Rig Veda 10.15.4: Mandala 10, Sukta 15, Mantra 4
Sukta 10.15
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Pitṛs
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Karuna (compassion)
बर्हिषदः पितर ऊत्यर्वागिमा वो हव्या चकृमा जुषध्वम् । त आ गतावसा शंतमेनाथा नः शं योररपो दधात ॥
barhíṣadaḥ pitara ūtý arvā́g imā́ vo havyā́ cakṛma juṣádhvam | te ā́ gatā́vasā śáṃtamena áthā naḥ śáṃ yór arápo dadhāta ||
पुरखो, जो बैठ के हुकूमत करते हैं, पास आओ और मदद करो। हमने यह सब चीज़ें तुम्हारे लिए तैयार की हैं, ले लो। शांति लेकर आओ और हमें भी अच्छा कर दो।
Word by Word
- बर्हिषदः
- O barhis-seated (fathers), seated on the sacred grassNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole सम्बोधन (आमन्त्रण) / कर्तृ (वाक्य-सम्बन्धे)Root बर्हिषद् (प्रातिपदिक; बर्हिस् + सद् ‘बैठना’)
- पितरः
- O Fathers (ancestors)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole सम्बोधन / कर्तृRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊती
- help, aidNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्म (अर्थतः ‘सहायता’—आह्वान/प्रार्थ्य-वस्तु)Root ऊति (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्वाक्
- hither, towards hereIndeclinableअव्यय (दिशा/गति-अर्थ)Role क्रियाविशेषण (गत्यर्थे)Root अर्वाक् (अव्यय/दिक्शब्द)
- इमाः
- thesePronoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘वः’)Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे) / सम्बन्ध (स्वाम्यर्थे)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- हव्यानि
- oblations, offeringsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot हव्य (प्रातिपदिक; √हु ‘होम/आह्वान’ से)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्यय (समुच्चय)Role समुच्चयRoot च
- कृम
- we have made / preparedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट); उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (वेदिक रूप ‘कृम’ = ‘चक्रिम’)Role कर्तृ (अहम्-समूहः ‘वयम्’)Root √कृ (करोति)
- जुषध्वम्
- enjoy (them), accept gladlyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदRole कर्तृ (आमन्त्रिताः पितरः)Root √जुष् (सेवने/प्रीतौ)
- ते
- they / you (those fathers)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- आ
- hither, to (us)Indeclinable (preverb) / particleउपसर्ग/निपातRole क्रियाविशेषण (आगमन-सम्प्राप्ति)Root आ
- गताः
- having comeVerb (participial)क्त (भूतकृदन्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (ते…गताः)Root √गम् (गच्छति)
- अवसा
- with help, with protectionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करण (सहाय-उपाय/साधन)Root अवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- शंतमेन
- with the most beneficent (help)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन (अवसा इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role करण (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root शंतम (विशेषण; शम् + तम)
- अथ
- thenIndeclinableअव्यय (अनन्तर/ततः)Role सम्बन्ध/क्रमसूचकRoot अथ
- नः
- for us / of usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’)Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- शम्
- well-being, welfareIndeclinable / Noun-likeअव्यय (कल्याणार्थ)Role कर्म (दधात इत्यस्य)Root शम् (अव्यय/नपुंसक-प्रातिपदिक ‘कल्याण’)
- यः
- health, prosperity (the ‘yōr’—well-being/wholeness)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (समास/द्वन्द्व-भावे ‘शं योर्’ = ‘शम् च यः/योर्’)Role कर्म/उद्देश्य (कल्याण-सम्बद्धः)Root य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘योर्’ = यः + उः/उर् वैदिक संधि-रूप)
- अरपः
- harmlessness, freedom from hurt/defectAdjective/Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (दधात इत्यस्य कर्म)Role कर्मRoot अरपस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अ-रपस्’ = ‘अदोष/अघ-रहित’)
- दधात
- may you place / bestowVerbलोट् (आशीर्लिङ्/आज्ञार्थ-प्रयोग); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (वैदिक)Role कर्तृ (पितरः)Root √धा (दधाति)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठ-समाधान (मुख्य संधि): ऊत्य१॒॑र्वागि॒मा → ऊती अर्वाक् इमाः
- वो॑ ह॒व्या → वः हव्यानि (हव्य + आनि)
- च॑कृमा → कृम (लिट् 1pl वैदिक रूप)
- त आ → ते आ
- ग॒ताव॑सा॒ → गताः अवसा
- शंत॑मे॒नाथा॑ → शंतमेन अथ
- न॒: शं → नः शम्
- योर॑र॒पो → यः अरपः
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Fathers seated on the sacred grass, come near with your help; we have prepared these offerings—enjoy them. Come with your most peace-giving aid; then place in us well-being and uninjured wholeness.
