Rig Veda 8.92.33: Mandala 8, Sukta 92, Mantra 33
Sukta 8.92
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
त्वामिद्धि त्वायवोऽनुनोनुवतश्चरान् । सखाय इन्द्र कारवः ॥
tvā́m id dhí tvāyávo ’nunónuvataś cárān | sákhāya indra kā́ravaḥ ||
Denn dich wahrlich – dich – treiben die nach deinem Licht Suchenden unablässig an, während du schreitest. Deine Gefährten, o Indra, die inspirierten Wirkenden, drängen dich voran.
Word by Word
- त्वाम्
- you (as object): theePronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इद्धि
- indeed, surely (for)Indeclinableनिपात-समुदाय (emphatic + particle)Root इद् (निपात) + हि (निपात)
- त्वा
- you, theePronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक रूप)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यवः
- the young men / youthsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot यव (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after, alongIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (following, after)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- नोनुवतः
- have urged on, have pressedVerbपरस्मैपद, लिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमा पुरुष, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot नु (धातु) < reduplicated perfect stem नोनुव-
- चरान्
- moving ones; wanderersAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot चर् (धातु) → चर (वर्तमान-प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधार)
- सखायः
- friendsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- कारवः
- singers, poetsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot कारु (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: त्वामिद्धि त्वा॒यवो॑ऽनु॒नोनु॑वत॒श्चरा॑न् । सखा॑य इन्द्र का॒रव॑: ॥ Sandhi resolution: (1) त्वा + यवः → त्वायवः (स्वर-संहिता; पद-विभागे ‘त्वा | यवः’)
- (2) यवः + अनु → यवोऽनु (अः + अ → ओऽ)
- (3) नोनुवतः + चरान् → नोनुवतश्चरान् (अः + च → अश्च)
The meaning
Outer meaning
It is Indra whom the seekers devoted to him continually urge on as he moves; his companions—the inspired singers/doers—press him forward.
Inner meaning
The divine Power is invoked into dynamic action within the evolving consciousness. The ‘tvāyavaḥ’ are those who seek Indra’s light—aspirants who live turned toward illumination. Their persistent call (anunonuvataḥ) energizes the Indra-force to move (‘carān’) in the field of life. The ‘kāravaḥ’ are inspired creators—mantra-makers and effective doers—whose aspiration and formulation become a pressure that brings down decisive illumination.
Universal truth
Higher forces respond to sustained aspiration; collective sincerity and inspired expression can hasten inner breakthroughs.
Themes
community of seers, persistent invocation, divine movement
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.92.31-32
Family tradition
Emphasis on the efficacy of mantra and aspiration as forces that ‘move’ the deity—typical of the seer-poet psychology of the Rig Veda.
Significance
Shows the reciprocal dynamism: the divine is not static; it is urged into manifestation by the soul’s persistent call and inspired formation.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Sakha (friend), Gopati (lord of the rays, by function), Vṛtrahā (contextual)
- Related deities
- Maruts (impelling forces), Agni (priest-will), Soma (delight that feeds Indra)
Cosmic role
Dynamic executor of the gods’ victory; mobilizer of forces that open the way for light.
Inner power
Kinetic illumination—decisive insight that acts, not merely contemplates.
In ritual
Where it is used
Stotra to rouse Indra (invocatory praise)
त्वामिद्धि त्वा॒यवो॑ऽनु॒नोनु॑वत॒श्चरा॑न् । सखा॑य इन्द्र का॒रव॑: ॥
त्वाम् । इत् । हि । त्वा॒ऽयवः॑ । अ॒नु॒ऽनोनु॑वतः । चरा॑न् । सखा॑यः । इ॒न्द्र॒ । का॒रवः॑ ॥
tvām | it | hi | tvāyavaḥ | anu-nonuvataḥ | carān | sakhāyaḥ | indra | kāravaḥ
32
4 × ~8 syllables
Forward-driving, with repeated emphatic particles (‘id dhi’) creating insistence.
Generates momentum; the listener feels ‘pushed forward’ into decisive clarity and action.
- त्वायवः (tvāyavaḥ)
- Literal: those who go toward you / devoted to you. Symbolic: aspirants turned to illumination
- अनुनोनुवतः (anu-nonuvataḥ)
- Literal: continually urging on. Symbolic: steady aspiration and insistence that calls the higher force into action
- चरान् (carān)
- Literal: moving, going. Symbolic: the dynamic descent/ascent of illumined mind-force in life-activity
- सखायः (sakhāyaḥ)
- Literal: companions. Symbolic: supporting inner powers and allied faculties in the sādhaka
- कारवः (kāravaḥ)
- Literal: singers/poets; doers. Symbolic: inspired formative powers—mantra-thoughts that shape consciousness
Describes the communal dynamic of invocation: the kāravaḥ as sakhāyaḥ ‘drive’ Indra through repeated stotra; ritually, emphasizes persistence in praise for descent of power.
At moments of calling the deity to ‘come’ and act—before offerings or in sequences seeking victory and opening.
Āvāhana-like urging through praise; strengthening the god by word-force.
Use when motivation flags: chant as an ‘inner rally’ to awaken decisive intelligence and move from inertia to action.
: intensive/reduplicated from √/ ‘to push, urge, drive’ with anu- ‘along/after’ → ‘urge repeatedly’. pres. part. from √ ‘move, act, practice’. : Vedic ‘poets/singers’ (often from √ ‘make’ → ‘makers’ of hymns), hence ‘formative agents’ of speech-power.
collective mantra-force, divine responsiveness to aspiration
Indra’s ‘movement’ is the establishment of right progression against obstruction.
Speech (mantra) as a formative power that makes the gods active in the world.
Mantra-śakti orientation: word as force; aligns with Aurobindo’s view of Vedic speech as effective consciousness-power.
‘Moving Indra’ = awakening dynamic illumination in the flow of life; companions = allied faculties and supportive inner powers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘driving’ of the god by praise: Indra is set in motion by the repeated urgings of his companions—mythically, the gods are summoned; inwardly, aspiration actively accelerates the descent of force.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √/ ‘push, impel’ aligns with IE ‘drive’ semantics central to chariot/warrior poetics; √ ‘move’ has broad IE correspondences in motion verbs used for divine roaming.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Indra is not distant: he is a ‘friend’ whose activity is intensified by the poets; the rishi’s role is catalytic—speech as force that impels divine action.
Sustained aspiration as a pressure that awakens higher action; cultivate ‘inspired doing’ (kāravaḥ) rather than inert wishing.
viśuddha (mantric expression) and ājñā (illumined command)
Brisk but controlled exhale on ‘anunonuvataḥ’ to embody urging; brief pause to feel Indra ‘move’ within.
From passive seeking to active invocation and descent of force.
Make your call consistent: a short daily insistence is stronger than occasional intensity; let speech be truthful and concentrated so it becomes formative power.
Maintain the emphatic rise on ‘tvām íd dhi’; exact svara per recension needed for full accent mapping.
Do not rush ‘anunonuvataḥ’; articulate the reduplication clearly to convey insistence.
tvām—nasalize lightly before m; keep long ā., anunonuvataḥ—separate syllables: a-nu-no-nu-va-taḥ., kāravaḥ—long ā; final ḥ light.
Invocatory, uplifting, forward-driving.
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