Rig Veda 10.49.5: Mandala 10, Sukta 49, Mantra 5
Sukta 10.49
- Rishi
- Indra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
अहं रन्धयं मृगयं श्रुतर्वणे यन्माजिहीत वयुना चनानुषक् । अहं वेशं नम्रमायवेऽकरमहं सव्याय पड्गृभिमरन्धयम् ॥
aháṃ randháyaṃ mṛ́gayaṃ śrutárvaṇe yán mā́ ajíhīta vayúnā canā́nuṣak | aháṃ véśaṃ namráṃ ā́yave ’karam aháṃ savyā́ya páṭgṛbhim arandhayam ||
मृगय को मैंने श्रुतवन के लिए हराया, जब वो बार-बार चाल से मेरे पीछे पड़ा। आयव के लिए मैंने उसकी पूरी बस्ती झुका दी। सव्य के लिए पटग्रिभि को मैंने हराए।
Word by Word
- अहम्
- IPronoun1st person pronoun; nominative singularRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद्
- रन्धयम्
- I subdued / brought under controlVerbImperfect (लङ्); parasmaipada; 1st person singularRole क्रियाRoot रन्ध् (रन्धयति)
- मृगयम्
- the hunter / the pursuer (mṛgaya)Nounmasculine; accusative singularRole कर्मRoot मृगय (प्रातिपदिक) / मृग
- श्रुतर्वणे
- for ŚrutárvanNoun (proper/epithet)masculine; dative singularRole सम्प्रदानRoot श्रुतर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- what / whichPronoun/Relativeneuter; accusative singular (relative to an implied object)Role कर्मRoot यद्
- माजिहीत
- he placed/engaged (in the contest)Verb (Vedic form)Perfect/Imperfect-like Vedic injunctive/preterite; 3rd person singular (contextual)Role क्रियाRoot माजिही (Vedic; from √हिता/√धा? idiomatically ‘to set/put/drive in contest’)
- वयुना
- by skills / by devicesNounneuter; instrumental plural (Vedic also allows instr. sg. in -ā; here taken as instr. pl. sense ‘by means of stratagems/skills’)Role करणRoot वयुन (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableconjunctionRoot च
- न
- notIndeclinablenegationRoot न
- अनुषक्
- continuously / in close successionIndeclinableadverb (Vedic): ‘in succession, continuously, close behind’Root अनुषक्
- अहम्
- IPronoun1st person pronoun; nominative singularRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद्
- वेशम्
- a dwelling / settlement / houseNounmasculine; accusative singularRole कर्मRoot वेश (प्रातिपदिक)
- नम्रमायवे
- for NamramāyuNoun (proper/epithet)masculine; dative singularRole सम्प्रदानRoot नम्रमायु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अकरम्
- I made / I establishedVerbImperfect (लङ्); parasmaipada; 1st person singularRole क्रियाRoot कृ (करोति)
- अहम्
- IPronoun1st person pronoun; nominative singularRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद्
- सव्याय
- for the left(-hand one) / for SavyaAdjective (used substantively)masculine; dative singularRole सम्प्रदानRoot सव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- पड्गृभिम्
- Padgṛbhi (a person/foe)Noun (proper/epithet)masculine; accusative singularRole कर्मRoot पड्गृभि (प्रातिपदिक; Vedic name/epithet)
- अरन्धयम्
- I subdued / I brought under controlVerbImperfect (लङ्); parasmaipada; 1st person singularRole क्रियाRoot रन्ध् (रन्धयति)
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved sandhi: श्रुतर्वणे यन् → श्रुतर्वणे यत् (final -न् is sandhi form of यत् before voiced/semivowel)
- चनानुषक् → च न अनुषक्
- मायवेऽकरम् → मायवे अकरम्. Accent marks in the saṃhitā text are not reproduced in the pada forms here
- analysis is on sandhi-resolved padas
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra says he subdued Mṛgaya for Śrutarvan when Mṛgaya attacked him repeatedly with stratagems; he made the settlement bow to Āyava; he subdued Paṭgṛbhi for Savya.
Inner meaning
The illumined power confronts the ‘hunter’ force (Mṛgaya)—the restless pursuing desire-nature that repeatedly returns with clever mental justifications (vayunā). For the one who listens to truth (Śrutarvan), Indra disciplines this recurring pattern. He makes the ‘veśa’ (clan/settlement) bow—symbol of the collective habits of the personality—to the upward movement (Āyava: the goer/striver), and subdues grasping or knotting tendencies (Paṭgṛbhi) for the leftward receptive capacity (Savya), so receptivity is not captured by compulsive grasping.
Universal truth
Obstacles often return through subtle rationalizations. Progress requires repeated, intelligent discipline until personal and collective habits submit to the upward aspiration and receptivity becomes free from grasping.
Themes
Subjugation of hostile powers, Collective ordering, Indra as protector of allies
The seer
- Rishi
- Indra (self-proclaiming voice; hymn unit RV 10.49)
- Other hymns
- RV 10.49.1-11, RV 1.33 (Indra’s repeated victories)
Family tradition
Names of helpers/adversaries function as symbolic types in later psychological exegesis; the hymn enumerates Indra’s ‘inner conquests’.
Significance
Teaches persistence: the divine force subdues not only gross darkness but also subtle, recurring stratagems of desire and ego.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vṛtrahan, Purandara, Jitvā (conqueror)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (word/insight), Agni (will), Soma (delight)
Cosmic role
Conqueror of hostile powers; protector of those who ‘hear’ and follow the truth.
Inner power
Disciplined mastery over repetition-compulsion and rationalizing ego; organizer of the ‘inner settlement’.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Indra praise; could be placed in Soma-yajña recitations emphasizing Indra’s help against hostile powers.
