Rig Veda 4.8.6: Mandala 4, Sukta 8, Mantra 6
Sukta 4.8
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
ते राया ते सुवीर्यैः ससवांसो वि शृण्विरे । ये अग्ना दधिरे दुवः ॥
te rāyā́ te su-vī́ryaiḥ sasavā́ṃso ví śṛṇvire | ye agnā́ dadhiré dúvaḥ ||
તારા રાય (સમૃદ્ધિ) અને તારા સુવીર્ય (ઉત્તમ વીર્ય) વડે તેઓ શ્રવણમાં વિસ્તરે છે, ગ્રહણશક્તિમાં વિશાળ બને છે—જેોએ અગ્નિમાં દૂવઃ (પ્રભાવી અર્પણ) સ્થાપ્યું છે અને યોગ્ય વૃદ્ધિ પ્રાપ્ત કરી છે.
Word by Word
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रायाः
- of wealth / of bountyNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (वैदिकः: -आः = -आयाः)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot राय्/रायि- (प्रातिपदिक: ‘wealth, gift’)
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुवीर्याय
- for good heroism / for excellent manly powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot सु- + वीर्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ससवांसः
- having impelled / having brought forthParticiple (Perfect active)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot √सू (प्रसवने ‘to impel, set in motion, beget’) → कृत्: ससवांस् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट-भागवत्)
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyIndeclinableउपसर्गःRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- शृण्विरे
- they are heard / they listenVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role KriyāRoot √श्रु (श्रवणे ‘to hear’)
- ये
- who (those who)Relative pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ना
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम् (वैदिकः)Role SambodhanaRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधिरे
- they have placed / they have establishedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role KriyāRoot √धा (धारणे ‘to place, set’)
- दुवः
- worship / serviceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (वैदिकः)Role KarmaRoot दुवस्- (प्रातिपदिक: ‘worship, service, reverence’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेदः): ते | रायाः | ते | सुवीर्याय | ससवांसः | वि | शृण्विरे | ये | अग्ना | दधिरे | दुवः । 1) ‘सुवीर्यैः’ इति संहितापाठ-रूपं पदपाठे ‘सुवीर्याय’ (चतुर्थी एकवचन) इति
- वैदिके -एः/-ऐः प्रत्यय-भेदः दृश्यते। 2) ‘रा॒या’ इत्यत्र पदपाठे ‘रायाः’ (षष्ठी) — वैदिक-दीर्घ/स्वर-परिवर्तनम्। 3) ‘अग्ना’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन (अग्ने इत्यस्य वैदिक-रूपम्)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
By your riches and your noble hero-powers they become wide in hearing/receptivity—those who have won increase and who have placed their effective offering in Agni.
Inner meaning
When Agni is established as the inner fire, his ‘rāyā’ (plenitude) and ‘su-vīrya’ (noble strength) widen the seeker’s capacity to hear—vi śṛṇvire: an opening of inner audition, intuition, and receptivity to higher guidance. Those who have ‘won’ (sasavāṃsaḥ) the right growth through perseverance and who have set their ‘duvaḥ’ (effective homage/service) in Agni become broad and responsive instruments.
Universal truth
True strength and abundance expand receptivity; disciplined offering matures the being until it can ‘hear’ the subtler truth and act from it.
Themes
inner sacrifice, increase of soul-force, receptivity to truth, Agni as installer of works
The seer
Significance
Even when rishi attribution is uncertain, the verse continues the Vāmadeva-Agni psychology: growth of inner receptivity through consecrated strength and plenitude.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Vīryavān (possessor of strength—implied), Rāyaspati (lord of plenitude—implied), Śrotṛ/Śravaṇīya (giver of hearing—functional epithet)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspiration/hearing), Indra (heroic illumination), Bṛhaspati (word and inner hearing)
Cosmic role
Giver of wealth and heroic force; opener of the channels of hearing/intuition; stabilizer of worship into effective power.
Inner power
Strength that purifies and enlarges; capacity to make the mind receptive to higher inspiration (śruti in the deeper sense).
In ritual
Where it is used
General Agni praise associated with gaining strength and prosperity; could accompany offerings seeking ‘rāya’ and ‘vīrya’
ते रा॒या ते सु॒वीर्यै॑: सस॒वांसो॒ वि शृ॑ण्विरे । ये अ॒ग्ना द॑धि॒रे दुव॑: ॥
ते । रा॒या । ते । सु॒ऽवीर्यैः॑ । स॒स॒ऽवांसः॑ । वि । शृ॒ण्वि॒रे॒ । ये । अ॒ग्ना । द॒धि॒रे । दुवः॑ ॥
te | rāyā | te | su-vīryaiḥ | sasa-vāṃsaḥ | vi | śṛṇvire | ye | agnā | dadhire | duvaḥ
Gāyatrī (probable by hymn context; not fully verified)
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3×8 (probable)
Expansive within a compact frame; ‘vi śṛṇvire’ gives a spreading feel.
