Rig Veda 10.21.4: Mandala 10, Sukta 21, Mantra 4
Sukta 10.21
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Likely Triṣṭubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यमग्ने मन्यसे रयिं सहसावन्नमर्त्य । तमा नो वाजसातये वि वो मदे यज्ञेषु चित्रमा भरा विवक्षसे ॥
yám agne mányase rayíṃ sáhasāvann amartya | tám ā́ no vā́jasātaye ví vo made yajñéṣu citrám ā́ bharā vívakṣase ||
Whatever felicity you hold in your will, O Agni, O mighty and immortal—bring that to us for the winning of plenitude of force; in our rapture, in the sacrifices, bring the wondrous treasure, seeking to manifest it.
Word by Word
- यम्
- whomPronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- मन्यसे
- you think/considerVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √मन् (मन्यते) धातु
- रयिम्
- wealth, bountyNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहसावन्
- O mighty one (possessing strength)Adjective (vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot सहस् + वन् (वन्-प्रत्ययान्त प्रातिपदिक)
- अमर्त्य
- O immortalAdjective (vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot अ-मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- that (him/it)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither, forth (as preverb: ‘bring’)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (आ-)Role (क्रियाविशेषणम्)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- नः
- for us / to usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’)Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- वाजसातये
- for winning of prizes/strength (vāja)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य)Root वाज-साति (प्रातिपदिक; समासः)
- वि
- apart, widely; forth (intensifier)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (वि-)Role (क्रियाविशेषणम्)Root वि (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- वः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक ‘वः’)Role सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- मदे
- in exhilaration/joyNounपुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot मद (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञेषु
- in the sacrificesNounपुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, बहुवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्रम्
- bright, splendid (thing/gift)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither; (with √भृ) ‘bring’Indeclinableउपसर्गः (आ-)Role (क्रियाविशेषणम्)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- भरा
- bring!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √भृ (भरति) धातु
- विवक्षसे
- you wish to utter/speak (forth)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √वच् (विवक्षति/विवक्षते) धातु; desiderative sense ‘wish to speak/utter’
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: (1) तमा → तम् + आ (anusvāra before vowel; ‘tam ā’)
- (2) नो॒ वाज॑सातये → नः + वाजसातये (visarga/ḥ becomes o before voiced consonant; Vedic orthography shows ‘नो’)
- (3) वो॒ मदे॑ → वः + मदे (ḥ → o before voiced consonant)
- (4) चि॒त्रमा भ॑रा → चित्रम् + आ + भरा (final -म् before vowel; ‘citrám ā’)
- Other items are already pada-separated (अग्ने, मन्यसे, रयिम्, सहसावन्, अमर्त्य, वि, यज्ञेषु, विवक्षसे)
- Accents (udātta/svarita) are preserved in the given saṃhitā text but not re-marked per pada here
The meaning
Outer meaning
Whatever treasure/felicity (rayi) you hold in your mind/will, O Agni, mighty and immortal—bring it to us for the winning of strength and plenty; in rapture, in the sacrifices, bring the wondrous wealth, seeking to manifest it.
Inner meaning
Agni carries within his will the right measure of ‘rayi’—not mere wealth, but the plenitudes of consciousness and force needed for the journey. The seeker asks that this be brought into the field of practice (yajñeṣu), so the being can win ‘vāja’—effective power, victorious energy, and capacity. The ‘wondrous’ (citra) indicates a many-colored, supranormal richness: new faculties, inspirations, and harmonized powers descending as Agni’s gift when the offering is sincere.
Universal truth
The divine will holds the exact resources required for growth; when we align through conscious offering, those resources arrive as strength, capacity, and luminous fulfillment.
Themes
boon request (rayi, vāja), Agni’s intentionality (manyase), wonder (citra) as sign of divine richness
The seer
Significance
The seer frames prayer as an alignment with Agni’s will: the ‘treasure’ is what the divine intends for the seeker’s next step—an important safeguard against ego-demand.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- sahasāvan (mighty), amartya (immortal), bestower of rayi (treasure-giver—implied)
- Related deities
- Indra (vāja-winning power), Sarasvatī (splendor and inspired richness—conceptual)
Cosmic role
Giver of boons through right sacrifice; power that brings down plenitudes from the higher worlds into the human.
Inner power
The deathless will in the heart that can attract and assimilate higher force (vāja) and inner wealth (rayi).
