Rig Veda 8.41.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 41, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.41
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
तमू षु समना गिरा पितॄणां च मन्मभिः । नाभाकस्य प्रशस्तिभिर्यः सिन्धूनामुपोदये सप्तस्वसा स मध्यमो नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥
tam ū ṣu samanā girā pitṝṇāṃ ca manmabhiḥ | nābhākasya praśastibhir yaḥ sindhūnām upodaye sapta-svasā sa madhyamo nabhantām anyake same ||
Ihn wahrlich besingen wir mit gemeinsamem Gesang, mit den Gedankenformen der Väter; mit den Lobpreisungen des Nābhāka – ihn, der beim Anschwellen der Ströme aufsteigt, beim sieben-schwesternhaften Strom: er ist die mittlere, vermittelnde Macht; mögen die Lichter in einer anderen Gleichheit emporwogen.
Word by Word
- तम्
- him/that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊ
- indeed, surelyIndeclinableनिपातRoot ऊ (निपात)
- षु
- quickly; emphatic particleIndeclinableनिपातRoot षु (निपात)
- समाना
- common, concordantAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण गीराः-सम्बद्धम्)Root समाना (सम + अना/अन; विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- गिरा
- with a song/voiceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-एकवचनRole करणRoot गिर् (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
- पितॄणाम्
- of the Fathers (Pitṛs)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयRoot च (निपात)
- मन्मभिः
- with thoughts/intentionsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनRole करणRoot मन्मन् (नपुंसकलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
- नाभाकस्य
- of NābhākaProper Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot नाभाक (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषि/पुरुषनाम)
- प्रशस्तिभिः
- with praises, laudationsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनRole करणRoot प्रशस्ति (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सिन्धूनाम्
- of the rivers/streamsNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपोदये
- at the rising/dawningNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot उपोदये (उप + उदय; प्रातिपदिक/भाव)
- सप्तस्वसा
- the seven-sistered (one)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सप्त-स्वसृ (समास; प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- he/that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्धसूचकः)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मध्यमः
- the middle (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (यः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root मध्यम (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- नभन्ताम्
- let them burst forth/shineVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे); प्रथम-पुरुष; बहुवचनRoot नभ् (धातु; ‘to burst forth/shine’—वैदिक प्रयोग)
- अन्यके
- in/at another (place/occasion)Adjective/Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अन्यक (प्रातिपदिक; ‘other/another’)
- समे
- in the same (level/place); togetherNoun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सम (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (मुख्य): तम् ऊ षु | समाना गिरा | पितॄणाम् च मन्मभिः | नाभाकस्य प्रशस्तिभिः | यः सिन्धूनाम् उपोदये | सप्तस्वसा सः मध्यमः | नभन्ताम् अन्यके समे || Sandhi/phonetics: (1) तमू॒ = तम् + ऊ (निपात-सन्धि)
- (2) सम॒ना गि॒रा = समाना + गिरा (पदविभाग)
- (3) च॒ मन्म॑भिः = च + मन्मभिः
- (4) नाभाकस्य॒ प्रशस्तिभिः = नाभाकस्य + प्रशस्तिभिः
- (5) सिन्धू॑ना॒मुपो॑द॒ये = सिन्धूनाम् + उपोदये (म् + उ → म् उ; संहितायां ‘मुप-’ लेखनम्)
- (6) स॒प्तस्व॑सा॒ स = सप्तस्वसा + सः (विसर्ग-लोपः संहितायाम्)
- (7) नभ॑न्तामन्य॒के = नभन्ताम् + अन्यके (म् + अ → म् अ; संहितायां ‘मन्-’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We hymn him with a common chant and with the Fathers’ thought-forms, with the praises of Nābhāka—him who rises at the upsurge of the rivers, the seven-sistered stream. He is the middle (mediating) one; may the others shine in another sameness.
Inner meaning
The mantra explicitly links present chant to ancestral consciousness (pitṝṇām manmabhiḥ) and to Nābhāka’s praises—suggesting a received mantric current. Varuṇa (or the invoked sovereign power) ‘rises’ at the awakening surge of the inner rivers (sindhūnām upodaye): when the many currents of life and thought begin to flow upward, the vast law-consciousness becomes manifest. The ‘seven-sistered stream’ can be read as the sevenfold energies/planes or seven currents of inspiration in the being. ‘Sa madhyamaḥ’—the middle/mediator—points to Varuṇa as the harmonizer between higher truth and the moving life, establishing order in the intermediate plane so ascent and descent can occur safely.
Universal truth
Spiritual realization is both personal and collective: it draws on an inherited wisdom-current. When inner energies awaken and rise, a mediating principle of order is needed to harmonize and guide the transition to higher consciousness.
Themes
Seer-lineage, River symbolism, Varuṇa as mediator, Collective chant
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.40.10 (Nābhāka named as rishi), Rig Veda 8.41.1
Family tradition
Explicitly situates itself in the Nābhāka-Pitṛ tradition; ‘common chant’ suggests communal recitation within a school or clan transmission.
Significance
The seer emphasizes mantra as shared inheritance: the Fathers’ manman (thought-form) is not memory but a recoverable state; by entering it, the practitioner accesses a mediating power that guides rising energies.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa (mediating sovereign of ṛta)
- Epithets
- madhyama (mediator), sindhūnām upodaya (he who rises with the rivers’ uprising)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Maruts, Indra
Cosmic role
Maintains cosmic law across levels; mediates between heaven and earth, ensuring harmonious movement of the waters/currents.
Inner power
The vast, regulating awareness that holds the awakening energies in right proportion and guides them upward without disorder.
