Rig Veda 2.27.9: Mandala 2, Sukta 27, Mantra 9
Sukta 2.27
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
त्री रोचना दिव्या धारयन्त हिरण्ययाः शुचयो धारपूताः । अस्वप्नजो अनिमिषा अदब्धा उरुशंसा ऋजवे मर्त्याय ॥
trī́ rocánā divyā́ dhārayanta hiraṇyáyāḥ śúcayo dhā́ra-pūtāḥ | ásvapnajo ani-míṣā ádabdhā uru-śáṃsā ṛjáve mártyāya ||
તેઓ ત્રણ દિવ્ય પ્રકાશમય લોકોને ધારણ કરે છે—સુવર્ણ, શુદ્ધ, પ્રવાહમાં પવિત્ર થયેલા. નિદ્રાથી અજન્મા, અણમિટ, અદબ્ધ, ઉપકારમાં વિશાળ—ઋજુ માર્ગે ચાલતા મર્ત્ય માટે તેઓ સ્તુતિ અને સહાયનું વિશાળ ક્ષેત્ર બને છે.
Word by Word
- त्री
- threeAdjective (numeral)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (त्रयः/त्रीणि/तिस्रः में ‘तिस्रः’ का वैदिक रूप ‘त्री’)Role विशेषण (कर्तृ/कर्म-सम्बन्धी)Root त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- रोचनाः
- luminous realms / lightsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्म (धा-क्रिया का)Root रोचना (प्रातिपदिक; √रुच् ‘दीप्तौ’ से)
- दिव्याः
- heavenly, divineAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (रोचनाः का विशेषण)Role विशेषणRoot दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक; दिव् ‘द्युतौ/स्वर्गे’ से)
- धारयन्त
- they uphold / they supportVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; वैदिक रूप ‘धारयन्त’ (= धारयन्ति)Role क्रिया (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धी)Root √धृ (धारणे)
- हिरण्ययाः
- goldenAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (रोचनाः का विशेषण)Role विशेषणRoot हिरण्यय (प्रातिपदिक; हिरण्य ‘gold’ + -य)
- शुचयः
- pure, brightAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (अस्वप्नजः आदि का विशेषण/सम्बोधनात्मक वर्णन)Role कर्तृ (धारयन्त के)Root शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
- धारपूताः
- purified/cleansed by the stream (of libation)Adjective (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (धारयन्त के)Root धारपूत (प्रातिपदिक; ‘धार’ + ‘पूत’ (√पू ‘पवने/शोधने’ क्त))
- अस्वप्नजः
- unborn of sleep / sleeplessAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (धारयन्त के)Root अस्वप्नज (प्रातिपदिक; a- + स्वप्न + ज ‘born’, √जन्)
- अनिमिषाः
- unblinkingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (धारयन्त के)Root अनिमिष (प्रातिपदिक; a- + निमिष ‘blink’)
- अदब्धाः
- unharmed, unbeguiledAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (धारयन्त के)Root अदब्ध (प्रातिपदिक; a- + दब्ध ‘deceived/overcome’, √दभ्/दम्भ्)
- उरुशंसाः
- of wide/great renown; widely praisedAdjective/Noun (bahuvrīhi-like epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (धारयन्त के)Root उरुशंस (प्रातिपदिक; उरु ‘wide, great’ + शंस ‘praise’, √शंस्)
- ऋजवे
- for the upright/straightAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे: ‘for the straight/upright one’)Root ऋजु (प्रातिपदिक)
- मर्त्याय
- for the mortal (man)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे: ‘for the mortal’)Root मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): त्री | रोचनाः | दिव्याः | धारयन्त | हिरण्ययाः | शुचयः | धारपूताः | अस्वप्नजः | अनिमिषाः | अदब्धाः | उरुशंसाः | ऋजवे | मर्त्याय । विशेष: ‘धारयन्त’ वैदिक लट्-बहुवचन रूप है (क्लासिकल ‘धारयन्ति’)
- ‘त्री’ = ‘तिस्रः’ (स्त्री. प्र. बहु.)
The meaning
Outer meaning
They uphold the three divine luminous realms—golden, pure, clarified in their flow. Unborn of sleep, unblinking, unfailing, wide in beneficence, they are for the straight-going mortal a vast support worthy of praise.
