Rig Veda 3.27.2: Mandala 3, Sukta 27, Mantra 2
Sukta 3.27
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
ईळे अग्निं विपश्चितं गिरा यज्ञस्य साधनम् । श्रुष्टीवानं धितावानम् ॥
ī́ḷe agníṁ vipaścítaṁ girā́ yajñásya sā́dhanam | śruṣṭī́vānaṁ dhitā́vānam ||
मैं अग्नि को अपनी ज़बान से पुकारता हूँ। वो सब कुछ समझता है और यज्ञ को पूरा करता है। वो सबकी बात सुनता है और अपने ध्यान में स्थिर रहता है।
Word by Word
- ईळे
- I praise / I invokeVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया) —Root √ईळ्/√ईड् (स्तुतौ ‘to praise, invoke’)
- अग्निम्
- Agni (the Fire-god)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक) अव्युत्पन्न/प्राचीन नाम
- विपश्चितम्
- wise, discerningAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (अग्निम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषणम्)Root वि-पश्चित् (प्रातिपदिक; वि + √पश् ‘to see’ → ‘clear-seeing, wise’)
- गिरा
- with a hymn / by (my) songNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, तृतीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role करणRoot गिर्- (स्त्री; ‘voice, hymn, song’)
- यज्ञस्य
- of the sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root यज्ञ- (प्रातिपदिक; √यज् ‘to worship, sacrifice’)
- साधनम्
- accomplisher / means of accomplishmentNoun (also adjectival in sense)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (अग्निम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषण/उपपद-भावः)Root साधन- (नपुं; √साध् ‘to accomplish, bring about’)
- श्रुष्टीवानम्
- attentive, obedient (to prayer)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (अग्निम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषणम्)Root श्रुष्टीवत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘obedient, attentive’; Vedic formation, from √श्रु ‘to hear’ with desiderative/attentive nuance)
- धितावानम्
- well-established / well-disposedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (अग्निम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषणम्)Root धितावत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘well-set/placed, well-disposed’; from √धा ‘to place, set’ → धित ‘set, established’ + -वत्)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ईळे | अग्निम् | विपश्चितम् | गिरा | यज्ञस्य | साधनम् | श्रुष्टीवानम् | धितावानम् । बाह्य-सन्धिः न्यूनः
- ‘अग्निं’ = ‘अग्निम्’ (अनुस्वार/नासिक्य-लेखनभेदः). ‘गिरा’ तृतीया-एकवचनम् ‘गिर्’ इत्यस्य. विशेषणानि (विपश्चितम्, साधनम्, श्रुष्टीवानम्, धितावानम्) सर्वाणि ‘अग्निम्’ इति कर्मपदं विशेषयन्ति।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The seer praises Agni with a hymn-word as the one who accomplishes the sacrifice; Agni is attentive to invocation and firm in established thought.
Inner meaning
Agni is the awakened divine Will in us—clear-discerning (vipaścita) and capable of carrying the inner yajña (offering of works, breath, and thought) to its fulfillment. The mantra emphasizes two inner requisites: (1) śruṣṭi—obedient, receptive hearing to the higher guidance; (2) dhī—founded, steady thought that can hold the flame without wavering. The ‘word’ (girā) is not mere speech but mantra-vāc: a conscious vibration that kindles and directs the will.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress depends on a luminous will guided by true discernment and sustained by receptive listening and stable, well-founded thought; right speech (truthful vibration) becomes an instrument that accomplishes transformation.
Themes
invocation, illumined-intelligence, ritual-accomplishment, responsive-divinity
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 3.26, Rig Veda 3.28, Rig Veda 3.29, Rig Veda 3.30, Rig Veda 3.62
Family tradition
Gāthin lineage of Maṇḍala 3; hymns of disciplined aspiration and the forging of inner power through tapas and mantra.
Significance
Viśvāmitra embodies the transition from outer power to inner mastery: the seer who wins illumination by effort and right mantra, making Agni the leader of the inner yajña.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- vipaścit, yajñasya sādhanam, śruṣṭīvān, dhitāvān
- Related deities
- Soma, Indra, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine; carrier of offerings; establisher of ṛta through the sacrificial order.
Inner power
The flame of aspiration and conscious will that perceives the right movement and executes it; awakens discernment and steadiness in thought.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnyādhāna/Agnihotra-related invocations; general Agni-stuti preceding offerings.
ईळे॑ अ॒ग्निं वि॑प॒श्चितं॑ गि॒रा य॒ज्ञस्य॒ साध॑नम् । श्रु॒ष्टी॒वानं॑ धि॒तावा॑नम् ॥
ईळे॑ । अ॒ग्निम् । वि॒पः॒ऽचित॑म् । गि॒रा । य॒ज्ञस्य॑ । साध॑नम् । श्रु॒ष्टी॒ऽवान॑म् । धि॒तऽवा॑नम् ॥
īḷe | agnim | vipaḥ-citam | girā | yajñasya | sādhanam | śruṣṭī-vānam | dhita-vānam
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3 pādas of 8 syllables (compact praise-invocation).
