Rig Veda 10.80.5: Mandala 10, Sukta 80, Mantra 5
Sukta 10.80
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
अग्निमुक्थैॠषयो वि ह्वयन्तेऽग्निं नरो यामनि बाधितासः । अग्निं वयो अन्तरिक्षे पतन्तोऽग्निः सहस्रा परि याति गोनाम् ॥
agním ukthaíḥ ṛ́ṣayo ví hvayante ’gníṃ náro yā́mani bādhitā́saḥ | agníṃ váyo antárikṣe pátanto ’gníḥ sahásrā pári yāti gónām ||
रिशि लोग अग्नि को बार-बार पुकारते हैं अपनी आवाज़ से। आदमी भी जब सफ़र में थक जाते हैं, तब अग्नि को याद करते हैं। आसमान में उड़ने वाले पंछी भी अग्नि को ढूंढते हैं। अग्नि हज़ारों रोशनी के साथ घूमता है।
Word by Word
- अग्निम्
- Agni (as object)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- उक्थैः
- with hymns/recitationsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot उक्थ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषयः
- the seersNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot ऋषि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, forth; intensifierIndeclinableअव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ह्वयन्ते
- they call/invokeVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √ह्वे (ह्वा) ‘आह्वाने’
- अग्निम्
- AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- नरः
- menNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot नर- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यामनि
- on the journey/at the goingNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot यामन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- बाधितासः
- pressed/afflicted (ones)Adjective (participle) used substantivelyपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (नरः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root √बाध् ‘पीडने’ → बाधित (कृदन्त, भूतकर्मणि/कृत)
- अग्निम्
- AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- वयः
- birdsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot वयस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्तरिक्षे
- in the mid-airNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अन्तरिक्ष- (प्रातिपदिक)
- पतन्तः
- flyingAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (वयः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (वयः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root √पत् ‘गत्यर्थे’ → पतन्त् (वर्तमान कृदन्त, शतृ)
- अग्निः
- AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रा
- thousandsAdjective/Numeralनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (गोनााम् इत्यस्य विशेषण-रूपेण; ‘सहस्राणि’ इत्यर्थः, वैदिके छान्दसम्)Role कर्म (परि याति इत्यस्य)Root सहस्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around, all aboutIndeclinableअव्ययRoot परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- याति
- goes, movesVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √या ‘गत्यर्थे’
- गोनााम्
- of cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (वैदिक दीर्घ-लेखनम्: गोनााम् = गोनाम्)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root गो- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- मन्त्रपाठे ‘ह्वयन्तेऽग्निम्’ = ह्वयन्ते + अग्निम् (अ + अ → ’, अवग्रह)
- ‘पतन्तोऽग्निः’ = पतन्तः + अग्निः (अः + अ → ओऽ, विसर्ग-सन्धि)
- ‘गोनााम्’ वैदिक-लेखनरूपम् (दीर्घ-प्रदर्शनम्) = गोनाम् (गो + नाम्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Seers call Agni with hymns; men, pressed in their journey, invoke Agni. Birds flying in midspace seek Agni; and Agni moves around the thousand cows (rays of light).
Inner meaning
The ṛṣis repeatedly invoke the inner Fire through inspired speech (uktha)—mantric formulation that awakens will. Ordinary humans under pressure in life’s passage (yāman) also turn to that same Fire for guidance and strength. Even the ‘bird-souls’ (vayaḥ)—aspiring movements of consciousness in the mid-region (antarikṣa: the vital-mental)—seek Agni as their directing flame. Agni circles and guards the thousand ‘cows’ (gonām): the rays of knowledge/light, keeping them from being lost in obscurity and leading them into the field of our awareness.
Universal truth
Inspiration, struggle, aspiration, and illumination all converge on one necessity: an inner conscious force that can be invoked by speech, need, and flight of aspiration, and that gathers and protects the light of knowledge for the seeker.
Themes
Agni-invocation, Journey under obstruction, Cows as rays of knowledge, Inner guidance and protection
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.80.1, Rig Veda 10.80.2, Rig Veda 10.80.3, Rig Veda 10.80.4, Rig Veda 10.80.6
Significance
The mantra democratizes yoga: the same Agni is invoked by seer, human under pressure, and the winged aspiration—suggesting a universal inner access to the Fire.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Ukthya (called by hymns), Yātrā-neta (guide on the journey), Gopā (guardian of the cows/lights), Pariyātṛ (the one who moves around, encompasses)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspired speech), Indra (illumination and release of cows), Bṛhaspati (word-power that breaks the cave)
Cosmic role
Guide and protector; gathers the lights and maintains them against darkness.
Inner power
A directing will that responds to mantra, need, and aspiration; it protects and organizes illuminations so they become stable knowledge.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Agni-invocation by hymns (uktha) and for protection on journeys; could accompany travel rites or transitional moments
अ॒ग्निमु॒क्थैॠष॑यो॒ वि ह्व॑यन्ते॒ऽग्निं नरो॒ याम॑नि बाधि॒तास॑: । अ॒ग्निं वयो॑ अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे॒ पत॑न्तो॒ऽग्निः स॒हस्रा॒ परि॑ याति॒ गोना॑म् ॥
अ॒ग्निम् । उ॒क्थैः । ऋष॑यः । वि । ह्व॒य॒न्ते॒ । अ॒ग्निम् । नरः॑ । याम॑नि । बा॒धि॒तासः॑ । अ॒ग्निम् । वयः॑ । अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे । पत॑न्तः । अ॒ग्निः । स॒हस्रा॑ । परि॑ । या॒ति॒ । गोना॑म् ॥
agnim | ukthaiḥ | ṛṣayaḥ | vi | hvayante | agnim | naraḥ | yāmani | bādhitāsaḥ | agnim | vayaḥ | antarikṣe | patantaḥ | agniḥ | sahasrā | pari | yāti | gonām
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4 × ~11
Quick invocatory movement; threefold calling (ṛṣi–nara–vayaḥ) creates a rising sequence.
