Rig Veda 1.49.3: Mandala 1, Sukta 49, Mantra 3
Sukta 1.49
- Rishi
- Praskaṇva Kāṇva
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
वयश्चित्ते पतत्रिणो द्विपच्चतुष्पदर्जुनि । उषः प्रारन्नृतूँरनु दिवो अन्तेभ्यस्परि ॥
váyaś cit te patatríṇo dvipác cátuṣpad arjuni | uṣaḥ prá āran ṛtū́n ánu divó ántebhyaḥ pári ||
También tus seres alados — los de dos pies y los de cuatro, oh Uṣas resplandeciente — avanzan, siguiendo los ritmos de la Ṛta, girando desde los confines lejanos del cielo.
Word by Word
- वयः
- bird, winged creature (collective ‘the bird’)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KartāRoot वयस्- (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *weyh₁- ‘vitality/strength’
- चित्
- indeed, evenIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic) अव्ययRoot चित् (अव्यय) < √चित् ‘to notice’ (particle)
- ते
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी; एकवचन (enclitic)Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root त्वद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पतत्रिणः
- winged ones, birdsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot पतत्रिन्- (प्रातिपदिक) < पतत्र ‘wing’
- द्विपत्
- two-footedAdjective(विशेषण) पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन (पतत्रिणः इति विशेष्ये)Role Kartā (as qualifier)Root द्वि- + पद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चतुष्पत्
- four-footedAdjective(विशेषण) पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन (पतत्रिणः इति विशेष्ये)Role Kartā (as qualifier)Root चतुर्- + पद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्जुनि
- O Arjuni (O bright one)Noun (vocative epithet)सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole SambोधनRoot अर्जुनि- (सम्बोधन-प्रातिपदिक; देवता/विशेषण-नाम) < अर्जुन ‘bright, white’
- उषः
- DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot उषस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अरन्
- they went, they movedVerbलुङ् (aorist); 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRole KriyāRoot √ऋ (ऋ गतौ) / Vedic aorist formation
- ऋतून्
- the seasons, proper timesNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot ऋतु- (प्रातिपदिक) < √ऋ ‘to fit, order’
- अनु
- after, followingIndeclinableअव्यय (postposition/particle) अर्थः ‘following’Root अनु (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- दिवः
- of/from the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्यौः); षष्ठी/पञ्चमी; एकवचनRole Apādāna (with अन्तेभ्यः … परि) / SambandhaRoot दिव्/द्यौ- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘sky, day’
- अन्तेभ्यः
- from the ends/boundariesNounपुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot अन्त- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘end, boundary’
- अस्परि
- around, from all sides (encompassing)Indeclinableनिपात/अव्यय (परि with preceding as-)Root अस् + परि (Vedic sandhi of particle)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठः: वय॑श्चित्ते = वयः + चित् + ते
- पत॒त्रिणो॑ = पतत्रिणः (प्रथमा बहु)
- द्वि॒पच्चतु॑ष्पदर्जुनि = द्विपत् + चतुष्पत् + अर्जुनि
- उष॒: = उषः
- प्रार॑न्नृ॒तूँरनु॑ = प्र + अरन् + ऋतून् + अनु
- दि॒वो अन्ते॑भ्य॒स्परि॑ = दिवः + अन्तेभ्यः + अस् + परि (अस्परि इति वैदिक-निपात-रूपम्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Even your winged creatures, the two-footed and the four-footed, O bright Dawn, move forth following the seasons/periods in accordance with ṛta, circling from the far boundaries of heaven.
Inner meaning
Under Uṣas, all movements of life—higher (winged: thoughts, aspirations) and embodied (two-footed, four-footed: human and vital/instinctive nature)—begin to act in harmony with ṛta. The verse portrays the universal synchronization that dawn brings: our inner and outer energies start moving according to true rhythms (ṛtūn anu), not according to chaos or compulsion. ‘From the ends of heaven’ suggests that the higher law reaches even the farthest, most external parts of our nature.
Universal truth
Illumination is proven by rhythm: when light enters, the whole system—mind, life, body—begins to move in right timing and order, naturally and universally.
Themes
Cosmic regularity, Dawn as regulator, Ordered movement of life
The seer
- Rishi
- Praskaṇva Kāṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.49.1-3, RV 1.48
Family tradition
Kāṇva vision often reads nature as a symbolic mirror of inner law (ṛta): dawn sets the rhythm for all forces.
Significance
The seer universalizes dawn’s action: not only the worshipper but all movements of being come under right order—an image of integral harmonization.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- Arjunī (bright/pure), Uṣas (Dawn)
- Related deities
- Ṛta (as principle), Sūrya, Savitar
Cosmic role
Regulates the daily and seasonal rhythms; initiates movement in all creatures according to cosmic order.
Inner power
Establishes rhythmic harmony across mind-life-body; aligns instinct and aspiration to truth-law (ṛta).
In ritual
Where it is used
Dawn praise; also apt as a hymn for aligning with seasonal/daily rhythms (ṛtu).
