Rig Veda 7.32.11: Mandala 7, Sukta 32, Mantra 11
Sukta 7.32
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
गमद्वाजं वाजयन्निन्द्र मर्त्यो यस्य त्वमविता भुवः । अस्माकं बोध्यविता रथानामस्माकं शूर नृणाम् ॥
gámad vā́jaṃ vājáyann indra mártyo yásya tvám avitā́ bhúvaḥ | asmā́kaṃ bodhy avitā́ ráthānām asmā́kaṃ śūra nṛṇā́m ||
Der Sterbliche, der die Fülle der Kraft mehrt, gelangt zum Preis, wenn du ihm Helfer wirst, o Indra. Sei unser Helfer — unserer Wagen; sei unser Helfer, o Held, — unserer streitbaren Männer.
Word by Word
- गमत्
- let (him) come / may (he) comeVerbलोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRoot गम् (gam)
- वाजम्
- prize; booty; strength (as prize)NounMasculine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot वाज (prātipadika)
- वा
- orIndeclinableConjunction/particleRoot वा
- वाजयन्
- winning (the prize), making (one) winVerb (participle)Present active participle, masculine nominative singularRole Kartā (with गमत्) / agentive qualifierRoot वाजय् (causative denom. from वाज)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)Masculine, vocative singularRole SambodhanaRoot इन्द्र (prātipadika)
- मर्त्यः
- a mortalNounMasculine, nominative singularRole KartāRoot मर्त्य (prātipadika)
- यस्य
- whosePronounMasculine/neuter, genitive singularRole Sambandha (genitive relation)Root यद् (relative pronoun)
- त्वम्
- thouPronoun1st/2nd? (standard: 2nd person), nominative singularRole KartāRoot युष्मद्
- अविता
- protector; helperNounMasculine, nominative singularRole Kartā (predicate nominative)Root अवितृ (agent noun from अव् ‘to protect, help’)
- भुवः
- thou hast become / thou artVerbलिट्/परस्मै? (Vedic perfect), 2nd person singular (Vedic form)Root भू (bhū)
- अस्माकम्
- of us; ourPronounGenitive pluralRole SambandhaRoot अस्मद्
- बोधि
- be awake; take notice; be mindfulVerbलोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRoot बुध् (budh)
- अविता
- protector; helperNounMasculine, nominative singular (predicate)Role Kartā (predicate nominative)Root अवितृ (from अव्)
- रथानाम्
- of chariotsNounMasculine, genitive pluralRole SambandhaRoot रथ (prātipadika)
- अस्माकम्
- of us; ourPronounGenitive pluralRole SambandhaRoot अस्मद्
- शूर
- O heroNoun/Adjective (used as vocative)Masculine, vocative singularRole SambodhanaRoot शूर (prātipadika)
- नृणाम्
- of menNounMasculine, genitive pluralRole SambandhaRoot नृ (prātipadika)
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved padapāṭha-style segmentation: गमद्वाजं → गमत् + वाजम् (final -t before v-)
- वाजयन्निन्द्र → वाजयन् + इन्द्र (n + i sandhi)
- मर्त्यो यस्य → मर्त्यः + यस्य (visarga before y- in saṃhitā)
- त्वमविता → त्वम् + अविता
- भुवः retained as Vedic perfect/archaic 2sg of √भू
- बोध्यविता → बोधि + अविता (i + a sandhi in saṃhitā)
- रथानामस्माकम् → रथानाम् + अस्माकम्
The meaning
Outer meaning
The mortal who increases vāja (prize/force) reaches the prize when you, Indra, become his helper. Be our helper—of our chariots and of our striving men, O hero.
Inner meaning
Human consciousness can grow the ‘vāja’—the effective force of accomplishment—by offering effort into the inner sacrifice. When Indra (illumined mind) consents to aid, the seeker attains the goal. The prayer turns collective: may that higher Mind guard our movements (chariots = instruments of action) and our inner warriors (nṛ = powers of striving) so that life becomes a field of victorious transformation.
Universal truth
Achievement is not mere personal strain; it ripens when higher intelligence supports and organizes effort, protecting both the means and the doers.
Themes
help/protection, vāja plenitude, awakening call, chariot powers
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.23, RV 7.24, RV 7.31, RV 7.32
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s hymns often convert clan-victory language into a disciplined invocation of divine help for right action and protection.
Significance
The seer speaks as hotṛ of the inner sacrifice: mantra as an instrument to call down higher Mind-force into collective life.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- अविता (helper), शूर (hero), मघवन् (bountiful)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Maruts
Cosmic role
Giver of vāja; leader of victorious advance; organizer of energies toward the goal.
