Rig Veda 8.21.11: Mandala 8, Sukta 21, Mantra 11
Sukta 8.21
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
त्वया ह स्विद्युजा वयं प्रति श्वसन्तं वृषभ ब्रुवीमहि । संस्थे जनस्य गोमतः ॥
tváyā ha svíd yujā́ vayám práti śvasántaṃ vṛṣabha bruvīmahi | saṃsthé jánasya gómatáḥ ||
हे वृषभ (बलवान्), तुझ्याशी युग्मित सहचर हो कर हम हाँफती हुई प्रतिरोध-शक्ति के प्रति उत्तर देते हैं, उससे प्रत्युत्तर बोलते हैं। गो-सम्पन्न जन के दृढ़ स्थान में हमें स्थापित कर।
Word by Word
- त्वया
- by you / with youPronounतृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (पुं/स्त्री/नपुं सर्वत्र)Role करणRoot त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ह
- indeed / surelyIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Root ह (निपात)
- स्वित्
- perhaps? / I wonderIndeclinableनिपात (प्रश्न/संशय/अनुनयार्थक)Root स्वित् (निपात)
- युजा
- as a yoked companion / in companionshipAdjectiveतृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; (युज्- ‘सहचर/युग्म’), विशेषणरूपेणRole करणRoot युज् (कृदन्त; युज् धातु)
- वयम्
- wePronounप्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towards / againstIndeclinableअव्यय; दिशासूचक/सम्बन्धसूचकRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- श्वसन्तम्
- the snorting / breathing oneAdjective (participle)द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (श्वसत्- ‘श्वसन्/फूत्कारयन्’)Role कर्मRoot श्वस् (धातु) → श्वसत् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- वृषभ
- O bull (mighty one)Noun (vocative)सम्बोधन, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole सम्बोधनRoot वृषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- ब्रुवीमहि
- we speak / we addressVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot ब्रू (धातु)
- संस्थे
- in the station/abode; in the settled placeNounसप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्गRole अधिकरणRoot संस्था (प्रातिपदिक; सं-√स्था)
- जनस्य
- of the peopleNounषष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- गोमतः
- of the cattle-rich / possessing cowsAdjectiveषष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुं/नपुं (मतुप्-विशेषण)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root गोमत् (प्रातिपदिक; गो + मतुप्)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वया | ह | स्वित् | युजा | वयम् | प्रति | श्वसन्तम् | वृषभ | ब्रुवीमहि | संस्थे | जनस्य | गोमतः । संधि: (1) स्वित् + युजा → स्विद्युजा (त् + य → द्य)
- (2) संस्थे इति सं-स्थे (उपसर्गसंयोगः; लेख्यरूपे सं॒स्थे)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With Indra as our yoked ally, we respond to the “panting” opponent; establish us in the firm station of the people rich in cows (wealth).
Inner meaning
With the illumined Mind (Indra) yoked to our striving, we answer the “panting resistance” (the nervous, reactive pushback of the lower nature) not by fear but by a higher speech—mantric affirmation and discernment. We ask to be set in the stable collective foundation of luminous plenitude (go = rays of knowledge), i.e., a settled inner poise where the community of faculties is rich in light.
Universal truth
When higher intelligence is made a conscious companion, resistance can be met by truthful response rather than reaction; stability is gained by establishing life in a foundation of clarity and shared illumination.
Themes
alliance, confronting resistance, stability in illumination
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.21.1-10, Rig Veda 8.22 (Indra-focused Kāṇva material)
Family tradition
Likely Kāṇva tradition (Book 8 predominantly Kāṇva hymns to Indra).
Significance
The seer-voice here is collective (‘we’), typical of Kāṇva Indra hymns: a practical yoga of victory—turning opposition into a field for establishing luminous stability (go-mat).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vṛṣabha (Bull), Puruhūta (much-invoked, contextually in the hymn cluster), Vṛtrahan (slayer of the Coverer, implicit)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstructions; releases the hidden Lights (go) and the free flow of the Waters; establishes expansive order for the human journey.
Inner power
Illumined Mind-force: decisive discernment, courageous clarity, and the power to answer resistance with truth-bearing speech.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma offerings (general Indra stotra usage)
त्वया॑ ह स्विद्यु॒जा व॒यं प्रति॑ श्व॒सन्तं॑ वृषभ ब्रुवीमहि । सं॒स्थे जन॑स्य॒ गोम॑तः ॥
त्वया॑ । ह॒ । स्वि॒त् । यु॒जा । व॒यम् । प्रति॑ । श्व॒सन्त॑म् । वृ॒ष॒भ॒ । ब्रु॒वी॒म॒हि॒ । सं॒स्थे । जन॑स्य । गोऽम॑तः ॥
tvayā | ha | svit | yujā | vayam | prati | śvasantam | vṛṣabha | bruvīmahi | saṃsthe | janasya | go--mataḥ
Likely Triṣṭubh (approx.; Book 8 frequently uses Triṣṭubh/Jagatī in Indra hymns)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh cadence; exact count may vary by saṃhitā reading)
Forward-driving yet steady; suited to ‘answering’ and ‘establishing’—a cadence of firm assertion.
