Rig Veda 4.23.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 23, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.23
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Uṣas / luminous divine power responding at Dawn
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shringara (love) and Shanta (peace)
कथा कदस्या उषसो व्युष्टौ देवो मर्तस्य सख्यं जुजोष । कथा कदस्य सख्यं सखिभ्यो ये अस्मिन्कामं सुयुजं ततस्रे ॥
kathā kad asyā́ḥ uṣáso ví-uṣṭau devó mártasya sakhyáṃ jujoṣa | kathā kad asyá sakhyáṃ sakhíbhyo yé asmín kā́maṃ su-yújaṃ tatasré ||
Wie und durch welche geheime Wendung, beim Aufleuchten dieser Uṣas, nimmt der Gott die Freundschaft des Sterblichen an? Wie und wodurch macht er diese Freundschaft wirklich unter den Freunden, die hier das Begehren ausgespannt haben, recht angeschirrt (dem göttlichen Ziel)?
Word by Word
- कथा
- how?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययRoot कथा (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- कदस्य
- of which (one)?Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग? षष्ठी एकवचन (कस्य < कदस्य, वैदिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root कद (प्रश्न-प्रातिपदिक)
- उषसः
- of DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root उषस्
- व्यूष्टौ
- at the dawning / at daybreakNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot व्यूष्टि (वि+उष्) / व्युष् (कृदन्ताधार)
- देवः
- the godNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot देव
- मर्तस्य
- of the mortalNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root मर्त
- सख्यम्
- friendshipNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सख्य
- जुजोष
- has enjoyed / has acceptedVerbपरस्मैपद, लिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथम पुरुष, एकवचनRoot जुष्
- कथा
- how?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययRoot कथा (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- कदस्य
- of which (one)?Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग? षष्ठी एकवचन (कस्य < कदस्य, वैदिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root कद (प्रश्न-प्रातिपदिक)
- सख्यम्
- friendshipNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सख्य
- सखिभ्यः
- to/for (or: from) the friendsNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी/पञ्चमी बहुवचन (वैदिक-प्रयोग; दत्तिः/अपादान-सम्भव)Role सम्प्रदान (to the friends) / अपादान (from the friends)Root सखि
- ये
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद्
- अस्मिन्
- in thisPronounपुं/नपुं, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot इदम्
- कामम्
- desire / wishNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot काम
- सुयुजम्
- well-yoked / well-joinedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (कामम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेषण-भाव)Root सु-युज् (युज्) / सुयुज (प्रातिपदिक)
- ततस्रे
- have crossed / have passed overVerbआत्मनेपद, लिट् (परफेक्ट), प्रथम पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot तॄ/तॄ (तॄ ‘to cross/overcome’ वैदिक) / तस्र् (वैदिक धातु-पर्याय)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): कथा कदस्य उषसः व्युष्टौ | देवः मर्तस्य सख्यं जुजोष || कथा कदस्य सख्यं सखिभ्यः | ये अस्मिन् कामं सुयुजं ततस्रे || 1) कदस्या → कदस्य (षष्ठी एकवचन, वैदिक रूप). 2) उषसो → उषसः (षष्ठी एकवचन). 3) व्युष्टौ = व्युष्टि- (सप्तमी एकवचन) ‘द्योतने/उषसि’. 4) अस्मिन् + कामम्: संहितायाम् ‘अस्मिन्कामम्’ (न् + क). 5) सख्यं सखिभ्यः: विसर्ग/अनुस्वार-प्रभावः संहितायाम्. 6) ततस्रे: वैदिक लिट्-रूप (आत्मनेपद, 3pl) धातोः तॄ/तस्र्-सम्बन्धः
- अर्थः ‘अतितेरुः/अतिचक्रुः’ इति
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet asks: how and by what means, at the dawning of Dawn, does the god accept the mortal’s friendship? How does he make that friendship real among comrades who have stretched out a rightly-yoked desire?
Inner meaning
Dawn (Uṣas) is the moment of inner awakening when light begins to spread in consciousness. The ‘god’ (deva) is the responding divine Power—often Indra/Illumination acting through Uṣas. The central theme is sakhya: a living companionship between human and divine, not distant worship. The question ‘kathā kat’ points to the secret turn: the inner alignment by which aspiration becomes ‘suyuja’—rightly yoked, harmonized desire (kāma) that serves the divine intention rather than ego. When multiple ‘comrades’ (sakhibhyaḥ)—powers within the being, or a community of seekers—share this rightly yoked aspiration, the divine friendship becomes stable and collective.
Universal truth
Spiritual relationship matures when desire is purified and yoked to a higher aim. Awakening is not solitary: when our inner parts (and our communities) align, the divine responds as intimate companionship.
Themes
Dawn-illumination, Divine-human friendship (sakhya), Psychological ascent, Invocation through questioning
The seer
Significance
Even without explicit rishi attribution, the verse carries a recognizably Vedic yogic motif: the divine-human friendship established at the moment of awakening (Uṣas).
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas / Luminous Deva accepting sakhya
- Epithets
- uṣas (Dawn), śubhrā (bright, by sense), jyotiṣmatī (full of light, by sense), prabodhikā (awakener, by sense)
- Related deities
- Indra, Sūrya, Agni, Aśvins
Cosmic role
Opens the paths, reveals forms, awakens beings to activity and truth; prepares the field for Indra’s illumination.
Inner power
Awakening light that makes the divine relation intimate and workable; harmonizes desire into right aspiration.
In ritual
Where it is used
Dawn-related recitations and Uṣas hymns; could be used in morning rites and invocations of awakening.
