Rig Veda 7.89.4: Mandala 7, Sukta 89, Mantra 4
Sukta 7.89
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
अपां मध्ये तस्थिवांसं तृष्णाविदज्जरितारम् । मृळा सुक्षत्र मृळय ॥
apā́ṃ mádhye tasthivā́ṃsaṃ tṛ́ṣṇā avidaj jaritā́ram | mṛḷā́ su-kṣatra mṛḷáya ||
અપાં મધ્યે સ્થિત રહેલા જરિતારને તૃષાએ શોધી કાઢ્યો. હે સુક્ષત્ર (સુશાસનવાળા), કૃપા કર; કૃપા કર.
Word by Word
- अपाम्
- of the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation) / अधिकरण-सम्बन्धRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘जल’
- मध्ये
- in the middleNoun (locative used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्थिवांसम्
- the one who has stood / standingParticipleपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (परफेक्ट-कर्तरि कृदन्त ‘standing’)Role कर्मRoot स्था (धातु) → तस्थिवस् (कृदन्त, परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट-आधारित)
- तृष्णा
- thirstNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot तृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक) ‘पिपासा’
- अविदत्
- found / came uponVerbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot विद् (धातु) ‘जान/पाना’
- जरितारम्
- the singer (poet), the praiserNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot जरितृ (प्रातिपदिक) ‘स्तोतृ/गायक’
- मृळा
- be gracious / show mercyVerb (imperative)लोट्; परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot मृळ् (धातु) ‘अनुग्रह/सुख देना, दया करना’
- सुक्षत्र
- O well-protecting one / O of good dominionAdjective (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सु- + क्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) ‘सु-शासन/सु-रक्षा’
- मृळय
- be gracious; have mercyVerb (imperative)लोट्; परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot मृळ् (धातु) ‘अनुग्रह/दया करना’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): अपाम् | मध्ये | तस्थिवांसम् | तृष्णा | अविदत् | जरितारम् | मृळा | सुक्षत्र | मृळय । विशेष: ‘तस्थिवांसम्’ = √स्था का परफेक्ट-आधारित कर्तरि कृदन्त (तस्थिवस्-) का द्वितीया एकवचन। ‘अविदत्’ = √विद् का लुङ् (aorist) 3sg। ‘मध्ये’ सप्तमी एकवचन होकर अव्ययीभाववत् ‘in the middle’ अर्थ देता है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Standing in the midst of the waters, thirst found the singer. Be gracious, O you of good sovereignty, be gracious.
Inner meaning
The ‘waters’ (āpah) are the currents of life and consciousness; even amid abundance of experience, the soul can feel an existential thirst—an unsatisfied longing for the real, the pure, the infinite. The jaritā (singer) stands within these waters yet lacks the true drink; therefore he calls Varuṇa’s gracious sovereignty to transform mere vital flow into the satisfying truth-waters—peace, purity, and inner fulfillment.
Universal truth
Outer plenty does not quench inner thirst; only contact with a deeper truth and vastness satisfies the being.
Themes
thirst-amid-waters, inner-lack, grace-for-fulfilment
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.86–7.89 (Varuṇa cycle with water/order imagery)
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha often uses water symbolism in Varuṇa hymns: the waters are both cosmic and psychological, requiring right law to become purifying and satisfying.
Significance
A concise statement of the seeker’s paradox: immersed in the ‘waters’ of life yet still thirsty—therefore the need for divine governance and grace.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- sukṣatra, (implied) āpasām pati—lord/regulator of the waters
- Related deities
- Aditi, Mitra, Soma (as true drink/bliss, thematic complement)
Cosmic role
Regulator of waters and moral order; he makes the waters truthful and purifying rather than turbulent and unsatisfying.
Inner power
Turns craving into aspiration and aspiration into fulfillment by a descent of vast peace; establishes right measure in the emotional-vital being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Water-related invocations to Varuṇa; prayers for relief from drought/affliction also map inwardly to thirst of the soul
अ॒पां मध्ये॑ तस्थि॒वांसं॒ तृष्णा॑विदज्जरि॒तार॑म् । मृ॒ळा सु॑क्षत्र मृ॒ळय॑ ॥
अ॒पाम् । मध्ये॑ । त॒स्थि॒ऽवांस॑म् । तृष्णा॑ । अ॒वि॒द॒त् । ज॒रि॒तार॑म् । मृ॒ळ । सु॒ऽक्ष॒त्र॒ । मृ॒ळय॑ ॥
apām | madhye | tasthi-vāṃsam | tṛṣṇā | avidat | jaritāram | mṛḷa | su-kṣatra | mṛḷaya
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4×8
Simple, image-driven; the first half paints a vivid scene, the refrain provides devotional resolution.
