Rig Veda 7.86.4: Mandala 7, Sukta 86, Mantra 4
Sukta 7.86
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Vira (heroism)
किमाग आस वरुण ज्येष्ठं यत्स्तोतारं जिघांससि सखायम् । प्र तन्मे वोचो दूळभ स्वधावोऽव त्वानेना नमसा तुर इयाम् ॥
kím ā́ga āsā váruṇa jyéṣṭhaṃ yát stotā́raṃ jighā́ṃsasi sákhāyam | prá tán me voco dūḷabha svadhāvo 'vá tvān enā́ námasā turá iyām ||
Varuna, maine itni badi galti kya kar di ki tum apne bhakt ko maar daalne ke peeche ho? Mujhe batao toh sahi maine kya kiya. Main jaldi se tumhare paas jhuk ke aa raha hoon. Meri madad karo.
Word by Word
- किम्
- what?Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (प्रश्न-वस्तु)Root किम् (प्रश्न-प्रातिपदिक)
- आस
- wasVerbलुङ् (आगम-युक्तः), 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (असँ)
- वरुण
- O VaruṇaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- ज्येष्ठम्
- the greatest, the chiefAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (किम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Karma (प्रश्न-वस्तु-विशेषण)Root ज्येष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- that whichPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (यद्-सम्बन्धः)Root यद् (संबन्ध-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्तोतारम्
- the praiser, singerNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot स्तोतृ (प्रातिपदिक; √स्तु)
- जिघांससि
- you wish to slayVerbलट्, 2 पुरुष, एकवचन; सन्नन्त (desiderative)Root √हन् (हनँ) + सन् (इच्छार्थक) → जिघांस-
- सखायम्
- (your) friendNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (स्तोतारम् इत्यस्य समानाधिकरण/अप्पोज़िशन)Root सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, clearlyIndeclinableनिपातRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मे
- to me / myPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role Sampradāna (to me) / सम्बन्ध (my)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- वोचः
- you said / tellVerbलुङ् (आगम-युक्तः), 2 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √वच् (वचँ)
- दूळभ
- O hard-to-deceive / hard-to-overcome oneAdjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (वरुणस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot दूळभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वधावः
- O self-empowered, possessing svadhāAdjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (वरुणस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot स्वधावन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अव
- down, away; in protectionIndeclinableउपसर्ग (√इ इत्यस्य सह)Root अव (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अनेन
- with thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- नमसा
- with reverence, with obeisanceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तुरः
- swift, eagerAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (अहम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot तुर (प्रातिपदिक)
- इयाम्
- may I go/approachVerbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् (प्रार्थना), 1 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √इ (इण्)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: किम् | आगः | आस | वरुण | ज्येष्ठम् | यत् | स्तोतारम् | जिघांससि | सखायम् | प्र | तत् | मे | वोचः | दूळभ | स्वधावः | अव | त्वा | अनेन | नमसा | तुरः | इयाम् । 1) किमागः → किम् + आगः (म् + आ = मा; निग्रह/अनुस्वार-सन्धि)
- 2) यत्स्तो॒तारम् → यत् + स्तोतारम् (त् + स्)
- 3) वोचो → वोचः (विसर्गः पदान्ते; संहितायां ओ-रूपं)
- 4) स्वधा॒वोऽव → स्वधावः + अव (विसर्गस्य ‘ऽ’ अवग्रहः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet asks what great offence he has committed that Varuṇa would strike down his singer-companion, and begs Varuṇa to tell him; he approaches swiftly with reverence.
Inner meaning
The ‘singer’ is the soul-voice (mantra-consciousness) that once moved in companionship with the Divine law. Feeling threatened (‘strike down’) indicates a crisis where inspiration and inner joy seem cut off by the pressure of truth. The rishi appeals to Varuṇa as duḻabha (hard-to-harm / invulnerable) and svadhāva (self-lawed): the Divine is not capricious; the law is intrinsic. By namas (self-bowing) and swift turning (tura iyām), the seeker chooses humility over revolt, asking for the exact point where the relation broke—so the knot can be undone by truth.
Universal truth
When inspiration dries up, the right response is not resentment but humility and inquiry: ask for the true cause, and return quickly to alignment.
Themes
Appeal for explanation, Divine justice, Friendship and rupture, Expiation
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Other hymns
- RV 7.86.1, RV 7.86.5, RV 7.89.2
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha seers as exemplars of ‘ṛta’-yoga; their Varuṇa hymns often blend confession, philosophical insight, and aspiration.
Significance
This verse shows the rishi’s intimacy with the Divine: he dares to question, yet returns through humility—turning crisis into a deeper consecration.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- Svadhāvan (self-lawed), Duṣdabha (unassailable), Rājan
- Related deities
- Mitra (harmony/contract), Agni (purifying will)
Cosmic role
Sovereign of law who corrects by binding falsehood and restoring right relation.
Inner power
The corrective pressure of truth that can feel like ‘slaying’ the old self, but is actually surgical purification.
In ritual
Where it is used
Varuṇa appeasement and truth-restoration recitations; could accompany offerings seeking removal of obstacles to speech/inspiration.
