Rig Veda 4.32.16: Mandala 4, Sukta 32, Mantra 16
Sukta 4.32
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shringara (love) and Vira (heroism)
पुरोळाशं च नो घसो जोषयासे गिरश्च नः । वधूयुरिव योषणाम् ॥
puroḷā́śaṃ ca no gháso joṣáyāse gíraś ca naḥ | vadhūyúr iva yóṣaṇām ||
તું અમારા પુરોળાશ (અર્પણ-પિંડ) અને અમારા ઘસો (પોષણ/આહાર)માં આનંદ લે છે; અને અમારી ઉચ્ચારિત ગીરો (સ્તુતિ-વાણી)માં પણ તું પ્રસન્ન થાય છે. જેમ વર વધૂ તરફ આકર્ષાય, તેમ તું અમારી અંદર જનન કરાવનારી શક્તિઓ તરફ આકર્ષાય છે.
Word by Word
- पुरोळाशम्
- the puroḷāśa (sacrificial cake)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पुरोळाश- (प्रातिपदिक; यज्ञीय पिष्टपाक/पिण्ड)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (निपात)
- नः
- of us / to usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-रूप (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध/सम्प्रदान (सन्दर्भानुसार)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- घसः
- food, nourishmentNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (जोṣयासे इत्यस्य) / विधेय-नामRoot घस- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘भोजन/आहार’, ‘food’)
- जोषयासे
- you favor / you gladly acceptVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: त्वम्/देवता)Root जुष् (धातु; ‘सेव्/तुष्/प्रियं कर्’) → caus. जोषय-
- गिरः
- songs, hymnsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्म (जोṣयासे इत्यस्य) / विधेय-नामRoot गिर्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वाक्/स्तुति’)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (निपात)
- नः
- of us / to usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-रूप (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध/सम्प्रदान (सन्दर्भानुसार)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- वधूयुः
- a bride-seeker, wooerAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण) / विशेषणRoot वधूयु- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वधू-’ + ‘यु’ = ‘वधू-इच्छु/वधू-प्रार्थी’)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableअव्ययRoot इव (उपमा-निपात)
- योषणाम्
- of maidens, of young womenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (वधूयुरिव—कस्य? )Root योषणा- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्त्री/युवती’)
Sandhi Notes
- मन्त्रपाठे ‘पुरोळाशं च’ इति सन्धिः न
- ‘घसो जोषयासे’ इत्यत्र पदविभागः ‘घसः | जोषयासे’ (ओष्ठ्य-सन्ध्यभावेन विसर्गलोपः/रूपान्तरं संहितायाम्)
- ‘गिरश्च’ = ‘गिरः + च’ (विसर्गस्य चकारे परे ‘श्’ आदेशः)
- ‘वधूयुरिव’ = ‘वधूयुः + इव’ (विसर्गलोपः स्वरादौ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
You take delight in our offering-cake and our food, and you delight in our words, like one eager for brides/women.
Inner meaning
Indra ‘enjoys’ (joṣayāse) the puroḷāśa and ghasa—outerly ritual food—but inwardly these are the formed substance of practice: the ‘baked’ and stabilized offering (puroḷāśa = consolidated will/works) and the sustaining energies (ghasa = life-force nourishment). He also delights in giraḥ—uttered inspired speech. The striking simile ‘vadhūyur iva yoṣaṇām’ indicates the divine Power’s attraction toward the productive, generative shaktis within us (yoṣaṇāḥ): the soul’s powers that conceive and bring forth new states. Illumination is drawn to a nature that offers both substance (work/discipline) and true speech, and it seeks union with the creative energies that can birth transformation.
Universal truth
The higher power is not won by ideas alone; it responds to a whole offering—disciplined work, sustained energy, and truthful expression—joining with the creative forces in us to give birth to a new life.
Themes
offering-acceptance, speech-power, mystic union, fertile energies
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1, RV 4.26, RV 4.32
Family tradition
A pragmatic mysticism: the gods respond to a complete inner yajña—speech, will, and life-energy offered together.
Significance
The rishi emphasizes embodiment: spiritual realization must ‘take delight’ in substance and speech, and unite with the creative shaktis to produce inner birth.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- joṣa (delighting/accepting), maghavan
- Related deities
- Agni (cooking/baking of offering), Soma (delight that empowers), Sarasvatī (inspired speech)
Cosmic role
Accepts offerings and, strengthened, acts to release light and establish victorious order.
Inner power
A power that ‘chooses’ and ‘unites’—illumination seeking the generative energies to manifest change, not merely to illumine.
In ritual
Where it is used
Puroḷāśa offering contexts (cakes in śrauta rites) alongside hymn-recitation to Indra
पु॒रो॒ळाशं॑ च नो॒ घसो॑ जो॒षया॑से॒ गिर॑श्च नः । व॒धू॒युरि॑व॒ योष॑णाम् ॥
पु॒रो॒ळास॑म् । च॒ । नः॒ । घसः॑ । जो॒षया॑से । गिरः॑ । च॒ । नः॒ । व॒धू॒युःऽइ॑व । योष॑णाम् ॥
puroḷāsam | ca | naḥ | ghasaḥ | joṣayāse | giraḥ | ca | naḥ | vadhūyuḥ-iva | yoṣaṇām
32
4 pādas × 8 syllables
Swift and intimate; the simile lands with memorable immediacy.
