Rig Veda 1.38.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 38, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.38
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Marutaḥ
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
क्व नूनं कद्वो अर्थं गन्ता दिवो न पृथिव्याः । क्व वो गावो न रण्यन्ति ॥
kvá nū́naṃ kád vo árthaṃ gántā divó ná pṛthivyā́ḥ | kvá vo gā́vo ná raṇyanti ||
मरुत देवता, तुम कहाँ जा रहे हो? आसमान से हो या धरती से, कहाँ आ रहे हो? तुम्हारी किरणें कहाँ चमक रही हैं जो हमें खुशी देती हैं?
Word by Word
- क्व
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (स्थान/कुत्र)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot क्व (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- नूनम्
- now; indeedIndeclinableकाल/निश्चयार्थक-अव्ययRoot नूनम् (अव्यय)
- कद्
- what?Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (अव्यक्त ‘what’)Role KarmaRoot कद् (प्रश्न-प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
- वः
- of you; yourPronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; वैदिक एन्क्लिटिक रूपRole SampradānaRoot युष्मद्
- अर्थम्
- purpose; aimNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- गन्ता
- (who) will go/come?; goerVerbकर्तरि भविष्यत् कृदन्त (agent noun), प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘one who will go/come’Role KartāRoot गम् (धातु)
- दिवः
- from heaven; of the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्यौः), षष्ठी/पञ्चमी, एकवचन; यहाँ ‘from/of heaven’Role ApādānaRoot दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौ)
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमा/सादृश्यार्थक अव्यय (‘like’)Root न (अव्यय)
- पृथिव्याः
- from the earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/पञ्चमी, एकवचन; यहाँ ‘from earth’Role ApādānaRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्व
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (स्थान)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot क्व (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- वः
- your; of youPronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिकRole SampradānaRoot युष्मद्
- गावः
- cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमार्थक अव्यय (‘like’)Root न (अव्यय)
- रण्यन्ति
- rejoice; resoundVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot रण्/रण्य् (धातु; वैदिक ‘to rejoice/sound’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): क्व | नूनम् | कद् | वः | अर्थम् | गन्ता | दिवः | न | पृथिव्याः || क्व | वः | गावः | न | रण्यन्ति || विशेष: ‘कद्वो’ = ‘कद् + वः’ (द् + व → द्व् संयोग)
- ‘दिवो’ (संहिता) = ‘दिवः’ (पदपाठ) — विसर्ग-लोप/ओ-आदेश संहिता-परम्परा
- ‘गन्ता’ यहाँ √गम् का कर्तरि भविष्यत् कृदन्त (agentive future) रूप है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The seer asks: where now, for what purpose will you go—whether from heaven or from earth? Where are your ‘cows’ that delight and resound?
Inner meaning
The Maruts are asked about their movement in the inner worlds: do they descend from the higher mind (divaḥ) or rise from the earthly vital (pṛthivyāḥ)? What is their aim (artha)? The ‘cows’ are not cattle but rays of illumination/knowledges that delight the seeker when released. The question implies a temporary concealment: the luminous herds are not yet heard within; the seeker calls the Maruts to bring back the resounding rays—clarities, intuitions, right perceptions.
Universal truth
When guidance feels absent, the right response is not despair but inquiry and invocation: ask the powers of transformation to reveal their purpose and restore the light of knowledge.
Themes
Quest and seeking, Rays/illumination, Divine intention
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Lineage
- Kaṇva (Kaṇva lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.38.1, RV 1.38.3
Family tradition
Kaṇva’s Marut hymns often use questioning to press for the descent of light and right movement—turning doubt into a lever for revelation.
Significance
The seer models a yogic method: when the ‘rays’ are missing, he interrogates the divine powers to compel manifestation.
The deity
- Devata
- Marutaḥ
- Epithets
- swift-goers, resounding ones, companions of Indra
- Related deities
- Indra, Sarasvatī (as flow of inspiration), Vāyu
Cosmic role
They traverse heaven and earth, mediating forces; they help release luminous riches (cows/rays) and waters.
Inner power
They move energies between higher and lower planes, bringing illumination into the vital and lifting the vital toward the mental light.
