Rig Veda 2.33.10: Mandala 2, Sukta 33, Mantra 10
Sukta 2.33
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Rudra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अर्हन्बिभर्षि सायकानि धन्वार्हन्निष्कं यजतं विश्वरूपम् । अर्हन्निदं दयसे विश्वमभ्वं न वा ओजीयो रुद्र त्वदस्ति ॥
árhan bibharṣi sā́yakāni dhánvārhan niṣkáṃ yajatáṃ viśvarū́pam | árhann idáṃ dayase víśvam ábhvaṃ ná vā ójīyo rudra tvád asti ||
Würdiger, du trägst die Pfeile und den Bogen; würdiger, du trägst den heiligen Glanz, allgestaltig. Würdiger, du erbarmst dich dieses ganzen, grenzenlosen Werdens; keiner ist stärker als du, o Rudra.
Word by Word
- अर्हन्
- O worthy one (Rudra)Noun (address/title)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अर्ह् (धातु) / अर्हन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- बिभर्षि
- you bear / carryVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot भृ (धातु)
- सायकानि
- arrowsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot सायक (प्रातिपदिक)
- धन्वा
- with (your) bowNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: धन्वा < धन्वना)Role करणRoot धन्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्हन्
- O worthy oneNoun (address/title)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अर्ह् / अर्हन्त्
- निष्कम्
- golden neck-ornament / gold pieceNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot निष्क (प्रातिपदिक)
- यजतम्
- venerable, worthy of worshipAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (निष्कम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेषणत्वेन)Root यजत (प्रातिपदिक; from √यज्)
- विश्व-रूपम्
- of all forms / multiformAdjective (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (निष्कम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेषणत्वेन)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्हन्
- O worthy oneNoun (address/title)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अर्ह् / अर्हन्त्
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- दयसे
- you give / you bestow (graciously)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot दा (धातु; ‘to give’) / दय् (धातु; ‘to show compassion’)
- विश्वम्
- all, the wholeAdjective used substantivelyनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (इदम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभ्वम्
- vast, mighty, expansiveAdjective used substantivelyनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (इदम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (इदम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root अभ्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRole सम्बन्ध (निषेधक)Root न (निपात)
- वा
- indeed / or (emphatic particle)Indeclinableविकल्प/उपपादकRole सम्बन्धRoot वा (निपात)
- ओजीयः
- stronger, more powerfulAdjective (comparative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (तुलनात्मक: ‘stronger’)Role कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध (अस्ति इत्यस्य प्रथमा)Root ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- रुद्र
- O RudraNoun (address)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वत्
- than you / from youPronounपञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: त्वत्)Role अपादान (तुलनायाम्: ‘than you’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अस्ति
- there isVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot अस् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (वैदिक-सन्धि-निरसन): अर्ह॑न् बिभर्षि साय॑कानि धन्वा अर्ह॑न् निष्कम् यजतम् विश्वरूपम् । अर्ह॑न् इदम् दयसे विश्वम् अभ्वम् । न वा ओजी॑यः रुद्र त्वत् अस्ति ॥ 1) धन्वार्ह॑न् = धन्वा + अर्हन् (अ + अ → आ)
- 2) अर्ह॑न्नि॒ष्कम् = अर्हन् + निष्कम् (न् + न् → न्न्)
- 3) अर्ह॑न्नि॒दं = अर्हन् + इदम् (न् + इ → न्नि)
- 4) विश्व॒मभ्वं = विश्वम् + अभ्वम् (म् + अ → मऽ/म)
- 5) त्वद॑स्ति = त्वत् + अस्ति (त् + अ → द् + अ; वैदिक संधि-प्रभाव)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Rudra, worthy one, bears arrows and bow; worthy one, wears the sacred all-formed splendour. Worthy one, you show compassion to the vast whole
Inner meaning
The bow and arrows are Rudra’s precise instruments of transformation: the capacity to target and pierce specific knots of ignorance and desire. The ‘niṣka’ (golden neck-ornament) as ‘yajata’ and ‘viśvarūpa’ is the sacred luminous formation of truth-power that can assume all forms—Rudra’s force is not blind violence but divinely adorned and universally competent. Repeated ‘arhan’ insists on the right relation: the aspirant recognizes the divine legitimacy of this force. Compassion (dayase) is central: Rudra’s strength is ultimately for the total becoming (viśvam abhvam), not against it; his power exceeds all competing impulses in the nature.
Universal truth
The greatest strength is not mere force but discerning power guided by sacred truth and compassion; when we honor that higher legitimacy, transformation becomes purposeful and beneficent.
Themes
fierce power made benevolent, divine worthiness, supremacy of force
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhārgava
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 2.33.1-11
Family tradition
Bhārgava line balances power and rightness; recognizes fierce deities as instruments of the sacrifice when rightly approached.
Significance
The seer reconciles Rudra’s weapons with compassion: the same force that pierces is sacredly adorned and universally benevolent when honored as ‘arhan’.
The deity
- Devata
- Rudra
- Epithets
- arhan (worthy), dhanvin (bow-bearing, implied), iṣu-dhara (arrow-bearing, implied), viśvarūpa (all-formed), dayālu (compassionate, implied)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner sacrifice), Indra (victory over obstruction), Varuṇa (cosmic law/rightness)
Cosmic role
Executor of divine justice and healing; applies precise corrective force; sustains the vast becoming through compassionate strength.
Inner power
Discriminating tapas: power to cut through specific impurities while holding a universal, compassionate intent.
In ritual
Where it is used
Rudra stotra; used to acknowledge Rudra’s power and seek his compassionate governance.
