Rig Veda 4.21.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 21, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.21
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
उप यो नमो नमसि स्तभायन्नियर्ति वाचं जनयन्यजध्यै । ऋञ्जसानः पुरुवार उक्थैरेन्द्रं कृण्वीत सदनेषु होता ॥
úpa yó námo námasi stabhāyán níyarti vā́caṃ janáyan yájadhyai | ṛñjasānás puru-vā́ra uktháir índraṃ kṛṇvīta sádanēṣu hótā ||
Aquel que, acercándose con reverencia, afianza el homenaje con homenaje, pone en marcha la Palabra y la hace nacer para el acto del sacrificio; enderezándose, rico en muchas aperturas, con himnos hace presente a Indra en los asientos — como Hotṛ, sacerdote de la ofrenda.
Word by Word
- उप
- near, towards (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb)Root उप (उपसर्ग) / upa
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / yad
- नमः
- obeisanceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot नमस् (प्रातिपदिक) / namas
- नमसि
- in/with obeisanceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot नमस् (प्रातिपदिक) / namas
- स्तभायन्
- propping up, supportingVerbवर्तमाने कृदन्त-प्रायः: शतृ-प्रत्ययः (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; धातोः अर्थः ‘स्तम्भयति/स्थापयति’Role Kartā (सहायक-क्रिया/विशेषणरूपेण यः)Root स्तभ् (धातु) / stabh
- नियर्ति
- sets in motion, directsVerbलट्, परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (यः)Root यृ (धातु) / yṛ (to set in motion, control) + नि-
- वाचम्
- speech, utteranceNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot वाच् (प्रातिपदिक) / vāc
- जनयन्
- generating, producingVerbवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः ‘जनयति’Role Kartā (यः) / सहक्रियाRoot जन्/जनय् (धातु) / jan, janay (caus.)
- यजध्यै
- to sacrifice, to worshipVerbतुमर्थे दत्तिव्/इन्फिनिटिव् (अध्यै-प्रत्ययः), ‘यष्टुम्’Role Prayojana (उद्देश्य) / Sampradāna-भावःRoot यज् (धातु) / yaj
- ऋञ्जसानः
- being straight/true; proceeding rightlyParticipleआन-प्रत्ययान्तः (परिपूर्ण/स्थित्यर्थ), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (यः) / विशेषणम्Root ऋञ्ज् (धातु) / ṛñj (to make straight, arrange) अथवा ‘ऋञ्जसा’ (अव्यय ‘सीधे/ऋजुना’) + आन (मध्य/आत्मने) कृदन्त
- पुरुवारः
- having many boons/choices (many gifts)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā-विशेषणम्Root पुरु-वार (प्रातिपदिक) / puru-vāra
- उक्थैः
- with hymns of praiseNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot उक्थ (प्रातिपदिक) / uktha
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) / indra
- कृण्वीत
- should make, should appointVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (यः)Root कृ (धातु) / kṛ
- सदनेषु
- in the seats/dwellings (ritual places)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot सदन (प्रातिपदिक) / sadana
- होता
- the Hotṛ-priest (invoker)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (predicate-nominative) / कर्तृपदRoot होतृ (प्रातिपदिक) / hotṛ
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: उप | यः | नमः | नमसि | स्तभायन् | नियर्ति | वाचम् | जनयन् | यजध्यै | ऋञ्जसानः | पुरुवारः | उक्थैः | इन्द्रम् | कृण्वीत | सदनेषु | होता । प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) ‘उप॒ यो’ = ‘उप’ + ‘यः’ (विसर्ग/स्वर-समायोजन)
- (2) ‘नमो॒ नम॑सि’ = ‘नमः’ + ‘नमसि’ (विसर्गः ओ-कारादेशः: नमः + न- → नमो)
- (3) ‘वाचं॑ ज॒नय॒न्’ = ‘वाचम्’ + ‘जनयन्’ (अनुस्वार/व्यञ्जन-सन्धि)
- (4) ‘जनय॒न्यज॑ध्यै’ = ‘जनयन्’ + ‘यजध्यै’ (न् + य → न्य)
- (5) ‘उ॒क्थैरेन्द्रं॑’ = ‘उक्थैः’ + ‘इन्द्रम्’ (विसर्गः र्-आदेशः: -ैः + इ- → -ैरि-)
The meaning
Outer meaning
He who approaches with reverence, steadies homage by homage, sets the word in motion and gives birth to it for worship—straightening himself, rich in many openings, with hymns he makes Indra present in the seats as the Hotṛ.