Inner meaning
The barhis-seat is the prepared inner ground—quiet, purified receptivity. The Pitṛs are invoked as protective supports (ūtī) that draw near (arvāk). The ‘offerings’ are not merely ritual items but the seeker’s energies, works, and experiences consciously placed before the higher guidance. Their ‘enjoyment’ (juṣadhvam) is the consenting descent of ancestral realization into the present being. The requested gift is śam and yōḥ—peace and harmonious felicity—culminating in arapo: an unbroken integrity, a life not torn by inner conflict or hostile forces.
Universal truth
When we prepare a pure inner seat and offer our life sincerely to the highest, help comes as peace, harmony, and integrity. True protection is the establishment of wholeness.
Themes
Pitṛ-invocation, Ancestral mediation, Ritual-as-inner-yoga, Healing and wholeness
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha (traditional assignment for RV 10.15 in several Anukramaṇī traditions)
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.33 (Vasiṣṭha tradition; general), RV 10.15.1, RV 10.15.2, RV 10.15.3, RV 10.15.5
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha hymns frequently seek śam (peace), protection, and establishment in ṛta; here that signature becomes an ancestral invocation for integral well-being.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s voice is the harmonizer: he calls the ancestral powers not for fear-based propitiation but to found peace, welfare, and unbroken integrity in the living being.
The deity
- Devata
- Pitṛs
- Epithets
- barhiṣadaḥ (barhis-seated), ūtīvant (helpers/protectors—implied), śaṃtama-avasaḥ (most peace-giving aid—implied)
- Related deities
- Agni (as the offering-carrier, implicit), Soma (as delight of acceptance, implicit)
Cosmic role
Guardians of the inner law of continuity; bringers of peace and protection; mediators of settled order from subtle worlds to earth-life.
Inner power
Capacity to pacify turbulence, harmonize conflicting impulses, and seal the being in integral protection (arapaḥ).
In ritual
Where it is used
Invitation and offering-acceptance segment in Pitṛ rites; also usable in śrāddha as ‘come and accept’
बर्हि॑षदः पितर ऊ॒त्य१॒॑र्वागि॒मा वो॑ ह॒व्या च॑कृमा जु॒षध्व॑म् । त आ ग॒ताव॑सा॒ शंत॑मे॒नाथा॑ न॒: शं योर॑र॒पो द॑धात ॥
बर्हि॑ऽसदः । पि॒त॒रः॒ । ऊ॒ती । अ॒र्वाक् । इ॒मा । वः॒ । ह॒व्या । च॒कृ॒म॒ । जु॒षध्व॑म् । ते । आ । ग॒त॒ । अव॑सा । शम्ऽत॑मेन । अथ॑ । नः॒ । शम् । योः । अ॒र॒पः । द॒धा॒त॒ ॥
barhi-sadaḥ | pitaraḥ | ūtī | arvāk | imā | vaḥ | havyā | cakṛma | juṣadhvam | te | ā | gata | avasā | śam-tamena | atha | naḥ | śam | yoḥ | arapaḥ | dadhāta
44
4×11 (approx.)
Hospitable and blessing-oriented; strong imperative verbs (imā… juṣadhvam; ā gatā) create forward movement.
Soothes and gathers; ends with a stabilizing cadence suitable for invoking peace and wholeness.
- barhiṣadaḥ
- Literal: seated on barhis. Symbolic: powers established on a luminous prepared foundation in consciousness
- ūtī
- Literal: help, protection. Symbolic: supporting force that intervenes against inner disorder
- arvāk
- Literal: toward here, near. Symbolic: descent/approach of higher influences into present awareness
- havyā
- Literal: offerings. Symbolic: consecrated energies, thoughts, works given to the inner fire
- juṣadhvam
- Literal: take delight / accept gladly. Symbolic: consent of the higher to inhabit and transform the offered nature
- śaṃtama
- Literal: most peace-giving. Symbolic: deepest settling of the being into truth-harmony
- śaṃ yōḥ
- Literal: weal and welfare. Symbolic: stable harmony of life-force and mind
- arapaḥ
- Literal: uninjured, unharmed, intact. Symbolic: integral wholeness; immunity from fragmentation and hostile pulls
Pitṛyajña / Śrāddha-type ancestral invocation within Soma/Agni liturgical frameworks; seating on barhis and offering (havyā) aligns with ancestral portions of śrauta rites (e.g., ancillary pitṛ-karmāṇi alongside Soma sacrifices).
During offering placement on kuśa/barhis; when calling Pitṛs to partake and bless
Presenting havis, inviting acceptance, asking for śam (peace) and protection
A ‘consecration’ verse before meals or before beginning a major task: offer the action inwardly to the highest lineage of wisdom and ask for calm integrity.
