Rig Veda 1.190.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 190, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.190
- Devata
- Bṛhaspati
- Chandas
- Jagatī or Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
तमृत्विया उप वाचः सचन्ते सर्गो न यो देवयतामसर्जि । बृहस्पतिः स ह्यञ्जो वरांसि विभ्वाभवत्समृते मातरिश्वा ॥
tam ṛtviyā́ upa vā́caḥ sacante sárgo na yó devayatā́m ásarji | bṛ́haspátiḥ sá hí áñjo várāṃsi ví-bhvā́ abhavat sám ṛté mātáriśvā́ ||
जब लोग भगवान की तरफ जाते हैं, तो उनकी बातें पास आती हैं। जैसे पानी ऊपर आता है, वैसे ही वो उनके लिए कुछ नया खोलता है। बृहस्पति सब जगह फैल जाता है और अच्छी चीज़ें सही रास्ते पे लगा देता है। मातरिश्वन सब को एक साथ मिला देता है।
Word by Word
- तम्
- him/that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋत्वियाः
- the priests (ṛtvij-s)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot ऋत्विय (प्रातिपदिक)
- उप
- towards, nearIndeclinableअव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वाचः
- words, speechNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सचन्ते
- they accompany/attach themselvesVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनRoot सच् (धातु) < सह-च्/सच् ‘to accompany, attach oneself’
- सर्गः
- a sending-forth, surge, emissionNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) < √सृज्
- न
- like, asIndeclinableअव्ययRoot न (अव्यय)
- यः
- who, whichPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवयताम्
- of the god-seeking/worshipping (ones)Participle (verbal adjective)पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; बहुवचन (gen. pl.)Role सम्बन्धRoot देवयत् (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त) < √देवय् ‘to seek/worship the gods’
- असर्जि
- he sent forth, emittedVerbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRoot √सृज् (धातु)
- बृहस्पतिः
- BṛhaspatiNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableअव्ययRoot हि (अव्यय)
- अञ्जः
- straight, directly; straightwayNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन (here adverbial: ‘straightway’)Role क्रियाविशेषणRoot अञ्जस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरांसि
- boons, desirable giftsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot वर (प्रातिपदिक)
- विभ्वा
- all-pervading, mightyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot विभ्वन्/विभ्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभवत्
- became, wasVerbलुङ्/इम्पर्फेक्ट (अorist/preterite usage); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRoot √भू (धातु)
- समृते
- in the gathering/encounter, in the assemblyNoun/Adjective (locative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot समृत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त) < सम्-√ऋ ‘to go/fit together’ (sense: ‘in the meeting/assembly’)
- मातरिश्वा
- Mātariśvan (Vedic fire/wind-messenger)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (apposition)Root मातरिश्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): तम् | ऋत्वियाः | उप | वाचः | सचन्ते | सर्गः | न | यः | देवयताम् | असर्जि | बृहस्पतिः | सः | हि | अञ्जः | वरांसि | विभ्वा | अभवत् | समृते | मातरिश्वा । प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) तम् + ऋत्वियाः → तमृत्वियाः (m + ṛ → mṛ)
- (2) वाचः + सचन्ते (visarga before sibilant: ḥ → ḥ/Ø with Vedic orthography; here written as वाच॑: सचन्ते)
- (3) स हि + अञ्जः → स ह्यञ्जः (i + a → ya)
- (4) विभ्वा + अभवत् → विभ्वाभवत् (ā + a → ā)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Seasonal/ritual utterances (ṛtviyā vācaḥ) approach “him”; like a released surge (sargaḥ) meant for those who seek the gods (devayatām). Bṛhaspati, becoming all-pervading (vibhvā), sets the best boons (varāṃsi) straight in the Truth/Law (ṛte), and Mātariśvan gathers them into harmony.
Inner meaning
The inspired Word rises in ordered rhythms of the inner seasons—successive maturations of practice. When the seeker turns godward (devayatā), a surge of revelation is “released” from within. Bṛhaspati (the master of the luminous Word and soul-guidance) makes the consciousness wide and all-pervading, aligns the choicest powers (varāṃsi: capacities, realizations, right enjoyments) with Ṛta (the right truth-order), and Mātariśvan (the life-breath carrying the divine Fire) collects and integrates these illuminations so the whole being moves in a single concord.
