Rig Veda 2.19.2: Mandala 2, Sukta 19, Mantra 2
Sukta 2.19
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
अस्य मन्दानो मध्वो वज्रहस्तोऽहिमिन्द्रो अर्णोवृतं वि वृश्चत् । प्र यद्वयो न स्वसराण्यच्छा प्रयांसि च नदीनां चक्रमन्त ॥
asyá mandānó mádhvo vájrahasto 'hím índro arṇóvṛtaṃ ví vṛścat | prá yád váyo ná svásarāṇy ácchā práyāṃsi ca nadī́nāṃ cákramanta ||
Se réjouissant de cette douceur, Indra, porteur du vajra, trancha le serpent qui couvrait le flot, barrant les eaux. Alors, tels des oiseaux vers leurs propres courants, les élans et les courses en avant des rivières se mirent en mouvement.
Word by Word
- अस्य
- of this (one); of himPronounपुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मन्दानः
- rejoicing; exhilaratedParticiple (Adjectival)पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वर्तमानकाले शानच् (आत्मनेपदी) कृदन्तRole कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot मन्द् (धातु) → मन्दान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- मध्वः
- of honey/sweet drink (soma)Nounनपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive) / हेतुः (by reason of)Root मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
- वज्रहस्तः
- whose hand holds the vajraNoun (epithet)पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (as subject-epithet)Root वज्र-हस्त (समास-प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-प्राय)
- अहिम्
- the serpent (Vṛtra)Nounपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अहि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNoun (proper)पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्णः
- the flood; the watersNounनपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (object of ‘released/let flow’ sense with following verb)Root अर्णस्/अर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; ‘flood, wave, water’)
- वृतम्
- the obstructing barrier; the enclosed (blockage)Adjective/Participle used substantivelyनपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (object: ‘the obstructing/obstructed [thing]’)Root वृत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक from √वृ ‘to cover, obstruct’)
- वि
- apart; asunderIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्ग (verb-modifier)Role क्रियाविशेषणRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वृश्चत्
- he cut; he cleftVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वृश्च् (छेदने)
- प्र
- forth; forwardIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यत्
- when; that whichRelative pronounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (correlative ‘when/that which’)Role सम्बन्ध/अव्ययीभाव (clausal link)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयः
- a bird; (lit.) winged creatureNounनपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Vedic usage also collective)Role उपमान (in simile with ‘न’)Root वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like; asIndeclinableउपमान-निपातRole उपमान-सूचकRoot न (अव्यय)
- स्वसाराणि
- sistersNounस्त्री, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (those approached/attained)Root स्वसृ (प्रातिपदिक) → स्वसार (स्त्री)
- अच्छा
- towards; straight toIndeclinableगत्यर्थ-अव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot अच्छा (अव्यय)
- प्र
- forthIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यांसि
- paths; courses; goingsNoun (action-noun/participle used substantively)नपुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot √या (गत्यर्थे) → यांस्/यांसि (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; ‘going’)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयRole समुच्चयRoot च (अव्यय)
- नदीनाम्
- of the riversNounस्त्री, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रमन्त
- they strode/moved; they set in motionVerbलुङ् (aorist; Vedic), आत्मनेपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √क्रम् (गत्यर्थे) with preverb चक्/चक्र- (reduplicated aorist base)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolved: वज्र॑ह॒स्तोऽहि॒म् → वज्रहस्तः + अहिम् (visarga before vowel, written ’). अर्णो॒वृतं॒ → अर्णः + वृतम् (final -ः before v-; RV orthography shows -o-). स्वस॑रा॒ण्यच्छा॒ → स्वसाराणि + अच्छा (i + a → y a, written -ण्य-). प्रयां॑सि → प्र + यांसि (preverb separated). Other preverbs: वि + वृश्चत्
- प्र + (clausal) यत्
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, rejoicing in the sweetness, holding the thunderbolt, cut apart the serpent who had covered the flood. Then the rivers’ movements and forward rushes began, like birds going to their own streams.