Inner meaning
The inner priest (hotṛ-function) is the awakened aspiration in us: it repeatedly offers namas (self-giving) until reverence becomes stable (stabhāyan). Then the Word (vāc)—the inspired mantra-consciousness—begins to move and is born for effective offering (yajadhyai). By inner straightening/alignment (ṛñjasānaḥ) and by many ‘openings’ (puruvāraḥ = multiple gates of expression/receiving), the seeker’s hymns make Indra present in the ‘seats’ (sadaneṣu = established centers of consciousness).
Universal truth
Transformation requires a disciplined reverence that stabilizes the being; then true speech is born—speech that makes higher consciousness present and operative in life.
Themes
Ritual-psychology, Mantra-birth, Invocation-priesthood (hotṛ)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1, RV 4.2, RV 4.3, RV 4.20
Family tradition
The Vāmadeva corpus repeatedly emphasizes the birth of the Word and the efficacy of hymn/uktha as a power that makes the gods present inwardly (not merely ritually).
Significance
Vāmadeva’s vision integrates devotion (namas), right alignment (ṛju/ṛta), and inspired speech (vāc) as a single inner technology of realization.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- ukthair ā-kṛta (made present by hymns), sadaneṣu ā-śrita (established in the seats—implicit)
- Related deities
- Agni (Hotṛ-function), Sarasvatī/Vāc, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Responds to the true word and right offering by descending as victorious illumination into the human field.
Inner power
The descending force of clarity and mastery evoked by mantra and surrender.
In ritual
Where it is used
Hotṛ/uktha context in Soma sacrifice; also general stotra use where Indra is invited into the ‘sadas’ (session).
उप॒ यो नमो॒ नम॑सि स्तभा॒यन्निय॑र्ति॒ वाचं॑ ज॒नय॒न्यज॑ध्यै । ऋ॒ञ्ज॒सा॒नः पु॑रु॒वार॑ उ॒क्थैरेन्द्रं॑ कृण्वीत॒ सद॑नेषु॒ होता॑ ॥
उप॑ । यः । नमः॑ । नम॑सि । स्त॒भा॒यन् । इय॑र्ति । वाच॑म् । ज॒नय॑न् । यज॑ध्यै । ऋ॒ञ्ज॒सा॒नः । पु॒रु॒ऽवारः॑ । उ॒क्थैः । आ । इन्द्र॑म् । कृ॒ण्वी॒त॒ । सद॑नेषु । होता॑ ॥
upa | yaḥ | namaḥ | namasi | stabhāyan | iyarti | vācam | janayan | yajadhyai | ṛñjasānaḥ | puru-vāraḥ | ukthaiḥ | ā | indram | kṛṇvīta | sadaneṣu | hotā
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4 × ~11 syllables; strong mid-line caesuras typical of hymn-invocation.
Ritually precise but psychologically ‘constructive’: it feels like building a steady approach and then releasing the Word.
Stabilizes devotion and breath; encourages clear articulation and a feeling of ‘calling down’ a presence.
