Rig Veda 1.170.1: Mandala 1, Sukta 170, Mantra 1
Sukta 1.170
- Rishi
- Agastya
- Devata
- Indra–Maruts dialogue frame
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
न नूनमस्ति नो श्वः कस्तद्वेद यदद्भुतम् । अन्यस्य चित्तमभि संचरेण्यमुताधीतं वि नश्यति ॥
ná nūnám ásti nó śváḥ kás tád veda yád ádbhutam | anyásya cittám abhí sáṃcareṇyam utā́dhītaṃ ví naśyati ||
आज नहीं, कल नहीं, कोई नहीं जानता कि क्या होगा। दूसरे की सोच में घूमना आसान है, लेकिन जो सीखा है वो भी गायब हो सकता है। इसलिए सच्चाई को पकड़ना चाहिए, सिर्फ सोच में नहीं रहना चाहिए।
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेध (negation)Root न
- नूनम्
- now; indeedIndeclinableकाल/निश्चय-अव्ययRoot नूनम्
- अस्ति
- is; existsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (असँ)
- नः
- of us; ourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root अस्मद्
- श्वः
- tomorrowIndeclinableकाल-अव्ययRole अधिकारण (time)Root श्वस्/श्वः
- कः
- who?Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot किम्
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद्
- वेद
- knowsVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot विद् (विदँ)
- यत्
- which; whatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (relative)Root यद्
- अद्भुतम्
- wonderful; marvelousAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole विशेषण (of यत्)Root अद्भुत
- अन्यस्य
- of anotherPronoun/Adjectiveपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot अन्य
- चित्तम्
- mind; intentionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (with अभि-सम्-चर)Root चित्त
- अभि
- towards; uponIndeclinable (preverb) अव्ययउपसर्गRoot अभि
- संचरेण्यम्
- to be approached/visited; accessibleAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole विशेषण (of चित्तम्)Root संचरेण्य
- उत
- and; alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/विकल्प-अव्ययRoot उत
- आधीतम्
- placed; deposited; laid upKṛdanta (past passive participle)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त (PPP) with उपसर्ग आ-Role कर्म/भाव (that which is placed/laid up)Root आ-धा (धा॒)
- वि
- apart; awayIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRoot वि
- नश्यति
- perishes; vanishesVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot नश् (नशँ)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): न | नूनम् | अस्ति | नः | श्वः | कः | तत् | वेद | यत् | अद्भुतम् | अन्यस्य | चित्तम् | अभि | संचरेण्यम् | उत | आधीतम् | वि | नश्यति । प्रमुख संधि: (1) कः + तत् → कस्तत् (विसर्ग-लोप/सन्धि)
- (2) तत् + वेद → तद्वेद (त् + व → द् व)
- (3) यत् + अद्भुतम् → यदद्भुतम् (त् + अ → द् अ)
- (4) चित्तम् + अभि → चित्तमभि (म् + अ → मऽ)
- (5) उत + आधीतम् → उताधीतम् (अ + आ → आ)
- (6) वि + नश्यति → विनश्यति (उपसर्ग-संयोग)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Neither now nor tomorrow—who knows the wonder? Another’s mind can be wandered in, yet even what is learned can vanish.
Inner meaning
A gnomic warning: the marvel of divine action and inner change cannot be predicted by ordinary time-mind. One may observe or even ‘move about’ in the surface mind of another (social/mental interchange), yet knowledge gained at the mental level is unstable and can disappear. Therefore the seeker must rely not on borrowed mentality or shifting opinions, but on direct seeing (dṛṣṭi) and truth-founded consciousness—an implicit call toward Indra’s stable illumination beyond the fickleness of mind.
Universal truth
Mental knowledge is impermanent unless rooted in direct realization; the deepest transformations are not calculable by the ordinary sense of time.
Themes
gnomic reflection, mind and knowledge, uncertainty and wonder
The seer
- Rishi
- Agastya
- Lineage
- Agastya (Mānasa/Agastya lineage in later tradition)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.170, RV 1.169, RV 1.171
Family tradition
A reflective, reconciliatory strain: the seer pauses the conflict-frame (Indra–Maruts) with a truth about mind’s instability and the need for deeper foundation.
Significance
Agastya introduces a yogic discernment (viveka): do not depend on mental borrowings; seek stable truth-consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra–Maruts (dialogue frame; verse is gnomic)
- Epithets
- adbhuta (wonder-working, implicit)
- Related deities
- Indra, Maruts
Cosmic role
Frames the tension of powers with a reminder that divine workings exceed mental prediction; calls for right alignment.
Inner power
Discernment leading from unstable mind to illumined mind; prepares reconciliation by shifting from ego-claims to truth-seeking.
In ritual
Where it is used
Part of an Indra–Marut hymn sequence; recited as śastra/stotra in broader Indra-Marut contexts.
