Rig Veda 4.55.10: Mandala 4, Sukta 55, Mantra 10
Sukta 4.55
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Ādityas with Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
तत्सु नः सविता भगो वरुणो मित्रो अर्यमा । इन्द्रो नो राधसा गमत् ॥
tát su naḥ savitā́ bhágo váruṇo mitró aryamā́ | índro no rā́dhasā́ gamat ||
Möge jenes göttliche Wirken zu uns kommen: Savitar, der Antreiber; Bhaga, der Zuteiler; Varuṇa, die weite Reinheit; Mitra, der Einende; Aryaman, das edle Gesetz. Und möge Indra mit der Fülle der Erfüllung zu uns kommen.
Word by Word
- तत्
- that (boon/thing)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सु
- well, auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot सु (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- नः
- to/for us; ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सविता
- Savitṛ (the Impeller)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot सवितृ (देवता-नाम, प्रातिपदिक)
- भगः
- Bhaga (the Dispenser)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot भग (देवता-नाम, प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot वरुण (देवता-नाम, प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot मित्र (देवता-नाम, प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्यमा
- AryamanNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वेद. रूप: अर्यमा < अर्यमन्)Role KartāRoot अर्यमन् (देवता-नाम, प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot इन्द्र (देवता-नाम, प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to/for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- राधसा
- with bounty; by (his) giftNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot राधस् (नपुंसकलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; ‘gift, bounty’)
- गमत्
- may (he) comeVerbलोट् (वेद. आज्ञार्थे/आशीर्लिङ्-सम्भाव्य), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √गम् (गच्छति)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: ‘तत्सु’ = ‘तत् + सु’ (द् + स → त्स्). ‘न॑:’/‘नो॒’ एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम (अस्मद्) — पदच्छेदे ‘नः’. ‘इन्द्रो॑’ = ‘इन्द्रः’ (विसर्ग-लोपः संहितायाम्). ‘राध॒सा’ तृतीया-एकवचनम् ‘राधस्’ इत्यस्य
- ‘गमत्’ वेदेषु आज्ञार्थे ‘आगच्छतु’ इत्यर्थे प्रयुज्यते. उच्चारण-स्वराः (उदात्त/स्वरित) संहिता-पाठानुसारं, पदच्छेदे सामान्यरूपेण दर्शिताः
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Savitṛ, Bhaga, Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman come to us; and may Indra come to us with bounty/abundance.
Inner meaning
The mantra invokes a coordinated descent of the Ādityas—powers of the solar Truth. Savitṛ is the impeller who sets the right movement in motion; Bhaga distributes the right share (inner allotment of forces and joys); Varuṇa purifies and widens, enforcing truth-law; Mitra harmonizes relations and thoughts; Aryaman establishes noble discipline, aspiration to the higher law, and right companionship on the path. Finally Indra, the illumined Mind, is called to arrive with rādhas—effective abundance and fulfilment—so that illumination becomes victory over obscurity and a concrete increase of spiritual substance.
Universal truth
Integral growth requires a harmony of divine functions: right impulse, right distribution, purity, harmony, noble law, and illumined force. When these cooperate, abundance is not accidental—it is the natural outcome of truth in action.
Themes
Synthesis of divine powers, Arrival of fulfilment, Āditya order and Indra-force
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 4.55, Rig Veda 4.26–4.27
Family tradition
Vāmadeva often gathers multiple deities into a single coordinated invocation, suggesting an integral action of truth-powers culminating in Indra’s victorious illumination.
Significance
The rishi’s vision here is synthetic: the Ādityas establish the law and harmony; Indra brings the decisive force of fulfilment—an inner model of integral realization.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas (Savitṛ, Bhaga, Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman) with Indra
- Epithets
- Savitṛ (impeller), Bhaga (distributor), Varuṇa (lord of ṛta), Mitra (harmonizer), Aryaman (noble law), Indra (lord of illumination)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Soma, Agni, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Solar guardians of ṛta who sustain moral and cosmic order; Indra as the power that conquers resistance and releases the light and plenitude.
Inner power
Coordinated truth-action: impulsion + right share + purification + harmony + noble discipline, crowned by illumined victorious mind.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invocations to Ādityas and Indra in Soma rites and general śrauta recitations seeking order and abundance.
तत्सु न॑: सवि॒ता भगो॒ वरु॑णो मि॒त्रो अ॑र्य॒मा । इन्द्रो॑ नो॒ राध॒सा ग॑मत् ॥
तत् । सु । नः॒ । स॒वि॒ता । भगः॑ । वरु॑णः । मि॒त्रः । अ॒र्य॒मा । इन्द्रः॑ । नः॒ । राध॑सा । आ । ग॒म॒त् ॥
tat | su | naḥ | savitā | bhagaḥ | varuṇaḥ | mitraḥ | aryamā | indraḥ | naḥ | rādhasā | ā | gamat
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables; list-style naming is typical in triṣṭubh invocations.