Builds resolve and inner steadiness; supports a calm, strong counter-suggestion against resistance.
- युजा (yujā)
- Literal: yoked, harnessed companion. Symbolic: conscious union with the higher Power; disciplined collaboration of will and light
- प्रति श्वसन्तम् (prati śvasantam)
- Literal: the one breathing/panting against. Symbolic: reactive resistance, pressure of the lower vital/subconscient that ‘pants’ in opposition
- वृषभ (vṛṣabha)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: Indra as the strong fecund force of illumined power and victorious energy
- ब्रुवीमहि (bruvīmahi)
- Literal: we speak. Symbolic: mantric speech/inner affirmation; formation of right thought against negation
- संस्थे (saṃsthe)
- Literal: in the firm station, settled place. Symbolic: stable inner foundation (dhruva-avasthā), a poised consciousness
- गोमतः (gomataḥ)
- Literal: rich in cows. Symbolic: rich in rays of knowledge, luminous abundance of insight
Declaration of alliance (yujā) with Indra to confront resistance; used as strengthening utterance in the progression of praise toward victory and stability.
During Soma pressing/Indra invocations; also adaptable to daily japa as a ‘victory-and-stability’ verse
Recitation to invoke Indra’s aid in overcoming opposition and establishing prosperity/light
Use when facing inner anxiety/reactivity: chant before difficult work; set intention to respond from clarity, not agitation.
युजा: instr. sg. from yuj ‘yoke’ (PIE *yeug- ‘join’). श्वसन्त: pres. ptcp. from √śvas ‘breathe, pant’ → image of pressing opposition; psychologically restless prāṇa under ignorance. वृषभ: ‘bull’ from √vṛṣ ‘to rain/virile’ → force that fertilizes and strengthens. संस्थे: from sam-√sthā ‘stand firmly’ → stable foundation in consciousness.
yoking with divine power (yoga as joining), resistance as restless prāṇa (śvas), stable station (saṃsthā) as establishment in ṛta-supporting order
The ‘firm station’ signifies alignment with Ṛta—stability that comes from right order, not suppression.
Speaking back to resistance is the act of Satya—truth-forming thought and word.
Release and establishment: victory over obstruction followed by founding a luminous human order (go-mat jana).
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral-Yogic reading (Aurobindo): ascent from vital reaction to illumined mind and stable wideness.
Panting = agitated prāṇa under pressure; bull = concentrated victorious force; cows = rays of illumination gathered into the settled field of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The combat-by-alliance motif: yoked with Indra, the seekers ‘answer back’ the breathing/panting obstruction—an inwardized battle where speech and force together establish a firm luminous station.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yuj reflects PIE *yeug- (Lat. iugum ‘yoke’). √sthā in saṃsthé reflects PIE *steh₂- ‘stand’ (Eng. stand). These inherited roots map directly onto the verse’s key psychology: joining and standing-firm.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Indra is not only invoked but taken as co-agent (yujā): the rishi’s speech-act (bruvīmahi) becomes effective because it is yoked to Indra’s bull-force, enabling stable establishment in ‘gomat’ light.
‘Yoking’ the mind to the higher Light; answering inner resistance with truth-bearing speech.
ājñā (clarity/command) with support from maṇipūra (steady power)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while mentally repeating the key phrase; exhale on ‘bruvīmahi’ to ‘speak out’ resistance.
Steady, widened, courageous clarity (sattva with force).
Before action, invoke Indra as inner discernment; notice reactive ‘panting’ impulses; respond with a short inner mantra/affirmation and re-establish in the ‘saṃstha’—the stable seat of luminous understanding.
Generic Rigvedic accenting: observe udātta on marked syllables in saṃhitā; svarita follows udātta; unmarked generally anudātta (exact svara requires a pada-svara text).
Lean emphasis on vocative ‘vṛṣabha’ and cadence break at the |; keep final ‘gomataḥ’ clear and resolved.
tvayā: dental ‘t’, clear ‘v’; long ā, śvasantam: palatal ś, light ‘va’, keep ‘-antam’ nasalized lightly, vṛṣabha: vocalic ṛ; retroflex ṣ, bruvīmahi: ‘br’ cluster clean; long ī, saṃsthe: anusvāra before s is a nasalized ‘n’ quality, gomataḥ: ‘go’ as long o; final visarga ḥ lightly aspirated
Firm, steady, declarative; not rushed—like a confident reply to opposition.
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