Rig Veda 10.60.7: Mandala 10, Sukta 60, Mantra 7
Sukta 10.60
- Rishi
- Agastya
- Devata
- Indra/Healing power
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
अयं मातायं पितायं जीवातुरागमत् । इदं तव प्रसर्पणं सुबन्धवेहि निरिहि ॥
ayáṃ mātā́yáṃ pitā́yáṃ jīvā́tur ā́gamat | idáṃ táva pra-sárpaṇaṃ súbandhavéhi nír ihi ||
देखो, यह तुम्हारी माँ है, यह तुम्हारा बाप है। तुम्हारी जान आ गई है, तुम्हारा दम फिर से चल पड़ा है। तुम अब आज़ाद हो, कोई बंधन नहीं। हे अच्छे खंडान के बेटा, बाहर आ जाओ।
Word by Word
- अयम्
- this (one), hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- माता
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयम्
- this (one), hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पिता
- fatherNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयम्
- this (one), hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जीवातुः
- life, vital breathNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot जीवातु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘जीवन/जीवित-शक्ति’)
- आ
- hither, towardsPreverbउपसर्गः (गमनार्थे ‘towards, hither’)Root आ (उपसर्ग)
- अगमत्
- came, arrivedVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √गम् (गच्छति)
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तव
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रसर्पणम्
- creeping/approach; advanceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot प्र-सर्पण (प्रातिपदिक; √सृप् ‘to creep, glide’ + ल्युट्/अन)
- सुबन्धवे
- to a good kinsman/allyNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot सु-बन्धु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘good kinsman/ally’)
- इहि
- go!Verb (imperative)लोट्, परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √इ (एति) / √या (इहि-आदेशः ‘go!’)
- निः
- out, forthPreverbउपसर्गः (‘out, forth’)Root निः/निर् (उपसर्ग)
- इहि
- go!Verb (imperative)लोट्, परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √इ (एति) / √या (इहि-आदेशः ‘go!’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अयम् माता | अयम् पिता | अयम् जीवातुः आ अगमत् | इदम् तव प्रसर्पणम् सुबन्धवे इहि निः इहि || 1) ‘जीवातुरागमत्’ = ‘जीवातुः’ + ‘आ’ + ‘अगमत्’ (उपसर्ग ‘आ’ + लुङ् ‘अगमत्’; उ/अ संधौ ‘…तुः आ…’ → ‘…तुर् आ…’ लेख्यरूपे ‘…तुरा…’)
- 2) ‘सुबन्धवेहि’ = ‘सुबन्धवे’ + ‘इहि’ (स्वर-सन्धिः: ए + इ → एऽ/एहि; संहितायां ‘वेहि’)
- 3) ‘निरिहि’ = ‘निः’ + ‘इहि’ (विसर्गसन्धिः: निः + इ… → निरि…)
The meaning
Outer meaning
This is your mother, this your father; this your life-breath has come. This is your free movement: O one of good kinship, come forth—come out!
Inner meaning
The mantra shifts to a life-restoring address: the powers of origin and support (mother/father) are re-established, and jīvātu (life-breath) returns. Psychologically, it calls the soul-force or the threatened vitality back from collapse, depression, or trance-like withdrawal. ‘Prasarpaṇa’ is the regained capacity of consciousness to move freely again—energy returning to circulation. ‘Subandhu’ indicates the being’s right relation to the divine family of powers; therefore it can safely emerge from constriction.
Universal truth
Healing is a return to right belonging: when supportive foundations are restored and life-breath returns, the being can come out of constriction into free movement.
Themes
Healing, Life-restoration, Reintegration, Protective invocation
The seer
- Rishi
- Agastya
- Lineage
- Agastya (Mānasa/Agastya lineage; later tradition associates him with Maitrāvaruṇi)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.60
Family tradition
Agastya hymns can pivot from heroic struggle to practical restoration—bringing life-force back and stabilizing the being.
Significance
Agastya here acts as healer-seer: commanding the return of prāṇa and re-linking the person to sustaining powers (mother/father archetypes) so consciousness can emerge.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (as life-restoring power)
- Epithets
- Rājan (King), Maghavan (giver)
- Related deities
- Āyus (life), Aśvins (healing twins), Agni (life-fire)
Cosmic role
Not only victor in battle but restorer of life-force and right functioning after obstruction.
Inner power
Reanimation—bringing back courage, breath, and forward movement; re-establishing inner supports.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āyus/protection and restoration formula within an Indra hymn; charm-like usage for revival and safety.
