Rig Veda 4.1.4: Mandala 4, Sukta 1, Mantra 4
Sukta 4.1
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Raudra (fury)
त्वं नो अग्ने वरुणस्य विद्वान्देवस्य हेळोऽव यासिसीष्ठाः । यजिष्ठो वह्नितमः शोशुचानो विश्वा द्वेषांसि प्र मुमुग्ध्यस्मत् ॥
tváṃ no agne váruṇasya vidvā́n devásya héḷo’vá yāsisīṣṭhāḥ | yájiṣṭho váhni-tamaḥ śóśucāno víśvā dvéṣāṃsi prá mumugdhy asmát ||
Du, o Agni, der du Varuṇas Wege kennst, führe uns hinweg, hinab und fort, vom göttlichen Zorn und von der Einengung. Opferwürdigster, tragkräftigster, hell auflodernd — treibe von uns alle Feindschaften und allen Hass.
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगतः), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- for us / of usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणस्य
- of VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- विद्वान्
- knowing, wiseAdjective (participial)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot विद् (धातु) → विद्वस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त्वसुँ/वत्-प्रत्यय)
- देवस्य
- of the godNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- हेळः
- wrath, angerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हेळ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अव
- away, down (off)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (अपसारण/निवारणार्थ) अव्ययRoot अव (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- यासिसीष्ठाः
- you have wished/intended to go (to remove)Verbलिट् (परस्मैपद), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot या (धातु) + सन् (इच्छार्थक) → यासिसीष् + लिट्
- यजिष्ठः
- most worshipfulAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यज्य (यज्-सम्बद्ध) / यज् (धातु) → यजिष्ठ (श्रेष्ठार्थक-तमप्)
- वह्नितमः
- most conveying (best carrier)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + तमप्
- शोशुचानः
- blazing, shiningAdjective (participial)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot शुच् (धातु) → शोशुचान (कृदन्त; तीव्र/पुनरुक्त-प्रकारेण वर्तमानकृदन्तः)
- विश्वा
- allAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्वेषांसि
- hatreds, hostilitiesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot द्वेषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्गः (प्रकर्ष/प्रवृत्त्यर्थ) अव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- मुमुग्धि
- release, set freeVerbलोट् (परस्मैपद), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot मुच् (धातु) (वैदिके: मुमुग्धि < मुमोच्धि/मुमुग्धि)
- अस्मत्
- from usPronounपञ्चमी, एकवचन (प्रयोगे ‘अस्मत्’ = ‘अस्माकम्/अस्मभ्यः’ इत्यर्थे अपादान-भावः)Role अपादानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविग्रह): त्वं | नः | अग्ने | वरुणस्य | विद्वान् | देवस्य | हेळः | अव | यासिसीष्ठाः । यजिष्ठः | वह्नितमः | शोशुचानः | विश्वा | द्वेषांसि | प्र | मुमुग्धि | अस्मत् ॥ 1) हेळोऽव = हेळः + अव (विसर्गस्य ‘ओ’ आदेशः, अवग्रहः)
- 2) विद्वान्देवस्य = विद्वान् + देवस्य (नकार-सन्धिः/परसवर्णः)
- 3) मुमुग्ध्यस्मत् = मुमुग्धि + अस्मत् (इकारस्य यणादेशः: इ + अ → य + अ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni, who knows Varuṇa’s ways, should lead us away from the god’s wrath/anger; as the most sacrificable and best carrier, blazing, he should drive away from us all hatreds/hostilities.
Inner meaning
Agni is invoked as the conscious guide who understands the law of Truth (Varuṇa’s path). ‘Heḻa’ is the pressure felt when the being violates its own truth—experienced as constriction, guilt, fear, or punitive inner reactions. The mantra asks Agni to conduct the nature ‘down away’ from that constriction by restoring right movement (ṛta) and by burning impurities. ‘Dveṣāṃsi’ are inner hostilities: resentments, self-hatred, reactive aversion—energies that block the descent of peace and wideness. The blazing carrier-force (vahnitama) lifts offerings (aspirations, parts of nature) to the gods and returns their powers, while simultaneously expelling the hostile formations.
Universal truth
Suffering from ‘divine wrath’ is often the felt consequence of misalignment with truth. The remedy is not suppression but conscious guidance and purification: align the will with truth, and hostility dissolves.
Themes
averting wrath, purification and release, Agni as mediator of Varuṇa, removal of inner enmities
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1.1-6 (local sequence)
Family tradition
Gautama hymns frequently treat Agni as knower and purifier who aligns the human with the cosmic law (ṛta) upheld by the Ādityas.
Significance
Marks a key yogic move: recognizing ‘wrath’ as constriction from misalignment, and seeking Agni’s intelligent purification rather than fear-based appeasement.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (mediator-knower of Varuṇa’s law)
- Epithets
- varuṇasya vidvān (knower of Varuṇa), yajiṣṭha (most sacrificable), vahnitama (best carrier), śośucāna (intensely blazing)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (truth-law), Mitra (harmonizing clarity), Rudra/Maruts (forces that can appear as wrath but also heal)
Cosmic role
Agni mediates between mortal and divine, carrying offerings and returning boons; he is also the purifier who restores harmony with ṛta.
Inner power
Discerning will that corrects error, burns hostility, and leads the nature from constriction into truthful wideness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Apotropaic/protective recitation within Agni rites; prayer to avert divine displeasure and remove enmities.
