Rig Veda 1.151.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 151, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.151
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
प्र सा क्षितिरसुर या महि प्रिय ऋतावानावृतमा घोषथो बृहत् । युवं दिवो बृहतो दक्षमाभुवं गां न धुर्युप युञ्जाथे अपः ॥
prá sā́ kṣitír asura yā́ máhi priyā́ ṛtā́vānāv ṛtám ā́ ghoṣatho bṛhát | yuváṃ divó bṛható dákṣam ā́bhuvaṃ gā́ṃ na dhury úpa yuñjāthe ápaḥ ||
यह बड़ी और प्यारी रियासत तुम दोनों असुर ताकतवाले बड़े सच के रूप में बताते हो। तुम दोनों आसमान की बड़ी कारीगरी बन गए हो। और तुम पानी को जैसे बैल को जोते में जोड़ते हो, ताकि धाराएँ काम में आएँ।
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- सा
- she/that (f.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot तद् (सः/सा/तत्) सर्वनाम
- क्षितिः
- dwelling-place; settlement; earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot क्षिति-
- असुरः
- Asura; lordly beingNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot असुर-
- या
- who/which (f.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (या/यत्) सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम
- महि
- greatly, mightilyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot महि (अव्यय/निपात)
- प्रियः
- dear, belovedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot प्रिय-
- ऋतावाना
- (you) two possessing ṛta (truth/cosmic order)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot ऋतावन्-
- आवृतम्
- covered, enclosedParticiple (PPP)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (कर्मणि/भावे) अथवा अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगRole KarmaRoot आ√वृ (वृणोति/वर्तते) → आवृत (ppp)
- आ
- to, toward; indeedIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (upasarga)
- घोषथः
- you two sound/cry aloudVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot √घुष् (घोषति)
- बृहत्
- the great (thing); greatlyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणवत्) / क्रियाविशेषणवत्Role KarmaRoot बृहन्त्-
- युवम्
- you twoPronounमध्यमपुरुष सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot युष्मद्
- दिवः
- of/from heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वेदे प्रायः), षष्ठी/पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole Apādāna/सम्बन्धRoot दिव्-
- बृहतः
- of/from the lofty/greatAdjectiveपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी/पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध/ApādānaRoot बृहन्त्-
- दक्षम्
- skill; power; abilityNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot दक्ष-
- आभुवम्
- having become; attained; come toAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (दक्षम् इति विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot आ√भू (भवति) → आभुव (ppp/adj.)
- गाम्
- cowNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot गो-
- न
- like, asIndeclinableअव्ययRoot न (उपमा-निपात)
- धुरि
- in the yoke; on the pole/yokeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot धुर्/धुरा-
- उप
- near, ontoIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot उप (upasarga)
- युञ्जाथे
- you two yoke, harnessVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, आत्मनेपदRole KartāRoot √युज् (युनक्ति/युजते)
- अपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अप्-
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): प्र सा क्षितिः असुरः या महि प्रियः ऋतावाना आवृतम् आ घोषथः बृहत् । युवम् दिवः बृहतः दक्षम् आभुवम् गाम् न धुरि उप युञ्जाथे अपः ॥ प्रमुख संधि: (1) क्षितिरसुरः → क्षितिः असुरः (visarga before vowel). (2) ऋतावानावृतम् → ऋतावाना आवृतम् (ā + ā hiatus kept in padapāṭha). (3) धुर्युप → धुरि उप (i + u sandhi in saṃhitā gives yu). Accent marks in saṃhitā (e.g., क्षि॒ति॑, असुर॒, महि॑, ऋता॑वाना, घो॑षथो, बृ॑ह॒तो, दक्ष॑म्, युञ्जाथे) indicate Vedic udātta/svarita
- pad-forms given without accent for morphological clarity
The meaning
Outer meaning
You proclaim the great beloved sovereignty as the Vast Truth, you Asura-powers possessed of ṛta. You have become the mighty skill of the wide heaven; and you yoke the Waters like a draught-cow to the yoke.
Inner meaning
Mitra-Varuṇa are called asura here in the older Vedic sense: sovereign masters of being. Their ‘kṣiti’ (sovereignty/abiding power) is proclaimed as bṛhat ṛtam—the vast truth-order that can hold and govern the whole nature. Their dakṣa (effective discerning power) becomes ‘of the wide heaven’: a higher mind-capacity descending into the human. Then the Waters (āpas)—the currents of life-energy and subconscient movement—are yoked like a strong cow to the work: the previously wandering energies become harnessed to truth, serving the inner sacrifice rather than scattering into desire and confusion.
Universal truth
True freedom is not lawlessness; it is sovereignty under a vast truth. When higher discernment governs, the energies of life become disciplined instruments of realization.
Themes
sovereignty, truth proclamation, harnessing life-forces, vastness consciousness
The seer
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Aucathya (traditional)
- Lineage
- Aucathya (probable)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.152, Rig Veda 1.164
Family tradition
Hymnic tradition stressing ṛta as vast law and the yoking of energies to that law.
Significance
A concise statement of Vedic inner discipline: proclaim ṛta as the sovereign principle and harness the waters (energies) to it.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- asurā (sovereign powers), ṛtavānau (truth-possessed), bṛhat (vast)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Savitṛ (impeller), Agni
Cosmic role
Uphold and proclaim the vast ṛta; establish heavenly discernment (dakṣa) and regulate the waters/currents of existence.
Inner power
Sovereign self-mastery through truth; ability to discipline energies and make them serve spiritual purpose.
