Rig Veda 1.111.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 111, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.111
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Ṛbhus/Vāja
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
ऋभुर्भराय सं शिशातु सातिं समर्यजिद्वाजो अस्माँ अविष्टु । तन्नो मित्रो वरुणो मामहन्तामदितिः सिन्धुः पृथिवी उत द्यौः ॥
ṛbhúr bhárāya sáṃ śiśātu sātíṃ samarya-jíd vā́jo asmā́m aviṣṭu | tán no mitró váruṇo māmahantām áditiḥ síndhuḥ pṛthivī utá dyáuḥ ||
रिभु हमारे काम को सही कर दे, ताकि हम आगे बढ़ सकें। वज जो लड़ाई में जीता है, हमारी रक्षा करे। मित्र और वरुण हमारे लिए यह बढ़ा दे। अदिति, सिंधु नदी, धरती और आसमान सब हमारे साथ हों।
Word by Word
- ऋभुः
- R̥bhu (the divine artisan)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot ऋभु (प्रातिपदिक)
- भराय
- for support / for bearing (aid)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot भर (प्रातिपदिक)
- सम्
- together, completelyIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRoot सम्
- शिशातु
- may he sharpen/prepareVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (ऋभुः)Root शि/शा (धातु: शि ‘तीक्ष्णीकरणे/प्रेरणे’, Vedic; causative-like sense)
- सातिम्
- winning, gain, successNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot साति (प्रातिपदिक)
- समर्यजित्
- victorious in battle/contestAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (वाजः-विशेषण)Root समर्यजित् (प्रातिपदिक; सम्+अर्य+जित् ‘conquering in contest/for the Arya’)
- वाजः
- prize, strength, winning powerNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वाज (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usPronounत्रिलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अविष्टु
- may he protect/helpVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (वाजः)Root अव् (धातु: अव् ‘रक्षणे’) + इष्टु (लोट्-रूप)
- तत्
- that (boon/aid)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- नः
- for us / of usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- मामहन्ताम्
- may the two favor/grant (to us)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; द्विवचनRole कर्तृ (मित्रः वरुणः)Root मंह्/मह् (धातु: मंह् ‘दान/वृद्धौ’ in Vedic; ‘to bestow, to favor’)
- अदितिः
- AditiNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिन्धुः
- Sindhu (river/ocean)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृथिवी
- EarthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- उत
- and alsoIndeclinableनिपातRoot उत
- द्यौः
- Heaven, SkyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वैदिके प्रायः); प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ऋभुः | भराय | सम् | शिशातु | सातिम् | समर्यजित् | वाजः | अस्मान् | अविष्टु || तत् | नः | मित्रः | वरुणः | मामहन्ताम् | अदितिः | सिन्धुः | पृथिवी | उत | द्यौः || प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) ऋभुः+भराय → ऋभुर्भराय (विसर्ग-रेफः)
- (2) सम्+शिशातु → सं शिशातु (म्→ं श्-पूर्वे)
- (3) जिद्+वाजः → जित् वाजः (द्→त्, परे व्)
- (4) तद्+नः → तन्नो (द्→न्, परे न्; अनुस्वार/नकार-सन्धि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Ṛbhu sharpen our attainment for bearing-forward; may Vāja, conqueror in battle, protect us. May Mitra and Varuṇa enlarge it for us; and Aditi, Sindhu, Earth and Heaven.
Inner meaning
Ṛbhu is asked to ‘sharpen and set in order’ (saṃ śiśātu) the sāti: make attainment precise, keen, and rightly arranged for bhara (bearing-forward)—the carrying of the offering and the carrying forward of the evolutionary work. Vāja, the battle-winner, is the victorious plenitude that guards the seeker’s progress from relapse. Mitra-Varuṇa ‘enlarge’ (māmahantām) the attainment: widen it into a stable law and harmonious vastness. Aditi (the Infinite, undivided consciousness) is invoked as the ultimate wideness that releases from limitation. Sindhu (the great river/ocean-current) becomes the streaming flow of consciousness and Ananda. Earth and Heaven are the lower and higher hemispheres of being: body-life foundation and mind-spirit wideness; both are asked to support the perfected attainment.
Universal truth
Progress must be sharpened (made exact), protected (made stable), and widened (made universal). True attainment is upheld when the finite instruments are supported by the Infinite and when the whole vertical axis—earth to heaven—is harmonized.
Themes
protection, enlargement, infinity (Aditi), cosmic-support
The seer
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.112.1 (Dyāvāpṛthivī and Agni invoked first), RV 1.111.2–4 (Ṛbhu shaping and victory)
Family tradition
A seer-line that often completes invocations with wideness (Aditi) and the two worlds (dyāvāpṛthivī), indicating integral support for realization.
Significance
He closes with a cosmological benediction: attainment is not private; it must be upheld by the Infinite and by the whole world-order.
The deity
- Devata
- Ṛbhu and Vāja (with Mitra-Varuṇa, Aditi, Sindhu, Earth, Heaven)
- Epithets
- samaryajit (battle-conqueror, of Vāja), māmahantā (enlargers—Mitra-Varuṇa as wideners)
- Related deities
- Indra (implied by victory-force), Soma (implied by attainment context)
Cosmic role
Ṛbhu perfects; Vāja protects and wins; Mitra-Varuṇa regulate and widen; Aditi liberates; Sindhu flows; Earth-Heaven establish the total support of existence.
Inner power
Precision + protection + wideness: exact attainment guarded by victorious energy and expanded into infinite consciousness and stable order.
In ritual
Where it is used
Concluding benediction in Ṛbhu hymn; suitable as a closing verse after offerings seeking success and protection.
