Rig Veda 1.185.1: Mandala 1, Sukta 185, Mantra 1
Sukta 1.185
- Rishi
- Traditionally attributed to an early seer of the Dyāvā-Pṛthivī cycle in RV 1.185
- Devata
- Ahanī / cosmic duality
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
कतरा पूर्वा कतरापरायोः कथा जाते कवयः को वि वेद । विश्वं त्मना बिभृतो यद्ध नाम वि वर्तेते अहनी चक्रियेव ॥
katarā́ pū́rvā katarā́ aparā́yoḥ kathā́ jāte kaváyaḥ kó ví veda | víśvaṃ tmanā́ bibhṛtó yád dha nā́ma ví vartete áhanī cakriyéva ||
दिन और रात में से कौन पहले आया, कौन बाद में आया? कैसे पैदा हुए, कोई रिशि भी नहीं जानता। दोनों अपनी शक्ति से पूरा संसार उठा के चलते हैं। जैसे कोई चक्कर घूरता है, वैसे ही यह दोनों घूरते रहते हैं।
Word by Word
- क॒त॒रा
- which (of the two)?Pronoun/Adjective (interrogative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot कतर (प्रातिपदिक)
- पूर्वा॑
- former, earlierAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- क॒त॒रा
- which (of the two)?Pronoun/Adjective (interrogative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot कतर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपरा॒
- other, laterAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयोः
- of these twoPronoun (demonstrative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, द्विवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot इदम्/एतद्-प्रत्ययान्त द्वि-सम्बन्ध (अयम्/इयम् इत्यस्य वैदिक-रूप)
- क॒था
- how?Indeclinableअव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot कथा (अव्यय)
- जा॒ते
- (the two) having been born, bornParticiple/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (जातौ)Role KartāRoot √जन् (जायते) → जात (कृदन्त)
- क॑वयः
- seers, sagesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- कः
- who?Pronoun (interrogative)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, distinctlyIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वेद
- knowsVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √विद् (वेद)
- विश्वम्
- the whole (all)Adjective used substantivelyनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्मना॑
- by/with their own self, of themselvesNoun (instrumental of manner/agency)पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot त्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; वैदिक ‘स्व’/‘आत्म’ अर्थ)
- बिभृतः
- bearing, supportingParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot √भृ (बिभर्ति) → बिभृत् (कृदन्त, वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- यत्
- that whichRelative pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यद् (सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय)
- ह
- indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRoot ह (निपात)
- नाम
- truly, namelyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot नाम (निपात)
- वि
- apart, in turnIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वर्तेते
- (the two) turn, proceedVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन, आत्मनेपदRoot √वृत् (वर्तते)
- अहनी
- day and night (the two days)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वैदिक), प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (अव्यय)
- चक्रियेव
- like a wheelNoun + Indeclinableचक्रि: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; इव: अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot चक्रि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘चक्रिन्/चक्रि’ = wheel) + इव (उपमा-अव्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): क॒त॒रा | पूर्वा॑ | क॒त॒रा | अपरा॒ | अयोः || क॒था | जा॒ते | क॑वय॒: | कः | वि | वे॑द || विश्वं॒ | त्मना॑ | बिभृतो॒ | यत् | ह | नाम॒ || वि | व॑र्तेते॒ | अह॑नी | च॒क्रिये॑व । 1) ‘कतरा…कतरा…अयोः’ = ‘of the two (day & night), which is former, which is later?’ 2) ‘कवयः’ पदान्त ‘ः’ + ‘को’ (पाठे ‘कः’)—संहितायां विसर्ग-परिवर्तन सम्भव
- यहाँ पदपाठानुसार ‘कः’ पृथक्। 3) ‘चक्रियेव’ = ‘चक्रि + इव’ (इव-उपमा), संधिः: इ + इ → ए (दीर्घ/गुण) रूपेण ‘येव’। 4) ‘बिभृतो’ इत्यत्र संहितापाठे ओ-स्वरः द्विवचन-प्रथमा ‘बिभृतः’ (पद) का वैदिक संहितारूप।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet wonders which is first and which later of Day and Night, how they were born, and who knows. Day and Night, bearing all by their own power, turn apart like a wheel.
Inner meaning
The mantra points to a mystery of consciousness: illumination (Day) and obscurity (Night) alternate, yet both serve a cosmic order and ‘bear the whole’ by an inherent self-law (tmanā). The question ‘who knows?’ is not skepticism but a spur toward higher seeing (kavi-vision). The wheel imagery indicates cyclic movement of states in the seeker—expansion and contraction, clarity and clouding—until one rises to the standpoint that witnesses both and understands their origin in a greater unity.
Universal truth
Human experience moves in cycles of clarity and obscurity. Wisdom grows when we observe the alternation without being possessed by it, and seek the source beyond duality.
Themes
cosmogonic-riddle, time-cycle, day-night, epistemic-humility
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 1.185 (whole hymn)
Significance
The seer here functions as a metaphysician of experience, turning natural dualities into questions that push the mind toward the supramental ‘who knows’—the higher gnosis that comprehends opposites.
The deity
- Devata
- Ahanī (Day and Night)
- Epithets
- Bearers of the all (viśvaṃ bibhṛtaḥ), Wheel-turning pair (cakriyeva)
- Related deities
- Uṣas (Dawn), Sūrya, Rātri, Dyāvā-Pṛthivī (as supporting poles), Aditi (infinite ground, later in hymn)
Cosmic role
Regulators of time and alternation; custodians of rhythm (ṛta) in manifestation through cycles of concealment and revelation.
