Rig Veda 7.39.7: Mandala 7, Sukta 39, Mantra 7
Sukta 7.39
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Composite invocation: Rodasī with Varuṇa, Mitra, and Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
नू रोदसी अभिष्टुते वसिष्ठैॠतावानो वरुणो मित्रो अग्निः । यच्छन्तु चन्द्रा उपमं नो अर्कं यूयं पात स्वस्तिभिः सदा नः ॥
nū rodasī abhiṣṭute vasiṣṭhaiḥ ṛtāvāno varuṇo mitro agniḥ | yacchantu candrā upamaṃ no arkaṃ yūyaṃ pāta svastíbhiḥ sadā naḥ ||
Maintenant, lorsque le Ciel et la Terre sont invoqués par les Vasiṣṭha, que Varuṇa, gardien de la Ṛta, Mitra, artisan de l’accord, et Agni soient présents. Que les puissances lumineuses nous accordent l’ark suprême, l’hymne de lumière ; et vous, ô dieux, gardez-nous toujours par la svasti, en bien-être et en passage sûr.
Word by Word
- नु
- now; indeedIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/temporal particle) अव्ययRoot नु
- रोदसी
- the two worlds (heaven and earth)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचनRole KarmaRoot रोदसी (प्रातिपदिक) < रोदस्
- अभिष्टुते
- well-praised; praised (by)Adjective/Participleनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (रोदसी-विशेषण) ; कर्मणि क्त (past passive participle) with उपसर्ग अभिRole KarmaRoot अभि-स्तु (धातु √स्तु ‘to praise’) → अभिष्टुत (कृदन्त)
- वसिष्ठैः
- by the Vasiṣṭhas (Vasiṣṭha and his clan/poets)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋतावानः
- possessing ṛta (cosmic order); righteousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (देव-समूह-विशेषण) ; -वान् possessiveRole KartāRoot ऋतावन् (प्रातिपदिक) < ऋत
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निः
- AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- यच्छन्तु
- let (them) grant; may (they) bestowVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्ग-सदृश), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √यम् (धातु ‘to give/extend/grant’)
- चन्द्राः
- bright; shining (ones)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (देव-समूह-विशेषण) ; ‘bright, shining’Role KartāRoot चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपमम्
- best; highest; most excellentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अर्कम्-विशेषण)Role KarmaRoot उपम (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to us; for us / of usPronounषष्ठी (genitive/enclitic), बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अर्कम्
- hymn; song of praise (arká)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
- यूयम्
- you (all)Pronounप्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- पात
- protect!Verbलोट्, परस्मैपद, 2 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √पा (धातु ‘to protect’)
- स्वस्तिभिः
- with well-being(s); with blessingsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot स्वस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
- सदा
- alwaysIndeclinableकालाव्ययRoot सदा
- नः
- usPronounद्वितीया (accusative/enclitic), बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): नु | रोदसी | अभिष्टुते | वसिष्ठैः | ऋतावानः | वरुणः | मित्रः | अग्निः | यच्छन्तु | चन्द्राः | उपमम् | नः | अर्कम् | यूयम् | पात | स्वस्तिभिः | सदा | नः । प्रमुख सन्धि: (1) नू → नु (उ/ऊ-दीर्घत्व with following r-; pada as नु)
- (2) वसि॑ष्ठैॠ॒तावा॑नो → वसिष्ठैः + ऋतावानः (विसर्ग + ऋ- आरम्भ; RV संहितायां ‘ः’ + ‘ऋ’ संयोगे ‘ॠ’ लेखन)
- (3) वरु॑णो मि॒त्रो अ॒ग्निः → वरुणः + मित्रः + अग्निः (ओ-रूप संहितासन्धि from -ः before voiced consonant/vowel)
- (4) यच्छन्तु: यत् + छन्तु (√यम् लोट् 3pl; त् + छ → च्छ)
- (5) उप॒मं नो॑ अ॒र्कं → उपमम् + नः + अर्कम् (anusvāra before n; no is enclitic gen.)
- (6) स्व॒स्तिभि॒: सदा॑ → स्वस्तिभिः + सदा (विसर्ग before s)
The meaning
Outer meaning
When Heaven and Earth are praised by the Vasiṣṭhas, may Varuṇa, Mitra, and Agni become present. Let the luminous powers grant us a supreme hymn; and may you gods protect us always with well-being.
