Rig Veda 10.141.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 141, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.141
- Devata
- Aryaman, Bhaga, Bṛhaspati
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
प्र नो यच्छत्वर्यमा प्र भगः प्र बृहस्पतिः । प्र देवाः प्रोत सूनृता रायो देवी ददातु नः ॥
prá no yacchatv aryamā́ prá bhágaḥ prá bṛ́haspátiḥ | prá devā́ḥ próta sūnṛ́tā rāyó devī́ dadātu naḥ ||
अर्यमन हमें सही रास्ता दिखाए। भग हमें खुशी दे। बृहस्पति बड़े ज्ञान को लाए। देवता हमें आगे बढ़ाएं। देवी सुनृता, जो सच और उजियानी बात है, हमें धन दे।
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात (अव्यय)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? बहुवचन (enclitic gen./dat. ‘of us/to us’)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- यच्छतु
- let (him) grant / bestowVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot यम् (यच्छ-)
- अर्यमा
- AryamanNoun (deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अर्यमन्
- प्र
- forthIndeclinableअव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- भगः
- BhagaNoun (deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot भग
- प्र
- forthIndeclinableअव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- बृहस्पतिः
- BṛhaspatiNoun (deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot बृहस्पति
- प्र
- forthIndeclinableअव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- देवाः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot देव
- प्रोत
- and also, moreoverIndeclinableनिपात-समुदाय (प्र + उत) = ‘and further/also forth’Root प्र + उत (निपात)
- सूनृता
- good speech / gracious utteranceNoun (abstract)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot सूनृता
- रायः
- of wealth, of richesNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRoot राय्/रयि (प्रातिपदिक: राय-)
- देवी
- the goddessNoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot देवी
- ददातु
- let (her) giveVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot दा (दद्-)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounचतुर्थी बहुवचन (enclitic dat. ‘to us/for us’)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘प्र नो॑’ इति प्र + नः (एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम) । ‘यच्छत्वर्य॒मा’ इति यच्छतु + अर्यमा (उ/अ संधिः; पदपाठे पृथक्) । ‘प्र भग॒:’ इति प्र + भगः । ‘प्र बृह॒स्पति॑:’ इति प्र + बृहस्पतिः । ‘प्र दे॒वाः’ इति प्र + देवाः । ‘प्रोत’ = प्र + उत (निपातसमुच्चयः) । ‘रा॒यो दे॒वी’ इति रायः + देवी (विसर्ग-संधिः: ः + द → ओ द; ‘रायो देवी’) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A collective prayer: may Aryaman, Bhaga, and Bṛhaspati grant forward; may the Gods advance us; may the goddess Sūnṛtā give riches.
Inner meaning
Multiple inner powers are invoked for integral progress: Aryaman as the force of right guidance and harmonizing law in relationships and the path; Bhaga as the distributor of delight and rightful share (inner enjoyment of truth); Bṛhaspati as the revealer of the vast inspired Word (bṛhat brahman) that breaks mental limitation; and Sūnṛtā as luminous truth-speech—speech that aligns thought, word, and being. The repeated ‘pra’ signifies a forward movement of consciousness—an evolution from inertia to progressive manifestation.
Universal truth
Human growth is accelerated when guidance, delight, inspired understanding, and truthful speech cooperate; progress is a coordinated action of many divine powers within the psyche.
Themes
Invocation, True speech, Prosperity as inner fullness, Divine order, Inspired Word (brahman)
The seer
Significance
The verse has a ‘collective yoga’ character: it reads like a formula for coordinated inner development—guidance (Aryaman), delight (Bhaga), revelation (Bṛhaspati), and truth-speech (Sūnṛtā).
The deity
- Devata
- Aryaman, Bhaga, Bṛhaspati, Sūnṛtā (with ‘Devāḥ’ collectively)
- Epithets
- Āditya (for Aryaman/Bhaga), Brahmaṇaspati/Bṛhaspati (lord of mantra), Devī Sūnṛtā (goddess of true speech)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa, Indra, Agni, Sarasvatī (as allied power of speech)
Cosmic role
Ādityas uphold cosmic law and right relations; Bṛhaspati opens the vast truth by the Word; Sūnṛtā stabilizes truth in expression.
Inner power
Ethical-spiritual alignment (Aryaman), blissful right enjoyment (Bhaga), inspired intuition and expansive understanding (Bṛhaspati), and speech that carries truth-force (Sūnṛtā).
In ritual
Where it is used
General prosperity and right-order invocation; adaptable within Soma and Agni rites as a ‘forwarding’ prayer (pra-yācana).
प्र नो॑ यच्छत्वर्य॒मा प्र भग॒: प्र बृह॒स्पति॑: । प्र दे॒वाः प्रोत सू॒नृता॑ रा॒यो दे॒वी द॑दातु नः ॥
प्र । नः॒ । य॒च्छ॒तु॒ । अ॒र्य॒मा । प्र । भगः॑ । प्र । बृह॒स्पतिः॑ । प्र । दे॒वाः । प्र । उ॒त । सू॒नृता॑ । रा॒यः । दे॒वी । द॒दा॒तु॒ । नः॒ ॥
pra | naḥ | yacchatu | aryamā | pra | bhagaḥ | pra | bṛhaspatiḥ | pra | devāḥ | pra | uta | sūnṛtā | rāyaḥ | devī | dadātu | naḥ
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4 pādas × ~8 syllables (with repeated ‘pra’ openings)
March-like forward propulsion through anaphora (‘pra… pra… pra…’).