वय॑श्चित्ते पत॒त्रिणो॑ द्वि॒पच्चतु॑ष्पदर्जुनि । उष॒: प्रार॑न्नृ॒तूँरनु॑ दि॒वो अन्ते॑भ्य॒स्परि॑ ॥
वयः॑ । चि॒त् । ते॒ । प॒त॒त्रिणः॑ । द्वि॒पत् । चतुः॑ऽपत् । अ॒र्जु॒नि॒ । उषः॑ । प्र । आ॒र॒न् ऋ॒तून् । अनु॑ । दि॒वः । अन्ते॑भ्यः । परि॑ ॥
vayaḥ | cit | te | patatriṇaḥ | dvipat | catuḥ-pat | arjuni | uṣaḥ | pra | āran ṛtūn | anu | divaḥ | antebhyaḥ | pari
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3 pādas of ~8 syllables
Light, mobile, and cyclic—mirrors the circling and rhythmic motion described.
Encourages regulated breath and a sense of natural timing; good for entraining the mind to steady rhythm.
- patatriṇaḥ
- Literal: winged ones. Symbolic: thought-forces, aspirations, higher movements of consciousness
- dvipat / catuṣpat
- Literal: two-footed / four-footed. Symbolic: human mental-vital being / embodied-instinctive-vital nature
- arjuni
- Literal: bright/white (O Arjunī). Symbolic: pure, clear illumination; stainless light
- ṛtūn anu
- Literal: following the seasons/periods (ṛtus). Symbolic: following right rhythms and stages of growth; timely progress
- divo antebhyaḥ pari
- Literal: around/from the ends of heaven. Symbolic: from highest boundaries of consciousness to the periphery of nature; all-encompassing order
Dawn-stuti highlighting ṛta-rhythm: supports correct timing, order, and regularity of the rite and, inwardly, of disciplines.
At dawn; at the start of a new routine, discipline, or seasonal transition.
Recitation to attune the sacrificer to ṛta and establish orderly movement of energies.
Use when feeling scattered: chant to re-align habits, sleep-wake cycle, and decision timing to a calmer rhythm.
patatrin from √pat ‘to fly/fall’ → winged motion; used for birds and metaphorically for thoughts. dvipat/catuḥpat are classificatory compounds marking life-forms; psychologically mind-life and body-life. arjuna ‘white, bright’ from √ṛj/√arj? (semantic ‘bright/clear’)—purity of dawn. ṛtu from √ṛ ‘to go in right way, fit’ (and ṛta from √ṛ ‘to fit, order’) → measured times as embodiments of right order.
Ṛta as rhythm/law, Universality across life-forms, Heaven as source of order
Explicit: all beings move ‘anu ṛtūn’—following the lawful rhythms that uphold cosmos and inner order.
Truth manifests as right timing and coordinated movement, not merely correct ideas.
Cosmos as rhythmic unfolding: dawn as daily symbol of the law that sets all motion in place.
Vedic ṛta-yoga: alignment of the whole being with cosmic order as a foundation for higher realization.
dawn
all seasons implied (ṛtu)
Birds = thought/aspiration; animals = vital/body; seasons = stages of sādhanā; heaven’s ends = highest frame of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Dawn as the regulator of all creatures and times: the mythic ‘setting in motion’ at dawn is universalized—winged, two-footed, four-footed beings all obey ṛtu/ṛta. Psychologically, all parts of the nature begin to move rightly when illumination arrives.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The classification dvipad/catuḥpad parallels inherited Indo-European descriptive compounding. pat- ‘fly/fall’ has PIE *pet- ‘to fly’ (cf. Gk. pétomai ‘I fly’, Lat. petō ‘seek/aim’ as a semantic cousin), supporting ‘patatriṇaḥ’ as swift-moving/winged.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Uṣas as sovereign over rhythms that govern embodied existence. By praising her as arjuni and associating her with ṛtūn, he aligns his own life-movements with her law of ordered becoming.
Attune to rhythm: feel breath, heartbeat, and thought-cycles align; let dawn-light coordinate instinct and aspiration.
mūlādhāra (instinct stability) integrated upward to ājñā (guiding rhythm)
Box breathing 4-4-4-4 for 6 rounds, then chant once; sense ‘ṛtūn anu’ as inner timing.
Regulated calm; embodied steadiness.
Choose one daily rhythm (sleep, food, study, meditation) and align it with dawn; let regularity become the vessel for higher light.
Keep gāyatrī light and even; respect accent marks on uṣaḥ and ṛtūn; avoid dragging consonant clusters.
Slight emphasis on ‘ṛtūn anu’ to highlight the core teaching; keep ‘arjuni’ pure and clear in tone.
patatriṇo: retroflex ṇ; keep triṇo as tri-ṇo, dvipac catuṣpad: articulate sandhi cleanly; ṣ in catuṣ-, arjuni: soft j; short i at end, prārann: roll/flip r; double n lightly, ṛtūn: long ū; vocalic ṛ at start
Light, airy, cyclic—like circling flight; end steady.
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