Rig Veda 8.21.13: Mandala 8, Sukta 21, Mantra 13
Sukta 8.21
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
अभ्रातृव्यो अना त्वमनापिरिन्द्र जनुषा सनादसि । युधेदापित्वमिच्छसे ॥
abhrātṛvyó anā́ tvám anā́pir índra januṣā́ sanā́d asi | yudhéd ā́pi-tvám icchase ||
Sans frère rival, sans défaut, ô Indra, par naissance tu es d’ancienneté, depuis toujours. Et pourtant c’est par le combat que tu cherches auprès de nous la proximité et l’appartenance.
Word by Word
- अभ्रातृव्यः
- brotherless / having no rival kinsmanAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (त्वम् का विशेषण)Root अ-भ्रातृव्य (प्रातिपदिक; भ्रातृव्य ‘भाई/सगोत्र प्रतिद्वन्द्वी’ से) अथवा ‘अभ्रातृव्य’ (निरुक्ति: ‘भ्रातृव्य-रहित’)
- अना
- not, withoutIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-निषेध/विशेषणार्थक अव्यय)Root अना (अव्यय; नकार-प्रत्यययुक्त निषेध/अभावार्थ)
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुंलिङ्ग (देवता-संदर्भे), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अनापिः
- unattached / without close allyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (त्वम् का विशेषण)Root अ-नापि (प्रातिपदिक; नापि ‘निकट/संबद्ध/आश्रित’ इत्यर्थे, नकारेण अभाव) अथवा ‘अनापि’ = ‘असंबद्ध/अपरिचित/असहाय’
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनुषा
- by birth, by natureNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करण (हेतु/प्रकार: ‘जन्मतः/स्वभावतः’)Root जनु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘जन्म/स्वभाव’)
- सनात्
- from of old, since ancient timesIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरण (कालाधिकरण)Root सनात् (अव्यय; ‘प्राचीनकालात्/सदा’)
- असि
- you areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (सम्बन्ध/अस्तित्व-क्रिया)Root अस् (धातु)
- युधे
- to fight, for battleVerbal form / Infinitival (Vedic)प्रयोजनार्थक दत्तिव्/इन्फिनिटिव्-प्रयोगRole प्रयोजन (युद्ध-हेतु)Root युध् (धातु) → युध्- (तुमुन्/इन्फिनिटिव्-प्रयोग: ‘युधे’ = योधुम्/युद्धाय) अथवा दत्तिव्-एकवचन ‘युध्’ (युद्ध)
- इद्
- indeed, justIndeclinableअव्ययRole (निपात)Root इद् (निपात/अव्यय; बलार्थ/निश्चयार्थ)
- अपि
- also, evenIndeclinableअव्ययRole (समुच्चय/अपि-भाव)Root अपि (अव्यय)
- त्वम्
- youPronounप्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद्
- इच्छसे
- you desire, you wishVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (कर्तृ-क्रिया)Root इष्/इच्छ् (धातु ‘इच्छ’ = desire)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (संधि-निरसन): अभ्रातृव्यः | अना | त्वम् | अनापिः | इन्द्र | जनुषा | सनात् | असि | युधे | इद् | अपि | त्वम् | इच्छसे । मुख्य संधि/पाठ-विशेष: (1) ‘अना त्वम्’ = अना + त्वम् (स्वर-संयोग मात्र)
- (2) ‘अनापिरिन्द्र’ = अनापिः + इन्द्र (विसर्ग-लोप/र्-आदेश: ः + इ → र्; संहिता-पाठे ‘अनापिरिन्द्र’)
- (3) ‘युधेदा॑पि’ = युधे + इद् + अपि (इद् का द् परे स्वर/व्यंजन के साथ संहिता में ‘दे’ के साथ जुड़कर ‘दे’ रूप; तत्पश्चात् अपि)
- (4) ‘अपित्वमि॑च्छसे’ = अपि + त्वम् + इच्छसे (स्वर-संयोग; संहिता में एकपद-प्राय)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, without rival and without defect, is from of old by birth; yet through battle he seeks closeness (āpitva) with us.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind-power is inherently sovereign—unmixed, unblemished, ancient in the soul’s order. Yet it becomes intimate to the human being through the lived struggle: by confronting and transforming resistance, Indra’s force comes into close fellowship (āpitva) with our nature. The divine does not ‘need’ battle, but our embodied consciousness needs the dynamic engagement for the union to become practical and near.
Universal truth
Perfection may be eternal in principle, but intimacy with it grows through earnest engagement: transformation happens when we meet life’s battles with the higher power rather than avoiding them.
Themes
Indra’s peerlessness, combat as yoga, divine-human intimacy
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.21.12, RV 8.21.14
Family tradition
Book 8’s Indra hymns frequently speak in the language of friendship and battle—yoga of companionship with the god-power.
Significance
A doctrinal line: the divine power is eternally perfect, yet becomes experientially near through the discipline of struggle and victory.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Abhrātṛvya (without rival), Anāpi (without blemish), Sanātana (ancient, implied by sanāt)
- Related deities
- Agni (leader of sacrifice), Soma (delight that supports Indra), Maruts (battle energies)
Cosmic role
Supreme among the dynamic powers; maintains divine sovereignty in the world-play through victorious action.