Inner meaning
Rodasī (Heaven and Earth) are the two great poles of consciousness—higher mind and embodied nature—invoked to open the full field of the yoga. Varuṇa (ṛtāvān) brings truth-law and vast purity; Mitra brings harmony and right relation; Agni brings the effective will and the priestly flame that makes the invocation real. ‘Candrāḥ’ are the shining faculties—luminous powers of the inner being—that bestow an ‘upama arka’: a highest solar hymn/utterance, i.e., an inspired formation of light that can lead further. The final prayer for ‘svastibhiḥ’ is not mere safety but stable states of well-being—smooth passages through inner transitions and outer life-movements under divine guardianship.
Universal truth
When higher and lower are both invoked and aligned, truth, harmony, and will can descend as living presences. From that alignment arises inspired speech that illuminates the path, and life becomes guarded by a deeper well-being.
Themes
Rita-order, Invocation and protection, Luminous knowledge (arka as ray/hymn), Harmony (Mitra) and law/purification (Varuṇa), Inner sacrifice (Agni)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha (Vasiṣṭhas collectively)
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.33, RV 7.86, RV 7.87, RV 7.88, RV 7.89
Family tradition
The plural ‘Vasiṣṭhaiḥ’ reflects a school/tradition of seers: disciplined word (arka) and invocation that unites the two worlds and establishes ṛta in life.
Significance
A signature Vasiṣṭha movement: widen the field (Heaven-Earth), call truth and harmony (Varuṇa-Mitra), kindle will (Agni), then receive the solar word and protection for the journey.
The deity
- Devata
- Rodasī with Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni; candrāḥ as luminous powers
- Epithets
- ṛtāvān (Varuṇa), candrāḥ (luminous ones)
- Related deities
- Savitṛ (impeller of arka), Sūrya (solar arka), Indra (illumined force)
Cosmic role
Heaven-Earth provide the total field; Varuṇa governs cosmic law and purification; Mitra governs concord; Agni mediates and effectuates; luminous powers grant inspired hymn-light; gods protect with svasti.
Inner power
Integration and guidance: purification (Varuṇa), harmonization (Mitra), effective aspiration (Agni), and intuitive illumination (candrāḥ) culminating in protected progress.
In ritual
Where it is used
Benedictive/protective close after invocation; calling presence of key deities and asking for svasti
नू रोद॑सी अ॒भिष्टु॑ते॒ वसि॑ष्ठैॠ॒तावा॑नो॒ वरु॑णो मि॒त्रो अ॒ग्निः । यच्छ॑न्तु च॒न्द्रा उ॑प॒मं नो॑ अ॒र्कं यू॒यं पा॑त स्व॒स्तिभि॒: सदा॑ नः ॥
नु । रोद॑सी॒ इति॑ । अ॒भिस्तु॑ते॒ इत्य॒भिऽस्तु॑ते । वसि॑ष्ठैः । ऋ॒तऽवा॑नः । वरु॑णः । मि॒त्रः । अ॒ग्निः । यच्छ॑न्तु । च॒न्द्राः । उ॒प॒ऽमम् । नः॒ । अ॒र्कम् । यू॒यम् । पा॒त॒ । स्व॒स्तिऽभिः॑ । सदा॑ । नः॒ ॥
nu | rodasī iti | abhistuteity abhi-stute | vasiṣṭhaiḥ | ṛta-vānaḥ | varuṇaḥ | mitraḥ | agniḥ | yacchantu | candrāḥ | upa-mam | naḥ | arkam | yūyam | pāta | svasti-bhiḥ | sadā | naḥ
44
4 x ~11 syllables
Majestic and protective; the last pāda has a benedictive cadence suited to ‘pāta…sadā naḥ’.
Invokes presence and then settles into a protective calm; good for closing a sequence with auspiciousness.
- rodasī
- Literal: Heaven and Earth. Symbolic: higher consciousness and embodied nature; two poles to be united
- abhiṣṭute
- Literal: well-praised, invoked. Symbolic: intense call that opens receptivity
- ṛtāvān (Varuṇa)
- Literal: possessing ṛta. Symbolic: upholder of truth-order; purifier and vastener
- Mitra
- Literal: friend. Symbolic: harmoniser, builder of concord
- Agni
- Literal: fire. Symbolic: divine Will making the sacrifice effective
- candrāḥ
- Literal: luminous/shining ones. Symbolic: inner lights—clarities, intuitions, illumined faculties
- arka
- Literal: hymn, praise; also ray/sun. Symbolic: solar word of illumination; mantra as light-body
- svasti
- Literal: well-being, safe passage. Symbolic: harmonious state and protected transition in sadhana
General stotra/śastra usage in Soma-sacrifice contexts; suitable as a protective and prosperity-invoking verse (svasti) within morning/evening recitations and transitions in the rite
At the end of a hymn-section or offering cycle to seal with protection and auspicious passage
Recitation as a concluding prayer; mental ‘seating’ of deities and request for guardianship
Use as a closing mantra after meditation or before travel/transition, asking for truth, harmony, will, and safe passage through the day.
