Rig Veda 10.64.14: Mandala 10, Sukta 64, Mantra 14
Sukta 10.64
- Devata
- Dyāvāpṛthivī
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
ते हि द्यावापृथिवी मातरा मही देवी देवाञ्जन्मना यज्ञिये इतः । उभे बिभृत उभयं भरीमभिः पुरू रेतांसि पितृभिश्च सिञ्चतः ॥
té hí dyā́vāpṛthivī́ mātárā mahī́ devī́ devā́ñ jánmanā yajñíye itáḥ | ubhé bibhṛta ubháyaṁ bharī́mabhiḥ purū́ retā́ṃsi pitṛ́bhiś ca siñcataḥ ||
आसमान और धरती दो बड़ी मातें हैं। यह दोनों देवी हैं और भगवान पैदा करती हैं। यज्ञ में इनकी पूजा होती है। दोनों दुनिया को संभालती हैं। पितरों के साथ मिलकर यह नई जिंदगी देती हैं।
Word by Word
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed/forIndeclinableनिपातःRoot हि (निपात)
- द्यावापृथिवी
- Heaven-and-EarthNoun (dual deity-name)स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम्Role Kartā (apposition to ते)Root द्यावापृथिवी (समास-प्रातिपदिक; द्यौ + पृथिवी)
- मातरौ
- two mothersNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम्Role Kartā (apposition)Root मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- मही
- greatAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (विशेषण-रूपेण; ‘देवी’ इत्यस्य)Root मही (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवी
- goddess/divineNoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (विशेषण-रूपेण; ‘द्यावापृथिवी/मातरौ’ इत्यर्थे)Role Kartā (appositional epithet)Root देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवान्
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- जन्मना
- by birth/through originNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञिये
- worthy of sacrificeAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (देवान् इति विशेषणम्)Root यज्ञिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- इतस्
- from here/from thisIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role ApādānaRoot इतस् (अव्यय; इदम्-प्रभवः)
- उभे
- both (of them)Pronoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम्Role KartāRoot उभ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- बिभृतः
- they bear/supportVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, द्विवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot भृ (धातु)
- उभयम्
- both kinds/the twofold (all)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot उभय (प्रातिपदिक)
- भरीमभिः
- with supports/bearings (means of bearing)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot भरीमन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘भरण/भृत्य’ अर्थे, वहन-साधन/धारण-शक्ति)
- पुरू
- manyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (रेतांसि इति विशेषणम्)Root पुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
- रेतांसि
- seeds/seminal powersNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पितृभिः
- with the fathers/ancestorsNounपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम्Root च (निपात)
- सिञ्चतः
- they pour/sprinkleVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, द्विवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot सिच् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): ते | हि | द्यावापृथिवी | मातरौ | मही | देवी | देवान् | जन्मना | यज्ञिये | इतः || उभे | बिभृतः | उभयम् | भरीमभिः | पुरू | रेतांसि | पितृभिः | च | सिञ्चतः । Notable: द्यावा-पृथिवी → द्यावापृथिवी (dvandva)
- देवान् + जन्मना (no further sandhi)
- पितृभिः + च (visarga not applicable)
- accents retained as in saṃhitā but not separately encoded per pada here
The meaning
Outer meaning
Heaven and Earth are the two great divine Mothers who give birth to the gods and are worthy of sacrifice here. They uphold both realms with their supporting powers and pour many seeds of becoming together with the Fathers.
Inner meaning
Dyāvā-Pṛthivī are not merely physical sky and earth but the two foundational planes of consciousness: the luminous mind-plane (Heaven) and the embodied field of formation (Earth). As ‘Mothers’ they generate the ‘gods’—the workable divine powers in us—when mind and embodiment consent to the sacrifice. Their ‘bearing powers’ are the capacities to hold and harmonize opposites (above/below, idea/form). The ‘seeds’ (retāṃsi) poured with the Pitṛs are the ancestral formations of consciousness—past realizations, established inner lineages—that fertilize new becoming, widening the continuity of spiritual evolution.
Universal truth
Creation and transformation happen through the union of higher vision and grounded embodiment. When the higher and lower cooperate, and when we draw on the best of our inherited wisdom, new possibilities of consciousness are born and sustained.
Themes
Cosmogony (micro-cosmic), Support and foundation, Generative continuity, R̥ta through ordered bearing
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 1.159 (Dyāvā-Pṛthivī), RV 1.185 (Heaven-Earth as upholders), RV 10.14-10.16 (Pitṛs/ancestors themes, contextual resonance)
Family tradition
Book 10 synthesis style: cosmic parents and ancestors invoked to support continuity of becoming beyond narrow ritualism.
Significance
The seer frames spiritual birth as a cosmological cooperation: the two Mothers and the Fathers together sustain the evolutionary line of consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Dyāvā-Pṛthivī (with Pitṛs as co-generative powers)
- Epithets
- mahī (great), devī (divine), yajñiye (worthy of sacrifice)
- Related deities
- Aditi/Ādityas (law and wideness), Agni (mediator of sacrifice between Heaven and Earth), Sarasvatī (flow of inspiration linking planes)
Cosmic role
Heaven and Earth uphold the worlds, generate the gods, and provide the stable field for sacrifice and growth; Pitṛs transmit continuity of dharma and inner knowledge.
Inner power
Dyauḥ: clarity, vastness, ideal light; Pṛthivī: receptivity, endurance, formation; Pitṛs: memory of realization, guiding grooves of truth in the subconscient.
In ritual
Where it is used
Dyāvā-Pṛthivī praises occur in soma and general śrauta praise cycles; Pitṛ references align with ancestral offerings in broader Vedic practice.
