Rig Veda 1.141.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 141, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.141
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Āucathya
- Devata
- Agni, with implicit ‘Mothers’ as sustaining powers
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
आदिन्मातॄराविशद्यास्वा शुचिरहिंस्यमान उर्विया वि वावृधे । अनु यत्पूर्वा अरुहत्सनाजुवो नि नव्यसीष्ववरासु धावते ॥
āt ín mātṝ́r ā́viśad yā́sv ā́ śucír áhiṃsyamāna urviyā́ ví vāvṛdhe | ánu yát pū́rvā áruhat sanājúvo ní návyasīṣv ávarāsu dhāvate ||
वो माताओं के पास जाता है जहाँ उसका काम शुरू है। वो साफ है, कोई उसको नुकसान नहीं पहुँचा सकता। वो खुल के फैलता है जैसे कोई बड़ा खुला मैदान हो। वो पुराने रास्ते पे चलता है जो पहले लोगों ने बनाए थे। वो नीचे की तरफ दौड़ता है नए-नए रूप में। उसका काम है छुपा हुआ चीज़ को जगाना।
Word by Word
- आत्
- then; thereuponIndeclinableअव्यय (निपात/उपपद) — ‘ततः/अथ’Root आत् (अव्यय) < अद्/अत् (प्राग्वैदिक ‘अथ/अतस्’ प्रकार) स्रोत
- इत्
- indeed; justIndeclinableअव्यय — अवधान/निश्चयार्थकRoot इत् (अव्यय/निपात)
- मातॄः
- mothersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards; intoIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot आ (उपसर्ग)
- अविशद्
- enteredVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRoot √विश् (प्रवेशने)
- यासु
- in which (f.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (यासु = ‘यासु [स्त्रीषु]’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards; intoIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot आ (उपसर्ग)
- शुचिः
- bright; pureAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण)Root शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अहिंस्यमानः
- being unharmed; not being injuredParticipleवर्तमान-कालिक कर्मणि/भावे कृदन्त (passive present participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण)Root √हिंस् (हिंसायाम्) + अ (नञ्) + य (passive) + मान (शानच्)
- उर्वियाः
- with/through the broad (expanse)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot उर्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart; widelyIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot वि (उपसर्ग)
- वावृधे
- has grown; has expandedVerbलिट् (perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRoot √वृध् (वर्धने)
- अनु
- after; followingIndeclinableअव्यय/उपसर्ग — ‘अनुगमन/अनुक्रम’Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यत्
- when; that whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्धसूचक ‘यत्’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पूर्वाः
- the former (ones)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अरुहत्
- rose; mounted; grew upVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRoot √रुह् (आरोहणे/वृद्धौ)
- सनाजुवः
- ancient; primevalAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण)Root सनाजु (प्रातिपदिक; वैदिक ‘प्राचीन/पुरातन’)
- नि
- down; intoIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot नि (उपसर्ग)
- नव्यसीषु
- among the newer (ones)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot नव्यसी (स्त्री; ‘नव्या’ का तुलनात्मक/विशेष रूप) (प्रातिपदिक)
- अवरासु
- in the lower; later (ones)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot अवरा (प्रातिपदिक)
- धावते
- runs; hastensVerbलट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRoot √धाव् (धावने)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-विग्रह): आदिन् → आत् + इत्
- मातॄराविशद् → मातॄः + आ + अविशद्
- यास्वा → यासु + आ
- अहिंस्यमान उर्विया → अहिंस्यमानः + उर्वियाः (विसर्ग-लोप/संहितायाम्)
- वि वावृधे (उपसर्ग + क्रिया)
- यत्पूर्वा → यत् + पूर्वाः
- अरुहत्सनाजुवो → अरुहत् + सनाजुवः
- नव्यसीष्ववरासु → नव्यसीषु + अवरासु
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni, pure and unharmed, enters the “Mothers” (supporting powers such as the Waters) and expands in the vast. Following the ancient paths, he moves down into ever-new, lower forms to awaken what is hidden.
Inner meaning
The inner Flame (divine Will in us) descends into the foundational energies of manifestation (“Mothers”: the many sustaining powers—often the Waters/streams of consciousness) without being injured by the lower nature. It widens into a greater consciousness (urviyā) and then deliberately enters the descending series of formations—body, life, mind—renewing them from within. The “downward run” is not a fall but a deliberate incarnation of the light so that what is concealed in the subconscient can be awakened and offered in the inner sacrifice.