Key terms: (1) ṛtávān- ‘possessing ṛta’: ṛta (from √ar/ṛ ‘to fit, to move in right order’ → ‘cosmic rightness’), with possessive -vant. (2) Varuṇa: traditionally connected with √vṛ ‘to cover/encompass’ → ‘the all-encompassing law/vastness’; in inner sense, the power that contains and corrects. (3) Mitra: from *mi- ‘to bind, unite’ (cf. √mi ‘to fix/measure’ in some analyses; Indo-Iranian Mitra/Miθra) → principle of concord and right relation. (4) Agni: from √ag ‘to drive’/‘to lead’ (and as fire); psychologically the forward-driving will and aspiration. (5) arka: from √arc ‘to shine, praise’ → ‘hymn’ and ‘ray’; the double sense supports the symbolic reading ‘utterance = light’. (6) svasti: su- ‘good’ + asti ‘being’ (√as ‘to be’) → ‘good-being’, hence ‘well-being/safe conduct’.
Ṛta (cosmic order/right working), svasti (integral well-being, safe passage), vā́c/arka (truth-utterance as illumination)
Varuṇa as ṛtāvān ensures the invoked order is not emotional but lawed and enduring.
The ‘supreme arka’ is truth-speaking that carries light; protection comes by alignment with satya.
Union of heaven-earth as a prerequisite for the ‘birth’ of luminous speech and stable well-being.
Vedic integralism: many powers coordinating to guard and illumine the evolving being.
Sky-earth = above/below; fire = will; lights = intuitive clarities; sun-ray hymn = illumined speech guiding progress.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘descent and establishment of ṛta in the Two Worlds’: Heaven-and-Earth are invoked as the field where Varuṇa (law/vastness), Mitra (harmony), and Agni (transforming will) act together. The mythic action is not combat but ordering—granting the arka (ray/hymn) as a formed light of consciousness, and continuous protection (svasti) as the safe traversal of inner passages.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Mitra reflects Indo-Iranian *mitra- (Avestan Miθra), a shared PIE social-cosmic principle of contract/bond. ṛta aligns with Indo-Iranian *ṛta- (Avestan aša) ‘truth/order’. arka from √arc ‘shine/praise’ preserves the archaic equation ‘praise = light’, a common Indo-European poetics feature (utterance as radiance/manifestation). svasti (su- + √as) shows the old compound strategy for abstract states (‘good-being’).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Vasiṣṭha voice functions as right-utterance that ‘fits’ the human call to ṛta; in return the devatās respond by (a) establishing order (Varuṇa), (b) harmonising relations and mental concord (Mitra), (c) igniting and carrying the aspiration (Agni), culminating in the gift of arka—an illumined formulation—and ongoing guardianship through svasti. The reciprocity is: invocation aligned to ṛta → descent of illumined speech and protective right conditions.
Invoke the two poles (above/below) and ask for purification (Varuṇa), harmony (Mitra), and effective will (Agni). Then listen inwardly for the ‘arka’—a clear guiding sentence/insight.
ajna (inner light)
4-4 breathing (inhale 4, exhale 4) while feeling sky (inhale) and earth (exhale); recite once, then sit in silence
Quietly illumined, protected, harmonized.
End practice by offering your next action to ṛta: choose one truthful act (Varuṇa), one harmonizing act (Mitra), and one decisive act (Agni).
Ṛgvedic udatta/anudatta/svarita; the last pāda should sound benedictive and steady.
Emphasize: rodasī, ṛtāvāno, varuṇo, mitro, agniḥ; then candrāḥ, arkam; conclude firmly on svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ.
rodasī: clear ‘ro-da-sī’ with long ī, ṛtāvāno: keep initial ‘ṛ’ crisp, yacchantu: double ‘cch’ articulated, svastibhiḥ: ‘sv’ cluster clear; final visarga lightly aspirated
Calm, protective, slightly resonant; soften at the end for a blessing.
1
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