Invokes a felt coolness and inward longing; the refrain stabilizes the longing into prayer rather than restlessness.
- अपाम् (apām)
- Literal: of the waters. Symbolic: life-energies, emotional currents, streams of consciousness
- मध्ये (madhye)
- Literal: in the midst. Symbolic: immersed in life, surrounded by experiences and impulses
- तस्थिवांसम् (tasthivāṃsam)
- Literal: standing, stationed. Symbolic: the witnessing soul poised amid movements, seeking a higher support
- तृष्णा (tṛṣṇā)
- Literal: thirst. Symbolic: spiritual longing; also the vital craving that indicates lack of true rasa
- जरितारम् (jaritāram)
- Literal: the singer/praiser. Symbolic: the aspirant voice (mantric being) calling for the true law and peace
Refrain for relief from inner want; can accompany water-related purifications and Varuṇa appeasement, but primarily functions as psychological confession.
During feelings of dissatisfaction, craving, or emotional turbulence; also during water offerings or bath as symbolic purification.
Recite near water or with a small water offering; inwardly offer thirst/craving into the Vast for transformation.
A mantra for addiction/craving transformation: recognize thirst, then invoke right sovereignty to convert it into calm aspiration.
(ap-) ‘water’ (PIE *h₂ep-). (tṛṣṇā) from √ ‘to thirst, desire’. jaritṛ (jaritā́r) from √ ‘to sing/celebrate’ in RV usage ‘praiser’. The paradox ‘thirst in the midst of waters’ is a deliberate poetic figure indicating inner lack amid outer plenty.
paradox of desire amid abundance, need for rasa/fulfilment through Ṛta, purification of craving
Without ṛta, waters become restless craving; with Varuṇa’s order they become purifying streams.
True waters are satya-waters—clarity and sincerity that quench the being.
Waters as matrix of manifestation; the need for law and vastness to shape them into harmony.
Integral/psychological: conversion of desire (tṛṣṇā) into spiritual aspiration, fulfilled by peace and wideness.
summer/dry season (suggested by thirst imagery)
Waters = emotional-vital currents; thirst = craving/longing; standing amid waters = witnessing amid life; quenching = peace/bliss under truth-law.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘thirst amid waters’ mythologem: a classic paradox expressing the soul’s insufficiency even when surrounded by life-currents—indicating that without Ṛta and inner truth, abundance does not become fulfilment.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- ap- ‘water’ is a strong IE inheritance (PIE *h₂ep-). The trope of waters as life/cosmos is also widely IE, but RV makes it explicitly psychological by pairing it with tṛṣṇā ‘thirst’ as existential lack.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi exposes a subtle fault-state (craving) and seeks Varuṇa’s su-kṣatra—right governance—to convert the surrounding ‘waters’ into true nourishment of consciousness.
Sit as the ‘one standing amid waters’: witness emotions; feel the deeper thirst beneath cravings; invoke Varuṇa to bring vast calm and true satisfaction.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/desire) and Anāhata (fulfillment through wideness)
Cooling breath emphasis: slow nasal breathing; on exhale, silently repeat the refrain to settle craving.
From restless desire to clarified aspiration and cool peace.
When craving arises, locate it as ‘tṛṣṇā’ in the body; do not indulge or suppress—offer it into a vast, cool inner ocean; chant 27 times and rest in stillness.
Keep image-line clear and cool; refrain steady and identical; observe udātta peaks without overdramatization.
Slight pause after ‘apām madhye’ to ‘enter the waters’; let ‘tṛṣṇā’ be articulated distinctly; soften into the refrain.
(apām): short ‘a’, long ‘ā’, (madhye): ‘dh’ aspirated, ‘y’ glide clear, (tṛṣṇā): retroflex ‘ṛ’ and ‘ṣṇ’ cluster clean, (jaritāram): dental ‘t’, long ‘ā’
cool, flowing, inward; let the tone feel like water settling
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