Rig Veda 5.1.8: Mandala 5, Sukta 1, Mantra 8
Sukta 5.1
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
मार्जाल्यो मृज्यते स्वे दमूनाः कविप्रशस्तो अतिथिः शिवो नः । सहस्रशृङ्गो वृषभस्तदोजा विश्वाँ अग्ने सहसा प्रास्यन्यान् ॥
mārjā́lyo mṛ́jyate své damū́nāḥ kavi-praśastó átithiḥ śivó naḥ | sahásra-śṛṅgo vṛṣabhás tád-ojā viśvā́n agne sáhasā prā́sya anyā́n ||
Der Reiniger wird in seinem eigenen Haus gereinigt — der Hausgebieter, von Sehern gepriesen, unser gnädiger Gast. Tausendhörniger Stier, von jener gewaltigen Kraft — o Agni, stoße mit deiner Macht alle anderen, die übrigen, hinweg.
Word by Word
- मार्जाल्यः
- cleansing/purifying (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अतिथिः का विशेषण)Root मार्जाल्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘मार्जन/शोधन’ से) अथवा ‘मार्जाल’ (बिलाव) से व्युत्पत्ति; वैदिक विशेषण
- मृज्यते
- is cleansed / is being purifiedVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root √मृज् (मार्जने ‘to wipe/clean/purify’)
- स्वे
- in his ownPronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot स्व- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दमे
- house, dwellingNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot दम- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘घर/आवास’)
- दमूनाः
- dwelling in the house; household allyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अतिथिः का विशेषण)Root दमूना- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘गृहस्थ/गृह-निवासी’, ‘house-friend’)
- कविप्रशस्तः
- praised by sages/poetsAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अतिथिः का विशेषण)Root कवि- + प्रशस्त- (√शंस्/√शस् ‘to praise’ से क्त; ‘praised’)
- अतिथिः
- guest (Agni as the guest)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अतिथि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- शिवः
- auspicious, graciousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अतिथिः का विशेषण)Root शिव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- for us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole Sampradāna/सम्बन्ध (हितार्थ ‘for us’)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सहस्रशृङ्गः
- thousand-hornedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अग्नेः विशेषण)Root सहस्र- + शृङ्ग- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘horn’)
- वृषभः
- bull (strong one)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अग्नेः विशेषण)Root वृषभ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- तदोजाः
- of that might; possessing that vigorAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अग्नेः विशेषण)Root तत् + ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘vigor, strength’)
- विश्वान्
- all (of them)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot विश्व- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole (सम्बोधन)Root अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहसा
- with might, by forceNoun (instrumental)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot सहस्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘force, might’)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रिया ‘अस्य’ के साथ)Role (क्रियाविशेषण)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- अस्य
- cast forth! throw!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया; कर्ता: त्वम्=अग्ने)Root √अस् (क्षेपणे/प्रक्षेपणे ‘to throw, cast’)
- अन्यान्
- others (the hostile ones)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अन्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (वैदिक संधि-विच्छेद): मार्जाल्यः | मृज्यते | स्वे | दमे | दमूनाः | कविप्रशस्तः | अतिथिः | शिवः | नः || सहस्रशृङ्गः | वृषभः | तदोजाः | विश्वान् | अग्ने | सहसा | प्र | अस्य | अन्यान् || 1) ‘स्वे दमूना:’ में ‘स्वे’ (सप्तमी) + ‘दमे’ (सप्तमी) = ‘स्वे दमे’ (कोई संधि-परिवर्तन नहीं)।
- ‘अग्ने’ सम्बोधन। 3) ‘प्रास्य’ को ‘प्र + अस्य’ (उपसर्ग + लोट् क्रिया) के रूप में लिया गया है
- संधि से ‘प्रास्य’।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The cleanser is cleansed in his own home, the house-lord, praised by seers, our gracious guest. Thousand-horned bull, of mighty power—O Agni, by your force drive away all others.
Inner meaning
Agni is both purifier and self-purifying: when the flame is established in the ‘home’ (the embodied being), it continually refines itself and the nature. As atithi (guest), the divine enters the human house, but as damūnāḥ (house-lord) it becomes the true master of the inner dwelling. ‘Thousand-horned bull’ signifies inexhaustible energies and many-pointed powers of illumination; with that force Agni expels the intruding movements—false desires, inertia, hostile suggestions—that compete with the sacrifice.
Universal truth
A true spiritual force does not merely cleanse us once; it becomes the abiding master of the inner life, continuously purifying and protecting it by a many-sided strength.
Themes
Agni as purifier, Divine guest in the home/heart, Protection and expulsion of hostile forces, Manifold power (thousand-horned)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 5.1, RV 7.15, RV 7.16
Family tradition
Householder-seer tradition where the ‘home’ (dam) becomes a symbol of the inner dwelling; Agni as both guest and lord.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s Agni is intimate: welcomed as atithi yet installed as ruler—an image of psychic sovereignty over nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Mārjālya (purifier), Damūnāḥ (house-lord), Atithi (guest), Sahasraśṛṅga, Vṛṣabha, Tadojā (of that mighty power)
- Related deities
- Indra (slayer of resistances), Rudra (protector), Soma (purity/bliss)
Cosmic role
Protector and purifier of the sacrificial space; repeller of inimical forces.
Inner power
Discriminating purifying energy that establishes psychic mastery and rejects false formations.
