Rig Veda 3.10.2: Mandala 3, Sukta 10, Mantra 2
Sukta 3.10
- Rishi
- Gāthina Viśvāmitra
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī or Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
त्वां यज्ञेष्वृत्विजमग्ने होतारमीळते । गोपा ऋतस्य दीदिहि स्वे दमे ॥
tvā́ṃ yajñéṣv ṛtvíjam agne hótāram īḷate | gopā́ ṛtásya dīdihi své damé ||
यज्ञ में लोग अग्नि को पुकारते हैं। वो पुजारी बन के आता है। अपने घर में सच्चाई की रक्षा करो, ऐसा चमक।
Word by Word
- त्वाम्
- you (as the object)Pronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञेषु
- in the sacrificesNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋत्विजम्
- the officiating priest (ṛtvij)Noun (agent-title)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ऋत्विज् (प्रातिपदिक; ऋतु + विज्/यज्-सम्बद्ध ‘ऋतु-याजक’)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (प्रथमा-सम्बोधन), एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- होतारम्
- the Hotṛ-priest (invoker)Noun (agent-title)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot होतृ (प्रातिपदिक; √हु ‘to sacrifice/offer’)
- ईळते
- he/one invokes (praises)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root √ईळ्/√ईड् (स्तुति/प्रार्थना ‘to praise, invoke’)
- गोपाः
- (as) the protectorNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (वैदिकः—प्रथमा एकवचने -आः)Role कर्तृRoot गोप (प्रातिपदिक; गो + पा ‘protector of cattle/guard’)
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order/true law)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
- दीदिहि
- shine forth / blazeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root √दीदिह् (intensive/desiderative from √दीप्/√दी ‘to shine, blaze’; वैदिक ‘to blaze brightly’)
- स्वे
- in your ownAdjective (pronominal)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot स्व (प्रातिपदिक; reflexive/possessive ‘one’s own’)
- दमे
- house / dwellingNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot दम (प्रातिपदिक; ‘house, abode’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वाम् | यज्ञेषु | ऋत्विजम् | अग्ने | होतारम् | ईळते || गोपाः | ऋतस्य | दीदिहि | स्वे | दमे || 1) यज्ञेष्वृत्विजम् = यज्ञेषु + ऋत्विजम् (उ + ऋ → व्-आगमः; ‘ष्व’). 2) अग्ने होतारम्: विसर्गादि-सन्धि न
- केवलं सम्बोधन + कर्मपद-समासार्थक-सन्निधि. 3) स्वे दमे: सन्धि नहीं (सप्तमी-द्वयम्). वैदिक उच्चारण/स्वर: पाठे उदात्त/स्वरित चिह्न (॒,॑) यथास्थानं
- पदच्छेदे सामान्यतः अनुदात्त-रूपेण लिख्यते।
The meaning
Outer meaning
In the sacrifices they invoke you, Agni, as the seasonal priest (ṛtvij), as the Hotṛ. Shine as the guardian of ṛta in your own home.
Inner meaning
Agni is sought as ṛtvij—he who knows the right season/time: the inner fire that applies the right force at the right stage of growth. As Hotṛ he calls down the higher powers through aspiration. ‘Gopā ṛtasya’ declares Agni as protector of truth-order within ‘sve dame’—one’s own dwelling, the embodied being. The mantra asks for a steady, vigilant flame that keeps the inner life aligned with ṛta amid habitual nature.
Universal truth
Progress depends on right timing and right order. The inner guide must both invoke higher help and guard the truth within daily life, not only in special moments.
Themes
Agni as hotar, Agni as guardian of rita, right-timed sacrifice
The seer
- Rishi
- Gāthina Viśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthina line)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.10.1, RV 3.10.3, RV 3.10.4
Family tradition
Hymns emphasize practical governance of the inner sacrifice—right order (ṛta) and right action (karma) under Agni’s guidance.
Significance
The seer’s stress on ṛta-guardianship makes Agni not merely an initiator but a continual regulator of the path.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Ṛtvij, Hotṛ, Gopā ṛtasya
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (ṛta-law), Mitra (harmony), Sūrya (truth-light)
Cosmic role
Priest of the cosmic sacrifice; maintains the rhythm/seasonality of worlds; upholds ṛta.