किमाग॑ आस वरुण॒ ज्येष्ठं॒ यत्स्तो॒तारं॒ जिघां॑ससि॒ सखा॑यम् । प्र तन्मे॑ वोचो दूळभ स्वधा॒वोऽव॑ त्वाने॒ना नम॑सा तु॒र इ॑याम् ॥
किम् । आगः॑ । आ॒स॒ । व॒रु॒ण॒ । ज्येष्ठ॑म् । यत् । स्तो॒तार॑म् । जिघां॑ससि । सखा॑यम् । प्र । तत् । मे॒ । वो॒चः॒ । दुः॒ऽद॒भ॒ । स्व॒धा॒ऽवः॒ । अव॑ । त्वा॒ । अ॒ने॒नाः । नम॑सा । तु॒रः । इ॒या॒म् ॥
kim | āgaḥ | āsa | varuṇa | jyeṣṭham | yat | stotāram | jighāṃsasi | sakhāyam | pra | tat | me | vocaḥ | duḥ-dabha | svadhāvaḥ | ava | tvā | anenāḥ | namasā | turaḥ | iyām
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4×11
Sharper interrogative thrust in first half; quickened resolution in last pāda (tura iyām).
Moves the listener from anxiety to decisive surrender; energizes a ‘return’ to the inner law.
- āgaḥ jyeṣṭham
- Literal: great offence. Symbolic: central deviation at the root (ego-assertion, falsehood, refusal of truth)
- stotāram
- Literal: praiser/singer. Symbolic: the mantra-soul, the aspiring voice that builds the inner sacrifice
- sakhāyam
- Literal: friend/companion. Symbolic: intimate relation between seeker and Divine; yoga as friendship
- jighāṃsasi
- Literal: you wish to strike/kill. Symbolic: felt severity of truth pressing on false movements; cutting of wrong formations
- dūḻabha (duṣdabha)
- Literal: hard to injure. Symbolic: the Divine law is unassailable; only our ego feels wounded
- svadhāvaḥ
- Literal: self-natured, self-lawed. Symbolic: intrinsic order; truth is not negotiated but realized
- namasā
- Literal: with obeisance. Symbolic: ego-surrender that reopens the channel
Supplication for explanation and appeasement; fits Varuṇa-prāyaścitta (expiatory) sensibility in later ritual hermeneutics.
When the sacrificer/priest feels ritual failure or inner obstruction; also in prāyaścitta frames.
Recitation with namas; symbolic ‘approach’ to Varuṇa—sometimes facing water/sky in later practice.
When creativity or devotion feels blocked: chant once, then ask ‘What is the root misalignment?’ and make one concrete act of truthfulness today.
ā́gas ‘offence’ (distinct from énas though overlapping) often denotes a breach needing restoration. jighāṃsasi (desiderative of √han, PIE *gʷhen- ‘strike/kill’) expresses felt severity: the singer experiences the consequence as ‘death’—psychologically, a collapse of inner vitality. svadhāvaḥ (svadhā + possessive) frames Varuṇa as self-determined law, i.e., ṛta is intrinsic, not arbitrary.
svadhā (self-law, inherent order), friendship with the divine (sakhā), truth as release from punitive consequence
Varuṇa’s ‘severity’ is the impersonal action of ṛta correcting deviation.
Truth is requested explicitly: ‘tell me’—knowledge as liberation.
Transformation through truth: the old formation is ‘slain’ so a truer being can emerge.
Integral yoga motif: surrender (namas) + knowledge (vocah) as twin means.
unspecified
unspecified
Approach = turning consciousness toward the vast; song = vibration of inner truth; ‘slaying’ = breaking hardened ego-structures.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘broken friendship with the sovereign’ mythologem: the devotee-singer, normally a sakhā, feels threatened by Varuṇa’s punitive force. The mythic drama is rupture-and-restoration of ṛta-relationship through confession and requested revelation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Desiderative jighāṃsasi from √han (PIE *gʷhen-) is a marked inherited formation used to intensify psychological perception (‘as if you intend to slay’). The address with epithets (dūḷabha, svadhāvaḥ) is an IE poetic feature: naming the god’s power while petitioning it.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- It is both intimate and asymmetrical: the rishi claims companionship (sakhā) yet submits (námasā). He asks for speech (voco)—revelation—because only knowledge of the precise distortion can restore harmony with Varuṇa’s self-law (svadhā).
Offer the ‘singer’—your aspiration and speech—back to the Divine law; ask for the root cause of dryness or fear.
Vishuddha (speech/mantra) and Anahata (friendship/devotion)
Bhrāmarī (soft humming) 5 rounds to awaken the ‘stotā’; then chant the verse once slowly.
From constricted guilt to brave openness; readiness for correction.
1) Recall a moment of inner companionship. 2) Notice where you felt ‘struck’ (withdrawal). 3) Bow inwardly (namas). 4) Ask for one clear instruction from truth and act on it.
Tri-svara; interrogative lift on kim āga; maintain clarity on compounds; follow accent marks in pada for udātta peaks.
First pāda: slightly sharper articulation; last pāda: smoother, faster-feeling cadence while keeping tempo steady.
jyeṣṭham: retroflex ṣṭh cluster; do not simplify., jighāṃsasi: nasalized āṃ; clear ‘ghāṃ’., duṣdabha/dūḻabha: articulate ṣd/ḻ correctly per your recension; avoid ‘durlabha’., svadhāvo: long ā in dhā.
Sincere, firm, reverential; not harsh.
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