Rig Veda 1.6.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 6, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.6
- Rishi
- Madhuchchhandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
आदह स्वधामनु पुनर्गर्भत्वमेरिरे । दधाना नाम यज्ञियम् ॥
ād áha svadhā́m ánu púnar garbhatvám airire | dádhānā nā́ma yajñíyam ||
फिर अपनी ताकत से वो वापिस बनने लगे। उनके अंदर एक नाम था जो पूजा के काम का था। यह ताकत अंदर की पूजा को सही बनाती है।
Word by Word
- आदः
- then; thereuponPronoun/Indeclinableअव्यय (वैदिक निपात); वाक्य-प्रारम्भे ‘ततः/अथ/तदानीम्’ अर्थेRoot अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) अथवा अव्यय ‘आदः/अथ’ (वैदिक) प्रयोग
- स्वधाम्
- (their) own power/ordinance; inherent mightNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (कर्म-रूपेण) — वैदिक प्रयोगे ‘स्वधाम्’Role KarmaRoot स्वधा (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- according to; followingIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘अनुगत्य/अनुसारम्’ अर्थेRoot अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- पुनः
- againIndeclinableअव्ययRoot पुनः (अव्यय)
- गर्भत्वम्
- the state of being in the womb; conceptionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot गर्भत्व (नपुं. प्रातिपदिक; गर्भ + त्व)
- एरिरे
- they set in motion; they roused/attainedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot ईर्/इर् (धातु; ‘ईरयति/ईरते’—प्रेरणे/गत्यर्थे)
- दधानाः
- bearing; placing; holdingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), आत्मनेपदीय-भाव, प्रथमा बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (कर्तृ-सामानाधिकरण)Role KartāRoot धा (धातु) → दधाना (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- नाम
- nameNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot नामन् (नपुं. प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञियम्
- worthy of sacrifice; sacred/ritualAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; ‘नाम’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्Role KarmaRoot यज्ञिय (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; यज्ञ + य)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: आदः | स्वधाम् | अनु | पुनः | गर्भत्वम् | एरिरे | दधानाः | नाम | यज्ञियम् । 1) ‘स्वधाम्’ = स्वधा (स्त्री) का वैदिक द्वितीया-एकवचन रूप। 2) ‘पुनर्गर्भत्वम्’ में संधि: पुनः + गर्भत्वम् → पुनर्गर्भत्वम् (विसर्ग-लोप/रकारादेश)
- 3) ‘त्वमे॑रिरे’ पाठ में संधि: गर्भत्वम् + एरिरे → गर्भत्वमे॑रिरे (म् + ए → मे)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Then indeed, following their own power, they again entered the state of becoming (womb); bearing the sacred name fit for sacrifice.
Inner meaning
After illumination is yoked and guidance appears, the powers of the being follow svadhā—an innate right force or self-law—and re-enter ‘garbhatva’: a renewed gestation, a second birth process. They carry ‘nāma yajñiyam’: the divine Name/Word—mantric truth that is offerable—within them. Psychologically, the nature becomes a womb for the higher consciousness; the mantra-truth is held inwardly until it can be offered as transformed action.
Universal truth
True change is gestational: insights must be carried, matured, and embodied. When one follows the deeper self-law, the word of truth becomes a living power fit to be offered in life.
Themes
inner sacrifice (yajña) as psychological process, rebirth/renewed becoming, name-power (nāma) as effective vibration, manifestation from the concealed to the expressed
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.1 (Agni as priest of sacrifice), RV 1.6 (Indra sequence)
Family tradition
The Vaiśvāmitra current often links mantra (nāma) with effective transformation—speech as power in the inner yajña.
Significance
The seer indicates a subtle stage: after the flash of light, the being must ‘conceive’ and carry the truth until it becomes stable and offerable.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Yajñiya (worthy of sacrifice), Sahasravīrya (of many powers)
- Related deities
- Agni (carrier of offering), Bṛhaspati (lord of the Word), Maruts (impulsions that aid formation)
Cosmic role
Ensures the rebirth of consciousness into higher formations; supports the sacrificial process that leads to luminous worlds.
Inner power
Power of conscious formation—making the being a vessel (garbha) for the Name/Truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Indra stotra; ‘nāma’ and ‘yajñiya’ language suits moments emphasizing mantra and offering efficacy.
आदह॑ स्व॒धामनु॒ पुन॑र्गर्भ॒त्वमे॑रि॒रे । दधा॑ना॒ नाम॑ य॒ज्ञिय॑म् ॥
आत् । अह॑ । स्व॒धाम् । अनु॑ । पुनः॑ । ग॒र्भ॒ऽत्वम् आ॒ऽई॒रि॒रे । दधा॑नाः । नाम॑ । य॒ज्ञिय॑म् ॥
āt | aha | svadhām | anu | punaḥ | garbha-tvam āīrire | dadhānāḥ | nāma | yajñiyam
24
3 × 8
A turning, ‘after that’ (āt aha) feel—suggests transition into a deeper process.
