Rig Veda 6.9.2: Mandala 6, Sukta 9, Mantra 2
Sukta 6.9
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
नाहं तन्तुं न वि जानाम्योतुं न यं वयन्ति समरेऽतमानाः । कस्य स्वित्पुत्र इह वक्त्वानि परो वदात्यवरेण पित्रा ॥
nāháṃ tántuṃ na ví jānā́mi yótuṃ na yáṃ váyanti sam-are átamānāḥ | kásya svít putrá ihá vaktvā́ni paró vadā́ty ávareṇa pitrā́ ||
Ich kenne noch weder den Faden noch deutlich das Weben, noch das, was die unbeirrbaren Wirker im gemeinsamen Ringen weben. Wessen Sohn vermag hier diese Sprüche zu sprechen, wo die fernere Wahrheit mit dem näheren Vater als Stütze verkündet wird?
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- अहम्
- IPronounपुं/स्त्री (सर्वनाम), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अस्मद्
- तन्तुम्
- the threadNounपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तन्तु
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- वि
- apart, distinctlyPreverbउपसर्गRoot वि
- जानामि
- I knowVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot ज्ञा
- योतुम्
- the joining/connection (the ‘weaving’/link)Noun (infinitival/acc. form used as object)नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन (क्रियाविशेष्य-रूपेण ‘joining/connection’)Role KarmaRoot योतु (यु/युज्-सम्बद्ध प्रातिपदिक; ‘बंधन/संयोजन’ अर्थ) अथवा √यु (यौति) ‘to join, yoke’ से
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- यम्
- which (thread)Pronounपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यद्
- वयन्ति
- they weaveVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √वे (वयति) ‘to weave’
- समरे
- in the contest/battleNounपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot समर
- अतमानाः
- striving, exerting themselvesParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-समकक्ष), प्रथमा, बहुवचन, पुंRole KartāRoot √तन्/तनु (आत्मनेपद) ‘to stretch/strive’ (वेद. ‘अत्/आत्’ उपसर्ग-प्रयोग) अथवा √तम् ‘to be eager/strain’ (वेद.)
- कस्य
- of whom?Pronounपुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRoot किम्
- स्वित्
- indeed? pray?Indeclinableप्रश्न/संशय-निपातRoot स्वित्
- पुत्रः
- sonNounपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot पुत्र
- इह
- hereIndeclinableदेश-निपातRole AdhikaraṇaRoot इह
- वक्त्वानि
- utterances, words to be spokenNounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot वक्त्व (√वच् ‘to speak’ से क्त्वन्-प्रत्यय; ‘speaking/utterance’)
- परः
- the farther/upper oneAdjective (used substantively)पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot पर
- वदाति
- speaksVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √वद् ‘to speak’
- अवरेण
- by/with the lower (one)Adjectiveपुं/नपुं, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot अवर
- पित्रा
- by the fatherNounपुं, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot पितृ
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): नाहम् → न + अहम्
- जा॑ना॒म्योतुं॒ → जानामि + योतुम् (i + y- sandhi)
- सम॒रेऽत॑मानाः → समरे + अतमानाः (e + a → ’)
- स्वित्पु॒त्र → स्वित् + पुत्रः (final -t before p)
- वक्त्वा॑नि प॒रो → वक्त्वानि + परः
- व॑दा॒त्यव॑रेण → वदाति + अवरेण (i + a sandhi)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker says he does not yet know the thread or the weaving, nor what steadfast workers weave in the common struggle. He asks: whose son can speak these words, where the farther truth is spoken with the nearer father?
Inner meaning
The human mind, entering the yoga of inner sacrifice, initially cannot grasp the hidden law (the ‘thread’ and ‘weaving’) by which the gods build the perfected consciousness. The ‘workers’ are the divine powers and disciplined faculties weaving in the field of life-struggle. The riddle points to initiation: only one born of the right lineage—psychically begotten by the ‘near father’ (the immediate guiding light/Agni or the inner Guru-force) and open to the ‘farther’ (transcendent) truth—can speak the mantric word with authority.
Universal truth
Before realization, the deepest order of life feels like a mystery. True speech arises when one is inwardly adopted by a higher principle: the nearer guide in us supports the farther truth until it becomes our own seeing.
Themes
riddle-hymn, inner yajña, knowledge vs. ignorance, R̥ta-weaving
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.9.1, RV 6.9.3, RV 6.9.4, RV 6.9.5
Family tradition
A riddle-like, initiatory style appears in Bharadvāja hymns: knowledge is gained by right birth into the sacrifice and by alignment with Bṛhaspati/Agni as inner teacher.
Significance
The seer voices the humble not-knowing that precedes revelation; this is a deliberate threshold: confession of ignorance invites Agni’s illumination and the ‘true speech’ (vāk) of ṛta.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (hymn-context: Vaiśvānara as initiator of right speech)
- Epithets
- Hotṛ (implicit), Kavi (seer-poet, implied by vaktvāni), Vaiśvānara (hymn unity)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (lord of inspired word), Sarasvatī/Vāk (truth-speech), Indra (illumined mind in battle)
Cosmic role
Initiates the sacrifice and reveals the hidden law connecting worlds; awakens the right word in the human instrument.
Inner power
Discriminative flame that turns confusion into articulated truth; grants ‘spiritual birth’ into mantra.