न नू॒नमस्ति॒ नो श्वः कस्तद्वे॑द॒ यदद्भु॑तम् । अ॒न्यस्य॑ चि॒त्तम॒भि सं॑च॒रेण्य॑मु॒ताधी॑तं॒ वि न॑श्यति ॥
न । नू॒नम् । अस्ति॑ । नो इति॑ । श्वः । कः । तत् । वे॒द॒ । यत् । अद्भु॑तम् । अ॒न्यस्य॑ । चि॒त्तम् । अ॒भि । स॒म्ऽच॒रेण्य॑म् । उ॒त । आऽधी॑तम् । वि । न॒श्य॒ति॒ ॥
na | nūnam | asti | no iti | śvaḥ | kaḥ | tat | veda | yat | adbhutam | anyasya | cittam | abhi | sam-careṇyam | uta | ādhītam | vi | naśyati
11
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (compressed, aphoristic cadence)
Tight and contemplative; less martial, more gnomic within triṣṭubh frame.
Induces reflective stillness; loosens attachment to mental certainty and opens to the ‘wonder’ beyond mind.
- na nūnam… no śvaḥ
- Literal: not now… nor tomorrow. Symbolic: unpredictability of spiritual breakthrough; limitation of time-mind
- adbhutam
- Literal: wonder, marvel. Symbolic: the supramental/greater-than-mind action of truth
- kas tad veda
- Literal: who knows that?. Symbolic: humility before the mystery; need for higher knowing
- anyasya cittam
- Literal: another’s mind. Symbolic: borrowed mentality; social mind; indirect knowledge
- abhi saṃcareṇyam
- Literal: to be moved about in, traversable. Symbolic: mental realm is accessible but superficial and unstable
- ādhītam
- Literal: learned, studied. Symbolic: acquired information/mental formations
- vi naśyati
- Literal: vanishes, is lost. Symbolic: impermanence of mental constructs without truth-realization
Recitation in contexts emphasizing reconciliation of powers and right understanding before offering; a reflective prelude within Indra-Marut liturgy.
In the recitation of RV 1.170 as part of Indra–Marut conciliatory narrative.
Recitation; inwardly used as a restraint (niyama) against rash claims and mental arrogance.
Mantra for uncertainty and overthinking: release the demand to know ‘now or tomorrow’; return to direct practice.
√vid ‘know/see’ (veda) foregrounds knowledge as vision. sam-√car ‘move about together’ → saṃcareṇya ‘traversable’: mind as a roamable space, unstable. √naś ‘perish’ indicates the fragility of merely mental acquisition (ādhīta). Inner emphasis: shift from borrowed/circulating mind to founded knowledge (ṛta-grounded).
epistemic instability of manas/citta, need for ṛta-grounded knowledge, wonder (adbhuta) as opening to supramental
Ṛta is not grasped by surface mind’s timelines; it reveals itself in its own order.
Truth is stable; what is merely ‘learned’ in mind can vanish—pointing to Satya as foundation.
Implicit contrast of mutable mental formations with the wondrous, deeper law of manifestation.
Vedic psychology anticipating Upaniṣadic critique of mere learning (śruti-smṛti without realization).
Time = movement of mind; wonder = descent of higher truth beyond temporal calculation.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A ‘mystery of the gods’ (adbhuta) framed as unknowable by ordinary temporality (‘not now, not tomorrow’): the mythic action is inward—knowledge must cross beyond mental circulation into stable truth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid (veda) reflects PIE *weid- ‘see/know’. The gnomic negation pattern (‘na… na…’) is a common Indo-European rhetorical device for aporia/limit statements.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi adopts the role of inner counselor: before invoking force, he diagnoses the instability of mental knowing, implying that divine powers must be approached with a founded consciousness rather than mere acquired learning.
Rest in not-knowing: open to the ‘adbhuta’ beyond mental prediction; stabilize attention in witnessing awareness.
ājñā (mind) moving toward sahasrāra (mystery/overmind)
Slow 6–6 breathing; on exhale repeat ‘na nūnam… no śvaḥ’ to release urgency.
Quiet witness; receptive openness to higher intuition.
When the mind demands certainty: (1) acknowledge unpredictability; (2) drop comparison with others’ minds; (3) return to one direct inner step—breath, mantra, or truthful action; (4) let knowledge be re-founded in lived realization.
Triṣṭubh; keep a calm, even delivery; observe udātta where transmitted—avoid dramatic pitch swings that create agitation.
Slight pause after ‘no śvaḥ’; emphasize ‘adbhutam’ with a clear, sustained vowel to carry the sense of wonder.
adbhutam: pronounce the ‘dbh’ cluster clearly (ad-bhu-tam)., saṃcareṇyam: nasal ‘ṃ’ before ‘c’; keep long ē (reṇ)., ādhītam: long ā and ī; do not shorten., vi naśyati: dental ‘n’, clear ‘śy’ cluster.
Soft, steady, introspective; let resonance linger.
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