अ॒हं र॑न्धयं॒ मृग॑यं श्रु॒तर्व॑णे॒ यन्माजि॑हीत व॒युना॑ च॒नानु॒षक् । अ॒हं वे॒शं न॒म्रमा॒यवे॑ऽकरम॒हं सव्या॑य॒ पड्गृ॑भिमरन्धयम् ॥
अ॒हम् । र॒ध॒य॒म् । मृग॑यम् । श्रु॒तर्व॑णे । यत् । मा॒ । अजि॑हीत । व॒युना॑ । च॒न । आ॒नु॒षक् । अ॒हम् । वे॒शम् । न॒म्रम् । आ॒यवे॑ । अ॒क॒र॒म् । अ॒हम् । सव्या॑य । पट्ऽगृ॑भिम् । अ॒र॒न्ध॒य॒म् ॥
aham | radhayam | mṛgayam | śrutarvaṇe | yat | mā | ajihīta | vayunā | cana | ānuṣak | aham | veśam | namram | āyave | akaram | aham | savyāya | paṭ-gṛbhim | arandhayam
44
4×11
Terse, corrective, with a repeated ‘aham’ giving rhythmic authority.
Supports vigilance against subtle relapse; strengthens steady discipline.
- मृगयम् (mṛgayam)
- Literal: Mṛgaya (name; ‘hunter’). Symbolic: Desire that hunts objects; restless seeking that stalks consciousness
- श्रुतर्वणे (śrutarvaṇe)
- Literal: for Śrutarvan. Symbolic: For the listener-to-truth; the soul that heeds the inner word
- अजिहीत (ajihīta)
- Literal: he assailed/attacked. Symbolic: Recurring assaults of lower nature on the will to grow
- वयुना (vayunā)
- Literal: with stratagems, contrivances. Symbolic: Subtle mental-vital rationalizations; clever excuses of ego
- आनुषक् (ānuṣak)
- Literal: again and again, in succession. Symbolic: Repetition-compulsion; cyclic return of old patterns
- वेशम् (veśam)
- Literal: settlement/clan. Symbolic: Habit-structure of the personality; the ‘inner village’ of tendencies
- नम्रम् (namram)
- Literal: bowed down. Symbolic: Ego-habits consenting to higher governance
- आयवे (āyave)
- Literal: to Āyava. Symbolic: To the upward-goer: aspiration and progressive movement
- पट्गृभिम् (paḍgṛbhim)
- Literal: Paṭgṛbhi (name; ‘seizers/graspers’ suggested by root). Symbolic: Grasping knots; compulsive clinging that captures energy
- सव्याय (savyāya)
- Literal: for Savya. Symbolic: For the receptive side of being; capacity to receive light without appropriation
Victory-support for allies and subjugation of hostile formations; general Indra-stotra usage
Recited where protection from adversarial forces and success in ‘conquest’ is sought.
Stotra/śastra as reinforcement of Indra’s conquering function.
Use when battling recurring habits/addictions; pair with journaling of ‘vayunā’—the mind’s excuses.
vayúna ‘device, skill’ relates to √vī/√vāy semantic field of weaving/arranging; in RV often ‘wise ordering’ (inner: discriminative intelligence). veśá ‘settlement/clan’ from √viś ‘enter, settle’ (cf. viś ‘clan’). namrá ‘bent’ from √nam ‘bend’ (PIE *nem- ‘bend’; cf. Latin nem-us? uncertain; clearer: Greek némō is different). Several proper names remain opaque.
vayuna as intelligent ordering vs. hostile stratagem, submission of the ‘veśa’ as harmonization of collective parts, repeated assault (ānuṣak) as persistence of inner adversary
Subduing stratagems restores right order in the personality-collective (veśa).
Śrutarvan motif: truth is heard and then defended from distortion.
Formation of an ordered inner community through repeated victories over relapse.
Aurobindonian psychology of the Veda: demons as formations of consciousness; conquest as transformation.
Hunter = desire chasing objects; settlement = habitual life-structure; bowing = surrender of ego-habits.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The recurring Indra-myth of protecting allies and subduing hostile groups, with emphasis on repeated stratagems (vayuna… ānuṣak). In inner terms, it is the conquest of cunning, recurrent resistances and the bringing of the collective ‘clan’ of faculties into obedience to the right-leading power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √nam ‘bend’ is an old IE-type root for bending/submission; veśa/viś reflects archaic social vocabulary of settlement and clan. The repeated aorists (‘I subdued… I made…’) form a catalogue style comparable to Indo-European heroic self-praise.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi voices Indra as the executive force that counters hostile ‘devices’ with higher ordering (vayuna). The implied exchange is that the sacrificer aligns with Indra’s law of action, and Indra secures both individual victory and communal harmony (veśa made namra).
See recurring desire as ‘the hunter’; invoke Indra to cut the loop of repetition and rationalization.
svādhiṣṭhāna (desire patterns)
Nadi-śodhana 6 rounds, then recite once per exhale to stabilize the habit-field.
Clear, watchful force; disentangling awareness.
Each time an old impulse returns ‘with stratagem’, name it, refuse it, and return to aspiration (Āyava) without guilt or drama.
Maintain clear udatta on ‘aham’ entries; keep cadence steady through long compounds; exact svara per śākhā required for precision.
Mark the contrast: ‘vayunā… ānuṣak’ slightly sharpened articulation to highlight ‘stratagem repeated’.
(mṛgayam): ‘mṛ’ with syllabic ṛ; not ‘mrig’., (śrutarvaṇe): retroflex ṇ; keep ‘rv’ cluster clean., (āyave): long ā; ‘y’ glide, not ‘ai’ diphthong.
Clear, corrective, focused; avoid heaviness.
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