Rig Veda 1.72.9: Mandala 1, Sukta 72, Mantra 9
Sukta 1.72
- Rishi
- Madhucchandā Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
आ ये विश्वा स्वपत्यानि तस्थुः कृण्वानासो अमृतत्वाय गातुम् । मह्ना महद्भिः पृथिवी वि तस्थे माता पुत्रैरदितिर्धायसे वेः ॥
ā́ yé víśvā sv-apatyā́ni tasthúḥ kṛṇvānā́so amṛta-tvā́ya gātúm | mahnā́ mahád-bhiḥ pṛthivī́ ví tasthé mātā́ putráir áditir dhā́yase véḥ ||
जिन लोगों ने अच्छे काम शुरू किए, वो अमृत तक पहुँचने का रास्ता बना रहे थे। उनकी वजह से धरती बड़ी हो गई। माँ अदिति अपने बेटों के साथ दुनिया को संभालने लगी।
Word by Word
- आ
- hither; forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात (गत्यर्थ/आगमनार्थ)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- ये
- who (they)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग? प्रथमा बहुवचन (सम्बोधन/संबन्धः: ‘who’)Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वानि
- all (things)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वपत्यानि
- own lordships/possessions; one’s own domainsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot स्वपत्य (प्रातिपदिक; स्व+पतिः/पत्य-सम्बन्ध)
- तस्थुः
- they have stood; took their standVerbलिट् (परोक्षभूत) 3 पुरुष बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRoot स्था (धातु)
- कृण्वानासः
- doing; makingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ) प्रथमा बहुवचन पुंलिङ्गRole KartāRoot कृ (धातु)
- अमृतत्वाय
- for immortalityNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग चतुर्थी एकवचन (दातृ/प्रयोजन)Role SampradānaRoot अमृतत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- गातुम्
- a path/way; (as goal) to goNoun (verbal noun/infinitival sense)द्वितीया एकवचन नपुंसकलिङ्ग; ‘गन्तुम्/मार्गम्’ अर्थेRole KarmaRoot गा (धातु) → गातु (कृदन्त/नाम)
- मह्ना
- by greatness; by mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot मघ/मह्? → मह्न् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘महन्’ से सम्बन्धित साधन-रूप)
- महत्भिः
- with the great (ones/powers)Adjective (substantive)पुंलिङ्ग तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot महन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृथिवी
- the EarthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart; widelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग (विभाग/विस्तारार्थ)Root वि (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- तस्थे
- she stood; was establishedVerbलिट् (परोक्षभूत) 3 पुरुष एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRoot स्था (धातु)
- माता
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुत्रैः
- with (her) sonsNounपुंलिङ्ग तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदितिः
- AditiNoun (proper/theonym)स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- धायसे
- for nourishment/sustenanceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot धा (धातु) → धायस् (प्रातिपदिक ‘पोष/धारण’)
- वेः
- thou hast pursued/sought/striven (for)Verbलिट्/लुङ्-प्रकार? 2 पुरुष एकवचन (वैदिक रूप), परस्मैपदRoot वी (धातु ‘वे/वी’ = to weave/arrange/strive?; RV usage: ‘to pursue/seek’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): आ | ये | विश्वानि | स्वपत्यानि | तस्थुः | कृण्वानासः | अमृतत्वाय | गातुम् || मह्ना | महद्भिः | पृथिवी | वि | तस्थे | माता | पुत्रैः | अदितिः | धायसे | वेः || प्रमुख-सन्धि: (1) आ + ये → आ ये (सन्धि नहीं) (2) महद्भिः: महत् + भिः → महद्भिः (त् + भ् → द्भ्) (3) अदितिः + धायसे (विसर्ग/इति-समाप्ति नहीं; पद-सीमा) (4) वेः वैदिक रूप
- पदान्त ‘एः’ (दीर्घ-स्वर) बना रहता है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Those who established all noble states, creating a path to immortality—by their greatness the Earth stood wide. Aditi, the Mother, with her sons, came to nourish and sustain.
Inner meaning
The “they” are the divine builders—powers of truth (often Ādityas/immortals) who fix the right becomings (svapatyāni: noble lordships/true possessions) in the evolving being. They shape a gātu (path, passage) toward amṛtatva: a practicable route from mortality to the deathless consciousness. Their vastness widens Pṛthivī—not merely physical earth, but the foundational field of embodied consciousness, making it spacious enough to hold the divine life. Aditi, the infinite Mother (undivided consciousness), with her sons (Ādityas: laws/powers of infinity), undertakes dhāyase—sustaining, nourishing the worlds in us so the path to immortality can be lived, not merely envisioned.
Universal truth
Immortality is not an escape but a constructed path: higher principles establish noble becomings, widen our foundation, and the Infinite Mother-power sustains the growth until the deathless mode becomes stable in life.
Themes
cosmic foundation, path to immortality, mother principle, widening of consciousness
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandā Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.72, RV 1.89 (Aditi/Ādityas themes appear elsewhere in the Saṃhitā)
Family tradition
Vaiśvāmitra hymns often link Agni’s work with the greater cosmic supports—Aditi and the Ādityas—who establish the law of immortality in the human journey.
Significance
The seer integrates the inner sacrifice with the Mother-infinite principle, indicating that transformation is upheld by vast cosmic powers, not personal effort alone.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (hymn-devatā) with Aditi/Ādityas invoked
- Epithets
- Agni as foundation-setter (pṛthivī-vardhana), Aditi as Mātā (Mother), Ādityas as sustainers of ṛta
- Related deities
- Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Savitar
Cosmic role
Aditi/Ādityas uphold the cosmic law and widen the earth-plane; Agni executes the inner yajña that makes that widening effective in the individual.
