 'true/real'. soma-pā: pā 'drinker' from √pā 'to drink'. an-āśasta: neg. + ā-√śaṃs 'to praise/recite'. śaṃsaya: causative/denominative sense 'cause to be praised / make praiseworthy, make the hymn succeed'. go (ray/cow) and aśva (horse) retain archaic Indo-Iranian poetic symbolism: light and force as recoverable powers.
Satya (truth-consciousness), Rita (right utterance/right action through Indra’s empowerment), transformation of insufficiency into effective mantra (vā́c becoming śaṃs)
Indra establishes ṛta by making the word effective and releasing the ‘cows’ (lights) into the right field.
Indra is invoked as satya: the power that makes speech correspond to truth and results correspond to right intention.
Release of plenitude: creation/widening occurs when light and force are restored to their free movement.
Integral yogic reading: mantra as instrument to align mind (Indra) with Ananda (Soma) and Satya.
Cows = rays of knowledge; horses = dynamic vital energies; ‘shining thousands’ = abundant formations of luminous power in the being.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is Indra as Soma-empowered victor who restores 'cows and horses'—light (knowledge) and force (energy)—to the human collectivity. The refrain frames the myth not as external cattle-raid but as inner recovery of luminous faculties and abundant powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā 'drink' aligns with PIE *peh₃- 'to drink' (cf. Latin pōtus). √śaṃs 'recite/praise' reflects an Indo-Iranian poetic-ritual lexicon (Avestan cognate themes of manthra/mantra-like proclamation). The parallelism goṣu/aśveṣu shows inherited IE merism of 'light and steeds' as a formula for prosperity/power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi confesses a limitation—being 'as if unpraised'—and asks Indra to convert their speech into effective truth-utterance and their being into a fit field for plenitude. Indra’s gift is not only wealth but the capacity for right praise (vā́c aligned with satya/ṛta), enabling reciprocal increase.
Right speech and right self-affirmation: let the inner word become true, luminous, and effective.
Viśuddha (truthful expression) supported by Ājñā (illumination)
6-6 breathing with a gentle emphasis on exhale while repeating the refrain; feel speech arising from calm strength.
Courageous clarity; the mind turns from self-doubt to truth-affirmation.
Before speaking/acting, repeat the refrain 9–27 times; visualize rays (go) filling the mind and steady horses (aśva) aligning the life-force to the chosen truth.
Vedic accents per śākhā; maintain the refrain with consistent pitch contour each repetition to create mantra-stability.
Mark vocatives clearly: índra, tuvīmagha. Keep compound somapā as soma-pā (two beats).
yac cid dhi: keep cid with clear dental d, anāśastā iva: long ā in anā-, retroflex ṣṭ in -śastāḥ, śaṃsaya: anusvāra before s (nasalized), goṣv aśveṣu: sandhi—goṣu + aśveṣu → goṣv aśveṣu (light v glide), śubhriṣu: aspirated bh, short i vowels
Invocatory and steady; slightly brighter tone on the refrain to ‘call’ Indra.
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