Stimulates aspiration and recall; feels like a call-and-response that gathers scattered energies back to the center.
- उक्थैः (ukthaiḥ)
- Literal: with hymns/solemn utterances. Symbolic: inspired mantra-speech that calls down force
- ऋषयः (ṛṣayaḥ)
- Literal: seers. Symbolic: intuitive faculties; illumined parts of the being
- यामनि (yāmani)
- Literal: on the journey. Symbolic: life-path; sadhana process through time
- बाधितासः (bādhitāsaḥ)
- Literal: pressed/afflicted. Symbolic: under inner/outer pressure that forces sincerity
- वयः (vayaḥ)
- Literal: birds. Symbolic: ascending impulses/soul-movements; thought-wings
- अन्तरिक्षे (antarikṣe)
- Literal: in the mid-region. Symbolic: vital-mental plane where desire and thought mix
- गोना॑म् (gonām)
- Literal: of cows. Symbolic: rays of light/knowledge; illumining perceptions
- सहस्रा (sahasrā)
- Literal: thousands. Symbolic: abundant illuminations; multiplicity of knowledges
General Agni-invocation in Soma-sacrifice contexts; applicable wherever uktha-recitation and Agni-kindling/strengthening are central (e.g., Agniṣṭoma framework).
At the start of recitation, travel, or when ‘pressed’ by circumstance
Vocal invocation; mental offering of breath and speech into Agni
A ‘reset’ mantra: when overwhelmed, chant to gather scattered attention and protect emerging insights (the ‘cows’).
Key roots: (1) √hū ‘to call, invoke’ → hvayante: the act of summoning a power into presence; (2) √bādh ‘to press, hinder, oppress’ → bādhitāsaḥ: the condition of being obstructed by forces of darkness/resistance; (3) √yā ‘to go’ → yāmani, yāti: the inner journey and the moving guidance; (4) go- ‘cow’ in RV often denotes ‘ray, light, luminous knowledge’; thus gónām here supports the mythic-psychological motif of “recovering/guarding the rays of illumination.”
Rita (ordered movement implied by yāman/yāti and Agni’s guidance), Inner sacrifice (invocation through uktha as conscious offering), Recovery/guardianship of Light (go as illumination)
Agni as pathfinder maintains right movement (ṛta) through the journey.
The cows/lights are satya’s rays; Agni safeguards them from being covered.
Release and preservation of lights—precondition for a higher creation in consciousness.
Mantric psychology: speech (uktha) as a force that calls the deity-power into active presence.
Birds = aspiring thoughts/soul-flights; midspace = vital-mental; cows = illuminations; Agni’s circling = protective concentration around knowledge.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Cows’ (gó-) as a plenitude of luminous powers: Agni ‘moves around’ (pári yāti) the thousand cows, a protective-circling and leading of the rays of knowledge. This aligns with the broader RV myth of securing/recovering the Light-herds from obscurity, here rendered as Agni’s guardianship and guidance rather than a literal cattle-raid.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The verb √yā ‘go’ (yā́man-, yāti) continues PIE *h₁ey- ‘to go’ (cf. Greek eîmi ‘I go’, Latin eō ‘I go’). √pat ‘fly/fall’ (pátantaḥ) continues PIE *pet- ‘to fly’ (cf. Greek pétomai ‘I fly’, Latin petō ‘seek/aim at’ with semantic drift). Such inherited motion-verbs support the verse’s dynamic imagery of ascent/flight and guided movement.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣis invoke Agni through uktha (formulated inspired speech), indicating reciprocity: the human side offers aspiration/word-force; Agni responds as the active leader who circulates and safeguards the ‘cows’ (illumination). The verse also widens the reciprocity beyond seers to ‘men’ under pressure and even ‘birds’ in the mid-world—suggesting Agni as a universal inner helper across levels of consciousness.
Call the inner Fire with speech; then rest in silent listening as Agni ‘gathers the cows’—collects dispersed insights into coherent knowledge.
Vishuddha (speech/mantra) and Ajna (illumined perception)
Mantra on exhale; brief pause after each pāda to feel ‘pariyāti’—a protective circle forming around the mind.
Alert aspiration with protective containment.
Chant 3–9 times when scattered. After chanting, write down the ‘cows’ you don’t want to lose: 1–3 key insights or intentions; keep them ‘within the circle’ by a short daily recall.
Trishtubh recitation with Vedic accents; keep ‘agnim’ openings crisp and consistent.
Maintain clear pada breaks; let the third pāda lift slightly (vayo… patantaḥ) to mirror ‘flight’.
: aspirate ‘kh’, and keep diphthong ‘aiḥ’ clear., : retroflex ‘ṣ’ in -kṣe., : long ‘o’, nasal ‘ām’ at end.
Invocatory, clear, slightly ringing (to emphasize vāc/uktha).
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