Inner meaning
Rejoicing in Soma’s sweetness (inner delight), the illumined Mind (Indra) takes up the vajra—concentrated force of decisive insight—and splits the ahi, the coiling obstruction that covers the flood (arṇaḥ): the blocked currents of life and consciousness. Once the coverer is broken, the inner ‘rivers’—streams of energy, inspiration, and movement—resume their natural course, each returning to its own channel like birds to familiar waters: the liberated forces find right pathways instead of stagnating in subconscious blockage.
Universal truth
When delight empowers clear, decisive intelligence, it can break entrenched obstruction; then the natural currents of life and consciousness flow freely and correctly.
Themes
Vṛtra-slaying, Release of the waters, Sweetness (madhu) empowering Indra, Restoration of flow
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada Śaunahotra
- Lineage
- Śaunahotra (traditional)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.19.3, RV 2.18.8-9
Family tradition
Indra-Vṛtra imagery in Mandala 2 is used not only for cosmic myth but as a repeated psychological victory motif: release of waters/light through decisive force.
Significance
The rishi presents the classic inner drama: delight empowers illumination; illumination breaks obstruction; liberated currents restore right movement—an archetype for repeated breakthroughs in practice.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vajrahasta, Somamandāna (rejoicing in Soma), Vṛtrahan (implied by serpent-slaying)
- Related deities
- Soma, Apas (waters), Sarasvatī (as ordered flow, by association)
Cosmic role
Breaker of the cover; releaser of waters; initiator of cosmic and terrestrial movements.
Inner power
Decisive, luminous force that cuts through subconscious knots, restoring flow and right dynamism.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra stotra in Soma rites; mythic victory verses used to strengthen the rite’s intention of ‘release’.
अ॒स्य म॑न्दा॒नो मध्वो॒ वज्र॑ह॒स्तोऽहि॒मिन्द्रो॑ अर्णो॒वृतं॒ वि वृ॑श्चत् । प्र यद्वयो॒ न स्वस॑रा॒ण्यच्छा॒ प्रयां॑सि च न॒दीनां॒ चक्र॑मन्त ॥
अ॒स्य । म॒न्दा॒नः । मध्वः॑ । वज्र॑ऽहस्तः । अहि॑म् । इन्द्रः॑ । अ॒र्णः॒ऽवृत॑म् । वि । वृ॒श्च॒त् । प्र । यत् । वयः॑ । न । स्वस॑राणि । अच्छ॑ । प्रयां॑सि । च॒ । न॒दीना॑म् । चक्र॑मन्त ॥
asya | mandānaḥ | madhvaḥ | vajra-hastaḥ | ahim | indraḥ | arṇaḥ-vṛtam | vi | vṛścat | pra | yat | vayaḥ | na | svasarāṇi | accha | prayāṃsi | ca | nadīnām | cakramanta
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4×~11; strong caesura-like turns around ‘vi vṛścat’ and ‘pra yad’.
Highly kinetic; sharp break then rapid release—mirrors the act of cutting and the rivers’ surge.
Energizes and mobilizes; good for breaking inertia and invoking a felt ‘release’ in the system.
- मधु (madhu)
- Literal: sweetness, honey. Symbolic: Soma-delight; sweetness of awakened consciousness
- वज्रहस्त (vajrahasta)
- Literal: thunderbolt-handed. Symbolic: one who wields decisive force of insight/will
- अहि (ahi)
- Literal: serpent. Symbolic: coiled resistance/obstruction; the coverer-force (vṛtraic) in the subconscient
- अर्णोवृत (arṇovṛta)
- Literal: flood-covered. Symbolic: blocked plenitude—hidden waters of consciousness
- वि वृश्चत् (vi vṛścat)
- Literal: cut apart, severed. Symbolic: decisive rupture of obstruction-patterns
- नदी (nadī)
- Literal: river. Symbolic: streams of energy, inspiration, life-force moving in ordered channels
- प्रयांसि (prayāṃsi)
- Literal: forward movements, onrushes. Symbolic: progressive impulses of the sādhanā once released
- वयः (vayaḥ)
- Literal: birds. Symbolic: free-moving thought-forces returning to their true currents
- स्वसर (svasara)
- Literal: their own streams. Symbolic: proper channels of each liberated power in the being
Indra’s Vṛtra-slaying motif in Soma rite; invoked for releasing blocked energies and restoring the right flow (rivers/waters) in the sacrificer.
