Rig Veda 1.136.3: Mandala 1, Sukta 136, Mantra 3
Sukta 1.136
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Ādityas with Aditi in the background
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh/Jagatī mixture
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
ज्योतिष्मतीमदितिं धारयत्क्षितिं स्वर्वतीमा सचेते दिवेदिवे जागृवांसा दिवेदिवे । ज्योतिष्मत्क्षत्रमाशाते आदित्या दानुनस्पती । मित्रस्तयोर्वरुणो यातयज्जनोऽर्यमा यातयज्जनः ॥
jyótiṣmatīm aditím dhāráyat-kṣítim svàr-vatīm ā sacete divé-dive jāgṛvā́ṃsā divé-dive | jyótiṣmat-kṣatrám āśāte ādityā dā́nunas-pátī | mitrás táyor váruṇo yātayáj-jano ’ryamā́ yātayáj-janaḥ ||
यह मंत्र अदिति की तारीफ करता है। अदिति वो शक्ति है जो दुनिया को संभाल के रखती है। वो रोशनी से भरी है और आसमान को पकड़े हुई है। वो हर दिन हमारे पास आती है, जागती हुई। आदित्य देवता, जो धन और बरकत के मालिक हैं, चमकता हुआ राज चाहते हैं। मित्र, वरुण और आर्यमन, यह तीन लोगों को सही रास्ते पर लगाते हैं।
Word by Word
- ज्योतिष्मतीम्
- the radiant (one)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ज्योतिष्मत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदितिम्
- AditiNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- धारयत्
- bearing / upholdingVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचन (शतृदन्त-रूपेण ‘धारयत्’ = ‘धारयन्’)Role कर्तृRoot धृ (धातु)
- क्षितिम्
- the earth / dwelling-placeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot क्षिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वर्वतीम्
- heavenly, possessing light (svar)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot स्वर्वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- सचेतॆ
- associates with / joinsVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सच्/सचते (धातु; ‘सच्’ = सह-गमन/संयोग)
- दिवे
- for the day / for heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक ‘दिव्’)
- दिवे
- day by day (for each day)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दिव्/द्यौ
- जागृवांसः
- the wakeful onesParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot जागृ (धातु) → जागृवांस् (कृदन्त, परिपूर्ण-भूतकृदन्त/परफेक्ट-एक्टिव पार्टिसिपल)
- दिवे
- for the dayNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दिव्/द्यौ
- दिवे
- day by dayNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दिव्/द्यौ
- ज्योतिष्मत्
- radiantAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सन्दर्भे), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण)Role विशेषणRoot ज्योतिष्मत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्षत्रम्
- sovereign power / dominionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot क्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आशाते
- (the two) desire / hope forVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot आश् (धातु; ‘आश्’ = काम/आशा)
- आदित्या
- the two ĀdityasNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- दानुनस्पती
- lords of the waters/streams (epithet of the Ādityas)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot दानुनस्-पति (समास; दानु + नस् + पति)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- तयोः
- of the twoPronounषष्ठी, द्विवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- यातयत्
- restrains / keeps in checkVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यत् (धातु) + णिच् (कारण) → यातयति
- जनः
- the peopleNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (वैदिके प्रथमा-आकारेणापि ‘जनः’ कर्मत्वे दृश्यते)Role कर्मRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्यमा
- AryamanNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अर्यमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यातयत्
- restrainsVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यत् + णिच् → यातयति
- जनः
- the peopleNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (वैदिक-प्रयोग)Role कर्मRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संधि-विच्छेद (मुख्य): ज्योतिष्मतीम्+अदितिम् (म्+अ = मअ, लेखने संधि-लोप), धारयत्+क्षितिम् (त्+क्ष = त्क्ष), स्वर्वतीम्+आ (म्+आ), आ+सचेतॆ (उपसर्ग-योग), दिवे+दिवे (पुनरुक्ति), जागृवांसः+दिवे (ः+द), ज्योतिष्मत्+क्षत्रम् (त्+क्ष = त्क्ष), आदित्या+दानुनस्पती (समुच्चय), मित्रः+तयोः (ः+त), यातयत्+जनः (त्+ज = त्ज), जनः+अर्यमा (ः+अ → ‘जनोऽर्यमा’ अवग्रह), यातयत्+जनः (त्ज)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Ādityas uphold luminous Aditi, the imperishable foundation of earth and bearer of the solar heaven; they come day after day, ever wakeful. They seek a radiant sovereignty (kṣatra). Mitra, Varuṇa, and Aryaman are named as those who “set right” the peoples.
Inner meaning
Aditi is the infinite, unbroken consciousness that supports the “earth” (our stable embodied nature) and bears the “heaven” (the supramental/illumined mind). The Ādityas—powers of Truth (ṛta)—enter the seeker repeatedly (“day by day”), awakening the inner being. Their aim is jyotiṣmat-kṣatra: a sovereignty of luminous law in the mind, life, and body. Mitra harmonizes the inner relations and movements; Varuṇa widens and purifies by the vast law, releasing from falsehood; Aryaman disciplines and ennobles the nature through right striving and faithful adherence to the inner law.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress is the establishment of an inner order: an infinite consciousness (Aditi) holding the finite life, while truth-powers (Ādityas) repeatedly awaken us until a luminous self-governance replaces confusion and impulsion. Harmony, purity, and noble discipline are the pillars of that transformation.