Universal truth
True progress is rhythmic and lawful: inspiration must be aligned to truth-order, and then integrated by the vital-breath into lived harmony. Revelation without Ṛta becomes scattered; Ṛta without integration remains abstract.
Themes
inner sacrifice, revelation-through-word, truth-order, divine guidance of aspiration
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.190.1, Rig Veda 1.190.3, Rig Veda 1.190.4, Rig Veda 1.190.5, Rig Veda 1.190.6
Significance
The seer-voice here is primarily “Bṛhaspati-centered”: revelation as a disciplined, truth-aligned speech that must be gathered and harmonized by the prāṇic carrier (Mātariśvan). The rishi functions as a witness of how mantra descends in ordered waves and becomes lived order.
The deity
- Devata
- Bṛhaspati (with Mātariśvan as mediator)
- Epithets
- Bṛhaspati, Vibhvā (all-pervading), Yakṣabhṛt (power-bearer, implicit in the hymn’s theme)
- Related deities
- Agni, Vāyu, Savitṛ, Mitra, Indra
Cosmic role
Priest of the gods; lord of sacred speech and the formative power of the Word that establishes Ṛta and opens the way for the seekers.
Inner power
Illumined discernment (buddhi in its higher form) that arranges forces rightly; the guru-force that makes consciousness vast and sets realizations in true order.
In ritual
Where it is used
Bṛhaspati-related stotra/śastra usage in soma and allied śrauta contexts (general)
तमृ॒त्विया॒ उप॒ वाच॑: सचन्ते॒ सर्गो॒ न यो दे॑वय॒तामस॑र्जि । बृह॒स्पति॒: स ह्यञ्जो॒ वरां॑सि॒ विभ्वाभ॑व॒त्समृ॒ते मा॑त॒रिश्वा॑ ॥
तम् । ऋ॒त्वियाः॑ । उप॑ । वाचः॑ । स॒च॒न्ते॒ । सर्गः॑ । न । यः । दे॒व॒ऽय॒ताम् । अस॑र्जि । बृह॒स्पतिः॑ । सः । हि । अञ्जः॑ । वरां॑सि । विऽभ्वा॑ । अभ॑वत् । सम् । ऋ॒ते । मा॒त॒रिश्वा॑ ॥
tam | ṛtviyāḥ | upa | vācaḥ | sacante | sargaḥ | na | yaḥ | deva-yatām | asarji | bṛhaspatiḥ | saḥ | hi | añjaḥ | varāṃsi | vi-bhvā | abhavat | sam | ṛte | mātariśvā
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh-type)
Forward-driving, instructional cadence suited to proclamation and ordering of forces.
Creates a sense of widening and alignment; the listener feels ‘set straight’ into a clearer inner law (ṛta), with an integrating after-current (Mātariśvan).
- ऋत्वियाः (ṛtviyāḥ)
- Literal: seasonal, belonging to the rites/seasons. Symbolic: ordered phases of inner growth; rhythmic maturations of sādhanā
- वाचः (vācaḥ)
- Literal: words/utterances. Symbolic: inspired speech; mantra-illumination; revelatory thought
- सर्गः (sargaḥ)
- Literal: a surge, outflow, emission. Symbolic: release of inner inspiration; breakthrough of consciousness
- देवयताम् (devayatām)
- Literal: of those who seek/worship the gods. Symbolic: aspirants turning to the Divine; the will-to-transcend
- बृहस्पतिः (bṛhaspatiḥ)
- Literal: Lord of the Vast; lord of prayer. Symbolic: guru-power of the soul; master of illumined word and right discernment
- वरांसि (varāṃsi)
- Literal: choicest boons. Symbolic: select powers of realization: clarity, right will, joy, wideness
- ऋते (ṛte)
- Literal: in Ṛta, the truth-order. Symbolic: alignment with the law of truth in consciousness and action
- मातरिश्वा (mātariśvā)
- Literal: the one moving in the mother (air/waters); Vāyu/Agni-carrier. Symbolic: life-breath that carries and unifies the fire; integrator of realizations into the being
General stotra/śastra usage in Br̥haspati-focused praise; suitable for rites emphasizing brahman (sacred formulation) and the victorious establishment of Ṛta (exact śrauta assignment varies by śākhā tradition).