Encourages inwardness and consolidation; good after energizing verses.
- स्वधा (svadhā)
- Literal: own power, inherent law. Symbolic: the soul’s native energy and right rhythm; inner autonomy aligned to truth
- अनु (anu)
- Literal: following. Symbolic: consent and obedience of lower nature to higher self-law
- पुनः (punaḥ)
- Literal: again. Symbolic: renewal; repeated cycles of transformation
- गर्भत्व (garbhatva)
- Literal: womb-state, gestation. Symbolic: incubation of higher consciousness; second birth
- नाम (nāma)
- Literal: name. Symbolic: the Word of power; essential vibration of truth (mantra) held within
- यज्ञिय (yajñiya)
- Literal: fit for sacrifice/adoration. Symbolic: that which can be offered—purified formation and truthful speech/action
General Indra-invocation in Soma-yajña contexts (e.g., Agniṣṭoma-related stotras/śastras); also usable as a mantra of energizing the sacrificer’s inner force (not limited to a single śrauta niche).
In sequences where the deity is established inwardly through names and praises; can accompany oblations where the ‘name’ is ritually affirmed.
Recitation with offering; mentally ‘place’ the name in the heart as a seed.
Use after meditation insight: chant to ‘seal’ the experience, letting it gestate into behavior change.
Key roots/grammar: (1) svadhā́ < sva- ‘self’ + dhā ‘to place/establish’: ‘self-established power/law’, hence an intrinsic ordering energy. (2) āīrire (airire) from √īr/√er ‘to set in motion, to rise, to impel’ (middle voice nuance: self-initiated stirring). (3) dadhānāḥ from √dhā ‘to place, to hold’: ‘bearing/holding within’ (carrying a formed spiritual content). (4) garbha-tva: garbha ‘womb, embryo, hidden interior’ + -tva abstract suffix ‘state/condition’: gestation/inner formation. (5) yajñiya from yajña (< √yaj ‘to worship/sacrifice’) + -iya: ‘fit for the offering/invocation’.
Svadhā (self-law, intrinsic ordering), R̥ta (right movement implicit in ‘anu svadhām’), Garbha (inner formation/latent truth)
svadhā as inner law is ṛta individualized—right order operating from within.
nāma yajñiyam is truth made speakable/offerable.
Re-creation through second birth: consciousness enters a new womb-state to manifest higher forms.
Vedic Vāc-doctrine tending toward later Upaniṣadic ‘nāma-rūpa’ and mantra-as-brahman themes.
Garbha = inner incubation; svadhā = organic self-regulation; nāma = vibratory seed shaping experience.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythic kernel is ‘re-entry into the womb-state’ (púnar garbhatvám) after a decisive turn (ād): the divine powers withdraw into concealment to refashion the force of manifestation, carrying the ‘Name’ as the seed-formula. In inner terms, after an advance, consciousness returns to a deeper layer to re-form the power of right action; the Name is the concentrated truth-vibration that can be offered to awaken Indra’s victorious force.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several items align with inherited Indo-European patterns: (1) √dhā ‘to place’ (dadhānāḥ) corresponds to PIE *dʰeh₁- ‘put, set’ (cf. Greek títhēmi, Latin faciō is different but ‘fact’ semantics often compared; more direct: Greek tithēmi). (2) nā́ma ‘name’ reflects PIE *h₁nōmn̥ (cf. Latin nōmen, Greek ónoma, English name). (3) The abstract -tva in garbha-tva parallels Indo-European nominal abstraction strategies (though specifically Indo-Aryan morphological). The verse’s middle-voice perfect (airire) encodes self-initiated movement, a feature with functional parallels in other ancient IE poetic idioms.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi does not bargain externally but describes an inner law of cooperation: the divine powers act ‘according to svadhā’ (their own intrinsic truth) and become bearers of the yajñiya nāma—the effective mantra/essence that the human can offer. The reciprocity is that the seer provides the conscious offering (yajña as awakened intention), while Indra and allied powers provide the dynamic impulsion and victorious formation from within the ‘garbha’ of being.
Hold the ‘Name’ silently after chanting; feel it as a seed in the heart that reorganizes the being by svadhā.
anāhata (heart)
slow coherent breathing (5-5) while mentally repeating the key word ‘nāma’
quiet integration; receptive gestation
After chanting, keep noble silence for 3–5 minutes. Let the truth you touched earlier ‘cook’ (tapas) without analysis; later express it as one small yajñiya act (offering) in the day.
Observe udatta on svadhām and nāma; keep the opening ād aha as a clear transition marker.
Articulate garbhatvam (gar-bha-tvam) distinctly; keep visarga in yajñiyam soft but present.
svadhām: ‘dh’ aspirated, long ‘ā’, āīrire: treat as ā-ī-ri-re with clear vowel sequence, dadhānā: retroflex ‘ṇ’, yajñiyam: ‘jñ’ cluster (gya/gnya-like), not ‘j-ni’
low, warm, inward; sustained vowels
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