Rig Veda 1.65.3: Mandala 1, Sukta 65, Mantra 3
Sukta 1.65
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Agni hymn context
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace)
ऋतस्य देवा अनु व्रता गुर्भुवत्परिष्टिर्द्यौर्न भूम ॥
ṛtásya devā́ ánu vratā́ gúr bhúvat páriṣṭir dyáur na bhū́ma ||
देवी-देवता भी किसी नियम से चलते हैं। उनका नियम आसमान और धरती की तरह पक्का है। यह नियम दुनिया को सही रखता है।
Word by Word
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order / truth)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root ऋत (प्रातिपदिक; < √ऋ ‘to go, fit’ > ‘right order, truth’)
- देवाः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after; according toIndeclinableअव्ययRole (क्रियाविशेषण/उपपद) — ‘following/according to’Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- व्रतानि
- vows; ordinances; fixed lawsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
- गुः
- have gone; wentVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole (मुख्य क्रिया)Root √गम् (गच्छति) — वैदिक लिट्/परफेक्ट रूप
- भुवत्
- being; becoming; existentAdjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (विशेष्य: ‘परिष्टिः’)Role कर्तृ-विशेषण (descriptive of the subject)Root भुवत् (वर्तमान कृदन्त; √भू ‘to be, become’)
- परिष्टिः
- the encircling course; circuit; enclosureNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समास/वाक्य में ‘द्यौः … परिष्टिः’ का विधेय/सम्बन्ध)Root परि-ष्टि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘encompassing/encircling course, circuit, enclosure’)
- द्यौः
- Heaven; the SkyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वैदिक); प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विषय (as subject in apposition)Root द्यौ/दिव् (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like; asIndeclinableअव्ययRole उपमा/निषेध-सूचक (here: comparative ‘like/as’)Root न (अव्यय)
- भूम
- Earth; the groundNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole उपमान (standard of comparison)Root भूमन्/भूमि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘earth/ground, expanse’) — वैदिक रूप ‘भूम’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): ऋतस्य | देवाः | अनु | व्रतानि | गुः | भुवत् | परिष्टिः | द्यौः | न | भूम । मुख्य संधि: (1) देवा अनु → देवाः अनु (अः + अ → आ; विसर्ग-रूप) । (2) व्रता गुः → व्रतानि गुः (पदपाठ में नपुंसक द्वितीया बहुवचन ‘व्रतानि’) । (3) भुवत् परिष्टिः → भुवत्परिष्टिः (त् + प → त्प्) । (4) परिष्टिः द्यौः → परिष्टिर्द्यौः (ः/र् sandhi: इः + द् → इर्द्) । (5) द्यौः न → द्यौर्न (विसर्ग + न → र्न) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The gods go according to the vows/laws of Ṛta; their encompassing order becomes like heaven and earth—a boundary/containment for existence.
Inner meaning
The divine powers (devāḥ) act only by truth-order (ṛta) and its fixed workings (vratā). When the seeker aligns with these inner laws—sincerity, right discernment, right measure—there forms a protecting circumference (pariṣṭiḥ): a stable field of consciousness that holds the becoming (bhūvat) as heaven and earth hold the worlds. This is the formation of an inner dharma-field around the sādhanā.
Universal truth
Freedom and power arise from obedience to truth: when life follows the law of harmony, a stable order appears that supports growth and prevents dispersion.
Themes
Cosmic order, Law of the gods, Foundation imagery, Truth-consciousness
The seer
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.65, RV 1.66, RV 1.67, RV 1.68, RV 1.69, RV 1.70, RV 1.71, RV 1.72, RV 1.73
Family tradition
Agni-centered hymns articulating ṛta as the secret law of inner progress and right sacrifice.
Significance
The seer stresses that divine action is not arbitrary: the gods move by ṛta, and the yogin’s safety and wideness come from aligning with that law.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (hymn context) / Devāḥ under Ṛta (verse focus)
- Epithets
- ṛtāvān (possessed of ṛta, implied), dhārayitṛ (supporter, implied)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (guardian of ṛta), Mitra (harmony), Aryaman (noble law), Indra (illumination that breaks disorder)
Cosmic role
Ṛta is the ordering principle; the gods are its executors; Agni is the first establisher of ṛta in the human vessel through sacrifice.
Inner power
Right law in the consciousness—truth-guided will that builds a stable inner world.