त्वं नो॑ अग्ने॒ वरु॑णस्य वि॒द्वान्दे॒वस्य॒ हेळोऽव॑ यासिसीष्ठाः । यजि॑ष्ठो॒ वह्नि॑तम॒: शोशु॑चानो॒ विश्वा॒ द्वेषां॑सि॒ प्र मु॑मुग्ध्य॒स्मत् ॥
त्वम् । नः॒ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । वरु॑णस्य । वि॒द्वान् । दे॒वस्य॑ । हेळः॑ । अव॑ । या॒सि॒सी॒ष्ठाः॒ । यजि॑ष्ठः । वह्नि॑ऽतमः । शोशु॑चानः । विश्वा॑ । द्वेषां॑सि । प्र मु॒मु॒ग्धि॒ । अ॒स्मत् ॥
tvam | naḥ | agne | varuṇasya | vidvān | devasya | heḷaḥ | ava | yāsisīṣṭhāḥ | yajiṣṭhaḥ | vahni-tamaḥ | śośucānaḥ | viśvā | dveṣāṃsi | pra mumugdhi | asmat
44
4 × ~11
Grave and corrective; strong caesura-like turns that suit ‘lead away’ and ‘drive off’.
Invokes protection and moral-psychological straightening; listeners often feel a ‘clearing’ and firming of resolve.
- विद्वान् (vidvān)
- Literal: knowing. Symbolic: Agni as discerning intelligence in the will
- वरुणस्य (varuṇasya)
- Literal: of Varuṇa. Symbolic: of truth-law and wideness; the right path of ṛta
- हेळः (heḻaḥ)
- Literal: wrath, anger. Symbolic: constricting pressure of violated truth; inner punitive reaction
- अव यासिसीष्ठाः (ava yāsisīṣṭhāḥ)
- Literal: lead down/away. Symbolic: conduct the being out of constriction into a safer, truer movement
- यजिष्ठः (yajiṣṭhaḥ)
- Literal: most fit for sacrifice. Symbolic: most capable of transforming through offering
- वह्नितमः (vahnitamaḥ)
- Literal: best carrier. Symbolic: the force that transports aspiration and brings back divine powers
- द्वेषांसि (dveṣāṃsi)
- Literal: hatreds/hostilities. Symbolic: reactive aversions and hostile formations in the vital/mental
- प्र मुमुग्धि (pra mumugdhi)
- Literal: release, loosen, drive off. Symbolic: liberate the being from binding hostile knots
Averting Varuṇa’s heḷa (fault, sin, breach of order) and removing enmities; used in contexts of expiation and securing safe passage in the rite.
When seeking purification, reconciliation with ṛta, or removal of obstacles/hostilities during a rite.
Offer ghee while reciting; mentally offer reactive emotions into the fire.
Use when feeling guilt, fear of punishment, or inner conflict: chant to shift from self-condemnation to truthful correction and release.
héḷa- denotes punitive heat/pressure; in inner sense, the stress produced when consciousness deviates from ṛta. pra-√muc (mumugdhi) is the classic 'release' verb (PIE *mewk- 'slip, release' cf. Latin mūcus? uncertain; but Indo-Iranian is clear): liberation from bonds/hostilities. vahni (bearer) from √vah 'carry' (PIE *weǵʰ- 'carry, convey'; cf. English 'weigh' is different, but Latin vehō is cognate).
release from bonds (mokṣa-type prefiguration via √muc), R̥ta and its corrective force, hostility as division in consciousness
Central: Agni knows Varuṇa’s path and leads the being away from heḻa (constriction) by restoring ṛta.
Truth is practical guidance (vidvān) rather than doctrine; it removes hostility (dveṣa).
Purification as necessary step for higher manifestation; removing hostile formations to allow divine order to shape the human.
Yogic ethics of consciousness: ‘sin’ as ignorance/misalignment; ‘wrath’ as constriction; ‘release’ through inner fire and truth.
Fire = discriminating heat that burns wrong movement; ‘wrath’ = felt tightness like smoke-choking; release = fresh air/wideness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is 'release from Varuṇa’s bonds/wrath' through Agni’s mediation: Agni knows Varuṇa’s law and can lead the sacrificer away from punitive constriction. Psychologically, it is the transformation of guilt/inner pressure into purification, and the expulsion of divisive forces (dveṣāṃsi).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vah- (vahni) aligns with PIE *weǵʰ- (Latin vehō, Avestan vaz-). √yā 'go' aligns with PIE *h₁ei- 'go' (Latin eō). The preverb system (ava-, pra-) shows inherited directional semantics used to encode inner movement: 'down/away' from heḷa, 'forth' in release.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi relies on Agni as an expert guide through the moral-cosmic law of Varuṇa: not merely to avoid outer punishment, but to dissolve inner hostility and restore right movement (ṛta) in the human instrument.
Offer hostility and self-condemnation into Agni; ask for guidance aligned with truth-law (Varuṇa).
Manipura (purifying will) with Ajna (discernment)
Slow exhale-focused breathing (1:2 ratio if comfortable). On exhale, mentally ‘release’ (mumugdhi) the knot of dveṣa.
Clear, penitent-but-strong; purified resolve.
Name one hostility (toward self/other), feel it as tightness, then chant; imagine Agni carrying it upward and returning a wide, clean space governed by ṛta.
Three-tone Vedic; keep steady udātta prominence on key verbs (yāsisīṣṭhāḥ, mumugdhi) as guided by a svara text.
Emphasize the turn ‘heḻo ’va’ with a slight gravity; brighten on ‘śośucāno’ and ‘pra mumugdhi’ to enact release.
heḻo: Vedic ḻ/ḷ sound—keep distinct if trained; otherwise a careful ‘lo’ without flattening preceding vowel, yāsisīṣṭhāḥ: long vowels ā ī ī; avoid clipping, śośucānaḥ: clear ś, not s, mumugdhi: ‘gdhi’ cluster clean; do not insert vowel between g-dh
Firm, purifying, protective; not harsh.
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