Rig Veda 3.18.3: Mandala 3, Sukta 18, Mantra 3
Sukta 3.18
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इध्मेनाग्न इच्छमानो घृतेन जुहोमि हव्यं तरसे बलाय । यावदीशे ब्रह्मणा वन्दमान इमां धियं शतसेयाय देवीम् ॥
idhménāgna icchámāno ghṛténa juhómi havyaṃ tárase bálāya | yā́vad ī́śe bráhmaṇā vándamāna imā́ṃ dhíyaṃ śatáseyāya devī́m ||
अग्नि, मैं लकड़ी और घी दे के तुम्हारे लिए हवन कर रहा हूँ। यह सब मैं ताकत और बल के लिए कर रहा हूँ। मैं जितना कर सकता हूँ, उतना मंत्र बोल के पूजा कर रहा हूँ। भगवान मुझे सौ गुना जीत दे, यही मेरी इच्छा है।
Word by Word
- इध्मेन
- with fuel (kindling)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot इध्म (प्रातिपदिक) < √इध्/इन्ध् ‘प्रदीपन’
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इच्छमानः
- desiringAdjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय (आत्मनेपदी वर्तमान कृदन्त)Role कर्तृ (यजमानः/अहं) विशेषणम्Root √इष्/इच्छ् ‘इच्छा’ (धातु) → इच्छमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- घृतेन
- with gheeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot घृत (प्रातिपदिक)
- जुहोमि
- I offer (pour as oblation)Verbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √हु ‘यज्ञे/होमे’
- हव्यम्
- the oblation (to be offered)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हव्य (प्रातिपदिक; √हु से ‘होम्य’)
- तरसे
- for strength, for vigorNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य) / प्रयोजनRoot तरस् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘वेग/शक्ति’
- बलाय
- for powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य) / प्रयोजनRoot बल (प्रातिपदिक)
- यावत्
- as far as, so long asIndeclinable (correlative) / Adverbialअव्यय; परिमाण/सीमा-वाचकRole अधिकारण (परिमाण-सीमा) / क्रियाविशेषणRoot यावत् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-स्वभाव) ‘यावद्-पर्यन्तम्’
- ईशे
- I am able / I have powerVerbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √ईश् ‘ऐश्वर्ये/शासने’
- ब्रह्मणा
- with sacred formulation (hymn/prayer)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वन्दमानः
- praising, doing reverenceAdjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; शानच्-प्रत्यय (आत्मनेपदी वर्तमान कृदन्त)Role कर्तृ (अहं) विशेषणम्Root √वन्द् ‘स्तुतौ/नमस्कारे’ → वन्दमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- इमाम्
- thisPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (धियं प्रति) विशेषणम्Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- धियम्
- thought, inspired hymnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot धि (प्रातिपदिक) ‘विचार/प्रेरणा/स्तोत्रबुद्धि’
- शतसेयाय
- for long duration (lit. ‘hundred-lay/lasting’)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य) / प्रयोजनRoot शतसेय (प्रातिपदिक; शत + सेय/शेय ‘शयन/आसन’—दीर्घायुष्/दीर्घस्थितिवाचक विशेषण, वैदिक)
- देवीम्
- the goddess (divine)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (धियं विशेषयति) / कर्मRoot देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धि-निरसन): इध्मेन + अग्ने + इच्छमानः + घृतेन + जुहोमि + हव्यम् + तरसे + बलाय । यावत् + ईशे + ब्रह्मणा + वन्दमानः + इमाम् + धियम् + शतसेयाय + देवीम् ॥ मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) इध्मेनाग्ने → इध्मेन अग्ने (स्वर-सन्धि/अ + अ)
- (2) इच्छमानो घृतेन → इच्छमानः घृतेन (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते, संहितायां ‘ओ’ रूपम् वैदिक)
- (4) यावदीशे → यावत् ईशे (त् + ई → दी, जश्त्व/सवर्णदीर्घ-प्रभाव)
- (5) वन्दमान इमाम् → वन्दमानः इमाम् (विसर्ग-लोपः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With fuel and ghee the speaker offers oblation to Agni for strength and power; worshipping with sacred word, he brings forward a divine thought for a hundredfold victory.
Inner meaning
The ‘fuel’ (idhma) is the aspirant’s gathered energies and disciplines; ‘ghee’ (ghṛta) is clarified understanding/essence poured into the inner fire. The offering is made for ‘taras’ and ‘bala’—dynamic force and stable strength—needed for the yoga of transformation. Through brahman (mantric word) and reverent surrender, the rishi releases a ‘devī dhī’—a luminous thought-force from higher mind—aimed at ‘śata-seyā’ mastery: repeated, multiplied victories over obscurity and division.
Universal truth
When aspiration is fed by disciplined energy and clarified understanding, a higher intelligence awakens and multiplies our capacity for effective action and mastery.
Themes
oblation, strength and power, inspired thought, hundredfold victory
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthin lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.1, RV 3.18.1, RV 3.18.2, RV 3.62
Family tradition
Strong emphasis on brahman (mantra) as operative power and on the disciplined feeding of Agni for victory and illumination.
Significance
The seer frames sacrifice as an inner technology: offer clarified understanding and disciplined energy to awaken divine dhī for mastery.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- havyavāhana (carrier of oblations, implied), balada (giver of strength, by function), tarasvat (giver of force, by function)
- Related deities
- Indra (victory/illumination), Sarasvatī (dhī, inspiration), Bṛhaspati (brahman, word-power)
Cosmic role
Receives offerings and conveys them to the gods; awakens powers of strength and victorious intelligence.