क॒था कद॒स्या उ॒षसो॒ व्यु॑ष्टौ दे॒वो मर्त॑स्य स॒ख्यं जु॑जोष । क॒था कद॑स्य स॒ख्यं सखि॑भ्यो॒ ये अ॑स्मि॒न्कामं॑ सु॒युजं॑ तत॒स्रे ॥
क॒था । कत् । अ॒स्याः । उ॒षसः॑ । विऽउ॑ष्टौ । दे॒वः । मर्त॑स्य । स॒ख्यम् । जु॒जो॒ष॒ । क॒था । कत् । अ॒स्य॒ । स॒ख्यम् । सखि॑ऽभ्यः । ये । अ॒स्मि॒न् । काम॑म् । सु॒ऽयुज॑म् । त॒त॒स्रे ॥
kathā | kat | asyāḥ | uṣasaḥ | vi-uṣṭau | devaḥ | martasya | sakhyam | jujoṣa | kathā | kat | asya | sakhyam | sakhi-bhyaḥ | ye | asmin | kāmam | su-yujam | tatasre
44
4×11 (approx.)
gentle yet questioning; dawn-like unfolding
Creates a soft opening of the heart and mind; supports reflective inquiry into the quality of one’s desire and friendship with the Divine.
- उषसः व्युष्टि (uṣasaḥ vyuṣṭi)
- Literal: the dawning-out of Dawn. Symbolic: moment of awakening/illumination in consciousness
- सख्य (sakhya)
- Literal: friendship, comradeship. Symbolic: intimate collaboration between human nature and divine power
- देव (deva)
- Literal: god, shining one. Symbolic: luminous power that answers aspiration
- मर्त्य (martya)
- Literal: mortal. Symbolic: limited ego-personality seeking transformation
- काम (kāma)
- Literal: desire. Symbolic: will-to-be and will-to-attain; must be purified
- सुयुज (suyuja)
- Literal: well-yoked. Symbolic: rightly aligned aspiration/desire harnessed to divine purpose
- ततस्रे (tatasre)
- Literal: stretched out, extended. Symbolic: outflow of aspiration; reaching movement of consciousness
Dawn/pravargya-like liminal recitation context; generally applicable as an invocation of illumination and divine-human alliance in Soma settings (exact Śrauta viniyoga not specified in the provided data)
At dawn (prātaḥ), before study/meditation or beginning of works.
Recitation facing the light; inner offering of desire as ‘suyuja’ aspiration.
Morning meditation mantra: examine motivations; re-yoke desire to a higher aim; cultivate a felt sense of divine companionship through the day.
Key terms: (1) uṣás- ‘dawn’ from √vas/√uṣ ‘to shine, burn’ → inner emergence of illumination. (2) deva- ‘shining one’ from √div ‘to shine’ → a conscious luminous power. (3) sakhyá- ‘friendship’ from sakhí ‘companion’ (possibly from √sac ‘to accompany’) → alliance of human and divine energies. (4) jujoṣa (perf.) from √juṣ ‘to be pleased with, accept, enjoy’ → indicates divine consent/response. (5) su-yúj- from √yuj ‘to yoke, join’ → right integration of desire with higher intention. (6) tatasré (perf. mid.) from √tan ‘to stretch’ (semantic field of extension/spreading) → aspiration widened to receive.
Ṛta (implied by ‘su-yuj’ right yoking), divine grace/consent (√juṣ), aspiration (kāma as upward will)
Rightly yoked desire (suyuja kāma) is desire aligned to ṛta, enabling divine friendship.
Dawn is the unveiling of satya from night’s concealment—truth becomes gradually visible.
Daily re-creation: emergence of light from darkness; renewal of divine-human relation.
Bhakti-in-yoga (Vedic sakhya): devotion as companionship integrated with disciplined aspiration.
dawn
Dawn = first illumination; yoke = disciplined alignment; comrades = inner faculties harmonized.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Dawn as the moment when the divine world draws near and ‘accepts’ alliance with the human: a recurrent mythic pattern where illumination (Uṣas) enables contact/compact (sakhya) between mortal and deva. The action is not conquest but consent—divine response to rightly-yoked aspiration.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- deva- < √div ‘shine’ aligns with PIE *diw- (cf. Latin deus, Greek Zeus via *dyew-). √yuj ‘yoke’ aligns with PIE *yeug- (Latin iugum, English yoke). The semantic network ties ‘light’ and ‘yoking’ to sovereignty/order: illumination enables right joining of human intention to cosmic law.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker does not command but inquires into the law of reciprocity: what condition allows the god to ‘enjoy/accept’ sakhya. The implied exchange is aspiration correctly aligned (su-yuj kāma) offered by the human-comrades, and divine consent (jujoṣa) granting intimacy and guidance at the threshold of Dawn.
At waking: cultivate ‘sakhya’—speak inwardly as to a friend; align desire into ‘suyuja’ aspiration.
anāhata (friendship/heart) and ājñā (awakening clarity)
Slow inhalation with the sense of dawn-light entering; long exhale offering desire upward; 6–8 cycles.
Gentle awakening, devotional intimacy, aligned aspiration.
Ask: ‘What desire in me is not yet rightly yoked?’ Offer it; then feel companionship rather than strain.
Apply Rigvedic svara per accent marks; keep ‘uṣaso vyuṣṭau’ flowing and luminous; allow a slight lift on accented syllables without strain.
Maintain clear retroflex/dental contrasts: martasya (dental), suyujaṃ (palatal y). Keep visarga where present in sandhi forms.
uṣaso: retroflex ṣ, vyuṣṭau: ‘vyu-ṣṭau’ cluster; do not drop ‘ṭ’, jujoṣa: ‘jo-jo-ṣa’ with ṣ, suyujaṃ: ‘su-yu-jaṃ’ nasal ending, tatasre: ‘ta-ta-sre’ keep ‘sr’ cluster clear
soft, dawn-like, intimate
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