Rig Veda 10.10.12: Mandala 10, Sukta 10, Mantra 12
Sukta 10.10
- Rishi
- Yama
- Devata
- Yama as dharma/ṛta principle
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
न वा उ ते तन्वा तन्वं सं पपृच्यां पापमाहुर्यः स्वसारं निगच्छात् । अन्येन मत्प्रमुदः कल्पयस्व न ते भ्राता सुभगे वष्ट्येतत् ॥
ná vā u te tanvā́ tanváṁ sáṁ papṛcyāṁ pā́pam āhur yáḥ svásāraṁ nigácchāt | anyéna mátpramúdaḥ kalpayasva ná te bhrā́tā subhage vaṣṭy etát ||
यम कहते हैं कि मैं तुम्हारा शरीर अपने शरीर से नहीं जोड़ूँगा। लोग कहते हैं कि बहन के पास जाना पाप है। किसी और के साथ खुश रहो, मेरे साथ नहीं। मैं यह नहीं चाहता।
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- वा
- or / indeedIndeclinableविकल्प/समुच्चयRoot वा
- उ
- indeed, surelyIndeclinableनिपात (उद्गार/बल)Root उ
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot त्वद्
- तन्वा
- with (your) bodyNounतृतीया एकवचन (स्त्रीलिङ्ग)Role करणRoot तनू
- तन्वम्
- (your) bodyNounद्वितीया एकवचन (स्त्रीलिङ्ग)Role कर्मRoot तनू
- सम्
- together, completelyPreverbउपसर्गRoot सम्
- पपृच्याम्
- I should mingle / uniteVerbविधिलिङ् (optative) उत्तमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot पृच्
- पापम्
- sin, evilNounद्वितीया एकवचन (नपुंसकलिङ्ग)Role कर्म (आहुः इत्यस्य)Root पाप
- आहुः
- they have said / callVerbलिट् (perfect) प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot अह्
- यः
- whoPronounप्रथमा एकवचन (पुंलिङ्ग)Role कर्तृ (निगच्छात् इत्यस्य)Root यद्
- स्वसारम्
- (his) sisterNounद्वितीया एकवचन (स्त्रीलिङ्ग)Role कर्मRoot स्वसृ
- निगच्छात्
- should go to / approachVerbविधिलिङ् (optative) प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: नि-Role क्रियाRoot गम्
- अन्येन
- with another (man)Adjective (used substantively)तृतीया एकवचन (पुं/नपुंसक)Role करणRoot अन्य
- मत्
- from mePronounपञ्चमी एकवचन (वेदिक रूप)Role अपादानRoot अस्मद्
- प्रमुदः
- delight, joyNounप्रथमा एकवचन (पुंलिङ्ग)Role कर्म/विधेय (कल्पयस्व इत्यस्य)Root प्र-मुद्
- कल्पयस्व
- arrange, make, contriveVerbलोट् (imperative) मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot कॢप्
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- ते
- yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot त्वद्
- भ्राता
- brotherNounप्रथमा एकवचन (पुंलिङ्ग)Role कर्तृ (वष्टि इत्यस्य)Root भ्रातृ
- सुभगे
- O fortunate oneAdjective (vocative)सम्बोधन एकवचन (स्त्रीलिङ्ग)Role सम्बोधनRoot सु-भग
- वष्टि
- wishes, desiresVerbलट् (present) प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot वश्
- एतत्
- thisPronounद्वितीया एकवचन (नपुंसकलिङ्ग)Role कर्मRoot एतद्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): न | वा | उ | ते | तन्वा | तन्वम् | सम् | पपृच्याम् | पापम् | आहुः | यः | स्वसारम् | नि-गच्छात् | अन्येन | मत् | प्रमुदः | कल्पयस्व | न | ते | भ्राता | सुभगे | वष्टि | एतत् । प्रमुख सन्धि: (1) सं पपृच्याम् → सम् + पपृच्याम् (अनुस्वारस्य परसवर्णः) (2) निगच्छात् → नि + गच्छात् (उपसर्ग-संयोग) (3) मत्प्रमुदः → मत् + प्रमुदः (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि; त् + प्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Yama refuses: he will not unite body with body; it is called evil for one to go to his sister. She should arrange her joy with another; her brother does not desire this.
Inner meaning
The inner law (Yama) makes a decisive separation between true union and vital confusion. ‘Pāpam’ is not moralism alone but the psychological wrongness of mixing what should remain distinct—confusing levels of being and binding consciousness to compulsive patterns. The instruction ‘anyena…kalpayasva’ is a yogic redirection: seek delight (pramuda) through a different principle—through the higher, not through the same-stock impulse. Yama’s refusal is the soul’s refusal to let desire hijack the life-force; it protects the possibility of a purer, wider Ananda.
Universal truth
Freedom and wholeness require boundaries: not every attraction is a truth. Redirect delight toward what enlarges consciousness rather than what entangles it.
Themes
refusal and ethical law, right arrangement (kalpa), incest taboo as symbol of non-confusion, discipline of desire
The seer
- Rishi
- Yama
- Other hymns
- RV 10.10, RV 10.14
Family tradition
Didactic dialogue; Yama as archetype of restraint and truth-order rather than a human clan seer.
Significance
Represents the psychic/ethical will that refuses lower satisfaction to preserve higher possibility; a key Vedic statement of boundary as spiritual power.
The deity
- Devata
- Yama (as ṛta/dharma)
- Epithets
- restrainer, law-keeper, refuser of confusion
- Related deities
- Mitra-Varuṇa, Sūrya (witness), Agni (purifying will)
Cosmic role
Guards the order that allows worlds and relations to remain harmonious and evolutionary.
