Rig Veda 1.37.12: Mandala 1, Sukta 37, Mantra 12
Sukta 1.37
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Marutaḥ
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
मरुतो यद्ध वो बलं जनाँ अचुच्यवीतन । गिरीँरचुच्यवीतन ॥
marúto yád dha vo bálaṃ jánāṃ acucyavītana | girī́ṃr acucyavītana ||
मरुत, जब तुम्हारी ताकत चलती है, लोग अपनी जगह से हिल जाते हैं। पहाड़ भी हिल जाते हैं। इतनी बड़ी ताकत है तुम्हारी कि सब कुछ बदल जाता है।
Word by Word
- मरुतः
- the MarutsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot मरुत् (प्रातिपदिक) < √मर्/√मृ (गत्यर्थ/प्राणने) (निरुक्त-परम्परा)
- यत्
- that whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (यद्-सम्बन्धक)Role कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी विभक्ति; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- बलम्
- strength, mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot बल (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनान्
- peoples, menNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- अचुच्यवीतन
- you have set in motion / you have made to moveVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √च्यव् (चलने/अपसरणे) + उपसर्ग: आ-; (वेदिक-लिट्/परफेक्ट-प्रयोग)
- गिरीन्
- mountainsNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अचुच्यवीतन
- you have set in motion / you have made to moveVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √च्यव् (चलने/अपसरणे) + उपसर्ग: आ-; (वेदिक-लिट्/परफेक्ट-प्रयोग)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: मरुतः | यत् | वः | बलम् | जनान् | अचुच्यवीतन | गिरीन् | अचुच्यवीतन । 1) मरु॑तो॒ = मरुतः (विसर्ग-लोप/पदसंहिता-रूप). 2) यद्ध॑ = यत् + ह (निपात/ह-प्रयोग; संहितायां त् + ह → द्ध). 3) गि॒रीँर॑ = गिरीन् (द्वितीया बहुवचन; संहितायां न् + र् → ँर् (अनुस्वार/चन्द्रबिन्दु-चिह्नेन)). 4) अचुच्यवीतन इति वेदिक-लिट् (परफेक्ट) मध्यमबहुवचन
- मन्त्रे द्विवारं पुनरुक्तम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Maruts, when your force is released, you make the peoples shift; you make even the mountains shift.
Inner meaning
When the Marut-force (bala) is unleashed in the human instrument, it shakes fixed collective habits (janān) and even the ‘mountains’ (girīn)—the hard, seemingly immovable structures in our nature: deep-seated samskāras, rigid beliefs, bodily inertia. The mantra affirms the transformative potency of awakened dynamism: it does not merely inspire; it reconfigures what is fixed.
Universal truth
True spiritual energy is not only soothing or enlightening; it is re-formative. It can move entrenched structures—personal and collective—when it descends as force.
Themes
Obstacle-breaking, Transformation by divine force, Marut-shaking power
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva (Kaṇva lineage)
- Lineage
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.37.11, RV 1.37.14
Family tradition
Kaṇva poetry often emphasizes effective force (śakti) in the yoga of the Veda—illumination that must become power to change nature.
Significance
The seer’s stress is on overcoming the ‘immovable’: not by argument but by a descending/up-rushing force that compels reordering.
The deity
- Devata
- Marutaḥ
- Epithets
- balinaḥ (strong—implied by bala), giricodāḥ (mountain-shakers—sense)
- Related deities
- Indra, Rudra, Agni
Cosmic role
Shakers of earth and sky; bringers of storm-energy that breaks stagnation and releases hidden waters.
Inner power
Transformative dynamism that can reorganize the being, moving even deep-seated resistances.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invoking Marut power for victory over obstacles within Śrauta contexts; allied to Indra’s overcoming of resistance.