In ritual
Where it is used
Tending/cleansing of the fire; protective invocation against disturbances in the rite
मा॒र्जा॒ल्यो॑ मृज्यते॒ स्वे दमू॑नाः कविप्रश॒स्तो अति॑थिः शि॒वो न॑: । स॒हस्र॑शृङ्गो वृष॒भस्तदो॑जा॒ विश्वाँ॑ अग्ने॒ सह॑सा॒ प्रास्य॒न्यान् ॥
मा॒र्जा॒ल्यः॑ । मृ॒ज्य॒ते॒ । स्वे । दमू॑नाः । क॒वि॒ऽप्र॒श॒स्तः । अति॑थिः । शि॒वः । नः॒ । स॒हस्र॑ऽशृङ्गः । वृ॒ष॒भः । तत्ऽओ॑जा । विश्वा॑न् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । सह॑सा । प्र । अ॒सि॒ । अ॒न्यान् ॥
mārjālyaḥ | mṛjyate | sve | damūnāḥ | kavi-praśastaḥ | atithiḥ | śivaḥ | naḥ | sahasra-śṛṅgaḥ | vṛṣabhaḥ | tat-ojā | viśvān | agne | sahasā | pra | asi | anyān
44
4×11
Energetic and protective; the final pāda has a thrust suitable to ‘driving away’.
Builds a sense of inner fortification and cleansing momentum.
- मार्जाल्यः (mārjālyaḥ)
- Literal: cleanser/purifier. Symbolic: the purifying flame that removes inner stains
- मृज्यते (mṛjyate)
- Literal: is cleansed. Symbolic: self-purification; increasing translucence of will and discernment
- स्वे दमूना: (sve damūnāḥ)
- Literal: in his own home; house-lord. Symbolic: Agni as master in the embodied being, not a visitor only
- अतिथिः (atithiḥ)
- Literal: guest. Symbolic: the divine presence welcomed into human nature
- कविप्रशस्तः (kavipraśastaḥ)
- Literal: praised by seers. Symbolic: confirmed by inner intuition/insight
- सहस्रशृङ्गः (sahasraśṛṅgaḥ)
- Literal: thousand-horned. Symbolic: many-rayed powers; manifold energies of illumination
- वृषभः (vṛṣabhaḥ)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: strong generative force; victorious energy
- प्रास्य (prāsy)
- Literal: drive away/throw forth. Symbolic: reject hostile or foreign movements from the consciousness
Protective invocation within the rite/home-fire context; polishing/feeding the fire and praying for removal of hostile influences.
When maintaining the altar-fire and warding off interruptions/impurities
Purificatory attention to Agni; protective intent to exclude ‘others’
As a protective mantra before meditation—set a boundary: let the inner fire exclude distracting impulses and negative thought-forms.
mārjālya from √mṛj ‘wipe/cleanse’—Agni as purifier who is himself polished (ritual and psychological reciprocity). damūnāḥ ‘house-lord’ marks indwelling divinity. vṛṣabha ‘bull’ is a common IE symbol of potency. sahasra- ‘thousand’ indicates immeasurable multiplicity. The expulsion of ‘anyān’ is inner exorcism: removal of contrary movements (ignorance, inertia).
purification as reciprocal process, indwelling guest (atithi) theology, force (ojas/sahas) overcoming obstruction
Purification is the practical maintenance of ṛta within the human vessel.
Truth requires exclusion of admixture; the mantra stresses keeping the inner space uncontaminated.
Establishing a protected inner ‘home’ where the divine can act continuously.
Integral-psychological reading: rejection (apohana) of foreign movements to stabilize the psychic rule.
Hearth/home = inner being; bull = potent force; cleansing = purification of mind-vital-body.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni the purifier who is purified: the myth of reciprocal consecration, where the divine guest is tended and thereby becomes the overwhelming force (bull, thousand-horned) that drives away hostile powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vṛṣabha ‘bull’ participates in a widespread IE symbolic lexicon of bovine potency. √mṛj ‘cleanse’ expresses a ritual-technical action central to Indo-Iranian practice; the passive mṛjyate underscores a reflexive/reciprocal pattern common in archaic ritual language.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi treats Agni as atithi (guest) and damūnāḥ (indwelling lord): by caring for him (polishing/cleansing), the worshipper invites Agni’s protective might to expel ‘others’—inner and outer adversarial forces that disrupt ṛta in the human field.
Inner cleansing and protection: feel Agni as master of the house, rejecting intrusive thoughts and impulses.
manipura
Kapalabhati-like expulsions are optional but gentle; safer: firm exhale with mental ‘prāsy’ (cast out) for 7 breaths.
Strong, vigilant, purified; clear boundary of attention.
Begin with welcoming Agni (atithi), then surrender authority to it (damūnāḥ). End by rejecting ‘anyān’—name the distractions and release them into the flame.
Rigvedic accents; highlight udātta on mārjālyó, mṛjyate, atithíḥ, sahásraśṛṅgaḥ, agne, sahásā.
Give the last pāda a decisive thrust without shouting; keep earlier pādas clean and measured.
: ‘rj’ cluster clear; long ā in mār-, : long ū; do not shorten, : keep retroflex ṛ in śṛṅ-; nasal ‘ṅ’ before g, : pronounce prā-sya (not ‘prāsya’ as one blur)
Bright, firm, protective; clipped clarity on expulsive verbs.
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