In ritual
Where it is used
General Agni hymn usage in offering rites; suitable during ‘bring the boon’ moments of the ritual
यम॑ग्ने॒ मन्य॑से र॒यिं सह॑सावन्नमर्त्य । तमा नो॒ वाज॑सातये॒ वि वो॒ मदे॑ य॒ज्ञेषु॑ चि॒त्रमा भ॑रा॒ विव॑क्षसे ॥
यम् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । मन्य॑से । र॒यिम् । सह॑साऽवन् । अ॒म॒र्त्य॒ । तम् । आ । नः॒ । वाज॑ऽसातये । वि । वः॒ । मदे॑ । य॒ज्ञेषु॑ । चि॒त्रम् । आ । भ॒र॒ । विव॑क्षसे ॥
yam | agne | manyase | rayim | sahasāvan | amartya | tam | ā | naḥ | vāja-sātaye | vi | vaḥ | made | yajñeṣu | citram | ā | bhara | vivakṣase
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (approximate)
Petitionary but strong; forward cadence on ‘ā bharā’ (bring!).
Energizes aspiration for plenitude while keeping it consecrated to Agni’s will.
- मन्यसे (manyase)
- Literal: you think/hold in mind. Symbolic: divine intention/will that contains the needed plenitude
- रयि (rayi)
- Literal: wealth/treasure. Symbolic: plenitude of being—supports, capacities, inner riches
- सहसावन् (sahasāvan)
- Literal: possessing might. Symbolic: forceful power of transformation (tapas in action)
- अमर्त्य (amartya)
- Literal: immortal. Symbolic: deathless flame in the soul, not limited by transient nature
- वाजसातये (vājasātaye)
- Literal: for winning vāja (prize/strength). Symbolic: for gaining effective power, mastery, and victorious energy
- यज्ञेषु (yajñeṣu)
- Literal: in sacrifices. Symbolic: in disciplined inner practice and self-consecration
- चित्रम् (citram)
- Literal: wondrous, variegated. Symbolic: manifold luminous richness; higher-order capacities
Prayer for rayi and vāja in yajña-context: a standard boon-request verse, adaptable across soma/havis offerings where prosperity is sought as spiritual fullness.
During oblations requesting strength/prosperity; mid-rite when invoking results (phala) as divine gifts
Offering with a clear request for vāja/rayi while maintaining consecration
Use when beginning a demanding task: ask for the ‘right resources’ (clarity, stamina, skill) rather than egoic outcomes.
rayí- from √rā ‘to give’/related giving-prosperity lexicon; sahasāvān ‘possessing sahas’ (might); amártya ‘not-mortal’ (a- + mártya); vā́ja from √vaj ‘be strong’/vāj ‘strength, prize, plenitude’ (symbolically: condensed force for victory in being); citrá ‘bright, wondrous’; √bhṛ ‘bring’ (PIE *bher-).
R̥ta as right winning (vājasāti) through aligned sacrifice, immortality (amṛta/amartya) as divine status
Vāja-winning is meaningful when aligned with ṛta—victory of truth over resistance.
The boon is ‘what Agni holds in mind’—truth-determined provision.
Descent of plenitude into the sacrifice-field; manifestation through divine mediation.
Aurobindonian: ‘wealth’ as powers of consciousness; sacrifice as mechanism of descent.
Treasure = stored potential of consciousness; many-colored = differentiated powers; winning vāja = overcoming inner resistance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of ‘winning vāja’ through Agni: the divine holds a rayi in intention and is asked to bring it into the sacrifice as a wondrous gain. It encodes the law that true increase descends when the offering aligns with the immortal will.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhṛ ‘bring’ is PIE *bher- (Eng. bear). amartya is a transparent Indo-Iranian negated formation (a- + martya) reflecting inherited morphology. The boon lexicon (rayi/vāja) shows the archaic Indo-European linkage of ‘victory/strength/prize’ with spiritual and social prosperity.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi appeals to Agni’s inner intention (manyase) and asks for its concrete descent (ā bhara) into the yajña. The exchange is: human rapture and sacrifice as receptivity; divine response as the bestowal of forceful plenitude (vāja) and fullness of being (rayi).
Ask inwardly: ‘What resource does the Divine Will hold for me now?’ Then receive it as force and clarity.
Maṇipūra (vāja—force) with Sahasrāra intention (gift from above)
Slow inhale imagining citra light descending; exhale offering effort into Agni; 12 breaths.
Aspiring, empowered, receptive.
Replace outcome-fixation with alignment: offer your action, then invite the ‘right rayi’ to descend as capacity and right result.
Maintain Vedic accents; imperative ‘ā bharā’ benefits from clear udatta lift (as per recension).
Let ‘sahasāvan amartya’ be firm and steady; keep ‘citra’ lightly brightened in tone.
sahasāvan: articulate ‘sa-ha-sā-van’ with long ‘ā’., amartya: clear ‘mṛ’ cluster; avoid ‘amartiya’., vājasātaye: keep long ‘ā’ and dental ‘t’ in ‘taye’., yajñeṣu: palatal ‘ñ’ and clear ‘ṣ’.
Steady, strong, prayerful; slightly intensified on the imperative segments.
11
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.