After repetition, produces a sense of widening around the head/ears and a calmer, more receptive attention.
- राया (rāyā)
- Literal: by wealth, plenitude. Symbolic: inner abundance: wideness, resources of consciousness
- सुवीर्यैः (su-vīryaiḥ)
- Literal: by noble hero-powers. Symbolic: courageous strength of the illumined will, not ego-force
- वि शृण्विरे (vi śṛṇvire)
- Literal: they hear widely. Symbolic: expanded receptivity—inner listening, intuitive hearing
- ससवांसः (sasavāṃsaḥ)
- Literal: having won/obtained. Symbolic: earned growth through sustained practice and right striving
- दुवः (duvaḥ)
- Literal: homage, service, effective worship. Symbolic: steady consecrated service/aspiration placed into the fire
- अग्ना दधिरे (agnā dadhire)
- Literal: have placed in Agni. Symbolic: have founded their practice in the inner fire as base
General Agni-invocation in the soma-sacrifice context: establishing the offering (dūvas) in Agni as Hotṛ; applicable broadly to daily agnihotra/śrauta fire-ritual sequences.
When invoking Agni for increase and empowerment; also as a concluding affirmation of results of right offering.
Offer ghee/samidh; recite for expansion of śravas (fame/hearing) and vīrya.
Mantra for developing receptivity: chant before study, listening practices, or intuitive decision-making; align strength with openness.
Key terms: rayi from √rā/√rai ‘to bestow, wealth, abundance’ → interpreted as inner plenitude. vīrya from vīra ‘hero’ (PIE *uihro-) → ‘heroic potency’, here refined as soul-force. śṛṇvire from √śru ‘to hear’ (PIE *ḱleu- ‘hear, fame’) → inner receptivity/obedience. dadhire from √dhā ‘to place’ (PIE *dʰeh₁-) → establishing the offering/attitude in Agni. dūvas linked to service/worship, the operative act of consecrated work.
Rita (right order through rightly placed offering), inner hearing/receptivity (śruti as lived audition)
Duvaḥ becomes effective when placed in Agni—rightly ordered offering yields widening and strength.
‘Wide hearing’ implies capacity to receive truth-inspiration beyond mental noise.
Expansion (widening) as a mark of evolution toward bṛhat; strength and abundance as supports for ascent.
Integral psychology: wideness and force are complementary; receptivity is a power, not passivity.
Fire = transformative energy; ‘hearing’ = subtle receptivity to intuition/mantric truth; wealth/heroism = inner resources and courageous force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the inner priest who receives and stabilizes the offering (dūvas) so that the seeker gains rayi (plenitude) and su-vīrya (heroic potency). The mythic action is not an external feat but the inward establishment of consecrated works, producing widened ‘hearing’—a hallmark of receptivity to the Truth-order (ṛta).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- śṛṇvire (√śru) aligns with PIE *ḱleu- ‘hear, be famed’ (cf. Gk. κλύω, Eng. listen via Germanic developments of ‘loud/fame’). dadhire (√dhā) reflects PIE *dʰeh₁- ‘put, place’ (cf. Gk. τίθημι, Lat. faciō is different but ‘do’ overlaps semantically; closer: Gk. θέσις). These roots support the semantic field of ‘placing’ inner intention and ‘hearing’ inner truth.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Reciprocity is expressed as: the human side ‘places’ dūvas in Agni (offering/works), and Agni responds by granting rayi and su-vīrya, resulting in an expanded capacity to ‘hear’—i.e., to receive guidance from the Truth-consciousness. The exchange is an inner dakṣiṇā: consecration of action for enlargement of being.
Widening śravaṇa: sit with attention at the ears/space around the head; kindle heart-fire; invite noble strength that does not harden but opens.
Viśuddha (listening/inner sound) with support from Anāhata (fire of aspiration)
Nadi-śodhana (gentle) to balance receptivity; then silent repetition on natural breath emphasizing ‘vi śṛṇvire’.
Strong calm; broadened field-awareness; intuitive receptivity.
Offer effort into Agni (duvaḥ), then pause to ‘hear widely’—train the mind to receive rather than force; let strength serve openness.
Notated svaras not provided; maintain Vedic accent discipline; keep ‘vi śṛṇvire’ clearly separated and not slurred.
Slight emphasis on ‘rāyā’ and ‘su-vīryaiḥ’; let ‘vi śṛṇvire’ be the spreading crest of the line.
śṛṇvire: vocalic ṛ is crisp; ‘ṇv’ conjunct articulated (śṛṇ-vi-re)., suvīryaiḥ: long ī; final ḥ lightly aspirated., duvaḥ: pronounce ‘vaḥ’ with visarga breath; do not drop it.
Firm yet open; resonant in the head-space to support the ‘hearing’ theme.
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