Universal truth
Spiritual realization is not only ascent; it also requires the awakened consciousness to permeate and transform the lower layers of being. The true Fire can enter matter and life, remain pure, and progressively reveal the hidden truth within the most obscure strata.
Themes
Agni as inner will, ascent-and-descent motif, integration of realization into lower nature, continuity with the ‘ancient ones’ (sanājuvaḥ)
The seer
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Āucathya
- Other hymns
- RV 1.140, RV 1.142, RV 1.143, RV 1.164
Family tradition
Associated with the Aucathya/Āṅgirasa current in Mandala 1 hymn complexes; Dīrghatamas is famed for visionary, symbolic speech (parokṣa-vāṇī) and cosmic riddles.
Significance
Dīrghatamas’ vision often moves between ascent and descent, showing how the Truth (ṛta) is recovered by entering the hidden layers. This verse exemplifies the Aurobindonian theme: the divine Fire not only rises to heaven but penetrates the “mothers” of form to awaken the concealed light.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- śuci (the Pure), hotṛ (inner priest, implied), jātavedas (knower of births, implied)
- Related deities
- Āpas (Waters), Uṣas, Sūrya, Indra
Cosmic role
Mediator between worlds; establishes the sacrifice by linking the earthly formations to the vast truth-consciousness.
Inner power
The psychic/divine will that can descend into the subconscient and vital without loss of purity, expanding consciousness and igniting transformation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / general Agni-stuti within Soma and other śrauta sequences (as part of an Agni hymn).
आदिन्मा॒तॄरावि॑श॒द्यास्वा शुचि॒रहिं॑स्यमान उर्वि॒या वि वा॑वृधे । अनु॒ यत्पूर्वा॒ अरु॑हत्सना॒जुवो॒ नि नव्य॑सी॒ष्वव॑रासु धावते ॥
आत् । इत् । मा॒तॄः । आ । अ॒वि॒श॒त् । यासु॑ । आ । शुचिः॑ । अहिं॑स्यमानः । उ॒र्वि॒या । वि । व॒वृ॒धे॒ । अनु॑ । यत् । पूर्वा॑ । अरु॑हत् । स॒ना॒ऽजुवः॑ । नि । नव्य॑सीषु । अव॑रासु । धा॒व॒ते॒ ॥
āt | it | mātṝḥ | ā | aviśat | yāsu | ā | śuciḥ | ahiṃsyamānaḥ | urviyā | vi | vavṛdhe | anu | yat | pūrvā | aruhat | sanājuvaḥ | ni | navyasīṣu | avarāsu | dhāvate
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (triṣṭubh cadence; exact counts may vary slightly by saṃhitā reading and sandhi).
Forward-driving, expansive; suited to depicting widening (urvī/bṛhat) and dynamic descent (dhāvate).
Creates a sense of energetic penetration and widening—useful for meditations on descent of light into the lower nature.
- मातॄः (mātṝḥ)
- Literal: mothers. Symbolic: supporting powers/energies of manifestation; often Waters as matrices of forms and movements of consciousness
- शुचिः (śuciḥ)
- Literal: pure, bright. Symbolic: clarity of the illumined will; stainless flame of aspiration
- अहिंस्यमानः (ahiṃsyamānaḥ)
- Literal: not being harmed. Symbolic: unwounded by lower vibrations; the soul-fire intact amid vital/physical resistances
- उर्विया (urviyā)
- Literal: in vastness, wide space. Symbolic: expansion into the wide (bṛhat) consciousness
- पूर्वा अरुहत (pūrvā aruhat)
- Literal: mounted the former (paths). Symbolic: the established inner tracks of the ancient seers—tested routes of yoga
- नव्यसीषु अवरासु (navyasīṣu avarāsu)
- Literal: ever-new, lower (forms/levels). Symbolic: renewed formations of the lower nature—fresh openings in body-life-mind for transformation
- धावते (dhāvate)
- Literal: runs, hastens. Symbolic: swift operative descent of the will-force to kindle and awaken
Agni-invocation in Soma-sacrifice context: establishing the Hotṛ/Agni and the flow of offering; applicable broadly to Agniṣṭoma-type sequences where Agni is kindled and made the carrier of the rite.
Kindling/invocation of Agni; moments emphasizing Agni’s pervasion through the offerings and the worlds.
Āhavana kindling, offering ghee; inviting Agni to enter the “mothers” (waters/oblation-streams) and carry the sacrifice.
Use as a mantra for ‘descent practice’: invoking the inner fire to enter body and life, purify, and awaken hidden capacities.