In ritual
Where it is used
Mitra-Varuṇa invocation for ṛta and regulation/purification (āpas)
प्र सा क्षि॒तिर॑सुर॒ या महि॑ प्रि॒य ऋता॑वानावृ॒तमा घो॑षथो बृ॒हत् । यु॒वं दि॒वो बृ॑ह॒तो दक्ष॑मा॒भुवं॒ गां न धु॒र्युप॑ युञ्जाथे अ॒पः ॥
प्र । सा । क्षि॒तिः । अ॒सु॒र॒ । या । महि॑ । प्रि॒या । ऋत॑ऽवानौ । ऋ॒तम् । आ । घो॒ष॒थः॒ । बृ॒हत् । यु॒वम् । दि॒वः । बृ॒ह॒तः॒ । दक्ष॑म् । आ॒ऽभुव॑म् । गाम् । न । धु॒रि । उप॑ । यु॒ञ्जा॒थे॒ इति॑ । अ॒पः ॥
pra | sā | kṣitiḥ | asura | yā | mahi | priyā | ṛta-vānau | ṛtam | ā | ghoṣathaḥ | bṛhat | yuvam | divaḥ | bṛhataḥ | dakṣam | ābhuvam | gām | na | dhuri | upa | yuñjātheiti | apaḥ
44
4 × 11 (approx.)
Authoritative, declarative; strong ‘sovereignty’ tone.
Instills uprightness and inner governance; helps gather scattered energies into a single channel.
- असुर (asura)
- Literal: lord, sovereign power (Vedic). Symbolic: Mastery of consciousness; divine rulership (not later ‘demon’)
- क्षिति (kṣiti)
- Literal: abiding, sovereignty, dwelling. Symbolic: Stable inner kingdom; settled authority of the soul under truth
- ऋतवानौ (ṛtavānau)
- Literal: possessed of ṛta. Symbolic: Those in whom truth-order is native and active
- बृहत् (bṛhat)
- Literal: vast. Symbolic: Limitless wideness of truth-consciousness
- दिवः बृहतः (divo bṛhataḥ)
- Literal: of the wide heaven. Symbolic: Higher mind-plane; luminous vast consciousness
- दक्षम् (dakṣam)
- Literal: skill, capacity. Symbolic: Discerning organizing intelligence that makes spiritual work effective
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: Life-currents/subconscient energies
- गाम् न धुरि (gāṃ na dhuri)
- Literal: like a cow to the yoke. Symbolic: Harnessing raw energy into steady service of the divine work
Sovereignty hymn: establishes the pair as proclaimers of ṛta and harnessers of waters; ritually supports order, lawful functioning, and successful flow of offerings.
When establishing order in the rite; water-related purifications; oaths and truth-affirmations (thematic).
Proclamation (ā ghoṣathah) and yoking/ordering of energies.
Chant for self-discipline, addiction/compulsion recovery, and stabilizing emotional currents; also before taking vows or commitments.
(asúra): in early RV often ‘lord, sovereign’ (connected with asu ‘life-breath’ or a root of ‘power’); later polarized into ‘demon’. (bṛhát): from √bṛh ‘to grow, expand’—the Vast (Bṛhat) as a mode of truth-consciousness. √yuj ‘yoke’ is PIE *yeug- (cf. Latin iugum, English yoke). (dhur): yoke-pole; image of controlled harnessing. The yoking of waters indicates governance of life-currents by higher order.
Ṛta (truth-order), Bṛhat (the Vast), dakṣa (effective power), go (cow) as light and as harnessed force
Explicit: ṛta is proclaimed as bṛhat—the governing cosmic truth.
Sovereignty (kṣiti) becomes ‘beloved’ when it is truth-based, not ego-based control.
Cosmos as regulated flow: waters yoked into channels by divine law.
Integral yoga reading: wideness + discipline; higher mind organizes life-energy.
Waters = emotions/subconscient; cow = raw energy that can nourish; yoke = discipline; wide heaven = higher mind/wideness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The sovereign Asura-powers proclaim ṛta as the Vast and yoke the Waters: mythically, cosmic rulers organize the primal currents to serve order. Psychologically, higher harmony/order harnesses the life-depths (āpaḥ) and makes them a disciplined power for the soul’s work.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yuj ‘yoke’ is PIE *yeug- with clear cognates (Latin iugum, English yoke), preserving archaic pastoral-ritual metaphor. div- (heaven) continues PIE *dyeu-. The semantic complex of ‘order/truth’ (ṛta / Iranian aša) indicates Indo-Iranian continuity.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi acknowledges the gods as proclaimers of the Vast Truth and as regulators of the vital depths. The implied boon is not only protection but governance: that the seeker’s waters (life/subconscient) be yoked to ṛta, becoming serviceable rather than chaotic.
Establish ‘bṛhat ṛtam’ as the inner law; consciously yoke emotional/vital currents to that law.
ajna (governing discernment) and muladhara (stability/sovereignty in the embodied nature)
Slow exhale with the phrase ‘ṛtam… bṛhat’; then a brief inhale imagining waters settling into channels.
Vast, steady, self-possessed.
When emotions surge, do not suppress—yoke: name the truth-principle you serve, then redirect the energy into one concrete act aligned with it.
Honor the accented syllables on ṛtávānau and ṛtám; keep the proclamation ‘ā ghoṣathah’ clear and lifted.
Deliver ‘bṛhat’ with breadth (open vowel) and a slight lengthened resonance; keep dual endings (-thah, -āthe) crisp.
asura: short ‘a’ at start, clear ‘su’, ṛtāvānau: vocalic ṛ; long ā; diphthong au, bṛhat: vocalic ṛ, aspirated ‘h’, yuñjāthe: palatal ñ + j cluster; long ā, apaḥ: visarga audible as soft breath after ‘pa’
authoritative, low-centered, spacious.
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