Invocations seeking right speech, guidance, and successful ordering of the sacrifice; adaptable as opening prayer before study/teaching.
Recitation as praise (stuti) to establish ṛta and invite inspired speech.
Before meditation, japa, teaching, or creative work: invoke right word, right order, then consciously ‘gather’ insights into one coherent intention.
Key roots: √sṛj ‘release, emit’ (sargaḥ, asarji) indicates a controlled outflow of force/word; √sac ‘to accompany, adhere’ (sacante) marks the joining of inspired speech to the divine action. ṛtviyāḥ from ṛtu ‘right time/season’ + -ya: powers that move according to right timing, psychologically the ordered rhythms of sādhanā. bṛhaspati: bṛh ‘vast’ + pati ‘lord’, the mastery of the Vast through the forming Word. vi-bhvā from √bhū ‘be’ with vi- ‘wide apart’: pervading becoming. ṛte (loc. of ṛta) from √ar/ṛ ‘fit, order’—cosmic rightness. mātariśvan: traditional analysis ‘moving in the mother (space)’; functionally the carrier/mediator (wind/breath) that brings fire/impulse into manifestation.
Ṛta (cosmic truth-order), Vāc (revelatory Word), integration (sam-) of powers into unity
Explicit: varāṃsi are set ‘sam ṛte’—made straight/true in Ṛta.
Truth is not only known but arranged into effective plenitudes; satya becomes workable order.
Speech as creative ordering power; revelation released for the god-seeker and integrated into harmony.
Proto-Vedāntic and yogic psychology as read by Sri Aurobindo: the Word (vāc) as a plane of consciousness that forms reality when aligned to Ṛta.
Seasons = stages of practice; surge = breakthrough of inspiration; wind/breath = prāṇa that carries fire and integrates realizations into the whole nature.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the ‘release of the Word/boons’ by Br̥haspati for the devayatāḥ (those turned godward): a controlled emanation (sargaḥ, asarji) of inspired speech and excellences into the human field. Psychologically, Br̥haspati unlocks right-utterance and right-force in the seeker, while Mātariśvan mediates the descent/translation of that power into vital-breath and effective movement.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sṛj ‘release’ aligns with PIE *sreug-/ *ser- ‘to flow, stream’ (semantic field of outpouring). √bhū ‘be, become’ reflects PIE *bʰuH- ‘to be, become’ (cf. English be, Latin fu- in fui via related *bʰewh₂). The prominence of Vāc as efficacious speech parallels Indo-European sacral-poetic ideology where right speech effects right order (cf. Avestan manthra- as potent formulation, though not a direct cognate of vāc).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The verse encodes reciprocity through approach and release: the seeker-community (devayatām) turns toward the Divine, and Br̥haspati responds by releasing a sargaḥ—an outflow of empowered Vāc and ‘vara’ excellences—setting them ‘añjaḥ’ (straight) within Ṛta. The implied dakṣiṇā is not material but the offering of right aspiration and right utterance; the Devata’s return-gift is ordered plenitude and inner rectitude.
Align inspiration with truth-order: receive, discriminate, arrange, and integrate.
viśuddha (speech/clarity) and ājñā (discernment)
Nadi-śodhana or slow coherent breathing while mentally ‘gathering’ scattered thoughts into one luminous intention.
From inspired reception to steady, wide, truth-aligned clarity.
1) Sit, feel the ‘season’ of your practice (where you are). 2) Invite the vāc to approach without forcing. 3) When insight arises, place it in Ṛta: ask ‘is it true, timely, harmonizing?’ 4) On exhale, let Mātariśvan gather it—commit to one simple, coherent next step.
Follow RV śākhā tradition: udatta on marked syllables, svarita on following, anudatta in unmarked low tones (exact melody depends on recension; use a trained recording for precision).
Keep the Vedic pitch contrast clear on: ṛtviyā́, vā́caḥ, devayatā́m, bṛ́haspátiḥ, ṛté, mātáriśvā́ (as applicable in your pada recitation tradition).
ṛtviyā: crisp vocalic ṛ; avoid ‘ri’, bṛhaspatiḥ: bṛ-ha-spa-tiḥ (no schwa deletion in careful chant), mātariśvā: śv cluster as ‘shva’ with clear v-length in -vā, ṛte: vocalic ṛ, short e
clear, resonant, slightly elevated (invocatory but steady)
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