Creates closeness and warmth; turns ritual imagery into a felt sense of divine acceptance and union.
- पुरोळाशम् (puroḷāśam)
- Literal: offering-cake. Symbolic: consolidated offering: matured work, stabilized will, ‘baked’ formation of practice
- घसः (ghasaḥ)
- Literal: food, sustenance. Symbolic: supporting life-energies; the nourishment of the system offered to the divine working
- जोषयासे (joṣayāse)
- Literal: you enjoy/take delight. Symbolic: the divine acceptance; resonance between higher power and offered movements
- गिरः (giraḥ)
- Literal: uttered words/hymns. Symbolic: inspired speech; mantra as expressive truth-force
- वधूयुः (vadhūyuḥ)
- Literal: eager for a bride. Symbolic: seeking union with the soul’s generative power (śakti) to manifest transformation
- योषणाम् (yoṣaṇām)
- Literal: of women/maidens. Symbolic: productive energies of consciousness; formative shaktis that bring birth to new states
Soma-yajña praise emphasizing Indra’s ‘acceptance’ of offerings and hymns; aligns with moments of offering puroḷāśa/food portions and recitation.
When presenting food-offerings and accompanying praise; underscores the deity’s acceptance.
Offering of cake/food and recitation of verses to please and invite the deity.
Consecrate daily ‘food and speech’: offer meals, work-product, and words to the higher clarity; cultivate speech that the inner Indra can ‘enjoy’ (truthful, strong, beneficent).
puroḷāśa- (ritual term; ‘cooked/portioned offering’); ghasa- from √ghas ‘to eat/consume’ → not merely ‘food’ but the principle of assimilation; joṣayāse from √juṣ ‘to enjoy, favor, accept’; gir- from √gṛ/√gir ‘to utter’ (Vedic ‘giraḥ’ as potent speech); vadhū- ‘bride’ (union motif); yoṣaṇā- from √yuṣ/√yauṣ? (Vedic feminine for ‘young woman’) used symbolically for generative powers.
yajña as inner exchange (offering ↔ descent of power), vāc (speech) as creative force
Right order is established when offerings are ‘cooked’ by tapas and accepted by the illumined power.
Giraḥ as carriers of satya; false speech cannot be ‘enjoyed’ by the god of illumination.
Birth/manifestation: union with yoṣaṇāḥ (productive powers) to bring forth new creation in the being.
Integral yoga psychology: transformation requires union of illumination with śakti in mind-life-body.
Cooking = tapas that matures raw impulses into usable substance; bride-union = meeting of consciousness and creative force producing new birth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The god ‘enjoying’ offerings and hymns: a mythic pattern of divine participation in yajña. The bride-seeker simile encodes the attraction/union between deity and the generative powers invoked—psychologically, the descent of Indra’s force into fertile inner energies that can manifest new formations of consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ghas ‘eat’ corresponds to PIE *gʰes- ‘to eat/consume’ (cf. Latin edere is different root, but Indo-Iranian preserves *gʰes- clearly). √juṣ ‘enjoy’ continues Indo-Iranian semantic field of ‘favor/pleasure’ (Avestan parallels in acceptance/favor). The simile construction iva marks a common Indo-European poetic device of mythic comparison.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi offers both substance (puroḷāśa, ghasa) and form (giraḥ). Indra’s acceptance is not transactional but transformative: by ‘relishing’ speech and offering, he consents to unite with the inner generative powers (yoṣaṇāḥ), enabling growth of strength and light in the sacrificer.
Offer three layers: (1) your work-product (puroḷāśa), (2) your sustaining energy/food habits (ghasa), (3) your speech/thought (giraḥ). Then invite illumined mind to unite with your creative śakti for inner birth.
svādhiṣṭhāna (creative generativity)
Slow coherent breathing (5–6 breaths/min) while mentally offering: ‘food, work, words’.
From divided life to consecrated wholeness; creative transformation becomes possible.
After recitation, keep 1 minute silence; ask: ‘What in my speech, nourishment, or work must be purified so the higher power can delight?’ Commit to one concrete refinement today.
RV accentuation; keep a gentle lift on ‘joṣayāse’ and clear articulation of ‘giraś ca naḥ’.
Pause lightly after ‘ghaso’; let the simile ‘vadhūyur iva yoṣaṇām’ be spoken smoothly as one image.
puroḷāśaṃ: retroflex ḷ; long ā; anusvāra before ś, ghaso: voiced gh; short a, joṣayāse: palatal ṣ; long ā in -yā-, vadhūyur: long ū; keep dh voiced, yoṣaṇām: ṣ retroflex; retroflex ṇ; long ā in -nām
Warm, intimate, receptive; not harsh.
9
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.
