Rig Veda 1.40.7: Mandala 1, Sukta 40, Mantra 7
Sukta 1.40
- Devata
- Implicitly Brahmaṇaspati / Gods
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
को देवयन्तमश्नवज्जनं को वृक्तबर्हिषम् । प्रप्र दाश्वान्पस्त्याभिरस्थितान्तर्वावत्क्षयं दधे ॥
kó deva-yántam aśnavaj jánaṃ kó vṛktá-barhiṣam | prá-pra dāśvā́n pastyā́bhir asthita antar-vā́vat kṣáyaṃ dadhé ||
¿Quién alcanza al hombre que anhela lo divino, quién al sacrificante del barhis extendido? El dador avanza una y otra vez con sus moradas; establece un hogar de anchura interior, una habitación asentada dentro.
Word by Word
- कः
- who?Pronounपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (प्रश्नवाचकः) / कर्ता-निर्देशःRoot क (किम्-प्रातिपदिक) सर्वनाम
- देवयन्तम्
- desiring the gods / god-seekingAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम् (वर्तमान कृदन्तः -न्त)Role कर्मRoot देवय (देव + य) कृत्-प्रातिपदिक (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- अश्नवत्
- attained / reachedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत) परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot अश् (अश्नुते) धातु
- जनम्
- the man / peopleNounपुंलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- कः
- who?Pronounपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (प्रश्नवाचकः)Root क (किम्-प्रातिपदिक) सर्वनाम
- वृक्तबर्हिषम्
- (him) whose sacrificial grass is cut/spread (i.e., with prepared barhis)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot वृक्त-बर्हिस् (वृक्त < √व्रज्/√वृज् ‘to cut/trim’ + बर्हिस् ‘sacrificial grass’) समास-प्रातिपदिक
- प्र
- forth / forwardIndeclinableनिपातःRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- प्र
- forth / forwardIndeclinableनिपातःRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- दाश्वान्
- the giver / the worshipper (who has given)Noun/Participleपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम् (दाश्वांस्-शब्दः; nom. sg. दाश्वान्)Role कर्ताRoot दाश्वांस् (√दा ‘to give’—परिपूर्ण/परिपक्व कृदन्त ‘giver, worshipper’)
- पस्त्याभिः
- with (his) dwellings / through the homesteadsNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role करण (सहायक-उपायः) / अधिकरण-भावः (परिसर-निर्देशः)Root पस्त्या (प्रातिपदिक; ‘dwelling, homestead, household’)
- अस्थित
- stood / took his standVerbलुङ् (सिग्मालुङ्) परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot √स्था (स्था) धातु + अङ् (लुङ्/लिट्-प्राय भूतार्थे) — ‘अ-स्थि-त’
- अन्तः
- within / insideIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role अधिकरण (स्थान-निर्देशः)Root अन्तर् (अव्यय/उपपद)
- वावत्
- swiftly / wind-likeIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role क्रियाविशेषणRoot वावत् (अव्यय; ‘like the wind/with blowing’, from √वा ‘to blow’)
- क्षयम्
- a dwelling / homeNounपुंलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot क्षय (प्रातिपदिक; ‘dwelling, abode’)
- दधे
- has placed / establishedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्शभूत) आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot √धा (धा ‘to place, set’) धातु
Sandhi Notes
- संधि-विच्छेद (पदपाठानुसार): कः | देवयन्तम् | अश्नवत् | जनम् | कः | वृक्तबर्हिषम् | प्र | प्र | दाश्वान् | पस्त्याभिः | अस्थित | अन्तः | वावत् | क्षयम् | दधे । (1) को → कः (विसर्ग-रूप) + (अगला पद व्यञ्जनादि) । (2) देवयन्तम् + अश्नवत् : अन्त्य-व्यञ्जन/स्वर-संधि नहीं (पदसीमा पर)। (3) अश्नवज्जनम् (संहितापाठ) = अश्नवत् + जनम् (त् + ज → ज्ज, व्यञ्जन-संधि)। (4) प्रप्र = प्र + प्र (निपात-द्विरुक्ति)। (5) दाश्वान्पस्त्याभिः (संहिता) = दाश्वान् + पस्त्याभिः (न् + प → न्प, अनुस्वार/परसवर्ण-संधि)। (6) स्थितान्तर्वावत्क्षयम् (संहिता) = अस्थित + अन्तः + वावत् + क्षयम्
- अन्तः + वावत् में विसर्ग-लोप/रूपान्तर (अन्तर्वावत्) तथा वावत् + क्षयम् में त् + क् → त्क् (वावत्क्षयम्)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Who attains the man devoted to the gods, who attains the sacrificer with the strewn seat? The giver advances again and again with his dwelling-grounds; he establishes a home of inward wideness, a settled habitation within.