Inner meaning
The Ādityas sustain the three rocanā—luminous fields of consciousness—experienced inwardly as golden (hiraṇyaya: supramental/gnostic light), pure (śuci: free from mixture), and ‘clarified in the stream’ (dhārapūtāḥ: purified in the flow of consciousness, like soma clarified). They are asvapnaja: not born of sleep—meaning their action is not a product of ignorance or subconscious inertia; animiṣā: unblinking—constant vigilance of truth; adabdhā: not deceived—incorruptible discernment. For the ṛju (straight, sincere) mortal, these powers become uruśaṃsā: a wide field of help and praise—because sincerity opens the being to their unfailing governance.
Universal truth
Higher truth is steady, vigilant, and incorruptible; it supports those who walk straight. Purity and clarity are not moral ornaments but conditions for sustaining luminous consciousness.
Themes
Light-realms, Vigilance, Purity, Aid to the straight path
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu (traditional later attribution)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.27 (Ādityas), RV 2.28 (Varuṇa)
Family tradition
The family’s Āditya hymns frequently stress purity (śuci), vigilance, and ṛju (straightness) as prerequisites for receiving higher light.
Significance
A seer of ethical-yogic clarity: the gods are experienced as states/powers of wakeful truth that must be matched by sincerity in the human instrument.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas (collective)
- Epithets
- hiraṇyaya (golden), śuci (pure), asvapnaja (wake-born), animiṣa (unblinking), adabdha (infallible), uruśaṃsa (wide-helping)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Savitar, Mitra–Varuṇa, Soma (clarified flow imagery)
Cosmic role
Guardians of luminous worlds and truth-order; they maintain vigilance over cosmic and moral law.
Inner power
Steady supramental light that does not lapse into ignorance; constant discernment that protects the straight seeker.
In ritual
Where it is used
Stotra of Ādityas for purity, protection, and right-going progress
त्री रो॑च॒ना दि॒व्या धा॑रयन्त हिर॒ण्यया॒: शुच॑यो॒ धार॑पूताः । अस्व॑प्नजो अनिमि॒षा अद॑ब्धा उरु॒शंसा॑ ऋ॒जवे॒ मर्त्या॑य ॥
त्री । रो॒च॒ना । दि॒व्या । धा॒र॒य॒न्त॒ । हि॒र॒ण्ययाः॑ । शुच॑यः । धार॑ऽपूताः । अस्व॑प्न्ऽअजः । अ॒नि॒ऽमि॒षाः । अद॑ब्धाः । उ॒रु॒ऽशंसाः॑ । ऋ॒जवे॑ । मर्त्या॑य ॥
trī | rocanā | divyā | dhārayanta | hiraṇyayāḥ | śucayaḥ | dhāra-pūtāḥ | asvapn-ajaḥ | ani-miṣāḥ | adabdhāḥ | uru-śaṃsāḥ | ṛjave | martyāya
44
4×11 (approx.)
Bright, descriptive, with emphatic adjectives that create a shining litany.
Energizes vigilance and purity; evokes a ‘golden-clear’ mental atmosphere.
- रोचना (rocanā)
- Literal: luminous realms. Symbolic: Fields of illumination in consciousness; graded light-levels
- हिरण्ययाः (hiraṇyayāḥ)
- Literal: golden. Symbolic: Gnostic light, supramental clarity and value
- शुचयः (śucayaḥ)
- Literal: pure, bright. Symbolic: Unmixed clarity; purified mind-life
- धारपूताः (dhārapūtāḥ)
- Literal: purified in the stream/flow. Symbolic: Consciousness clarified as it moves; purified currents of perception and will
- अस्वप्नजः (asvapnajaḥ)
- Literal: not born of sleep. Symbolic: Not arising from ignorance/subconscient inertia; wakeful truth
- अनिमिषाः (animiṣāḥ)
- Literal: unblinking. Symbolic: Ceaseless awareness; constant guardianship
- अदब्धाः (adabdhāḥ)
- Literal: undeceived, unfailing. Symbolic: Infallible discernment; cannot be tricked by falsehood
- उरुशंसाः (uruśaṃsāḥ)
- Literal: widely praised / wide in beneficence. Symbolic: Vast helpfulness; expansive grace
- ऋजवे (ṛjave)
- Literal: to the straight one. Symbolic: To the sincere, aligned seeker
- मर्त्याय (martyāya)
- Literal: for the mortal. Symbolic: For embodied consciousness seeking immortality in truth
Recitation praising the Ādityas’ vigilance and purity; protective and purificatory intent in Soma settings and general āśīr-vāda (benediction) use.