Processional and summoning; a litany-like roll of names ending with a strong Indra cadence.
Builds a sense of assembling powers; culminates in confidence and uplift as Indra is invoked with rādhas.
- सविता (Savitṛ)
- Literal: the impeller, vivifier. Symbolic: divine impulsion setting right movement in the being
- भग (Bhaga)
- Literal: dispenser of shares, fortune. Symbolic: right distribution of energies, joys, and results; inner ‘portion’ of grace
- वरुण (Varuṇa)
- Literal: lord of ṛta, vast enveloper. Symbolic: purity, wideness, truth-governance that restrains falsehood
- मित्र (Mitra)
- Literal: friend. Symbolic: harmony, concord, luminous relation between parts of the being
- अर्यमा (Aryaman)
- Literal: noble one; lord of customs/companionship. Symbolic: noble discipline, right aspiration, helpful alliance on the path
- इन्द्र (Indra)
- Literal: king of the gods. Symbolic: divine mind, illumined intelligence that breaks obstruction
- राधसा (rādhasā)
- Literal: with bounty, wealth, grace. Symbolic: effective abundance and fulfilment; increase of inner substance
- आ गमत् (ā gamat)
- Literal: may he come. Symbolic: descent/arrival of the power into active consciousness
Collective invocation for rādhas (effective fulfilment) in Soma ritual; also functions as closing synthesis-verse
When establishing auspiciousness, right order, and success of the rite; also as a general prosperity-and-truth invocation.
Recitation with offerings; mentally ‘call in’ each power as a functional support to the work.
A short ‘integral alignment’ mantra before complex tasks: invoke right impulse (Savitṛ), right allocation (Bhaga), purity (Varuṇa), harmony (Mitra), noble discipline (Aryaman), and decisive clarity (Indra).
Savitṛ from √sū/√sav ‘to impel, set in motion’. rādhas ‘bounty/fulfilment’ from √rādh ‘to succeed, accomplish, make effective’ → the achieved plenitude, not mere wealth. Aryaman relates to ā́rya ‘noble, fitting’ (social and inner order). The list of Ādityas shows a coordinated psychology: impulse (Savitṛ), right portion (Bhaga), vast law (Varuṇa), harmony (Mitra), noble belonging (Aryaman), and victorious force (Indra).
Rita as coordinated divine functions, Fulfilment (rādhas) as accomplished being
Strong: the Ādityas are principal upholders of ṛta; the mantra calls their functioning into the human field.
Truth as coordinated divine action, not a single faculty.
Solar powers shape and distribute the world’s order; Indra enacts breakthroughs that allow plenitude to manifest.
Integral synthesis: multiple divine functions harmonized for effective realization.
Solar = truth-clarity and right law; Indra-storm = forceful illumination breaking inertia; abundance = released life-energy under truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘assembly of powers’ mythologem: multiple deities are invoked as coordinated functions to bring a single result (‘tat’)—a complete fulfilment (rādhas). Mythically, it is the coming of the divine host to establish ṛta in the human.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The catalog style (name + function) is a classic IE hymnic technique. Savitar corresponds to the solar impeller role; Mitra/Varuna reflect Indo-Iranian legal-moral deities; Bhaga as ‘share’ is Indo-Iranian (*baga-). The semantics of √rādh (‘accomplish’) encode fulfilment as effective success.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi seeks not isolated gifts but a convergent descent: each deity supplies a necessary aspect of inner order, culminating in Indra’s arriving force with rādhas. The reciprocity is integrative—invocation aligns the seeker with the coordinated divine workings.
Invoke each power sequentially as a function in you: impulsion, right share, purity, harmony, noble discipline—then call Indra for breakthrough clarity and effective abundance.
Ājñā (Indra/illumined mind) with Viśuddha–Anāhata (truth/harmony) and Sahasrāra (solar order).
Name-breath: inhale silently with the deity-name, exhale with ‘ā gamat’ (may it come). End with a fuller inhale on ‘indraḥ’ and a strong steady exhale on ‘rādhasā’.
Organized, luminous, victorious readiness.
Use when scattered: write down one needed function (impulsion, purity, harmony, discipline) and chant focusing on that deity; then finish with Indra for decisive action.
Litany-style with clear udātta on each deity-name; keep the final ‘indraḥ … rādhasā’ as the strongest cadence.
Slight pause after each name to ‘seat’ the power; connect ‘indraḥ no rādhasā’ without breaking the phrase.
: ‘sa-vi-tā’ long ā, : ‘bha-go’ with aspirate bh, : ‘ar-ya-mā’ long ā, : long ‘ā’; retroflex ‘ḍh’ is not present—use dental ‘dh’ with aspiration
Clear, enumerative, then strong and uplifting at the end.
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