Inner power
Discerning will that knows when and how to apply effort; protective clarity that preserves truth in the embodied life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invocation of Agni as Hotṛ/ṛtvij in offering sequences; suitable for daily agnihotra contexts (by theme)
त्वां य॒ज्ञेष्वृ॒त्विज॒मग्ने॒ होता॑रमीळते । गो॒पा ऋ॒तस्य॑ दीदिहि॒ स्वे दमे॑ ॥
त्वाम् । य॒ज्ञेषु॑ । ऋ॒त्विज॑म् । अग्ने॑ । होता॑रम् । ई॒ळ॒ते॒ । गो॒पाः । ऋ॒तस्य॑ । दी॒दि॒हि॒ । स्वे । दमे॑ ॥
tvām | yajñeṣu | ṛtvijam | agne | hotāram | īḷate | gopāḥ | ṛtasya | dīdihi | sve | dame
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3×8 (compact petition)
Invocatory and directive; easy to repeat as a daily guarding mantra.
Builds a sense of inner protection and rightness; stabilizes attention in the ‘home’ of the being.
- यज्ञेषु (yajñeṣu)
- Literal: in sacrifices. Symbolic: in all acts of self-offering and inner work
- ऋत्विजम् (ṛtvijam)
- Literal: seasonal priest. Symbolic: right-timing intelligence; adaptive discernment in practice
- होतारम् (hotāram)
- Literal: invoking priest. Symbolic: aspiration that calls the higher consciousness
- गोपाः ऋतस्य (gopā ṛtasya)
- Literal: guardian of ṛta. Symbolic: inner vigilance preserving truth-order against distortion
- स्वे दमे (sve dame)
- Literal: in his own house. Symbolic: in the body-life-mind home; the personal field of sādhanā
Designation of Agni’s priestly roles (ṛtvij, hotṛ) in yajña; household and śrauta contexts where Agni is installed ‘in his own seat’
At the opening of daily fire-offering or before recitation/prāṇāgnihotra (inner offering)
Calling Agni to officiate; affirming guardianship of ṛta
A daily ‘alignment’ mantra before decisions: ask for right timing (ṛtvij) and truth-guarding (gopā ṛtasya) in one’s life-context.
ṛtvij is ‘right-timed sacrificer’, linking rite to ṛta as right season/order. gopā ṛtasya: go is ‘ray/cow’ (light/knowledge), and √pā ‘protect’—Agni guards the luminous order. dīdihi from √dī intensifies shining: the cognitive illumination of ṛta.
ṛta as truth-order, right timing (ṛtu) as spiritual law, guardianship of knowledge-rays (go)
Explicit: Agni is requested to shine as guardian of ṛta.
Truth must be protected in the ‘house’—the individual embodiment—so satya becomes lived.
Cosmos as rhythmic order (seasons/times) maintained by priestly intelligence.
Integral/psychological: ṛta as right movement of consciousness; Agni as regulator of practice.
Implied by ṛtvij (seasonal rhythm)
Seasonality = stages of growth; home = body-mind habitat; shining = awakened awareness guarding order.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the priest-function and guardian of ṛta: the mythic role is institutional—Agni is Hotṛ and ṛtvij, the one who ensures right invocation and right season/order. Innerly, he is the luminous discipline that keeps truth-order intact in the ‘house’ of the being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dī ‘shine’ corresponds to PIE *dyeu- ‘shine, sky’ (broadly the ‘brightness’ family: Skt dyu-, Greek Zeus). √pā ‘protect’ aligns with PIE *peh₂-. The priestly term hotṛ derives from √hu/√hve? (Vedic hotṛ is from √hu ‘pour/offer’ in traditional derivation), reflecting inherited sacrificial lexicon.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi seeks Agni in functional intimacy: not distant praise but precise roles—ṛtvij/hotṛ—requested to ‘shine’ as gopā of ṛta. The human offers aspiration (īḷate); Agni returns illumination and protection of truth-order in the proper seat (sve dame).
Establish ‘truth-guarding’ awareness in the body: let Agni shine within the chest as a calm sentinel.
Anāhata (inner home/psychic space)
4-4-6 breathing: inhale 4 (gather), hold 4 (set order), exhale 6 (shine/guard).
Quiet vigilance; aligned sincerity.
Repeat before practice and before sleep: offer the day’s movements into Agni; ask that the inner order be kept through dreams and waking impulses.
Use Vedic accents as marked (e.g., होता॑रम् has svara); keep pitch movements minimal and precise.
Let ‘gopā ṛtasya’ be articulated distinctly—this is the mantra’s pivot.
(ṛtvijam): vocalic ṛ; ‘tvij’ cluster clean., (īḷate): retroflex ḷ; long ī., (dīdihi): repeat dī clearly; avoid ‘didihi’ shortening.
Steady, protective, luminous; soft intensity rather than loudness.
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