Key terms: (1) √viś (aviśat) ‘enter, pervade’: Agni as consciousness-force entering its matrices (‘Mothers’). (2) √śuc (śuciḥ) ‘shine/be pure’: purity as luminosity, not moralism; the clarified flame. (3) √vṛdh (vavṛdhe) ‘grow, widen’: inner expansion into ‘urvī’ (vastness), a standard Vedic image for widening consciousness. (4) a-hiṃsya (ahiṃsyamānaḥ) from √hiṃs ‘injure’: the flame is inviolable when rightly established in its sustaining fields. (5) √ruh (aruhat) ‘mount/ascend’: ascent along pūrvāḥ ‘prior paths’ (the archetypal routes of realization). (6) √dhāv (dhāvate) ‘run/flow’: the force descends/streams into ‘navyasīṣu avarāsu’—ever-new, lower formations—suggesting an emanative movement after ascent: realization must be carried into embodied layers.
R̥ta as the prior ‘paths’ (pūrvāḥ) that must be followed, emanation and integration: ascent (aruhat) followed by descent (ni…dhāvate), inviolability of the truth-force (ahiṃsyamānaḥ)
Agni follows the pūrvāḥ panthāḥ—the ancient ṛta-paths—ensuring the descent remains ordered, not chaotic.
The pure Agni remains ahiṃsyamāna—truth-consciousness intact while entering lower formations.
Emanation and involution: the fire enters matrices (mātṛ) and renews forms; revelation of the hidden (guhā).
Proto-Vedāntic and Yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent to the Vast plus transformative descent into mind-life-body.
Fire entering waters = will entering the flow of consciousness and life-energies; vast space = widened awareness; downward movement = conscious descent into subconscient/physical to awaken the concealed light.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Agni-in-the-Mothers’ mythologem: the luminous fire/consciousness enters its generating matrices (‘Mothers’), expands into vastness, and then streams into ever-new lower forms. Mythically it echoes the cosmic process: the divine flame is born/placed in the waters or maternal powers, grows to a wide dominion, and then works through descending planes of manifestation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several high-frequency Indo-European verbal roots appear: √vṛdh ‘grow’ (cf. PIE *werdh- ‘to grow’, cognate with English ‘worth’ in semantic drift and Germanic *werþ-), √ruh ‘rise’ (PIE *h₁rewh₁- ‘to rise’ seen in various IE ‘rise’ formations), and √viś ‘enter’ (related to PIE *weyḱ- / *wis- ‘settle/enter’, with Indic viś ‘clan/settlement’ showing the ‘enter/settle’ semantic field). The preverb system (ā-, vi-, anu-, ni-) is characteristically Indo-Iranian, encoding spatial/psychological vectors (inward, expansive, sequential, downward).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi presents Agni not as an external flame but as a conscious power that can be ‘placed’ into the practitioner’s formative energies (‘Mothers’) and made to expand (vi vāvṛdhe). The reciprocity is implicit: by aligning with the pūrvāḥ (R̥ta-established tracks) and allowing Agni to pervade and descend into the ‘lower’ layers, the human vessel becomes a fit field for the inviolable luminous force—Agni, in return, makes the being wide, ordered, and progressively renewed (navyasīṣu).
Invoke Agni to descend into the body-life layers and awaken what is concealed; feel the widening into the Vast and then a deliberate permeation downward.
Manipura (fire/will) with a deliberate descent to Svādhiṣṭhāna/Mūlādhāra for purification and awakening.
Nādī-śodhana or slow 1:2 breathing while visualizing a bright flame descending through the spine into the pelvic base and legs, remaining ‘śuci’.
Widened awareness (bṛhat) with integral descent—quiet power rather than trance.
Begin with heart-flame (psychic warmth), widen above the head (vastness), then bring the flame down through throat, navel, pelvis, legs—each layer offered to Agni without strain; note resistances without identification.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā; key udātta accents often fall on lexical roots (e.g., śúciḥ, vāvṛdhe, dhāvate) depending on recension.
Keep udātta bright and slightly raised; let svarita glide down; anudātta steady and grounded—especially across the ‘downward’ movement phrases (ni…avarāsu).
Maintain retroflex ṭ/ḍ in mātṝ (long ṝ) clearly., ahiṃsyamānaḥ: nasalize ‘ṃ’ lightly before ‘sya’., urviyā: keep ‘rv’ conjunct crisp; long ‘ā’ open., navyasīṣu: distinct ‘ṣ’ (retroflex) vs ‘s’., dhāvate: aspirate ‘dh’ fully, long ‘ā’ sustained.
Clear, steady, with a widening resonance on urviyā and a purposeful, grounded tone on ni…avarāsu.
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