अर्ह॑न्बिभर्षि॒ साय॑कानि॒ धन्वार्ह॑न्नि॒ष्कं य॑ज॒तं वि॒श्वरू॑पम् । अर्ह॑न्नि॒दं द॑यसे॒ विश्व॒मभ्वं॒ न वा ओजी॑यो रुद्र॒ त्वद॑स्ति ॥
अर्ह॑न् । बि॒भ॒र्षि॒ । साय॑कानि । धन्व॑ । अर्ह॑न् । नि॒ष्कम् । य॒ज॒तम् । वि॒श्वऽरू॑पम् । अर्ह॑न् । इ॒दम् । द॒य॒से॒ । विश्व॑म् । अभ्व॑म् । न । वै । ओजी॑यः । रु॒द्र॒ । त्वत् । अ॒स्ति॒ ॥
arhan | bibharṣi | sāyakāni | dhanva | arhan | niṣkam | yajatam | viśva-rūpam | arhan | idam | dayase | viśvam | abhvam | na | vai | ojīyaḥ | rudra | tvat | asti
44
4×11
Hammering anaphora (‘arhan…’) creates solemn insistence; final pāda delivers emphatic supremacy.
Instills reverent acceptance of transformative pressure; strengthens confidence and surrender to a higher force.
- अर्हन् (arhan)
- Literal: worthy, deserving of worship. Symbolic: divine legitimacy; right recognition that enables safe receptivity
- सायका (sāyakā)
- Literal: arrows. Symbolic: targeted force of insight and purification that pierces specific resistances
- धन्व (dhanva)
- Literal: bow. Symbolic: focused will; capacity to project force with precision
- निष्कम् (niṣkam)
- Literal: neck-ornament, gold torque. Symbolic: luminous truth-formation; sacred radiance stabilizing power
- यजतम् (yajatam)
- Literal: adorable, sacred. Symbolic: consecrated power aligned with the divine sacrifice (inner yajña)
- विश्व रूपम् (viśvarūpam)
- Literal: all-formed. Symbolic: universal applicability of divine force across all parts of being
- दयसे (dayase)
- Literal: you show compassion. Symbolic: grace that moderates intensity; benevolence toward totality
- विश्वम् अभ्वम् (viśvam abhvam)
- Literal: the whole vast (world). Symbolic: the entire field of becoming—body, life, mind, and world-process
- ओजीयो (ojīyo)
- Literal: stronger. Symbolic: supreme spiritual strength surpassing ego-force and hostile impulses
Mantra of acknowledging Rudra’s weapons while invoking his compassion—used to pacify and to turn the piercing forces into protectors and truth-cutters.
When invoking protection and right regulation of fierce energies; in appeasement sequences.
Recitation with offerings; acknowledgment of Rudra’s weapons and sacred adornment to avert harm and invite grace.
Use when confronting inner habits that require ‘surgical’ change; chant to invite precise, compassionate cutting away of obstruction.
arhan: participial adjective from √arh ‘to be worthy, deserve’. ojas: ‘vital force’ (PIE *h₂eug- ‘strength, vigor’ often connected; cf. Latin augere ‘increase’ semantically adjacent). dayase: 2sg from √day ‘to have compassion’. sāyaka: ‘arrow’ from √sī/√syand? (traditional derivation: ‘that which is shot’); symbolically the directed will-force.
ojas (vital strength), compassion within power (dayā), cosmic totality (viśvarūpa)
Rudra’s weapons enforce ṛta by removing what violates harmony; compassion ensures restoration rather than destruction.
Niṣka/viśvarūpa symbolizes truth-light clothing power; strength is legitimate when aligned with satya.
The vast becoming is upheld by powers that both correct and nurture; destruction is a phase of transformation.
Integral Yoga: divine force is at once fierce and compassionate; weapons symbolize discriminative action of consciousness.
Bow/arrows = focused will and incisive insight; gold = illumined truth; vast world = totality of inner and outer becoming.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The armed healer-lord: Rudra bears weapons, yet his essential divinity is ‘worthy’ and compassionate toward the whole becoming. The mythic paradox—wounding power that also saves—is made explicit.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The comparative ojīyaḥ from ojas highlights an archaic IE valuation of ‘vital strength’ as sacred potency. The repeated árhan is a rhetorical anaphora typical of IE hymn style, reinforcing sacral status through iteration.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi acknowledges Rudra’s capacity to strike (weapons) to avoid denial of the fierce aspect, then deliberately pivots to dayā (compassion), seeking an inner conversion where piercing force becomes a cutter of falsehood rather than a bringer of suffering.
Offer a specific inner resistance as the ‘target’; invoke Rudra’s precise force to pierce it while resting in compassion.
Maṇipūra (will/force) and Ājñā (precision/discernment)
Ujjāyī with focused attention at the brow; on exhale chant the pāda; brief stillness after ‘dayase’ to feel compassion.
Focused, courageous, surrendered to higher discrimination.
Choose one pattern (fear, anger, inertia). On ‘sāyakāni dhanva’ visualize a beam of clear force cutting the knot; on ‘dayase viśvam’ widen into compassion for the whole being so the cutting becomes healing.
Triṣṭubh; keep repeated ‘arhan’ as a steady refrain-like emphasis; final pāda ‘na vā ojīyo…’ should be firm and conclusive.
Sustain clarity on consonant clusters; avoid over-speeding the anaphora; let each ‘arhan’ be a conscious offering.
arhan: clear ‘rh’ cluster, bibharṣi: retroflex ṣ; keep ‘bh’ aspirated, sāyakāni: long ā; do not swallow ‘ya’, niṣkaṃ: retroflex ṣ; anusvāra before pause, viśvarūpam: ś palatal; long ū
authoritative yet controlled; soften slightly on ‘dayase’ to convey compassion.
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