Bright, swift, concentrated; suitable for ignition and focus.
Quickens attention and kindles inner warmth; supports a clean, uplifted mental poise (dhī) while invoking will.
- īḷe
- Literal: I praise / adore. Symbolic: turning of consciousness toward the Divine Power; deliberate consent and invocation
- agniṃ
- Literal: Agni, fire. Symbolic: divine Will-force, inner flame of aspiration and transformation
- vipaś-citam
- Literal: clear-seeing, discerning. Symbolic: luminous intelligence within the will; the flame that knows the right path
- girā
- Literal: with the word, song. Symbolic: mantric speech (vāc) that shapes consciousness and kindles inner fire
- yajñasya
- Literal: of the sacrifice. Symbolic: the inner offering—works, energies, thoughts given to the Divine
- sādhanam
- Literal: accomplisher, fulfiller. Symbolic: power that effects realization; the operative force of sādhanā
- śruṣṭī-vānam
- Literal: possessing obedient hearing. Symbolic: receptivity to the higher command; responsiveness of the psychic/vital to truth
- dhita-vānam
- Literal: possessing founded thought. Symbolic: steady dhī: established insight and concentration that supports the flame
Standard Agni-invocation at the opening/rekindling: establishes Agni as the effective accomplisher of the rite.
At the opening of a rite when Agni is invoked as priest and accomplisher; also suitable for daily inner-japa.
Praise/invocation with ṛc while kindling and offering (āhuti).
Use before meditation or work as a brief sankalpa: ‘May the clear-seeing will accomplish my inner offering with receptive hearing and steady thought.’
īḷe from √īḍ ‘praise, invoke’. vipaścit from vi + √paś ‘see’. yajña from √yaj ‘worship, sacrifice’ → act of consecrated offering; sādhana from √sādh ‘accomplish’ → effective realization. śruṣṭī-vant from √śruṣ ‘obey, listen attentively’ → readiness to hear/heed. dhitā-vant from dhītí (√dhī ‘think, hold in mind, contemplate’) → founded thought/insight.
mantra (gir) as power, dhī (insight) and vipasyat (seeing), yajña as inner integration
Agni as executor of ṛta: the power that makes truth effective in life-movement.
Truth becomes operative through right speech (girā) and founded dhī.
Kindling of consciousness: from inertness to luminous order through the flame of will.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent of consciousness via Agni and dhī.
dawn or early ritual hours (typical Agni kindling)
Fire = aspiration/will; sound = mantra-vāc; dawn-sense = emergence of discernment; ‘hearing’ = receptivity to higher guidance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the effective priest-power who ‘accomplishes’ the yajña and hears the call. Psychologically, Agni is the inner will and discernment that turns speech into realization—making aspiration operative.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The √paś ‘see’ (vipaścit) and √yaj ‘sacrifice’ are archaic sacral roots; the formula ‘praise by speech’ + ‘accomplisher of sacrifice’ is an inherited Indo-European pattern where correct utterance activates divine function.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers gir (mantric speech) and in return engages a devatā that is both responsive (śruṣṭī-vān) and stabilizing (dhitā-vān). The relationship is pedagogic and transformative: invocation trains the being into dhī while Agni executes the inner sacrifice.
Kindle the inner flame of will in the heart and brow; offer thoughts and impulses into it with truthful speech (silent mantra).
anahata
gentle nāḍī-śodhana or equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) to stabilize dhī
collected, attentive receptivity; ‘listening’ awareness (śruṣṭi) with steady concentration (dhita).
Begin with 9 slow recitations; after each, pause and ‘listen’ inwardly for guidance, then place one intention/work into the flame as an offering.
Use Vedic-style three-tone contour: keep udatta on marked syllables, anudatta low on preceding, and svarita as the falling glide where applicable; maintain clear pitch steps rather than melodic singing.
Honor accents on īḷe॑, agniṃ, vipaścitaṃ, sādhanam, śruṣṭīvānam, dhitāvānam; avoid stressing unaccented particles.
īḷe: retroflex ḷ (tongue curled back), long ī, vipaścitam: ‘paś’ with clear ś (palatal), yajñasya: ‘jñ’ as combined sound (gya/nya blend), śruṣṭīvānam: cluster ṣṭ; keep ṣ retroflex, dhitāvānam: dh = breathy voiced aspirate; long ā
clear, steady, slightly bright; end each pāda with a gentle release (not abrupt).
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