Inner power
Unmixed clarity and strength that becomes intimate through conscious struggle—turning conflict into union.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra stotra within Soma liturgy; affirmation of Indra’s flawless strength
अ॒भ्रा॒तृ॒व्यो अ॒ना त्वमना॑पिरिन्द्र ज॒नुषा॑ स॒नाद॑सि । यु॒धेदा॑पि॒त्वमि॑च्छसे ॥
अ॒भ्रा॒तृ॒व्यः । अ॒ना । त्वम् । अना॑पिः । इ॒न्द्र॒ । ज॒नुषा॑ । स॒नात् । अ॒सि॒ । यु॒धा । इत् । आ॒पि॒ऽत्वम् । इ॒च्छ॒से॒ ॥
abhrātṛvyaḥ | anā | tvam | anāpiḥ | indra | januṣā | sanāt | asi | yudhā | it | āpi-tvam | icchase
44
4 × ~11; compact, aphoristic feel
Tight and declarative; like a doctrinal statement within a victory hymn.
Instills confidence in the perfection of the invoked Power and steadies the will to engage difficulty.
- अभ्रातृव्यः (abhrātṛvyaḥ)
- Literal: without rival-brother. Symbolic: undivided sovereignty of the illumined consciousness; no competing equal in its domain
- अना (anā)
- Literal: without flaw/without harm. Symbolic: pure force not deformed by egoistic mixture
- अनापिः (anāpiḥ)
- Literal: without defect/blemish. Symbolic: unwounded clarity; intact power
- जनुषा सनात् (januṣā sanāt)
- Literal: by birth from of old. Symbolic: primordial presence of the divine mind in the soul’s evolution
- युधा (yudhā)
- Literal: by battle. Symbolic: transformative struggle; tapas in action
- आपित्वम् (āpitvam)
- Literal: closeness, companionship, belonging. Symbolic: intimate union of human and divine force; Indra’s nearness in the system
Theological characterization of Indra as inherently perfect and peerless, yet relationally engaged through battle—supports ritual confidence that Indra’s combat-power will ally with the sacrificer.
Recited in sequences praising Indra’s power and friendship with sacrificers
Praise/affirmation preceding requests for aid in struggle
Use when discouraged: remember the higher power is intact; recommit to the ‘battle’ as the means of intimacy with it.
: a- ‘not’ + bhrātṛvya ‘brother-rival/enemy’ → peerless. : a- + nāpi (injury/defect) → unimpaired. : instr. from janus ‘birth’ (√jan). : ‘from old’ (time-depth). : instr. from yudh ‘battle’ (PIE *yeudh- ‘fight’). : from āpi ‘near, friend, belonging’ → intimacy achieved through victorious overcoming.
divine perfection vs. dynamic engagement, intimacy (āpi) won by overcoming, eternity (sanāt) as timeless power
Indra’s ‘without rival’ points to a single governing order; rivalry is a sign of divided consciousness.
Anāpi/anā: truth-power remains undefiled; our access is what varies.
The eternal powers become progressively intimate to humanity through evolutionary struggle.
Aurobindonian evolutionism: the divine is ancient (sanāt) yet progressively realized through conflict and transformation.
Battle symbolizes tapas-driven transformation; storm-force is the mind’s lightning that clears obscurity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The paradox of the warrior-god: though eternally peerless, Indra seeks ‘āpi’ (closeness) through yudh (battle). Mythically this is the repeated combat against obstruction; psychologically it is the divine force entering intimate union with the seeker by conquering inner resistance.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yudh ‘fight’ matches PIE *yeudh- (cf. Germ. *beudan?; more securely: Av. yaoz-?; Vedic and Avestan share battle lexemes). √jan ‘be born’ reflects PIE *ǵenh₁- (Eng. kin, generate). The verse uses inherited ‘birth/eternity’ vs. ‘battle’ polarity.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi interprets Indra’s combat not as mere violence but as the means of divine companionship: Indra fights so that intimate support (āpi) becomes possible for the human journey.
Contemplate the flawless higher Mind within; accept struggle as the means of bringing it near in daily life.
hṛdaya (friendship/āpitva) aligned with ājñā (clarity)
Slow coherent breathing (5–6 breaths/min) while repeating ‘yudhā it āpitvam icchase’—feel struggle turning into closeness.
Quiet strength; reconciled acceptance of challenge.
Hold the sense of an ‘unblemished’ center. When conflict arises, shift from self-blame to alliance: ‘This is the field where Indra becomes near.’ Act from that center.
Rigvedic accenting as marked; keep the statement-like tone; honor udātta peaks especially on key adjectives.
Slight emphasis on ‘abhrātṛvyo’, ‘anāpiḥ’, and the closing ‘āpitvam icchase’.
abhrātṛvyaḥ: cluster bhr; long ā; vocalic ṛ; final ḥ, anāpiḥ: long ā; final ḥ light, januṣā: retroflex ṣ; long ā, sanād: long ā, yudhā: aspirated dh; long ā, āpitvam: long ā; dental t, icchase: double cch, clear śe
Clear, composed, slightly elevated; like a confident teaching.
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