Rig Veda 1.46.15: Mandala 1, Sukta 46, Mantra 15
Sukta 1.46
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
उभा पिबतमश्विनोभा नः शर्म यच्छतम् । अविद्रियाभिरूतिभिः ॥
ubhā́ pibatam aśvinobhā́ naḥ śárma yacchatam | avidríyābhir ūtíbhiḥ ||
अश्विनी कुमार, तुम दोनों पीयो और पूरा पीयो। हमें भी अपनी शरण में ले लो। तुम्हारी मदद कभी रुकती नहीं, कभी रोकी नहीं जा सकती।
Word by Word
- उभा
- both (of you two)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधन-विशेषण (अश्विनोः) / कर्म-विशेषण (पिबतम्)Root उभ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / उभय-
- पिबतम्
- drink (you two)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आह्वान)Root पा (पिबति) ‘पान’
- अश्विनो
- O Aśvins (you two)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधन (आह्वान)Root अश्विन् (देवता-नाम)
- उभा
- both (of you two)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुं/स्त्री/नपुंसक; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधन-विशेषण (अश्विनोः) / कर्म-विशेषण (यच्छतम्)Root उभ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / उभय-
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदान (अर्थे ‘अस्मभ्यं’) / सम्बन्ध (अर्थे ‘अस्माकं’)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- शर्म
- shelter, protection, comfortNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (यच्छतम्)Root शर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यच्छतम्
- grant (you two)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आह्वान)Root यम् (यच्छति) ‘प्रदान/नियमन’
- अविद्रियाभिः
- with un-failing / unhinderedAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करण (ऊतिभिः सह)Root अविद्रिय (प्रातिपदिक; न-विद्रिय ‘अविघ्न/अदोष/अविप्लव’ इत्यर्थे)
- ऊतिभिः
- helps, aids, protectionsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करणRoot ऊति (प्रातिपदिक; √अव/√ऊ ‘रक्षण-सहाय्य’ भाव)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: उभा | पिबतम् | अश्विनो | उभा | नः | शर्म | यच्छतम् | अविद्रियाभिः | ऊतिभिः । विशेषम्: (1) ‘उभा’ द्विवचन-रूपं, अश्विनोः (सम्बोधन-द्विवचन) विशेषणम्
- क्रिययोः ‘पिबतम्/यच्छतम्’ इत्ययोः अपि कर्म-विशेषणत्वेन ग्रहणीयम्। (2) ‘नः’ एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम—RV-प्रयोगे चतुर्थ्यर्थे ‘अस्मभ्यं’ (सम्प्रदान) प्रायः। (3) ‘अविद्रियाभिः ऊतिभिः’ तृतीया-बहुवचन-सम्बन्धः
- विशेषण-विशेष्यभावः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A direct invocation to the twin Aśvins: “Drink fully (the offered Soma), and grant us fully your sheltering peace, by your unobstructed helps.”
Inner meaning
The Aśvins are the twin powers of swift divine aid—illumining intuition and effective vital-force—that come to the seeker at the turning points of inner practice. “Drink both” points to a full reception and assimilation of the offered delight/essence (Soma) by these powers so they can act in us. The prayer for śarma is a request for a settled inner ease and protection in the midst of transformation; “avidriyābhir ūtibhiḥ” indicates helps that cannot be blocked by inner resistance (habit, doubt, inertia).
Universal truth
When the soul offers its best essence sincerely, higher assisting powers respond most fully; true peace is not mere quiet but a protected poise established by unobstructed inner guidance and energetic support.
Themes
Prayer for protection, Soma offering, Divine help, Peace/shelter
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Lineage
- Kaṇva (Āṅgirasa-associated seer-line)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.46, RV 1.47, RV 1.48 (Kaṇva cluster contextually nearby in Maṇḍala 1)
Family tradition
Kaṇvas are prominent composers in RV Maṇḍala 1; their hymns often stress invocation, right offering, and swift divine aid—especially to the Aśvins and Indra.
Significance
Kaṇva’s voice here is that of the practical yogin-seer: he asks not for spectacle but for the steadying śarma granted through uninterrupted divine help—an inner security enabling the sacrifice of self-perfection.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Epithets
- Dasrā (wonder-workers), Nāsatyā (true helpers), Śubhaspatī (lords of auspiciousness—traditional epithet cluster)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Sūrya, Indra, Soma, Agni
Cosmic role
Twin dawn-riders who mediate between night and day, bringing healing, rescue, and swift transitions; they connect higher light to the human journey.