Key terms: (1) barhíṣadaḥ: barhís ‘sacred grass/seat’ (PIE *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise/high’, with Vedic ritual specialization to the elevated seat) + -sad ‘sitting’ from √sad ‘sit, settle’; implies ‘established on the ritual foundation’. (2) ūtí from √av/√ū? Vedic noun ūti ‘help, protection’ (semantic field: fostering, guarding). (3) arvāk ‘hitherward’ (deictic adverb; marks descent/approach). (4) havyā ‘things to be invoked/offered’ from √hū ‘to call, invoke’ → havís/havyá. (5) juṣadhvam: 2pl imperative middle of √juṣ ‘enjoy, favor, accept’; indicates reciprocal consent. (6) avasā instrumental of avas ‘help, favor’ from √av ‘protect’. (7) śáṃ-tama: śám ‘peace’ + superlative -tama ‘most’. (8) yoḥ: gen./acc. dual? lexeme yoḥ ‘welfare, refreshment’ (often paired with śam). (9) arápaḥ: a- ‘non’ + rapas ‘injury/defect’ (cf. √rap/√rabh semantic of harm/impairment); ‘unwounded wholeness’. (10) dadhāta: 2pl injunctive/imperative from √dhā ‘place, establish’—fixing a state in the being.
Ṛta (right order) as harmony/settlement (śam) established by higher agencies, Satya-as-support (implicit): true help (ūtí/avas) that restores intactness (arapaḥ)
Implicit: peace and welfare are signs of alignment with ṛta; arapaḥ is ṛta embodied as unbroken order.
Truth manifests as well-being that is not fragile—integrity that endures.
Descent of help (avasa) into the prepared seat; transformation through acceptance.
Integral yoga reading: invocation of higher supports to establish wholeness in the nature.
sacred fire/ritual seat (barhis) as the terrestrial support for descent of subtle powers
Preparing the ‘seat’ is creating inner quiet; offerings are sublimated energies; peace is the natural result of right alignment.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘descent of the Ancestors’ (Pitṛs) to the barhis-seat to accept offerings and confer śam/yoḥ is a core ancestral mythologem: perfected forebears, now subtle powers, are invoked to enter the rite and stabilize harmony and intact life-force. Mythically it is a controlled crossing of realms (beyond ↔ here) mediated by the ritual foundation; psychologically it is the calling of established inner lineages (saṃskāra perfected into guidance) to restore wholeness (arapaḥ) and peace (śam).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several items align with inherited Indo-European lexicon: √sad ‘sit’ (cf. Latin sedēre, English sit < Germanic cognate set-), √dhā ‘put, place’ (cf. Greek tithēmi, PIE *dʰeh₁-), and √hū ‘call’ (paralleled by PIE *ǵʰewh₂- ‘call, invoke’ proposed in some etymologies). The formulaic pairing śam + yoḥ resembles inherited poetic binomials of ‘peace/well-being’ common to Indo-European diction, functioning as a set blessing collocation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- It is reciprocal and contractual in the Vedic sense: the seer-community ‘prepares’ (cakṛma) the havyā through conscious formation and invites acceptance (juṣadhvam); in return the Pitṛs are asked to ‘come with help’ (ūtí/avas) and ‘establish’ (dadhāta) stable states of harmony and unbroken integrity (śam, yoḥ, arapaḥ). The exchange is not merely material but transformational: the offering is an act of alignment, and the boon is an inner re-ordering toward ṛta.
Create an inner barhis: sit, relax the body, quiet the mind, and consciously place your day’s energies as an offering; invite the ‘ancestral wisdom’ to accept and harmonize.
anahata (seat of peace and offering)
Lengthen exhalation to evoke śam; brief pause after exhale to feel ‘arapaḥ’—unbroken completeness.
Pacified, protected, integrated.
After chanting, remain silent for 1–2 minutes; sense a protective field around the body and a harmonizing influence within the breath and heart.
Observe Saṃhitā accents; imperatives (juṣadhvam, dadhāta) should retain their accent contours without over-stressing.
Give a gentle emphasis to śaṃtamenā (peace-giving) and arapo (uninjured wholeness) as semantic peaks.
barhiṣad-aḥ: articulate retroflex ṣ clearly., juṣadhvam: keep ṣ + dhv cluster clean; do not drop aspiration in dh., śaṃtamenā: nasalization on śaṃ; dental t., yor: maintain the long close ‘yoḥ’ quality; avoid ‘yoru’., arapo: short a; roll lightly into r; keep final o open.
Warm, soothing, blessing-like; slightly softer at the end to seal peace.
3
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