In ritual
Where it is used
General ṛta/Agni praise within soma-yajña or agnihotra recitational context
ऋ॒तस्य॑ दे॒वा अनु॑ व्र॒ता गु॒र्भुव॒त्परि॑ष्टि॒र्द्यौर्न भूम॑ ॥
ऋ॒तस्य॑ । दे॒वाः । अनु॑ । व्र॒ता । गुः॒ । भुव॑त् । परि॑ष्टिः । द्यौः । न । भूम॑ ॥
ṛtasya | devāḥ | anu | vratā | guḥ | bhuvat | pariṣṭiḥ | dyauḥ | na | bhūma
44
4 pādas; probable triṣṭubh cadence (11×4)
Measured and declarative; emphasizes law, boundary, and stability.
Imparts firmness and containment—useful for establishing inner discipline and ethical clarity.
- ऋतस्य (ṛtasya)
- Literal: of Ṛta, of truth-order. Symbolic: the intrinsic law of harmony by which consciousness evolves
- देवाः (devāḥ)
- Literal: gods, luminous powers. Symbolic: illumined faculties and cosmic forces that uphold ascent
- व्रता (vratā)
- Literal: vows, fixed laws/ordinances. Symbolic: stable principles of right action and right movement in yoga
- परिष्टिः (pariṣṭiḥ)
- Literal: enclosure, encompassing boundary. Symbolic: protective circle of integrated consciousness; a stable container for transformation
- द्यौः / भूम (dyauḥ / bhūma)
- Literal: heaven / earth. Symbolic: higher mind and grounded physical-vital base held in right relation
- भुवत् (bhuvat)
- Literal: that which becomes, becoming. Symbolic: the evolving personality and life-field under transformation
Doctrinal affirmation within ritual: the sacrifice mirrors ṛta; the gods’ vrata ensures the rite’s efficacy and the seeker’s inner ordering.
When affirming right order and inviting the gods to act according to ṛta; often as a stabilizing doctrinal line within praise.
Recitation accompanying offerings that ‘set the order’—measured ghee oblations, establishing the altar’s sacred boundary.
Use to set an intention of truthfulness and right measure before practice; helpful when life feels chaotic—reaffirm ‘I move by ṛta’.
ṛta- from √ṛ ‘to fit, move rightly’ (PIE *h₂er- ‘fit/join’ often cited) supports ‘right order’. vrata- ‘ordinance’ (from √vṛ ‘choose/will/ward’; semantic development to ‘rule observed’) provides ‘law of action’. pariṣṭi- ‘enclosure’ from pari- + √sthā? (or √ṣṭhā/√sthā ‘stand’) indicates ‘standing around’ → boundary; supports containment/order imagery.
Ṛta, Vrata (divine law), Cosmic containment/order (pariṣṭi)
Explicit: the gods’ movements are governed by ṛta and its vratā.
Truth becomes a containing power (pariṣṭiḥ) that prevents fall into falsehood or dispersion.
Cosmos is sustained by ordered boundaries (heaven/earth); similarly, inner cosmos is sustained by law and measure.
Vedic ṛta-doctrine leading toward Upaniṣadic satya-dharma alignment.
Heaven = higher mind/illumination; earth = embodied stability; boundary = protective integration of the being.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The establishment of cosmic order: the gods themselves proceed by ṛta and their vrata forms the world’s encompassing boundary, likened to heaven-and-earth. Psychologically, the inner powers must follow truth-law to create a stable container for growth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The cosmic dyad ‘heaven and earth’ is a classic IE formula (Dyēus + earth), here used as a simile for ‘boundary/containment’. The inherited cosmological pair becomes an abstract principle: order as the world’s frame.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi positions human ritual/discipline under the same divine ordinances: aligning with the gods’ vrata is the condition for entering ṛta. The devatā relationship is pedagogical—divine law as model for inner practice.
Align thought, speech, and action to an inner law of truth; feel a protective circumference of sincerity around the practice.
Slow exhale emphasis (e.g., 4-in/6-out) to stabilize and ‘contain’ the mind in ṛta.
Steady, ethical, self-governed clarity.
Before deeper meditation, renew core ‘vratā’: truthfulness, non-self-deception, right measure in effort; visualize an oval boundary of light holding the practice-field.
Exact udātta/anudātta/svarita requires pada-svara notation; chant with restrained, even intonation to match the ‘law’ theme.
Let ṛtasya be clean and centered; keep a slight lift on devāḥ; land firmly on bhūma to convey grounding.
ṛtasya: vocalic ṛ clear (not ‘ri’), light dental t, vratā: retroflex ṭ absent—here dental t; long ā, pariṣṭiḥ: retroflex ṣṭ cluster—hold ṣ then ṭiḥ, dyauḥ: diphthong au; visarga ḥ audible, bhūma: long ū, soft m
Even, measured, authoritative calm.
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