Themes
Āditya-order, inner illumination, ethical-cosmic regulation, luminous sovereignty
The seer
Significance
Though unnamed here, the seer-vision belongs to the Āditya current: a spirituality of ṛta—purity, wideness, harmony, and noble discipline—seeking the establishment of luminous sovereignty in the human instrument.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas (Mitra–Varuṇa–Aryaman) with Aditi
- Epithets
- jyotiṣmat (luminous), jāgṛvāṃsaḥ (ever-wakeful), yātayaj-janaḥ (set-right/guide the peoples), dānunas patī (lords of flowing abundance)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Savitar, Sūrya, Agni, Indra
Cosmic role
Guardians of ṛta and satya; upholders of the worlds through the Infinite (Aditi); restorers of right order in collective and individual life.
Inner power
Forces that establish truth-perception, ethical clarity, inner harmony, and disciplined aspiration; they awaken and govern the seeker toward a luminous self-rule.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āditya-oriented Soma context / general invocation for ṛta-protection (probable)
ज्योति॑ष्मती॒मदि॑तिं धार॒यत्क्षि॑तिं॒ स्व॑र्वती॒मा स॑चेते दि॒वेदि॑वे जागृ॒वांसा॑ दि॒वेदि॑वे । ज्योति॑ष्मत्क्ष॒त्रमा॑शाते आदि॒त्या दानु॑न॒स्पती॑ । मि॒त्रस्तयो॒र्वरु॑णो यात॒यज्ज॑नोऽर्य॒मा या॑त॒यज्ज॑नः ॥
ज्योति॑ष्मतीम् । अदि॑तिम् । धा॒र॒यत् ऽक्षि॑तिम् । स्वः॑ऽवतीम् । आ । स॒चे॒ते॒ इति॑ । दि॒वेऽदि॑वे । जा॒गृ॒ऽवांसा॑ । दि॒वेऽदि॑वे । ज्योति॑श्मत् । क्ष॒त्रम् । आ॒शा॒ते॒ इति॑ । आ॒दि॒त्या । दानु॑नः । पती॑ । मि॒त्रः । तयोः॑ । वरु॑णः । या॒त॒यत्ऽज॑नः । अ॒र्य॒मा । या॒त॒यत्ऽज॑नः ॥
jyotiṣmatīm | aditim | dhārayat--kṣitim | svaḥ-vatīm | ā | saceteiti | dive--dive | jāgṛ-vāṃsā | dive--dive | jyotiśmat | kṣatram | āśāteiti | ādityā | dānunaḥ | patī | mitraḥ | tayoḥ | varuṇaḥ | yātayat-janaḥ | aryamā | yātayat-janaḥ
Triṣṭubh (probable, based on RV 1.136 hymn style)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Forward-driving, declarative cadence suited to invoking governing powers (Ādityas) and affirming order.
Builds steadiness and vigilance; the listener feels ‘uprightness’ and wideness, as if the mind is being set into luminous alignment.
- अदिति (aditi)
- Literal: the unbound/infinite; mother of the Ādityas. Symbolic: infinite consciousness; undivided wholeness supporting transformation
- ज्योतिष्मती (jyotiṣmatī)
- Literal: luminous, full of light. Symbolic: illumined awareness; truth-light in mind
- क्षितिम् अक्षितिम् (kṣitim akṣitim)
- Literal: earth; imperishable earth. Symbolic: stable embodied nature made enduring by truth
- स्वर्वती (svarvatī)
- Literal: bearing svarga/svar (solar heaven). Symbolic: carrier of the higher light-world; supramental influence
- दिवे-दिवे (dive-dive)
- Literal: day by day. Symbolic: repeated inner dawns; continual practice and renewal
- जागृवांसः (jāgṛvāṃsaḥ)
- Literal: wakeful ones. Symbolic: vigilant truth-powers; awakened faculties
- क्षत्रम् (kṣatram)
- Literal: sovereignty, dominion. Symbolic: inner mastery; rule of the luminous will/intelligence
- ऋत (implied via Ādityas)
- Literal: cosmic order. Symbolic: truth-law governing thought, life, and action
- मित्र (mitra)
- Literal: friend, pact. Symbolic: harmony; right relation of inner movements
- वरुण (varuṇa)
- Literal: encompasser. Symbolic: vast purity; release from falsehood and limitation
- अर्यमन् (aryaman)
- Literal: noble companion, Arya-power. Symbolic: noble striving; disciplined ascent and ethical force
Soma context implied by adjacent verses of the hymn-cycle; used as praise/invocation for Ādityas in Soma offerings and daily recitation (specific śrauta viniyoga varies by śākhā).