In ritual
Where it is used
Marut praise/invocation within Soma yajña
क्व॑ नू॒नं कद्वो॒ अर्थं॒ गन्ता॑ दि॒वो न पृ॑थि॒व्याः । क्व॑ वो॒ गावो॒ न र॑ण्यन्ति ॥
क्व॑ । नू॒नम् । कत् । वः॒ । अर्थ॑म् । गन्ता॑ । दि॒वः । न । पृ॒थि॒व्याः । क्व॑ । वः॒ । गावः॑ । न । र॒ण्य॒न्ति॒ ॥
kva | nūnam | kat | vaḥ | artham | gantā | divaḥ | na | pṛthivyāḥ | kva | vaḥ | gāvaḥ | na | raṇyanti
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (probable; needs scansion)
Question-driven, with repeated ‘kva’ creating a searching pulse.
Generates inner seeking and summons response; the repetition drills through obscurity.
- क्व (kva)
- Literal: where?. Symbolic: search for the locus of guidance within consciousness
- अर्थम् (artham)
- Literal: purpose, aim. Symbolic: the evolutionary intention behind inner forces and events
- दिवः / पृथिव्याः (divaḥ / pṛthivyāḥ)
- Literal: from heaven / from earth. Symbolic: from higher mind or from embodied vital nature
- गावः (gāvaḥ)
- Literal: cows. Symbolic: rays of light, illuminations, knowledges
- रण्यन्ति (raṇyanti)
- Literal: they rejoice/resound/delight. Symbolic: illumined perceptions that gladden and vibrate in the being
Interrogative strophe to draw the gods near and disclose their intention; used in Marut-invocations within Soma ritual (general).
When calling Maruts to appear and disclose their gifts (light/rays)
Interrogative stotra to draw presence and boons
Use when feeling mentally clouded: chant as a ‘call for rays’—asking for purpose, direction, and illumination.
√gam ‘go’ (gantā) from PIE *gʷem- (cf. Lat. venīre < *gʷem- via changes; Eng. come). go- ‘cow’ is a classic Vedic polyvalent: from concrete cattle to ‘ray/light’ by poetic equation (brightness, leading, nourishment). √raṇ ‘rejoice/sound’ suggests both audible resonance and inner delight—light that is also joy.
Go (cows) as rays of knowledge recovered from obscurity, Aim/purpose (artha) as conscious intentionality in spiritual practice, Heaven/Earth as higher/lower ranges of consciousness
Asking ‘for what purpose’ implies that divine movement is not random but aligned with R̥ta.
Truth is sought as disclosed aim and right whereabouts of the powers.
Release of light-herds as a recurring creation-act—illumination emerging from concealment.
Psychological symbolism of planes (heaven/earth) typical of Aurobindo-Kashyap reading.
Sky/earth = higher/lower consciousness; winds = Marut forces; cows = rays/knowledges; resounding = vibratory certainty of illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The poet questions the gods’ destination and asks after their ‘cows’. Mythically: the roaming divine troop and their herds. Innerly: the seeker asks where the illuminating rays are—where the powers that bring joy and knowledge—so that the path is not left in obscurity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √gam (go/come) from PIE *gʷem- is pan-IE. The ‘cows = rays’ metaphor is a hallmark of Indo-Iranian poetic diction, aligning with cognate Iranian imagery of light and herds, indicating an inherited symbolic repertoire.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi presses for disclosure: not only presence but purpose (artha). He seeks the Maruts as mediators between heaven and earth—between higher inspiration and embodied life—and asks for the revelatory ‘cows’ (rays) that are their gift to the human journey.
Inquiry into guidance: ‘Where is the light? What is the purpose of this movement?’—then listen inwardly.
Ājñā (clarity/illumination)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana (alternate nostril) for 5–7 cycles before chanting.
From mental obscurity to questioning openness, ready for intuitive light.
Chant, then sit silently and notice any ‘resounding cows’: clear ideas, bright perceptions, or uplifting impulses; write them down as received rays.
Maintain clear pitch rises on repeated ‘kva’; follow Vedic accent marks from a proper pada-text/recension for exact svara.
Let each ‘kva’ be distinct—slight pause after it; keep ‘divo na pṛthivyāḥ’ flowing as a single thought.
kva: labialized kv cluster clean, gantā: retroflex ṭ crisp; long ā, pṛthivyāḥ: vocalic ṛ; th aspirated; yāḥ long ā with visarga, gāvo: long ā; v soft, raṇyanti: retroflex ṇ; avoid turning into dental n
Questioning, clear, slightly rising at interrogatives
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