Inner power
Illumined intelligence that increases capacity, protects the path, and turns effort into realization.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation in Soma rites; also suitable as a protective stotra before undertaking action (yātrā/saṃgrāma motifs).
गम॒द्वाजं॑ वा॒जय॑न्निन्द्र॒ मर्त्यो॒ यस्य॒ त्वम॑वि॒ता भुव॑: । अ॒स्माकं॑ बोध्यवि॒ता रथा॑नाम॒स्माकं॑ शूर नृ॒णाम् ॥
गम॑त् । वाज॑म् । वा॒जय॑न् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । मर्त्यः॑ । यस्य॑ । त्वम् । अ॒वि॒ता । भुवः॑ । अ॒स्माक॑म् । बो॒धि॒ । अ॒वि॒ता । रथा॑नाम् । अ॒स्माक॑म् । शू॒र॒ । नृ॒णाम् ॥
gamat | vājam | vājayan | indra | martyaḥ | yasya | tvam | avitā | bhuvaḥ | asmākam | bodhi | avitā | rathānām | asmākam | śūra | nṛṇām
11
4 × 11; strong caesura supports imperative appeals (bodhi).
Commanding, exhortative; suitable for collective invocation.
Energizes resolve and evokes protective presence around one’s actions and faculties.
- वाजम् (vājam)
- Literal: prize, strength, plenitude. Symbolic: effective spiritual force; capacity to realize
- वाजयन् (vājayan)
- Literal: making (vāja) increase. Symbolic: cultivating power through discipline, offering, and right action
- मर्त्यः (martyaḥ)
- Literal: mortal. Symbolic: the embodied seeker limited by ignorance but capable of ascent
- अविता (avitā)
- Literal: helper/protector. Symbolic: grace of illumined mind intervening in effort
- रथानाम् (rathānām)
- Literal: of chariots. Symbolic: of life-movements, instruments, and paths of action
- नृणाम् (nṛṇām)
- Literal: of men. Symbolic: inner fighters/energies of striving; faculties that battle inertia
- शूर (śūra)
- Literal: hero. Symbolic: Indra as courageous decisive intelligence
Petition for Indra’s protecting wakefulness and assistance in contests/raids outwardly; inwardly, in movements of will (ratha) and human faculties (nṛ)
During praise sequences asking Indra’s avitṛtva (protectorship) for success.
Recitation with offering; emphasis on ‘bodhi’ (become aware/awake as our helper).
Before work, travel, or decisive life effort: a prayer for clear intelligence to guide action and protect one’s energies.
vāja: from a root/semantic nexus of strength and fullness; not merely ‘food/prize’ but ‘plenitude of force’ (victorious energy). bodhi from √budh ‘awake, know’—invocation for the god’s conscious attention. martya from √mṛ ‘mortal’ highlights human limitation that is overcome by divine aid (avitā).
awakening (budh) of the divine power in the human vessel, vāja as realized force and fullness
Right action (karma) succeeds when guided by Indra’s ṛta-bearing light.
Attainment of vāja as truth-effective power, not mere outer gain.
Growth of power through descent of higher aid into mortal striving.
Karma-yoga seed: works become effective when aligned to higher consciousness.
Chariot = directed life-movement; prize = realized capacity; hero = inner decisive light.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘vāja-winning’ mythologem: attainment of the prize through Indra’s aid. Inwardly, the ‘prize’ is consolidated force and victorious consciousness; the chariots and men are the moving instruments of the being that require divine protection.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- martya- relates to the Indo-European mortality lexicon (cf. Latin mors from *mer- ‘die’). √budh ‘wake/know’ has clear IE cognates (English bid/forbid is not direct; but Slavic buditi ‘to awaken’ is cognate). The imperative bodhi is an archaic hymnic call for divine attention.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra not only to give results but to ‘wake’ as active helper within the collective (‘our chariots, our men’). The relationship is cooperative: humans increase vāja through effort, while Indra provides protection and decisive force.
Invoke Indra as inner commander: ‘become my helper’—let clear intelligence lead action and protect energies.
ājñā (guidance) and maṇipūra (effective action)
6-3-6 (inhale-hold-exhale) with the thought ‘bodhi avitā’ on the hold.
Alert, organized, courageous.
Before action, recite once slowly to establish clarity, then 3–9 times moderately to ‘seal’ protection around the day’s movements (rathānām) and faculties (nṛṇām).
Rigvedic accent as per śākhā; emphasize udātta on इन्द्र and key imperatives like बोधि.
Mark the imperative ‘बोधि’ with a clear lift and slight pause after; keep pāda endings clean (no trailing vowels).
(gamad): final d lightly released, (vājayan): long ā; palatal y clear, (avitā): short a at start, long ī at end, (nṛṇām): retroflex ṛ; nasalization at end
Steady, commanding, protective.
9
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