ते हि द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी मा॒तरा॑ म॒ही दे॒वी दे॒वाञ्जन्म॑ना य॒ज्ञिये॑ इ॒तः । उ॒भे बि॑भृत उ॒भयं॒ भरी॑मभिः पु॒रू रेतां॑सि पि॒तृभि॑श्च सिञ्चतः ॥
ते । हि । द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी इति॑ । मा॒तरा॑ । म॒ही । दे॒वी । दे॒वान् । जन्म॑ना । य॒ज्ञिये॒ इति॑ । इ॒तः । उ॒भे इति॑ । बि॒भृ॒तः॒ । उ॒भय॑म् । भरी॑मऽभिः । पु॒रु । रेतां॑सि । पि॒तृऽभिः॑ । च॒ । सि॒ञ्च॒तः॒ ॥
te | hi | dyāvāpṛthivī iti | mātarā | mahī | devī | devān | janmanā | yajñiyeiti | itaḥ | ubhe iti | bibhṛtaḥ | ubhayam | bharīma-bhiḥ | puru | retāṃsi | pitṛ-bhiḥ | ca | siñcataḥ
44
4×11 (approx.)
Stately and expansive; suited to cosmic description and establishment of a stable frame.
Creates grounded wideness—an ‘upholding’ feeling; supports meditative stability rather than sharp excitation.
- द्यावापृथिवी (dyāvāpṛthivī)
- Literal: Heaven-and-Earth. Symbolic: higher mind-plane and formative embodied plane in integral union
- मातरा (mātarā)
- Literal: two mothers. Symbolic: generative principles of consciousness and manifestation
- देवी (devī)
- Literal: divine (feminine). Symbolic: shakti-aspect: active powers of becoming
- देवान् जन्मना (devān janmanā)
- Literal: bring forth the gods by birth. Symbolic: produce operative divine faculties within the being
- यज्ञिये (yajñiye)
- Literal: worthy of sacrifice. Symbolic: fit fields for offering and transformation
- भरीमभिः (bharīmabhiḥ)
- Literal: by bearing/supporting powers. Symbolic: capacities that uphold the twofold world-order in us
- रेतांसि (retāṃsi)
- Literal: seeds, seminal powers. Symbolic: potencies of becoming; impulses that generate new states
- पितृभिः (pitṛbhiḥ)
- Literal: with the Fathers/ancestors. Symbolic: ancestral seers: established inner attainments and guiding formations
Cosmic-parent invocation; used in contexts affirming foundational supports of yajña and continuity of lineage (outer) / continuity of inner formations (inner)
During hymnic praise to cosmic supports; conceptually near offerings that seek continuity/progeny and right order.
Stuti and offering-intent to the cosmic parents; remembrance of Pitṛs as supporters of lineage.
A contemplation for balancing ‘above’ and ‘below’—vision and practice; also for gratitude to teachers/ancestors and stabilizing one’s life-path.
dyāvāpṛthivī as cosmic dyad: Heaven (consciousness-vast) and Earth (foundation/field) as Mothers of the gods—birth of divine powers within manifestation. retas ‘seed’ from √ri/√ret semantic ‘flow’ → generative flow; in inner reading, seeds of becoming (new formations of consciousness). √sic ‘pour’ indicates continuous outflow/infusion.
Cosmic duality supporting manifestation, Generativity (retas) as creative becoming, Yajña as world-process
Heaven-Earth are classic pillars of R̥ta; their ‘bearing powers’ are the stability of order in manifestation.
Satya as faithful correspondence between ideal truth (Dyauḥ) and embodied truth (Pṛthivī).
Generative coupling: seeds of becoming poured into the field of manifestation, continuing creation.
Integral cosmology: manifestation as cooperation of planes; ancestors as evolutionary memory.
Sky = higher mind/illumination; Earth = body-life field for realization; seeds = intentions/potencies; Pitṛs = stored wisdom in the depths guiding growth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Heaven-and-Earth as Mothers who generate and uphold the gods’ mythologem, joined with the Fathers who pour generative seeds. Innerly, the vast consciousness and the embodied foundation together support and continually re-seed new divine formations in the human field.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhṛ ‘bear’ (bibhṛtaḥ) reflects PIE *bher- ‘carry’ (Latin ferō, English bear). pṛthivī is an Indo-Aryan development; dyau- relates to PIE *di̯eu- ‘sky, shine’ (cf. Latin Iūpiter < *di̯eu-pəter). The cosmic-parent formula is a shared Indo-European inheritance.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes the yajña-worthy cosmic parents as the very ground of divine birth and support. The reciprocity is foundational: by honoring them, the human aligns with the world-order that continually ‘pours’ creative seeds—enabling ongoing inner rebirth of the gods (powers) in consciousness.
Unite ‘above’ (clear seeing) and ‘below’ (steady embodiment); invite ancestral wisdom as a quiet support rather than a binding habit.
Sahasrara-to-Muladhara integration (or Ajna-to-Root grounding)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing; inhale ‘Heaven’ (clarity) exhale ‘Earth’ (settling).
Stable wideness; harmonious integration of planes.
Visualize a column of light from crown to base; feel the body as a receptive earth; call the ‘Pitṛ’ support as inner guidance-lines that help the new birth of higher qualities.
Mixed Vedic accents; maintain udātta peaks on key nouns (dyāvāpṛthivī, mātarā, devī) as marked in the text tradition.
Keep a broad, even line; emphasize the paired structure (ubhe…ubhayam) with balanced stress.
dyāvāpṛthivī: split cleanly dyā-vā-pṛ-thi-vī; long ā/ī, mātarā: long ā, yajñiye: ‘jñ’ as palatal cluster, not ‘gy’, retāṃsi: nasalized ṃ, long ā
Full, steady, sustaining tone.
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