मरु॑तो॒ यद्ध॑ वो॒ बलं॒ जनाँ॑ अचुच्यवीतन । गि॒रीँर॑चुच्यवीतन ॥
मरु॑तः । यत् । ह॒ । वः॒ । बल॑म् । जना॑न् । अ॒चु॒च्य॒वी॒त॒न॒ । गि॒रीन् । अ॒चु॒च्य॒वी॒त॒न॒ ॥
marutaḥ | yat | ha | vaḥ | balam | janān | acucyavītana | girīn | acucyavītana
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Likely 3 pādas of ~11 (a Triṣṭubh variant/trimeter verse occurs in RV; exact pada division should be confirmed in critical edition).
Hammering repetition (acucyavītana ... acucyavītana) gives a pounding, seismic feel.
Mantric insistence that builds power; useful for breaking inner inertia.
- बलम् (balam)
- Literal: strength, force. Symbolic: spiritual power in action; energized illumination
- जनान् (janān)
- Literal: peoples. Symbolic: the collective formations in us: many parts, impulses, habits
- गिरीन् (girīn)
- Literal: mountains. Symbolic: hard resistances; fixed subconscious/bodily structures
- अचुच्यवीतन (acucyavītana)
- Literal: you have made to shift/shake (intensive). Symbolic: decisive displacement of the fixed; catalytic transformation
Marut verses chanted to invoke energising force and removal of obstacles in Soma sequences (general).
At moments of calling for force and forward drive in the sacrifice.
Recite with emphasis on the repeated verb to ‘shake loose’ impediments.
Use as a short energizing japa when stuck—before difficult conversations, disciplined practice, or to break addictive loops.
balá- ‘force’ (semantic: strength/ability) becomes psychological ‘potency of will’. acucyavītana: reduplicated formation highlights repeated/strong causation—‘you thoroughly shake loose’. girí- ‘mountain’ as symbol of the fixed and massive; the repeated verb frames a formula of irresistible displacement.
Overcoming tamas/inertia, Dynamic R̥ta: right force that compels transformation
Shaking the fixed restores right circulation of energies—ṛta as dynamic equilibrium.
Truth manifests as effective power, not only as idea.
Evolution requires periodic ‘seismic’ shifts—old structures must move for new light to emerge.
Yoga of transformation (Aurobindo): force acting upon the subconscient and physical.
Mountains = hardened formations; storm = descending/awakening energy that breaks rigidity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Maruts’ force makes even mountains move. Mythically: storm powers that shake earth and heights. Psychologically: divine energies dislodge the most entrenched formations in the being—habit, rigidity, and the ‘mountain’ of subconscious resistance.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The repeated/reduplicated causative around √cyu intensifies the action, a common IE poetic device (iteration/reduplication for force). The semantic mapping of ‘mountain’ to ‘immovable’ is a cross-IE trope for steadfast obstacles.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi addresses the Maruts directly, acknowledging their bala as the effective agent of change; this confession of power is itself an opening for that power to act, shifting both ‘janān’ (outer/inner collectives) and ‘girīn’ (deep resistances).
Call the force into the body: feel where you are rigid; invite the Marut-current to move it without violence—firmly, rhythmically.
mūlādhāra (deep fixity) and maṇipūra (force to shift)
Strong but controlled exhale emphasis (e.g., 6 in / 6 out with a slight ‘push’ on out-breath) while chanting the repeated verb.
Dynamic breakthrough; from fixity to flow.
Chant 3–9 times; then sit and observe micro-shifts in posture, breath, and thought—let the ‘mountain’ soften into movement.
Standard Vedic accentuation; repeated form invites consistent udatta placement; exact svara requires śākhā markings.
Strike ‘maruto’ clearly; give strong stress to ‘balam’ and keep the repetition identical in pitch contour.
(maruto): final ‘o’ long and open, (janām̐): nasalization indicated—keep it subtle, not a full ‘n’, (acucyavītana): keep ‘cy’ palatal; do not insert extra vowel between ‘c’ and ‘y’
Forceful, drum-like, steady; avoid shouting—aim for concentrated power.
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