Inner power
Rapid harmonizing action: intuitive discernment paired with effective force; they heal breaks in the being, restore balance, and accelerate the ascent.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvinau soma-invocation within morning/transition rites (Aśvina-shastra contexts broadly)
उ॒भा पि॑बतमश्विनो॒भा न॒: शर्म॑ यच्छतम् । अ॒वि॒द्रि॒याभि॑रू॒तिभि॑: ॥
उ॒भा । पि॒ब॒त॒म् । अ॒श्वि॒ना॒ । उ॒भा । नः॒ । शर्म॑ । य॒च्छ॒त॒म् । अ॒वि॒द्रि॒याभिः॑ । ऊ॒तिभिः॑ ॥
ubhā | pibatam | aśvinā | ubhā | naḥ | śarma | yacchatam | avidriyābhiḥ | ūtibhiḥ
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (approximate; requires full phonetic scansion with sandhi)
Firm, forward-driving cadence suited to invocation and effective request.
Creates a steady inner push: a rhythmic insistence that supports confidence in receiving help and establishing śarma.
- उभा (ubhā)
- Literal: both; fully; in both ways. Symbolic: integral receptivity—mind and life, inner and outer nature opening together
- पिबतम् (pibatam)
- Literal: drink (you two). Symbolic: receive and assimilate the offered consciousness-essence; consent of the higher powers to act
- अश्विना (aśvinā)
- Literal: the two Aśvins. Symbolic: twin divine helpers—swift intuition and effective force, healers of the mixed human nature
- शर्म (śarma)
- Literal: shelter, protection, peace. Symbolic: stable psychic safety and restful poise that allows growth
- अविद्रियाभिः (avidriyābhiḥ)
- Literal: unobstructed, not to be held back. Symbolic: grace that is not blocked by inner formations (saṃskāra), tamas, or doubt
- ऊतिभिः (ūtibhiḥ)
- Literal: helps, succors. Symbolic: active interventions of the divine in mind, prāṇa, and body-life
Direct Soma-offering address: commanding the Aśvins to drink and to bestow śarman; fits the offering-moment (havis/soma) and the request for protection.
At soma offerings/invitations, especially around dawn or early rites where Aśvins are called first among gods.
Offering Soma; inviting the deities to ‘drink’ and to bestow protection/boons.
Use as a protective invocation before meditation or travel/transition; recite to invoke swift inner aid and calm safety.
: 2du impv of √pā 'drink' (PIE *peh₃-). : śárman- 'shelter' (cf. √śri/√śram semantic neighborhood; Vedic śarman as protective peace). : 2du impv of √yam 'hold, give, extend' (PIE *yem- 'hold'). : instr. pl. of ūti- from √av/√ū 'help/protect' (Vedic ūti as saving aid). : from a- + vidriya- (uncertain derivation; commonly taken as 'not to be repelled/checked', expressing invincible supports).
śarman as inner peace/refuge, divine aid (ūti) as irresistible support, completeness (ubhā) as integral reception
Aśvins support Ṛta by restoring right functioning—healing disorder and enabling right movement from darkness to light.
Unobstructed helps imply alignment with truth-force rather than egoic struggle.
Emergence from obstruction to free flow (an inner ‘release’ motif).
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: gods as powers of consciousness aiding evolution of the being.
Dawn/early morning transition (Aśvin time)
Dawn-transition in consciousness: from subconscient inertia to awakening; Soma as inner delight-energy offered to higher powers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The sacrificial invitation and the granting of śarman: the gods drink the offering and reciprocate with protection. Inner sense: when delight is offered upward (Soma), peace and safeguarding force descend as unobstructed supports (avidriya ūti).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā 'drink' (PIE *peh₃-) and √yam 'hold/extend' (PIE *yem-) are inherited cores. The dual imperatives preserve an archaic IE feature (special verbal morphology for paired gods).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- A clear ritual-psychological contract: the rishi offers Soma and calls for the devatā’s participation; the devatā are asked to answer not with material gain but with an inner condition—śarman—delivered through irresistible aids.
Invoke twin aids: clarity (intuition) + effective energy (right action). Offer the ‘Soma’ of gratitude/joy to be assimilated by higher guidance.
Ājñā (intuition) with support to Anāhata (peace/shelter)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana (6–6 count) before chanting; feel ‘unblocked help’ on exhale.
Quietly alert receptivity—protected openness.
Chant slowly 3/9/27 times; after each round, pause in the heart-space and feel a dome of śarma; invite swift corrective intuitions for the day.
Use Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā tradition; key lifts often on vocatives and imperatives (aśvinā, pibatam, yacchatam).
Keep imperatives crisp: PI-ba-tam, YAC-cha-tam; avoid dragging consonant clusters in avidriyābhih.
aśvinā: ‘śv’ cluster clean, not ‘swinā’, śarma: soft ‘ś’, short ‘a’, avidriyābhiḥ: articulate ‘dri’ clearly; final ‘ḥ’ as light visarga
Clear, inviting, steady (protective tone rather than forceful).
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