Inner meaning
The interrogative ‘who?’ points to the mystery of grace: what power reaches the devayant (one who turns toward the Divine) and the one who has prepared the barhis (a receptive foundation)? The answer is implicit: the divine responds to the prepared being. The ‘giver’ (dāśvān) is the aspiring soul offering itself; as it advances repeatedly, it builds pastyāḥ—fields of habitation in the nature. The culmination is antarvāvat kṣayam: an inner home of wideness, a stable inner space where consciousness can dwell without contraction.
Universal truth
Repeated sincere offering enlarges the inner life until it becomes a stable home for peace and power; receptivity and perseverance invite the responding Presence.
Themes
preparedness, generosity, inner-habitation
The seer
- Rishi
- Traditional attribution within Kaṇva hymn-group; specific seer-name not preserved in the provided source.
- Lineage
- Kaṇva (probable)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.40.1-8
Family tradition
Kaṇvas often use domestic imagery (home, dwelling) to express inner settlement in the divine order.
Significance
The rishi frames spiritual progress as repeated establishment: not a single ecstasy but building a stable inner ‘home’ through persistent offering.
The deity
- Devata
- Implicitly Brahmaṇaspati / the Gods as responders to the prepared sacrificer
- Epithets
- Brahmaṇaspati (implied as presiding over the sacrifice of speech), Viśve Devāḥ (implied)
- Related deities
- Agni (as the inner priest who accepts offerings), Indra (as widening illumination)
Cosmic role
The divine powers ‘attain’ and take hold of the seeker who prepares the foundation and offers persistently; they establish wideness as a cosmic condition in the individual.
Inner power
Grace that meets aspiration; power of inner settlement and expansion.
In ritual
Where it is used
General yajña context emphasizing preparation of barhis and the role of the dāśvān (offerer).
को दे॑व॒यन्त॑मश्नव॒ज्जनं॒ को वृ॒क्तब॑र्हिषम् । प्रप्र॑ दा॒श्वान्प॒स्त्या॑भिरस्थितान्त॒र्वाव॒त्क्षयं॑ दधे ॥
कः । दे॒व॒ऽयन्त॑म् । अ॒श्न॒व॒त् । जन॑म् । कः । वृ॒क्तऽब॑र्हिषम् । प्रऽप्र॑ । दा॒श्वान् । प॒स्त्या॑भिः । अ॒स्थि॒त॒ । अ॒न्तः॒ऽवाव॑त् । क्षय॑म् । द॒धे॒ ॥
kaḥ | deva-yantam | aśnavat | janam | kaḥ | vṛkta-barhiṣam | pra-pra | dāśvān | pastyābhiḥ | asthita | antaḥ-vāvat | kṣayam | dadhe
32
4 × 8 (probable)
Rhetorical opening with quick questions, then a resolving, constructive cadence.
Moves the listener from inquiry to inward settling; the last pāda should feel spacious and concluding.