In ritual
Where it is used
Recited in Agni-centered sections as reflective/gnostic verse within the praise; suitable where the rite seeks correct knowledge of procedure and meaning
नाहं तन्तुं॒ न वि जा॑ना॒म्योतुं॒ न यं वय॑न्ति सम॒रेऽत॑मानाः । कस्य॑ स्वित्पु॒त्र इ॒ह वक्त्वा॑नि प॒रो व॑दा॒त्यव॑रेण पि॒त्रा ॥
न । अ॒हम् । तन्तु॑म् । न । वि । जा॒ना॒मि॒ । ओतु॑म् । न । यम् । वय॑न्ति । स॒म्ऽअ॒रे । अत॑मानाः । कस्य॑ । स्वि॒त् । पु॒त्रः । इ॒ह । वक्त्वा॑नि । प॒रः । व॒दा॒ति॒ । अव॑रेण । पि॒त्रा ॥
na | aham | tantum | na | vi | jānāmi | otum | na | yam | vayanti | sam-are | atamānāḥ | kasya | svit | putraḥ | iha | vaktvāni | paraḥ | vadāti | avareṇa | pitrā
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4×11 syllables (approx.)
Interrogative and searching; the triṣṭubh stride carries the tension of a riddle and quest.
Creates a contemplative ‘not-knowing’ that sharpens aspiration; prepares the mind to receive insight rather than manufacture it.
- tantu
- Literal: thread. Symbolic: the hidden continuity of ṛta; the subtle line of consciousness linking planes
- otu
- Literal: weft/woof, weaving. Symbolic: the interlacing of experiences and powers into a coherent divine working
- vayanti
- Literal: they weave. Symbolic: the gods/inner faculties shaping the soul’s becoming
- samare
- Literal: in the battle/contest. Symbolic: the common human struggle where evolution of consciousness occurs
- atamānāḥ
- Literal: unwavering, not slackening. Symbolic: steadfast divine workers; persistent aspiration and disciplines
- kasya svit putraḥ
- Literal: whose son indeed?. Symbolic: who has the true spiritual birth/adhikāra to utter the revealed word
- vaktvāni
- Literal: utterances. Symbolic: mantric speech; truth-word that carries force
- paraḥ / avareṇa pitrā
- Literal: the farther (one) / by the nearer father. Symbolic: transcendent truth supported by an immanent guide-principle (Agni/inner teacher)
Agni-stotra / general Agni-invocation within Soma and Agni rites; applicable wherever Agni as Hotṛ and illuminator is installed (broad Śrauta usage rather than a single fixed rite)
During contemplative pauses or interpretive recitations; also apt at the start of teaching/adhyāya as invocation for right understanding
Mantra-recitation to align the sacrificer with ṛta and right vāk
Use when confused about one’s path: a mantra of honest inquiry, calling for inner guidance rather than mental overreach.
(tan-tu) from √tan ‘to stretch/extend’ → ‘thread’ as the extended continuity of r̥ta-work. (otu) related to √ve/√vā ‘to weave’ and the notion of ‘interweaving/woof’; in Vedic idiom tantu/otu form a weaver’s pair: warp/woof = law/pattern. (sam-are) ‘in the encounter/contest’ (sam- ‘together’ + ari/ara ‘strife/meeting’), often the inner battle of light vs. darkness. from a-tamāna ‘not wavering’ (negating √tam ‘to be weary/faint’ in some analyses; semantically ‘unfaltering’). / (para/avara) encode higher/lower planes; ‘father’ (pitṛ́) from PIE *ph₂tḗr, here as generative principle enabling speech.
R̥ta as ordered pattern, levels of speech/knowledge (para/avara), initiation into hidden law
The ‘thread’ and ‘weaving’ are images of ṛta’s hidden architecture in events and inner movements.
‘Paraḥ’ indicates a farther, higher satya that must be spoken through a supported instrument.
Cosmos as woven order; the human becomes a conscious participant when the pattern is revealed.
Early Vedic epistemology: revelation (śruti) as born from alignment with higher truth; consonant with Aurobindo’s ‘overmind/gnosis’ mediation.
Weaving = integration of mind-life-body into a single offering; battle = tapas in the field of desire and habit.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘weaving of r̥ta’: cosmic order is figured as a fabric woven by steadfast powers in the battlefield of existence. The speaker confesses incomplete initiation into that secret craft, framing revelation as a lineage (son/father) transmission.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pitṛ́ ‘father’ continues PIE *ph₂tḗr (cf. Lat. pater, Gk. patḗr). The para/avara opposition mirrors inherited Indo-European spatial metaphors for higher/lower as cognitive hierarchy. The weaving lexicon (√tan ‘stretch’, weave terms) is a common archaic poetic technology-image across IE traditions.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi stands as an aspirant: he admits non-possession of the full pattern and seeks the enabling generative source (‘father’) by which higher speech (‘para’) can be spoken—implying Agni’s role as illuminator and initiator into the hidden order.
Rest in ‘beginner’s mind’; contemplate the hidden thread of your life and ask for the revealing fire of discernment.
ājñā (inquiry and insight) supported by anāhata (humble receptivity)
Slow exhale-focused japa; 1:2 inhale:exhale to encourage listening consciousness
From mental seeking to receptive intuition (sravana within).
Repeat the first pāda as a confession of limitation; pause; inwardly ask ‘kasya svit putraḥ?’ meaning ‘what in me is truly born of Truth?’ Wait for a quiet directive rather than an argument.
Triṣṭubh; keep svara contrasts clear—especially on interrogatives (kasya, svit) to preserve the riddle-tone.
Do not rush the consonant clusters; give a small contemplative pause after ‘otuṃ’; let the question ‘kasya svit’ be clearly shaped.
nāhaṃ: long ā + visarga-less sandhi feel; keep ‘h’ audible, tantum: dental t, clear anusvāra-less ending (tum), otuṃ: long o; retroflex ṭ not present—keep simple dental t, samare: light ‘r’, avoid ‘samre’ collapse, atamānāḥ: short a at start; long ā in -mānāḥ, avareṇa: v not w; clear ṇ retroflex
Soft, inward, questioning; end each pāda with a gentle suspension rather than finality.
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