Inner power
Transformative will that converts offerings into force (taras/bala) and opens the channel for devī dhī.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni kindling and offering within iṣṭi/soma frameworks; general hotṛ recitation during oblation
इ॒ध्मेना॑ग्न इ॒च्छमा॑नो घृ॒तेन॑ जु॒होमि॑ ह॒व्यं तर॑से॒ बला॑य । याव॒दीशे॒ ब्रह्म॑णा॒ वन्द॑मान इ॒मां धियं॑ शत॒सेया॑य दे॒वीम् ॥
इ॒ध्मेन॑ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । इ॒च्छमा॑नः । घृ॒तेन॑ । जु॒होमि॑ । ह॒व्यम् । तर॑से । बला॑य । याव॑त् । ईशे॑ । ब्रह्म॑णा । वन्द॑मानः । इ॒माम् । धिय॑म् । श॒त॒ऽसेया॑य । दे॒वीम् ॥
idhmena | agne | icchamānaḥ | ghṛtena | juhomi | havyam | tarase | balāya | yāvat | īśe | brahmaṇā | vandamānaḥ | imām | dhiyam | śata-seyāya | devīm
44
4 × ~11
Balanced and elevating; combines offering cadence with victorious lift at the close.
Creates a sense of deliberate offering followed by uplift and confidence; supports concentration and resolve.
- इध्म (idhma)
- Literal: Fuel, firewood. Symbolic: Collected energies, practices, and will that sustain aspiration
- घृत (ghṛta)
- Literal: Ghee. Symbolic: Clarified mind/essence; luminous understanding offered to the inner fire
- जुहोमि (juhomi)
- Literal: I pour/offer. Symbolic: Conscious self-offering; placing movements into transformative awareness
- हव्य (havya)
- Literal: Oblation, that which is to be offered. Symbolic: All inner materials—desire, thought, action—given for transmutation
- तरस् (taras)
- Literal: Vehemence, impetuous strength. Symbolic: Dynamic force for breakthrough and ascent
- बल (bala)
- Literal: Strength. Symbolic: Stable endurance; capacity to hold a higher state
- ब्रह्मणा (brahmaṇā)
- Literal: With sacred word/prayer. Symbolic: Mantra-power; formative truth-speech that opens higher consciousness
- धि (dhī)
- Literal: Thought, vision, understanding. Symbolic: Supramental/intuitive thought-force (devī) descending into mind
- देवीम् (devīm)
- Literal: Goddess, divine. Symbolic: Higher luminous intelligence as a power, not mere idea
- शतसेयाय (śataseyāya)
- Literal: For a hundredfold winning. Symbolic: Repeated victories; cumulative mastery across many movements
Offering-verse accompanying oblation (āhuti), emphasizing fuel, ghṛta, and brahman as supports of power and victory.
At the moment of pouring ghee/placing fuel; before undertaking demanding actions or battles (outer/inner)
Adding fuel and ghee; reciting brahman to empower the offering
As a pre-meditation or pre-work consecration: offer attention (ghee) and effort (fuel) to kindle steady force and intuitive guidance.
idhma: fuel (from √idh ‘kindle’ related sphere) → supports ignition. ghṛta: clarified butter from √ghṛ ‘sprinkle, shine’ (semantic: brightness/clarity) → inner clarity. taras: from √tṛ ‘overcome/cross’ → victorious force. bala: strength/power. brahman: from √bṛh ‘grow, expand’ → the expansive word/vision. dhi: from √dhī ‘think, perceive’ → inspired cognition.
Brahman as formative word, Dhi as inspired intelligence, victorious crossing (taras)
Right offering and right word align the being with ṛta, producing effective force and victorious order.
Brahman as truth-speech that brings forth devī dhī; victory is victory of truth-consciousness over confusion.
The divine thought-force is ‘brought forward’—a microcosmic creation of higher mind in the human.
Aurobindonian: dhī as descent of higher consciousness; sacrifice as inner ascent and descent.
Fuel = disciplined effort; ghee = clarified understanding; fire = will; smoke = aspiration rising; ‘hundredfold’ = multiplicity of life-movements to be mastered.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The sacrifice as empowerment technology: fuel and ghṛta feed Agni; brahman and dhi are generated for victory. Mythically, the offering produces an increase of force; psychologically, disciplined effort and clarified intention kindle the will that births divine thought-power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- brahman from √bṛh ‘expand’ aligns with an IE pattern of deriving sacred/mental power terms from ‘growth/expansion’ semantics. √dhī (dhi) relates to broader IE cognition roots (compare Greek the- in θεάομαι ‘to behold’ is not direct, but functional parallels in ‘vision-thought’ terms are common).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi actively offers (juhomi) and simultaneously crafts brahman (sacred formulation). Agni is the transformer that converts offering into taras/bala and into a divinized dhi capable of sustained conquest over limiting forces.
Consecration: offer effort and understanding into the heart-fire; invite a higher thought-force to lead action.
manipura (force) and anahata (offering)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) for steadiness, then chant once; feel exhale as ‘juhomi’—offering outward.
Collected, consecrated, quietly victorious.
Before any task, inwardly ‘add fuel’ (renew aspiration) and ‘pour ghee’ (clarify intention); then wait briefly for devī dhī—an intuitive rightness—to arise.
Observe udātta peaks especially on offering verbs and power-words (juhomi, tarase, balāya, dhiyam).
Keep pāda breaks clear; let the final cadence on ‘devīm’ be luminous and sustained.
: ‘idh-me-na’ with clear dh, : retroflex ṛ; ‘ghṛ-te-na’, : ‘ju-ho-mi’ (not ‘ju-hum’), : ‘śa-ta-se-yā-ya’ with palatal ś
Clear, steady, offering-tone; uplift on second half.
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