- नमो नमसि (namo namasi)
- Literal: homage by homage. Symbolic: repeated self-offering that purifies ego and stabilizes devotion
- स्तभायन् (stabhāyan)
- Literal: propping, steadying. Symbolic: making the inner attitude firm—no wavering aspiration
- वाचं इयर्ति (vācaṃ iyarti)
- Literal: sets speech in motion. Symbolic: awakening mantra-śakti; inspired expression begins to flow
- जनयन् (janayan)
- Literal: bringing to birth. Symbolic: manifestation of the true word from the silent depth
- यजध्यै (yajadhyai)
- Literal: for worship/sacrifice. Symbolic: for conscious offering—action done as yoga
- ऋञ्जसानः (ṛñjasānaḥ)
- Literal: straightening, aligning. Symbolic: inner rectitude—alignment with ṛta
- पुरुवारः (puruvāraḥ)
- Literal: having many doors/openings. Symbolic: multiple receptive channels—mind, heart, life opened to the godhead
- सदनेषु (sadaneṣu)
- Literal: in the seats. Symbolic: in stable inner centers (heart, mind, vital) where the power can abide
- होता (hotā)
- Literal: invoking priest. Symbolic: the invoking flame of aspiration that calls down illumination (Indra)
Self-referential liturgical instruction: how the Hotṛ by uktha and namas ‘makes Indra’ present in the sadanas (ritual seats)
At moments of invocation and establishment of deity-presence in the ritual space.
Recitation as a calling-formula; ‘making present’ (ā-kṛ) through praise.
Before japa or meditation: use to ‘birth the word’—settle reverence, then begin mantra with clarity and steadiness.
√nam ‘bow, reverence’; √jan ‘beget’ (janayan) — mantra is ‘generated’; √yaj ‘worship, sacrifice’—inner offering; ṛñj/ṛju relates to straightness (PIE *h₃reǵ- ‘straight/right’ is different; but ‘right order’ cluster overlaps conceptually). hotṛ from √hu ‘to call/invoke’ (PIE *ǵʰeuH- ‘call’).
Mantra-generation (vācaṃ janayan), Alignment/straightness (ṛñjasānaḥ) toward ṛta, Presence-making (deity as manifest through speech)
ṛñjasānaḥ implies aligning with ṛta so the invoked power can lawfully descend and act.
True speech (vāc born for yajña) is speech aligned with satya—effective because it carries truth-force.
Speech as creation: the Word is ‘born’ and makes the god present—microcosmic cosmogony in the practitioner.
Mantra-yoga / Aurobindonian psychology of Vāc: inspired speech as a force of manifestation.
Pillar/steadiness = stable psychic posture; approach = inward turning; birth of speech = emergence of intuition/mantric inspiration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘making present’ of the god through rightly generated speech: the hotṛ births vā́c and thereby manifests Indra in the seats—mythic action becomes liturgical-psychological creation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √jan (generate) from PIE *ǵenh₁- (English ‘kin’, Greek génos). √yaj is Indo-Iranian (Avestan yaz-) reflecting a shared ritual lexicon. The emphasis on speech as efficacious is a hallmark of Indo-European poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi presents the human side of reciprocity: by intensified reverence and the disciplined generation of vā́c, the priest-consciousness ‘constructs’ the presence of Indra. Devata is approached as a power that becomes operative when invoked through right speech and right alignment.
Stabilize reverence; then let mantra arise from silence as a ‘born’ word rather than a mechanical repetition.
viśuddha (vāc) supported by anāhata (reverence/devotion)
4-4 breathing to steady; begin chanting on a smooth exhale, feeling the word ‘move’ (iyarti) without strain.
Collected, prayerful, and receptive—then quietly empowered.
Sit upright (ṛñjasānaḥ as posture cue). Offer 3 cycles of inner namas (bowing in the heart). Start the chant slowly, hearing each syllable; pause after each pāda to feel the ‘seat’ where Indra is invited to abide.
Tri-svara chanting; maintain a gentle rise on invocatory segments (upa yo…; indraṃ kṛṇvīta). For exact accents, consult a pada-svara/saṃhitā-svara edition.
Clear caesura after janayan yajadhyai; emphasize vācám, índram, hótā; keep ‘namo namasi’ evenly balanced (not rushed).
Pronounce ṛ in ṛñjasānaḥ distinctly (not ‘ri’)., Keep ‘ukthair’ with clear kh aspiration., In kṛṇvīta, articulate ṇv cluster carefully: kṛ-ṇvī-ta., Avoid turning ‘sadaneṣu’ into ‘sadaneshū’; keep short e.
Soft, steady, devotional; precise consonants to ‘birth’ the word.
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