Rig Veda 7.4.3: Mandala 7, Sukta 4, Mantra 3
Sukta 7.4
अस्य देवस्य संसद्यनीके यं मर्तासः श्येतं जगृभ्रे । नि यो गृभं पौरुषेयीमुवोच दुरोकमग्निरायवे शुशोच ॥
asyá devásya saṃ-sády anī́ke yáṃ mártāsaḥ śyétam jagṛbhre | ní yó gṛbháṃ paúruṣeyīm uvóca durókam agnír āyáve śuśoca ||
Dans l’assemblée, face à ce dieu, les mortels ont saisi le Lumineux. Celui qui a rabaissé l’emprise humaine qui rend la demeure inhabitable — Agni a flamboyé pour le chercheur, brûlant l’étroite maison de l’ignorance.
Installation/maintenance of Agni in the ‘dwelling’ (household or altar); also applicable to prayers for removal of inauspiciousness from the home/inner seat.
Vāc as ordering power, Removal of duritāni (inner difficulty), Inner habitation (okas) as consciousness-space
Egoic grasping disrupts ṛta in the inner house; Agni restores right order by burning it away.
Truth as non-appropriation: light is held by surrender, not clutching.
From constricted ‘house’ to widened world—inner re-creation through fire.
Yoga-psychological exegesis (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ‘house’ as inner formation of consciousness.
White brightness = pure knowledge; house = inner formation (mind-life-body); burning = tapas that expands and clarifies.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘taking of the bright Agni by mortals’—the mythic act of capturing/establishing fire—and Agni’s burning that makes the dwelling fit. Innerly, it is the human capacity to ‘seize’ the luminous will and let it speak down (ni…uvoca) the constrictive habits that make the inner home ‘duḥ-okam’.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ ‘speak’ relates to PIE *wekʷ- ‘to speak’ (cf. Latin vox, English voice via Germanic developments). The hymn links speech/word with ordering and purification—an old Indo-European theme where ‘right word’ supports cosmic and psychic order.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Humans install Agni (jagṛbhre), but Agni repays by blazing ‘for the seeker’ (āyave) and by an authoritative inner ‘word’ that subdues merely human grasping. The rishi frames Agni as both received (by mortals) and sovereign (he reforms the mortal condition).
Notice where the mind ‘clutches’ light/experience; offer that grasping into Agni to create inner spaciousness.
Anāhata (inner space/house of the heart) supported by Maṇipūra (fire of purification)
Exhale-lengthening: on exhale, release ‘grasp’; brief pause to feel widened space; inhale receives light (śyeta).
From tense concentration to open, luminous receptivity.
During meditation, if insight becomes pride or possession, repeat the mantra softly and feel Agni ‘speak down’ the clutching, restoring humility and wideness.
Rigvedic svara with clear udātta on key nouns/verbs (devásya, śyétam, śuśóca) as per recension.
Let the second pāda crest on śyétam; keep a firm downward resolve on durokaṃ; end with a bright lift into śuśoca.
Pronounce śyeta as ‘śye-ta’ (palatal ś)., Keep retroflex ṣ in pauruṣeyīm distinct., In durokaṃ, articulate du-ro-kaṃ clearly (avoid swallowing ‘ro’)., Maintain nasalization only where indicated; avoid adding extra anusvāra.
Purifying and incisive; slightly stronger on ni…uvoca and śuśoca.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