Inner power
They represent the oscillation of awareness between luminous mind and veiling subconscient; their right functioning matures discernment and steadiness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Rodasī/Dyāvā-Pṛthivī contextual recitation; also suitable for dawn/evening contemplations within broader Vedic liturgy (general).
क॒त॒रा पूर्वा॑ कत॒राप॑रा॒योः क॒था जा॒ते क॑वय॒: को वि वे॑द । विश्वं॒ त्मना॑ बिभृतो॒ यद्ध॒ नाम॒ वि व॑र्तेते॒ अह॑नी च॒क्रिये॑व ॥
क॒त॒रा । पूर्वा॑ । क॒त॒रा । अप॑रा । अ॒योः । क॒था । जा॒ते इति॑ । क॒व॒यः॒ । कः । वि । वे॒द॒ । विश्व॑म् । त्मना॑ । बि॒भृ॒तः॒ । यत् । ह॒ । नाम॑ । वि । व॒र्ते॒ते॒ । अह॑नी॒ इति॑ । च॒क्रिया॑ऽइव ॥
katarā | pūrvā | katarā | aparā | ayoḥ | kathā | jāte iti | kavayaḥ | kaḥ | vi | veda | viśvam | tmanā | bibhṛtaḥ | yat | ha | nāma | vi | vartete | ahanī iti | cakriyāiva
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4 pādas × 11 syllables (Triṣṭubh norm; verify with full saṃhitā syllabification)
Inquiry-driven, slightly forceful cadence—good for philosophical questioning.
Creates alertness and contemplative intensity; supports ‘vicāra’ (inner inquiry) without agitation.
- अहनी (ahanī)
- Literal: Day and Night (dual). Symbolic: states of illumination and obscuration in consciousness
- पूर्वा / अपरा (pūrvā / aparā)
- Literal: earlier / later. Symbolic: priority of light vs. darkness—an inquiry into origin of experience
- कवयः (kavayaḥ)
- Literal: seers, poets. Symbolic: inner knowers who can witness and interpret consciousness
- त्मना (tmanā)
- Literal: by self-power. Symbolic: intrinsic law/force of being; self-existent order
- चक्रियेव (cakriyeva)
- Literal: like a wheel. Symbolic: cyclic alternation; rotation of states; time-process
Contemplative/cosmogonic recitation; supports reflection on cosmic order and cyclic time within ritual framing
At transitions of day—sunrise/sunset—or in rites acknowledging cosmic order and time.
Stuti (praise) and vidyā-vicāra (evocative questioning) to align with ṛta.
A contemplation mantra for those caught in mood-cycles: recite at dawn or before sleep to cultivate the witness consciousness.
ahanī (day-night dual) from ahan ‘day’. √vṛt ‘turn’ (PIE *wert- ‘turn’, cf. Latin vertere, English ‘wart’?; clearer cognate: ‘convert’, ‘vertex’). √bhṛ ‘bear’ (PIE *bʰer- ‘carry’, cf. English ‘bear’). tman ‘self’ is archaic Indo-Iranian. The verse is a cosmogonic riddle-form typical of early IE poetics.
cosmic duality and cyclic time, limits of human knowledge (riddle: who knows?), self-sustaining order (tmanā) as ṛta
Day/Night turning ‘like a wheel’ images ṛta as periodic law sustaining the world.
The ‘who knows?’ implies a higher satya-vision that can see birth and priority of opposites.
Emergence of duality within manifestation; alternation as a means of sustaining the ‘all’.
Vedic proto-metaphysics leading toward Upaniṣadic inquiry (witness standpoint beyond pairs).
Dawn and dusk (implicit through alternation)
Alternation of mental clarity and subconscious veil; the wheel is breath-time and thought-time cycling until steadied.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A cosmogonic riddle about the origin and precedence of Day and Night, culminating in the image of their cyclic turning like a wheel. The mythologem is ‘ordered alternation’—time as a lawful rotation (ṛta) sustained by intrinsic power (tmanā).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The wheel/turning lexicon (√vṛt) aligns with PIE *wert- ‘turn’, a core IE metaphor for time and change. √bhṛ ‘bear/carry’ is PIE *bʰer-, strongly attested across IE. The riddle style itself parallels archaic IE poetic contests and enigmas.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi approaches the Devatā not by bargaining for a boon but by contemplative interrogation. The ‘relationship’ is cognitive: the seer stands before the cosmic powers as a learner, acknowledging that even kavayas may not fully know the first origin—yet affirming the visible law of their turning.
Witness the alternation of inner day and night; inquire into their origin in a deeper Self.
Ājñā (witnessing and discernment)
Simple observation of breath for 3 minutes, then chant once per exhale; pause after each pāda for silent inquiry.
From identification with changing states to sākṣī-bhāva (witness consciousness).
After chanting, ask inwardly: ‘What is aware of both clarity and obscurity?’ Rest in that awareness without seeking an immediate conceptual answer.
Triṣṭubh chanting with clear udātta lifts on interrogatives (katarā, kathā, kaḥ) as per traditional accenting; exact svara requires annotated text.
Keep the questioning words crisp; slight pause after each interrogative phrase to preserve the contemplative force.
katarā: roll/light tap on r; long ā at end, kavayaḥ: ‘vay’ as va-yaḥ, not ‘vei’, tmanā: initial cluster tm- articulated (tma), cakriyeva: cak-ri-ye-va, keep ‘ye’ clear
Quiet, inquiry-toned, steady.
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