Rig Veda 2.31.6: Mandala 2, Sukta 31, Mantra 6
Sukta 2.31
उत वः शंसमुशिजामिव श्मस्यहिर्बुध्न्योऽज एकपादुत । त्रित ऋभुक्षाः सविता चनो दधेऽपां नपादाशुहेमा धिया शमि ॥
utá vaḥ śáṃsam uśíjām iva śmasy áhir budhnyò 'já ékapād utá | tritá ṛbhu-kṣā́ḥ savitā́ cáno dadhé 'pā́ṃ nápād āśu-hemā dhiyā́ śámi ||
Und auch euren Lobpreis spreche ich aus wie die uśij‑Priester beim Entzünden: Ahi Budhnya, der Schlangengott der Tiefe, und der Ungeborene Einfüßige; und Trita und Ṛbhukṣan und Savitṛ — sie haben es uns eingesetzt; und Apām Napāt, der Sohn der Wasser, schnell‑golden, bringt im Gedanken Frieden und rechte Fügung.
A bridging verse invoking hidden/liminal powers (waters-fire, foundation-serpent, impeller); suited to moments of transition/purification and kindling in Soma/Agni sequences.
subconscient foundation and its purification, secret luminous essence (fire-in-waters), śam (peace) as integrative completion
The mantra’s central action is dadhé—establishing right arrangement; peace (śam) is the experiential seal of ṛta in the being.
Dhī as truth-bearing inspiration that can ‘bring peace’ (śami) by right seeing.
Fire born in the waters (Apām Napāt) and the unborn foundation (Aja) echo the Vedic theme of hidden origins and emergent order.
Proto-Vedāntic/Vedic yoga reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): many deities as powers of one Consciousness organizing the adhāra.
Waters = life/subconscient flow; golden fire = awakened will/illumination within life; serpent of depth = latent energy; sun-impulsion = right dynamis of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The invocation of liminal and hidden deities: serpent of the deep, unborn one-foot, fire-in-waters. The mythologem is the discovery and pacification of the secret powers beneath surface life so that they become supports (not obstructions) to the ascent, culminating in śam (settled peace).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- napāt ‘offspring/grandson’ is a strong IE archaism (*nepōt-), used in divine epithets to express emanation. ahi shares the IE ‘snake’ lexeme. Such inherited kinship and animal terms are repurposed into cosmological symbolism.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s mantra (śaṃsa) is a controlled kindling ‘like the Uśij-s’, calling the deep and hidden powers to cooperate. The reciprocity is transformative: what is subterranean or concealed (budhnya, waters) is turned into luminous aid (āśu-hemā) and inner peace (śami).
‘Establishment’ (dadhé) of a peaceful luminous order in the whole being by invoking depth-force, solar impulsion, and golden fire in the waters.
Muladhara (Ahi Budhnya as depth-force) and Manipura (fire in waters as transformative vital fire)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 6–8 cycles, then a steady exhale while mentally repeating śami (peace/settling).
Collected, integrative awareness; from dispersed faculties to a single poised center.
Begin with aspiration (śaṃsa), feel the base-energy quiet and ready, call the higher impulsion (Savitṛ) to set right movement, then rest in the golden warmth (Apām Napāt) spreading peace through the vital.
Triṣṭubh with mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita per pada; keep the natural Vedic rise on marked udātta syllables and avoid flattening proper names.
Give clear lift on deity-names: budhnyó, ája, ékapāt, tritá, savitā́; let the cadence settle on śámi as a calm close.
Keep retroflex in ṛbhukṣāḥ (kṣ as a conjunct), apām: long ā in āpām; napāt with clear dental t, āśuhemā: long ā at start; he-mā with long ā, śaṃsam: nasalize ‘ṃ’ gently before s
Clear, steady, slightly resonant; soften at the final śami to convey settling.
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