अ॒यं मा॒तायं पि॒तायं जी॒वातु॒राग॑मत् । इ॒दं तव॑ प्र॒सर्प॑णं॒ सुब॑न्ध॒वेहि॒ निरि॑हि ॥
अ॒यम् । मा॒ता । अ॒यम् । पि॒ता । अ॒यम् । जी॒वातुः॑ । आ । अ॒ग॒म॒त् । इ॒दम् । तव॑ । प्र॒ऽसर्प॑णम् । सुब॑न्धो॒ इति॒ सुऽब॑न्धो । आ । इ॒हि॒ । निः । इ॒हि॒ ॥
ayam | mātā | ayam | pitā | ayam | jīvātuḥ | ā | agamat | idam | tava | pra-sarpaṇam | subandho itisu-bandho | ā | ihi | niḥ | ihi
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4 × ~11 syllables; repeated demonstratives (‘ayam’) create incantatory firmness.
Mantric, stabilizing, with a ‘calling back’ cadence.
Soothes panic and dissociation; helps re-anchor breath and bodily presence.
- माता (mātā)
- Literal: mother. Symbolic: supporting, nurturing power; ground of vital/psychic safety
- पिता (pitā)
- Literal: father. Symbolic: protecting, ordering power; law and guidance
- जीवातुः (jīvātuḥ)
- Literal: life-breath, life-force. Symbolic: prāṇa as conscious vitality returning to the system
- आगमत् (āgamat)
- Literal: has come. Symbolic: re-entry of force; restoration after shock/withdrawal
- प्रसर्पणम् (prasarpaṇam)
- Literal: free movement, creeping/forth-going. Symbolic: renewed circulation of energy and consciousness; recovery of agency
- सुबन्धो (subandho)
- Literal: of good kinship/relationship. Symbolic: right connection to helpful inner powers; belonging to the divine order
- आ इहि / निः इहि (ā ihi / niḥ ihi)
- Literal: come here / come out. Symbolic: call back to embodied awareness; emergence from darkness or enclosure
Āyus-prayoga: restoration/recall of life-force (jīvātu) and re-integration of the person; used as a mantra for calling back vitality from peril or faintness.
During illness, faintness, shock, after fear/trauma; also as protective recitation for children or travelers.
Recite near the person; touch heart/head gently (modern adaptation) while chanting ‘come out/come forth’.
Grounding mantra for anxiety episodes; pair with slow breathing to re-establish safety and agency.
pra-sarpaṇa from √sṛp ‘creep, glide’ becomes a technical image for ‘issuing forth’ of life/psyche. jīvātu ‘life, vital principle’ from √jīv ‘live’. bandhu ‘bond, kinship’ indicates right connectedness; psychologically, the returning life is called back into proper relation with its supports (mother/father = sustaining principles).
re-integration of the being (bandhu as right linkage), return from the border of death (life recalled), supporting principles (mother/father as archetypal supports)
Mother/father as foundational supports of ṛta—right structure in life and mind.
Life-breath ‘has come’—truth of being returns against falsehood of collapse.
Reconstitution of the person: supports + prāṇa + movement.
Vedic psychology with healing orientation; bridges to later prāṇa doctrines.
dawn-like recovery (implied emergence)
Breath = prāṇa; emergence = coming out of inner cave of fear/inertia into conscious life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘recall of life’ mythologem: life-force is addressed as something that can depart and be summoned back. Mother/father are invoked as stabilizing cosmic supports; the being is urged to emerge outward into embodied life again.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √gam (agamat) is from PIE *gʷem- ‘go/come’ (cf. Lat. venīre via different development; Eng. ‘come’ Germanic cognate). The kinship terms mātā/pitā reflect PIE *méh₂tēr/*ph₂tḗr, showing deep inheritance of familial archetypes used for cosmological support.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi shifts from praise of victorious power to direct therapeutic command: divine order supports the person’s return. The devata is experienced as the restoring force that rebinds (bandhu) life to its foundations and calls it outward from withdrawal.
Re-establish inner supports: feel ‘mother’ as nurturing base, ‘father’ as protective order; invite prāṇa to return to the heart and belly; affirm safe emergence.
anāhata (life-breath and reassurance) and mūlādhāra (safety/ground)
Slow coherent breathing 5–5 (inhale 5, exhale 5) for 3–5 minutes, then chant.
From contraction/withdrawal to embodied presence and gentle forward flow.
Chant softly 21 times; after each cycle, feel one sensation in the body to strengthen ‘prasarpaṇa’ (free movement of awareness).
Rigvedic accents; repeated अ॒यम् has marked tone—keep it steady and slightly lifted; सुब॑न्धो carries emphasis.
Make clear pauses: ayam mātā | ayam pitā | ayam jīvātuḥ āgamat || Then a firmer call: ā ihi | niḥ ihi.
ayam: short a; do not elongate unnecessarily, jīvātuḥ: long ī and ā; final ḥ soft, prasarpaṇam: retroflex ṇ; keep ‘pr’ cluster clean, subandho: ‘su’ light; ‘ndh’ aspirated, niḥ ihi: visarga before vowel—light echo, ‘nih-ihi’
Warm, reassuring, close to the breath (healing tone).
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