Rig Veda 3.13.6: Mandala 3, Sukta 13, Mantra 6
Sukta 3.13
उत नो ब्रह्मन्नविष उक्थेषु देवहूतमः । शं नः शोचा मरुद्वृधोऽग्ने सहस्रसातमः ॥
utá no bráhman aviṣa uktheṣú deva-hūtámaḥ | śáṃ naḥ śocā marúd-vṛdho ’gne sahasra-sā́tamaḥ ||
Et protège-nous, ô Brahman, dans les hymnes : Agni, le plus puissant pour appeler les dieux. Brille pour notre paix et notre bien; ô accroisseur des Maruts, ô conquérant de mille gains, déploie en nous la flamme victorieuse.
Prayer for protection of brahman (mantric efficacy) and for Agni’s shining presence as deva-hūtama; connects Agni with Maruts (dynamic powers) and with abundant victory (sahasra-sāti).
brahman as expanding word-power, invocation as summoning inner powers, abundant attainment (sahasra-sāti)
Right speech (brahman guarded) is ṛta in expression—truth-order made audible.
Protection of brahman prevents mixture with untruth or egoistic distortion.
The gods are ‘called’ by word and fire: manifestation responds to conscious invocation.
Brāhmaṇa-to-Upaniṣadic bridge: mantra as power; inner devas as faculties awakened by disciplined consciousness.
Fire = clarity/will; Wind/Maruts = dynamic prāṇa and nervous energies; their harmony yields victorious movement.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as deva-hūtamaḥ (best summoner) and marud-vṛdhaḥ (increaser of Maruts): the priest-fire calls and intensifies the allied storm-powers. Inner sense: the awakened will not only illumines but mobilizes dynamic energies for a many-sided victory.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vṛdh ‘increase’ continues PIE *werdh- ‘grow’ (cf. English ‘worth’ is not cognate; but German werden ‘become’ is from *werdh-). bráhman from √bṛh ‘expand’ parallels archaic IE sacral language where ‘word’ is an expanding power rather than a sign.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi asks Agni to guard the brahman itself—suggesting that the efficacy of revelation must be protected from distortion. In return, Agni shines (śocā) to establish peace and calls in the gods/energies, increasing the Marut-force and granting abundant inner acquisitions.
Protect inner speech: let mantra arise from silence, not agitation; invoke Agni to keep the channel pure.
Vishuddha (speech) with support from Manipura (will)
Slow nasal breathing; pause briefly after inhale to ‘listen’ before speaking/chanting
Alert purity; dynamic calm.
If speech becomes reactive, stop; offer the impulse into the flame; resume only when the word feels ‘guarded’—clear, simple, true.
Keep crisp accent on brahman and devahūtamaḥ; observe svarita falls on compound transitions; avoid monotone on epithets.
Slightly emphasize imperatives/requests: aviṣaḥ, śocā; then give weight to epithets marudvṛdho, sahasrasātamaḥ.
brahman: ‘br’ cluster clean; final ‘n’ light., aviṣaḥ: retroflex ṣ; short aḥ at end., devahūtamaḥ: long ū; avoid ‘deva-hut…’ flattening., marudvṛdhaḥ: retroflex ṛ in vṛ; aspirate dh., sahasrasātamaḥ: keep ‘sahasra’ flowing; long ā in sā.
Firm, protective, resonant; like a steady call.
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