In ritual
Where it is used
Varuṇa hymning with ancestral references; could accompany rites of purification or communal recitation within a lineage.
तमू॒ षु स॑म॒ना गि॒रा पि॑तॄ॒णां च॒ मन्म॑भिः । ना॒भा॒कस्य॒ प्रश॑स्तिभि॒र्यः सिन्धू॑ना॒मुपो॑द॒ये स॒प्तस्व॑सा॒ स म॑ध्य॒मो नभ॑न्तामन्य॒के स॑मे ॥
तम् । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । सु । स॒म॒ना । गि॒रा । पि॒तॄ॒णाम् । च॒ । मन्म॑ऽभिः । ना॒भा॒कस्य॑ । प्रस॑स्तिऽभिः॑ । यः । सिन्धू॑नाम् । उप॑ । उ॒त्ऽअ॒ये । स॒प्तऽस्व॑सा । सः । म॒ध्य॒मः । नभ॑न्ताम् । अ॒न्य॒के । स॒मे॒ ॥
tam | oṃ iti | su | samanā | girā | pitṝṇām | ca | manma-bhiḥ | nābhākasya | prasasti-bhiḥ | yaḥ | sindhūnām | upa | ut-aye | sapta-svasā | saḥ | madhyamaḥ | nabhantām | anyake | same
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Likely 4 x ~12 syllables with refrain
Flowing, river-like movement; the refrain functions as a closing cadence.
Encourages inner unification and a sense of currents rising under calm governance.
- समना गिरा (samanā girā)
- Literal: with a common chant. Symbolic: unified aspiration of the being; harmonized inner voices
- पितॄणां मन्मभिः (pitṝṇāṃ manmabhiḥ)
- Literal: with the Fathers’ thoughts. Symbolic: ancestral seer-intuitions as living formations of consciousness
- नाभाकस्य प्रशस्तिभिः (nābhākasya praśastibhiḥ)
- Literal: with Nābhāka’s praises. Symbolic: lineage-mantra that carries established force
- सिन्धूनाम् उपोदये (sindhūnām upodaye)
- Literal: at the upsurge of the rivers. Symbolic: awakening of multiple inner currents rising toward the higher
- सप्तस्वसा (saptasvasā)
- Literal: seven-sistered. Symbolic: sevenfold powers/streams (levels or energies) in the being
- मध्यमः (madhyamaḥ)
- Literal: the middle one. Symbolic: mediating consciousness that harmonizes higher and lower
Collective praise (samanā girā) used where communal recitation aligns the group-mind with ṛta; river imagery supports rites of flow/purification and inspiration.
When seeking harmony among multiple forces—social, mental, vital—or during transitions in ritual sequences.
Group chant (samanā girā) emphasizing lineage continuity and regulation of energies.
Chant when many energies are awakening (intense emotions, kundalini-like movement, life transitions) to invoke the ‘madhyama’ harmonizer.
samanā: ‘together, common’ from sam- ‘with’ (PIE *sem- ‘one, together’). manman: from √man ‘think’ (PIE *men-). sindhu: ‘river’ with Indo-Iranian distribution; in inner sense, flowing currents. madhyama: ‘middle’ from madhya (PIE *medhyo-).
ancestral transmission of mantra (pitṛ, manman), mediating principle (madhyama), ordered emergence (udaya)
Varuṇa as ṛta-keeper appears when the ‘rivers’ move—order is required for flow.
Ancestral manman is a carrier of satya; common chant aligns individual with collective truth.
Rising of waters/currents and establishment of a mediating axis-consciousness.
Vedic bandhu-psychology: outer rivers correspond to inner streams; the mediator maintains harmony of ascent.
dawn-like ‘uprising’ (upodaya suggests rising)
Rivers = currents of prāṇa/thought/inspiration; sevenfold stream = seven energies/levels; uprising = awakening and ascent; mediator = central regulating awareness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘seven rivers’ mythologem: a sevenfold stream rises under the governance of the central (madhyama) power. Innerly, the many currents of consciousness are made to rise together when aligned with ancestral mantra-knowledge.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- manman (thought-form) from √man (PIE *men- ‘think’) is a core Indo-European cognitive-sacral root. madhyama from *medhyo- is widely attested (Latin medius, English mid), supporting the conception of a mediating center.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi situates his praise within a communal and ancestral continuity (samanā girā; pitṛ-manman). The devatā responds by governing the rising of the many streams (sindhūnām udaya), i.e., harmonizing the seeker’s inner currents into an ordered ascent.
Unify the inner voices; allow rising currents while invoking a calm regulating vastness.
suṣumṇā-axis as ‘madhyama’; support at viśuddha (harmonizing expression) and ājñā (guidance).
Even breathing with gentle ujjāyī; feel ‘rivers’ rising on inhale, settling into wideness on exhale.
Widened, harmonized ascent—energies moving without agitation.
Chant in a small group or inwardly ‘as if with the Fathers’. After chanting, visualize seven inner streams converging into a central channel; rest as the ‘middle witness’ regulating all movements.
Keep the opening ‘tam ū ṣu’ light and connected; maintain refrain as a consistent closure across the cycle.
Articulate ‘saptasvasā’ distinctly; keep ‘madhyamaḥ’ slightly emphasized as the semantic center.
tam ū ṣu: ū long; ṣu retroflex ṣ, pitṝṇām: long ṝ, nābhākasya: long ā; bh aspirated, sindhūnām: dh voiced aspirate; ū long, saptasvasā: cluster sv clear
Wide, resonant, unhurried; aim for a ‘river-flow’ continuity.
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