Recited in contexts emphasizing purification and truth-guardianship; suitable as a protective recitation.
Praise-recitation; can accompany offerings to solar deities or be used as a protective chant.
Use as a mantra for cultivating wakefulness (non-mechanical living), clarity in thought-streams, and integrity.
rocanā: from √ruc ‘shine’ → luminous realms (not physical ‘lights’ only, but domains of illumination). hiraṇyáyāḥ: hiraṇya ‘gold’ as light-symbol; ‘golden’ = substance of supraphysical light. dhā́ra-pūtāḥ: dhārā ‘stream’ (√dhṛ/√dhā semantic overlap in tradition) + pūta ‘purified’ (√pū ‘cleanse’): clarified movements of consciousness. ásvapnajaḥ: a-svapna ‘non-sleep’ + ja ‘born’ (√jan): indicates wakeful origin, not from tamas. ani-míṣāḥ: a-nimiṣa ‘without blinking’ (√miṣ ‘wink’) = unbroken awareness. adabdhāḥ: a-dabdha (√dabh ‘deceive/harm’) = inviolable truth-force. ṛjáve: from ṛju ‘straight’ = aligned will and understanding.
Wakefulness vs. sleep (tamas) as spiritual polarity, Unbroken awareness (animiṣa) as divine trait, Purification (pūta) of movements
Implied through the infallible, unblinking guardianship—ṛta as constant seeing and right discrimination.
Truth as a wakeful, non-sleeping power; falsehood is ‘sleep’/inconscience.
Golden light-realms as higher strata of manifestation sustained by truth-powers.
Integral Vedism: rocanā as planes of light; dhārapūtāḥ as purification of consciousness-flow.
midday (implicit solar clarity)
A sunlit clarity in the mind-stream; vigilant awareness that does not ‘blink’ into forgetfulness; purity that keeps perception golden.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘unblinking guardians’ mythologem: divine powers maintain luminous realms and, by their sleepless vigilance, secure the path of the rightly-aligned mortal. This is the myth of cosmic watchfulness as protection and illumination.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ruc ‘shine’ aligns with IE light/brightness roots (cf. Latin rutilus in the same semantic field); √jan ‘beget’ is PIE *ǵenh₁- (cf. Greek γίγνομαι, Latin gignō). The privative a- formations (asvapna-, animiṣa-, adabdha-) show inherited Indo-Iranian morphological strategies for negation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi positions the human as ‘ṛju’—straightened in will—and thus eligible for the Ādityas’ wide beneficence. The devata’s wakeful nature is invoked to awaken and steady the seeker’s own consciousness.
Cultivate ‘unblinking’ awareness; purify the thought-stream until it becomes dhārapūta (clarified flow).
Ājñā (vigilant seeing) with Sahasrāra (golden light)
Steady gazing meditation with slow breathing (4-4-6) while repeating key epithets (animiṣā, adabdhā).
Wakeful, luminous, steady attention; reduced mental ‘sleep’ and drift.
Before japa, set an intention of ṛju (straightness). During repetition, feel a golden clarity descending; notice blinking/forgetfulness and return gently; end with a silent ‘unblinking’ minute.
Keep crisp accentuation on descriptive epithets; maintain Vedic pitch integrity through adjective clusters (hiraṇyayāḥ śucayo dhārapūtāḥ).
Slightly broaden vowels on hiraṇyaya and śuci; keep consonant clusters clean in asvapnaja, animiṣa, adabdha.
hiraṇyaya: clear ṇy cluster (ṇ + y), animiṣā: short i, retroflex ṣ, adabdhā: aspirate dh clearly
Bright, focused, ‘wakeful’ tone; not heavy.
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