During Soma offering sequences and hymnal recitations invoking Mitra–Varuṇa and allied Ādityas
Stotra/śastra recitation to invite the truth-powers and establish right order in the rite
Use as a daily ‘alignment’ mantra before work/decisions: invoke luminous law (ṛta) and inner sovereignty (jyotiṣmat kṣatra).
Key terms: (1) áditi-: a- (negation) + √dā/√dī? traditionally ‘unbound, not divided’; semantic field: infinity, freedom, undiminished wholeness; hence psychological ‘undivided consciousness’. (2) jyótiṣmat- from jyótis ‘light’ (< PIE *dyeu- ‘shine, sky’) + -mat ‘possessing’: ‘possessed of light’. (3) dhārayat: present participle of √dhṛ ‘to hold, support’ (PIE *dher- ‘hold’). (4) kṣití- from √kṣi ‘to dwell, settle’ → ‘dwelling-place, earth, foundation’. (5) svàr (svar): ‘sunlight/solar world’, linked with √svar ‘to shine’ (PIE *sweh₂r- / *sóh₂wl̥?; Vedic svàr distinct but solar semantic). (6) kṣatrá- from kṣatra ‘dominion, power’ (related to √kṣi ‘rule/dwell’), here qualified by jyotiṣmat → ‘rule by light’. (7) yātayaj-: causative/intensive from √yat ‘to set in motion, restrain, direct’; ‘to regulate, set right’; jana- ‘people’.
Ṛta (cosmic order) as social and inner regulation (yātayat-janaḥ), Satyam–Ritam–Bṛhat as luminous sovereignty (jyotiṣmat kṣatra), Aditi as infinity/freedom supporting manifestation
Ādityas are primary upholders of ṛta; ‘yātayaj-janaḥ’ expresses the correcting/straightening function of ṛta in human collectivity.
Truth as luminous sovereignty—knowledge governing will and action rather than desire or habit.
The worlds stand because the Infinite holds them; awakening is a repeated dawn-like descent of light into embodied stability.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral (Aurobindo-style) reading: ascent to wideness and descent of light establishing mastery.
Dawn/daybreak motif through ‘day by day’ and ‘wakeful’
Light = awakened discernment; earth = stabilized body-life; svar = higher mind/supramental influence; day-by-day = iterative sādhanā with renewed vigilance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythic action is the Ādityas ‘upholding’ the world by Aditi: the cosmic powers of law and harmony sustain earth and the solar realm, arriving ‘day by day’ as ever-wakeful guardians. Psychologically, it is the descent/arrival of regulating truth-powers that stabilize the being (kṣiti) and open it to solar illumination (svàr), establishing a ‘luminous sovereignty’ (jyotiṣmat kṣatra) in the human instrument.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several lexemes preserve archaic PIE semantics: jyótis aligns with the PIE ‘shine/sky’ complex (*dyeu-), keeping the link between light and the divine; √dhṛ ‘hold’ (< *dher-) is a core Indo-European support/firmness verb; jana- ‘people’ corresponds to PIE *ǵenh₁- ‘beget, kin/group’ (via ‘race/folk’ developments). The compound-like epithets (jyotiṣmat-kṣatra, svàr-vatī) reflect inherited Indo-European poetic nominal compounding used to compress mythic attributes.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker positions the Ādityas not as distant nature-gods but as recurring inner allies: ‘they approach day by day’—a reciprocity where human aspiration (āśāte ‘they aspire’ also mirrors the sacrificer’s hope) meets divine regulation. The devatās grant ordered mastery (kṣatra) and protection through rectifying the ‘peoples’ (the many movements in the being), while the rishi’s role is to recognize and call them into conscious association (ā sacete).
Establish ‘luminous sovereignty’: let truth-light govern thought, speech, and action; widen into Aditi-consciousness.
Ājñā (illumined mind) and Anāhata (Mitra-harmony)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for balance; then silent kumbhaka (comfortable) while contemplating ‘Aditi as vast foundation’.
Widened, vigilant, ethically lucid awareness (ṛta-cit).
Begin with a felt sense of wideness above the head (Aditi), then bring that light down to the heart (Mitra) and the whole field of action (kṣatra). End by resolving one concrete act aligned with ṛta today.
Follow RV śākhā accents as marked: udatta on the main accented syllables; svarita on falling tones after udatta; anudatta elsewhere (requires teacher/audio for precision).
Lean into the repeated cadence ‘dive-dive’; keep ‘jyótiṣmatī́m’ clear with the udatta; avoid flattening ‘jāgṛvāṃsaḥ’.
jyo-tiṣ-ma-tīm: keep ‘ṣ’ retroflex, crisp, a-di-tim: short ‘a’, dental ‘t’, kṣi-tim: articulate ‘kṣ’ as cluster, not ‘k’ + ‘sh’ separated, svar-va-tīm: light ‘v’, not ‘w’, yā-ta-yaj-ja-naḥ: double ‘jj’ clearly
steady, dignified, widening tone; minimal vibrato.
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