Inner power
Aditi = vast, undivided awareness that nourishes; Ādityas = harmonizing truth-forces; Agni = will that applies them in life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invocations connected to Ādityas and cosmic establishment; used where sustaining powers and wide foundation are sought.
आ ये विश्वा॑ स्वप॒त्यानि॑ त॒स्थुः कृ॑ण्वा॒नासो॑ अमृत॒त्वाय॑ गा॒तुम् । म॒ह्ना म॒हद्भि॑: पृथि॒वी वि त॑स्थे मा॒ता पु॒त्रैरदि॑ति॒र्धाय॑से॒ वेः ॥
आ । ये । विश्वा॑ । सु॒ऽअ॒प॒त्यानि॑ । त॒स्थुः । कृ॒ण्वा॒नासः॑ । अ॒मृ॒त॒ऽत्वाय॑ । गा॒तुम् । म॒ह्ना । म॒हत्ऽभिः॑ । पृ॒थि॒वी । वि । त॒स्थे॒ । मा॒ता । पु॒त्रैः । अदि॑तिः । धाय॑से । वेः ॥
ā | ye | viśvā | su-apatyāni | tasthuḥ | kṛṇvānāsaḥ | amṛta-tvāya | gātum | mahnā | mahat-bhiḥ | pṛthivī | vi | tasthe | mātā | putraiḥ | aditiḥ | dhāyase | veḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Majestic and expansive; supports themes of vastness and widening.
Produces a felt widening in the chest and breath; stabilizes aspiration with a sense of cosmic support.
- स्वप॒त्यानि (svapatyāni)
- Literal: good lordships/possessions. Symbolic: noble becomings; rightful mastery-states of the soul over nature
- अमृतत्वाय गातुम् (amṛtatvāya gātum)
- Literal: a path for immortality. Symbolic: a realizable passage of transformation toward deathless consciousness
- मह्ना महद्भिः (mahnā mahadbhiḥ)
- Literal: by greatness with the great. Symbolic: by vast powers of consciousness; expansion through higher forces
- पृथिवी (pṛthivī)
- Literal: earth. Symbolic: the embodied foundation; the field of manifestation widened to hold the divine
- अदितिः (aditiḥ)
- Literal: Aditi, the Infinite. Symbolic: infinite consciousness; the Mother-principle of wholeness and freedom from division
- पुत्रैः (putraiḥ)
- Literal: with sons. Symbolic: with the Ādityas—powers/laws of the infinite (truth, vastness, harmony)
Supports the sacrificer’s aspiration for amṛtatva; Aditi invoked for wideness, freedom from limitation, and sustaining fullness
During rites emphasizing order (ṛta), protection, and sustaining nourishment of the sacrifice and sacrificer.
Offerings with prayers for wide earth (stability) and a secure path to immortality.
Chant when seeking steadiness in growth: invoke wideness (pṛthivī) and the Mother-force (Aditi) to sustain long-term practice and life re-ordering.
Aditi (a- ‘not’ + diti ‘division/bound’) is ‘the undivided/infinite’, hence motherly ground of wideness (pṛthivī). su-apatya ‘good offspring’ is read inwardly as ‘true formations’ of consciousness. gātu ‘path’ (√gā/√gam ‘go’) becomes the way of immortality, not merely physical passage.
Aditi (infinity/undividedness), amṛtatva (immortality), manifestation as true becomings (su-apatya)
Ādityas are guardians of ṛta; establishing ‘svapatyāni’ is the enthronement of right order in becoming.
Noble becomings are truth-forms of life; not ego-possessions but satya-based mastery.
Widening of earth-plane and building of a path to immortality by great cosmic powers.
Early integral Vedānta: infinity (Aditi) sustaining manifestation; immortality as transformation of life.
Earth = stable embodiment; path = progressive practice; Mother = infinite consciousness sustaining evolution; sons = operative laws/powers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The establishment of the world-order and the path to immortality: cosmic powers set up ‘all good becomings’ and widen Earth; Aditi with her sons sustains. This is a cosmogonic-support myth: the Infinite Mother grounds manifestation and enables the ascent to amṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sthā (tasthuḥ) from PIE *steh₂-. mātā from PIE *méh₂tēr (cf. Latin māter, English mother). pṛthivī ‘broad’ relates to PIE *pl̥th₂u- ‘broad’ (cf. Sanskrit pṛthu-, Avestan pərəθu-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi situates the inner work (amṛtatva-gātu) within a cosmic maternal support: Aditi and her sons sustain the wideness in which immortality becomes possible. The human seeker’s ‘path’ is thus backed by the Infinite’s holding-power, not by personal effort alone.
Rest in the sense of the Infinite Mother sustaining your practice; widen the ‘earth’ of the body-consciousness to hold higher light.
Mūlādhāra (foundation) expanding toward Anāhata (motherly wideness)
Slow 4-6 breathing (inhale 4, exhale 6) while feeling the exhale widen the inner ‘earth’.
Quiet vastness; stable receptivity.
After chanting, sit with the perception of a wide base beneath all thoughts; offer fatigue and fear of time to Aditi; affirm a steady, stepwise path rather than sudden forcing.
Rigvedic accents; keep breadth on ‘mah́n ā mahádbhiḥ’ and steadiness on ‘pṛthivī ví tasthe’.
Let the third pāda expand in volume slightly to convey widening; soften on ‘mātā… aditiḥ’ for maternal tone.
svapatyāni: articulate ‘tyā’ clearly, amṛtatvāya: keep ‘ṛ’ vocalic; do not reduce consonant cluster, gātum: long ‘ā’, mahdbhiḥ: cluster ‘hdb’ carefully, keep visarga at end, aditir: crisp dental ‘t’, dhāyase: long ‘ā’
Broad, calm, sustaining; slightly softer in the last pāda.
5
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