Inner power
Discernment, refusal-power, capacity to redirect life-energy toward truth and wideness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Didactic; articulates the Vedic boundary that protects the right ordering of creative energies.
न वा उ॑ ते त॒न्वा॑ त॒न्वं१॒॑ सं प॑पृच्यां पा॒पमा॑हु॒र्यः स्वसा॑रं नि॒गच्छा॑त् । अ॒न्येन॒ मत्प्र॒मुद॑: कल्पयस्व॒ न ते॒ भ्राता॑ सुभगे वष्ट्ये॒तत् ॥
न । वै । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । ते॒ । त॒न्वा॑ । त॒न्व॑म् । सम् । प॒पृ॒च्या॒म् । पा॒पम् । आ॒हुः॒ । यः । स्वसा॑रम् । नि॒ऽगच्छा॑त् । अ॒न्येन॑ । मत् । प्र॒ऽमुदः॑ । क॒ल्प॒य॒स्व॒ । न । ते॒ । भ्राता॑ । सु॒ऽभ॒गे॒ । व॒ष्टि॒ । ए॒तत् ॥
na | vai | oṃ iti | te | tanvā | tanvam | sam | papṛcyām | pāpam | āhuḥ | yaḥ | svasāram | ni-gacchāt | anyena | mat | pra-mudaḥ | kalpayasva | na | te | bhrātā | su-bhage | vaṣṭi | etat
44
4 × ~11
Crisp negation and instruction; strong closures at pāda ends.
Instills steadiness and moral-psychological clarity; supports ‘no’ as a spiritual act.
- न वै (na vai)
- Literal: not indeed. Symbolic: firm inner veto; decisive discrimination
- पापम् (pāpam)
- Literal: evil/wrong. Symbolic: psychological disorder; confusion of planes leading to bondage
- स्वसारम् निगच्छात् (svasāram nigacchāt)
- Literal: goes to his sister. Symbolic: returns to self-same pattern; narcissistic fusion; closed-circuit desire
- प्रमुदः (pramudaḥ)
- Literal: gladness/joy. Symbolic: true delight to be sought in higher alignment, not compulsion
- कल्पयस्व (kalpayasva)
- Literal: arrange, fashion. Symbolic: conscious formation of life; intentional sādhanā rather than impulse
- वष्टि (vaṣṭi)
- Literal: wills/desires. Symbolic: soul-consent; inner sanction
Didactic; articulates the Vedic boundary that protects the right ordering of creative energies.
Ethical instruction; recitation in contexts emphasizing dharma, restraint, and correct relation.
Admonition/niyama reinforcement; could accompany vrata-taking or personal resolve.
Use as a mantra for breaking compulsive patterns, addiction loops, or inappropriate attachments; supports consent and boundaries.
√pṛc (papṛcyām) ‘to mix, blend’—a key term for union, but here explicitly negated, marking boundary. pāpa ‘evil’ is not moralism alone: it denotes what falls away from ṛta (a distortion). √kḷp ‘to arrange, make fit’ suggests constructive redirection of delight (pramuda). √vaṣ/vaś ‘to will/desire’ underscores that true will (aligned with ṛta) refuses compulsive kāma.
Ṛta as boundary and right mixing, Transmutation of pramuda (joy) through right means, True will vs. compulsive desire
Explicit: refusal protects ṛta from being violated by compulsive desire.
Truth as inner consent (vaṣṭi) aligned with right-order.
Orderly differentiation is necessary for fruitful union; confusion leads to sterility and bondage.
Ethical-psychological Veda; aligns with later dharma discourse and yogic niyama.
The ‘separating line’ in consciousness that distinguishes truth-impulse from craving.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of boundary as sacred law: creation requires right combinations, not indiscriminate mixing. The refusal is the action of ṛta preserving differentiation so that higher harmony can be formed.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √kḷp (kalpayasva) belongs to an Indo-European pattern of ‘fitting/arranging’ (cf. Lat scalpō is not cognate; but the functional semantic of ‘make fit’ is common). √vaś ‘to wish’ has Indo-Iranian prominence; the opposition of √vaś (true will) vs. kāma (compulsion) is expressed through straightforward negation and imperative redirection.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Yama embodies the devic law within the dialogue: he does not merely negate but instructs Yamī to ‘arrange joy’ elsewhere—i.e., to let delight be shaped by a power that keeps ṛta.
Cultivate the ‘inner veto’ against compulsive fusion; choose pramuda through higher alignment (truth, service, devotion, study).
mūlādhāra (boundaries/safety)
box breathing (4-4-4-4) while mentally repeating ‘na vai…’ to stabilize and set a boundary.
From impulsive rajas to steady sattva and inner authority.
When a pattern repeats because it is familiar (‘same stock’), pause. Say inwardly: ‘I do not consent.’ Then consciously ‘arrange gladness’ by a higher substitute: movement, prayer, study, or a truthful conversation.
Tri-svara; keep ‘na vā u’ with clear initial negation; emphasize udātta on pāpam and pramudaḥ as semantic pivots.
Deliver first half with firm, clipped cadence; second half slightly softer but still decisive on ‘na te bhrātā…’.
sam papṛcyām: keep ‘pṛ’ vocalic r; avoid inserting a vowel between p and pṛ, pāpam: long ā, svasāram: long ā; dental s, pramudaḥ: clear pra-, short u; final ḥ light
Steady, authoritative, compassionate but unyielding.
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