- devayantam
- Literal: one who seeks/worships the gods. Symbolic: The part of us that turns toward the higher consciousness and chooses the divine aim
- vṛktabarhiṣam
- Literal: one with strewn/trimmed sacrificial grass. Symbolic: A prepared foundation—quietened, ordered nature ready to receive higher influence
- dāśvān
- Literal: the giver/offerer. Symbolic: The soul-will offering energy, attention, and ego-substance into transformation
- pastyābhis
- Literal: with dwelling-places/households. Symbolic: Successive established bases in the being (physical-vital-mental) made fit for the yoga
- antarvāvat
- Literal: having an inside, inwardly wide. Symbolic: Inner wideness; spacious consciousness not crowded by fear or desire
- kṣayam
- Literal: home/abode. Symbolic: Stable station of realized consciousness; an inner ‘settlement’ in the Truth
Praise of the properly prepared sacrificer (barhis) and the giver (dāśvā́n), asserting that right offering establishes a ‘home’—ritual and psychological—for divine presence.
When stressing the necessity of receptivity and repeated offering for divine approach.
Preparation of seat (barhis) and repeated offerings; affirmation of inner ‘kṣaya’ as result.
A mantra for building inner stability during long practice phases; useful when one feels ‘homeless’ inwardly or scattered.
barhis ‘sacrificial grass’ (ritual seat) from √bṛh/√barh ‘to grow, expand’ (semantic: spread). vṛkta ‘cut/strewn’ from √vṛj ‘to cut’. dāśvā́n ‘giver’ from √dā ‘to give’. kṣáya ‘dwelling’ from √kṣi ‘to dwell’. antar-vā́vat ‘having inner breadth’ from antar ‘within’ + vāvat (from √vā ‘to blow’ → ‘expansive’, or a possessive formation indicating ‘possessing wideness’).
inner spaciousness as condition for divine descent, home (kṣaya) as stable realization, repetition (pra-pra) as sustained practice
Prepared barhis symbolizes aligning the nature to ṛta so divine powers can ‘arrive’ and act.
Inner home is stable only when founded on truth of aspiration and sincerity.
Creation of an inner world: establishing dhāman/kṣaya within the human instrument.
Yoga of progressive embodiment of higher consciousness (Aurobindonian: descent and establishment across planes).
The altar-seat is the quiet nervous system; the home is the settled inner being; repeated steps are daily practice that expands inner space.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The gods ‘attain’ the prepared and aspiring human; the sacrificer’s repeated advance and giving establish an inner dwelling-place. The mythic theme is hospitality: preparing the seat (barhis) so the divine can come and abide.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘fame/attainment’ and ‘dwelling’ vocabulary (√aś ‘reach’, √kṣi ‘dwell’) belongs to a common Indo-European semantic core: gods and humans meet through a structured space (home/seat) created by right action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi implies that divine approach is conditional: aspiration (deva-yant) plus prepared foundation (barhis) plus sustained giving (dāśvā́n) yields inner wideness and stable indwelling (kṣaya).
Build ‘antarvāvat kṣaya’: sense an inner room of wideness behind the heart and throat; let thoughts come and go without crowding the space.
anāhata (heart)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 6) for 7 rounds, then chant; feel wideness on exhale.
From seeking and questioning to settled spaciousness and quiet confidence.
Before chanting, ‘prepare the barhis’: straighten posture, relax belly/throat, soften gaze. After chanting, imagine laying a luminous mat in the heart-space and invite the higher power to sit there.
Chant with clear interrogative rise on the first two pādas; settle into a grounded tone on the last pāda (kṣayaṃ dadhe).
Mark the repetition pra-pra distinctly; do not blur consonant clusters in vṛktabarhiṣam and antarvāvat.
vṛktabarhiṣam: ‘vṛk-ta-bar-hi-ṣam’ with clear ṣ, pra-pra: two separate impulses, not a single long ‘prā’, pastyābhis: ‘pas-tyā-bhis’ with palatal yā, antarvāvat: ‘an-tar-vā-vat’ with long ā
Questioning clarity at start, then warm, grounding resonance.
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