During Indra-focused recitations after Soma offering, especially when celebrating Vṛtra-slaying motifs.
Chant with mental image of obstruction being split and energies flowing; offerings accompany stotra in Soma ritual.
Use when stuck in fear, procrastination, or emotional blockage; chant to invoke decisive clarity and restored flow.
vajra: 'hard, diamond-like; thunderbolt' (root sense of firmness/irresistibility). ahi: serpent; common Indo-Iranian mythic adversary. √ vṛśc 'to cut' (cf. PIE *wers- 'to cut' debated; but clear Vedic cutting lexeme). arṇas 'flood, wave' (fluid mass); vṛta 'covered' from √ 'cover'—thus 'waters covered/blocked'.
release of blocked consciousness (waters) by divine force, R̥ta as restored flow and right movement, Soma as catalyst of divine action
Rivers returning to ‘their own streams’ indicates restoration of ṛta—right channels and right movement.
The vajra is satya’s decisive edge—truth that cuts false coverings.
Release of the waters is a creation-act: from blockage to movement, from potential to manifest flow.
Vedic psychology (Aurobindo): Vṛtra as subconscient resistance; waters as hidden consciousness-force.
Thunderbolt = concentrated insight; serpent = coiled habit; waters/rivers = life and consciousness currents; birds = liberated thoughts/impulses.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Classic Vṛtra/ahi mythologem: Indra cleaves the serpent who covers the waters, releasing the rivers. Psychologically, the 'waters' are streams of consciousness/knowledge-force; the 'serpent' is constriction and inertia; the vajra is the decisive will of illumined mind that restores free movement.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The dragon-slayer pattern is pan-Indo-European in mythic structure (storm-god vs. serpent/dragon guarding waters). Lexically, ahi- has Indo-Iranian resonance; the 'covering' notion vṛta (from √vṛ) aligns with widespread IE imagery of obstruction by enclosure/covering.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi offers Soma-sweetness (madhu) that exhilarates Indra; Indra responds by breaking inner obstruction and releasing the natural currents (nadīnāṃ prayāṃsi). The reciprocity is: delight offered → force awakened → right flow restored.
Visualize a coiled obstruction in the lower belly or chest; invoke Indra’s vajra as a line of clear light splitting it; feel currents moving again.
maṇipūra (decisive force) and ājñā (clarity)
Brisk, controlled exhale emphasis (e.g., 6-count exhale, 4-count inhale) for 7 cycles; then chant once and rest in sensing flow.
Dynamic clarity with released vitality.
Chant 1–3 times when blocked; after chanting, sit and notice where energy wants to move; allow it to find its ‘own stream’ through simple, right action.
Tri-svara; emphasize udātta on ‘índraḥ’, ‘vájrahastaḥ’, ‘áhim’, and the action ‘ví vṛścat’.
Make ‘vi vṛścat’ crisp and slightly accented; allow acceleration in the final pādas to mirror the rivers’ onrush.
‘vajrahasto’: keep jra conjunct tight; final o open., ‘arṇovṛtam’: retroflex ṇ; vṛ with clear vocalic ṛ., ‘cakramanta’: kram cluster clear; avoid inserting extra vowel.
Bright, forceful, clean consonants; avoid shouting—aim for ‘vajra-like’ precision.
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