Builds momentum and confidence; suitable for energizing progress and clear articulation.
- अ॒र्य॒मा (aryamā)
- Literal: Aryaman (Aditya). Symbolic: right leading, noble order, harmonizing guidance on the path
- भग (bhaga)
- Literal: Bhaga (Aditya), distributor of shares. Symbolic: apportioner of delight and inner fortune; capacity to enjoy truth rightly
- बृहस्पति (bṛhaspati)
- Literal: lord of the vast (bṛhat) inspired word. Symbolic: power of inspired revelation that expands mind into truth-consciousness
- सू॒नृता (sūnṛtā)
- Literal: good/true speech. Symbolic: luminous speech arising from truth—mantric sincerity that makes words effective
- रायः (rāyaḥ)
- Literal: riches. Symbolic: plenitude of inner powers: light, force, joy, harmony
- प्र (pra)
- Literal: forth, forward. Symbolic: evolutionary push; progressive manifestation in consciousness
General invocation for prosperity and right ordering of the sacrifice; suitable as an auspicious prayer for increase of rāyas (inner abundance) and brahman (inspired utterance).
Before recitation/offerings where success, harmony, and effective speech are sought; also before teaching or counsel.
Invoking specific deities for advancement and bestowal of rāyas.
Chant before important conversations, teaching, writing, or decisions—seeking right guidance, right joy, and truthful speech.
Key roots: √yam 'to restrain/guide/order' behind yacchatu (from √yam/√yach in Vedic usage: to extend, bestow, direct); Aryaman (arya 'noble' + man 'mind/measure'—power of noble measure/ordering); Bhaga from √bhaj 'to ভাগ/share/distribute' => 'portion, allotment, enjoyment'; Bṛhaspati: bṛhánt 'vast' + páti 'lord' => lord of the Vast (Word/Thought); Sūnṛtā: su- 'good' + nṛtā from √nṛ/√nar (Vedic nuance of 'true, straight, manly/firm utterance')—speech that is both benevolent and truth-bearing; rāyás (gen. of rayi) from √rā 'to give' / rayi 'wealth, abundance'—taken psychologically as fullness of inner resources.
Ṛta (harmonious order) via Aryaman, Satya (truth) via Sūnṛtā, Bṛhat (vastness) via Bṛhaspati, Rāyas (plenitude of being)
Ādityas (Aryaman/Bhaga) are guardians of ṛta—right movement and right share.
Sūnṛtā embodies satya in speech—truth that is luminous and beneficent.
Progress (‘pra’) as the forward unfolding of the Vast into mind, life, and word.
Integral-psychological Vedism: speech (vāc) as a creative power when aligned with truth.
morning (symbolically, for ‘forwarding’ and awakening)
Solar law as clarity and right relation; the ‘vast’ as widened consciousness; speech as vibration shaping inner reality.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Not a narrative combat-myth, but the recurrent mythologem of 'the Gods as forward-leading powers' (prá...) who distribute right order, delight, and inspired speech—i.e., the ascent of the human being through divine agencies culminating in Sūnṛtā (truth-speaking) that yields rāyas (plenitude).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Bhaga (√bhaj) aligns with PIE *bʰag- 'to share, apportion' (cf. Slavic bogŭ 'god' as 'dispenser', Iranian baga- 'god/portion'); bṛhánt 'vast' reflects PIE *bʰerǵʰ- 'high, elevated' (cognate with 'burgh'/'berg' semantic field of height). The distribution/portion semantics (bhaga) and 'vastness' semantics (bṛh-) are central to Indo-European sacral diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker adopts a reciprocal economy of consciousness: by calling the powers forward (prá...), he seeks their active participation in his inner formation—Aryaman harmonizes the collective movement, Bhaga apportions delight and right share, Bṛhaspati establishes inspired formulation, and Sūnṛtā seals the exchange by giving truth-speech that concretizes abundance (rāyas) in the human vessel.
Invoke four faculties: right guidance, right delight, vast intuition, truthful speech.
Viśuddha (speech-truth) with support from Ājñā (guidance)
4-part breathing: inhale on each ‘pra…’ clause; gentle pause after Bṛhaspati; exhale on ‘rāyo devī dadātu naḥ’.
Widened, orderly, truth-aligned communication.
Before speaking, feel a column of light from brow to throat; let words arise only after a brief inner silence on ‘sūnṛtā’.
RV accenting as marked; repeated ‘pra’ should not be over-musical—keep it as clear forward stress.
Strike ‘pra’ cleanly each time; keep deity names distinct: aryamā / bhagaḥ / bṛhaspatiḥ; soften into reverence on ‘sūnṛtā’.
(aryamā): long ā at end, (bṛhaspatiḥ): vocalic ṛ in bṛ-, light aspiration in -sp-, (sūnṛtā): long ū; retroflex ṛ; long ā, (rāyaḥ): ‘ya’ glide, visarga audible before consonant/pause
Bright, articulate, slightly uplifted (throat clear).
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