ऋ॒भुर्भरा॑य॒ सं शि॑शातु सा॒तिं स॑मर्य॒जिद्वाजो॑ अ॒स्माँ अ॑विष्टु । तन्नो॑ मि॒त्रो वरु॑णो मामहन्ता॒मदि॑ति॒: सिन्धु॑: पृथि॒वी उ॒त द्यौः ॥
ऋ॒भुः । भरा॑य । सम् । शि॒शा॒तु॒ । सा॒तिम् । स॒म॒र्य॒ऽजित् । वाजः॑ । अ॒स्मान् । अ॒वि॒ष्टु॒ । तत् । नः॒ । मि॒त्रः । वरु॑णः । म॒म॒ह॒न्ता॒म् । अदि॑तिः । सिन्धुः॑ । पृ॒थि॒वी । उ॒त । द्यौः ॥
ṛbhuḥ | bharāya | sam | śiśātu | sātim | samarya-jit | vājaḥ | asmān | aviṣṭu | tat | naḥ | mi traḥ | varuṇaḥ | mamahantām | aditiḥ | sindhuḥ | pṛthivī | uta | dyauḥ
44
4 × ~11; benedictory roll with a widening final list.
Concluding and expansive; moves from sharpness to wideness.
Leaves the listener with a sense of secured progress and large protection from the whole cosmos.
- सं शिशातु (saṃ śiśātu)
- Literal: may he sharpen, whet, set in order. Symbolic: make attainment precise, keen, and well-arranged
- भर (bhara/bharāya)
- Literal: bearing, carrying. Symbolic: carrying forward the inner offering and the work of transformation
- वाज (vāja)
- Literal: prize/strength. Symbolic: victorious plenitude guarding progress
- समर्यजित् (samaryajit)
- Literal: battle-conqueror. Symbolic: power that wins against resistance in the inner field
- ममहताम् (māmahantām)
- Literal: may they enlarge. Symbolic: widen consciousness; stabilize in vast law
- अदिति (aditi)
- Literal: the unbound, infinite. Symbolic: infinite consciousness releasing limitation
- सिन्धु (sindhu)
- Literal: river/ocean. Symbolic: streaming current of consciousness/bliss
- पृथिवी / द्यौः (pṛthivī/dyauḥ)
- Literal: earth/heaven. Symbolic: lower foundation and higher expanse of being
Benedictive closure-like verse within Soma setting: protection (av) and enlargement (maṃh/mah) invoked from cosmic supports (Dyāvā-Pṛthivī, Aditi, Sindhu)
At the close of a section of praise/offerings, to seal attainment and invoke universal supports.
Benediction (āśīḥ) and protective calling of cosmic upholders.
Use as a closing chant after meditation/work: ‘sharpen, protect, widen’—then rest in spaciousness.
< √/ (śā/śi) ‘to sharpen, whet, prepare’ (causative/intensive nuance in Vedic usage). (bhara) from √ (bhṛ) ‘to bear, carry’ → ‘bearing-forward’ of offering/force. < √ (av) ‘to protect, favor’. from √/ (maṃh/mah) ‘to enlarge, increase, gladden’ (Vedic: intensify/expand). (a-diti) ‘unboundedness’ (negation + √/ ‘to bind/divide’ in traditional etymology), symbolizing infinity/undivided consciousness.
Aditi (infinity, release from limitation), integration of above-and-below (dyauḥ/pṛthivī), protective order (Mitra-Varuṇa as ṛta)
Mitra-Varuṇa enlarge attainment by aligning it with the universal law (Ṛta).
Sharpened attainment implies truth-precision; widened attainment implies truth-universality.
From formed perfection (Ṛbhu) to universal containment (Aditi; Earth-Heaven).
Integral/Vedāntic tendency: the finite work fulfilled only when founded in the Infinite.
Sharpening = precision of will and insight; river = flowing consciousness; earth/sky = embodiment and transcendence held together.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The myth of ‘sharpening’ and ‘protecting’ the victor-force: Ṛbhu refines attainment, Vāja guards in the clash, and the great cosmic supports (Aditi, Sindhu, Earth, Heaven) widen the field. It is the mythic pattern of perfected instrumentation upheld by the cosmic totality.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhṛ ‘bear’ is a classic Indo-European root (cf. English bear, Latin ferre via different root but same semantic domain of carrying; Sanskrit bhar- is directly cognate with PIE *bher-). The verse’s ‘bearing-forward’ (bharāya) frames realization as something carried into manifestation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks not only for a momentary win but for a sustained, embodied realization: Ṛbhu refines the means, Vāja protects the journey, and the cosmic principles widen and stabilize the transformation—showing a reciprocal yoga where aspiration is met by protection, expansion, and foundation.
Seal the practice: ask for precision (śiśātu), protection (aviṣṭu), and wideness (māmahantām) so realization becomes stable and universal.
anāhata (wideness) grounded by mūlādhāra (earth support)
Slow exhale emphasis (1:2 ratio) to embody wideness; chant softly on the exhale to ‘enlarge’ the inner space.
Spacious stability; grounded vastness.
After any breakthrough, do not rush outward: ‘sharpen’ by clarifying the insight, ‘protect’ by simplifying life for a time, ‘widen’ by offering it to the Infinite (Aditi) and letting it flow (Sindhu).
Concluding benedictions benefit from slightly softened udatta peaks while keeping accent integrity; let the final deity-list widen in tone.
Give ‘saṃ śiśātu’ a crisp articulation; broaden the voice on ‘aditiḥ sindhuḥ pṛthivī uta dyauḥ’ to match the widening meaning.
śiśātu: palatal ś; long ā, samaryajit: keep ‘rya’ cluster clear, māmahantām: nasalization and long ā, pṛthivī: retroflex ṛ; long ī
Warm, concluding, expansive; avoid harshness on consonant clusters.
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