Rig Veda 3.29.11: Mandala 3, Sukta 29, Mantra 11
Sukta 3.29
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
तनूनपादुच्यते गर्भ आसुरो नराशंसो भवति यद्विजायते । मातरिश्वा यदमिमीत मातरि वातस्य सर्गो अभवत्सरीमणि ॥
tanūnápād ucyate gárbha āsuró narāśáṃso bhavati yád vijā́yate | mātáriśvā yád amímīta mātári vā́tasya sárgo abhavat sarī́maṇi ||
अग्नि को तनुनपात कहते हैं क्योंकि वो लाइट की शक्ति से पैदा होता है। जब वो दुनिया में आता है, लोग उसकी तारीफ करते हैं। मातरिश्वन ने उसे माँ की गोद में नापता है। तब हवा की राह खुल जाती है और वो आगे बढ़ता है।
Word by Word
- तनूनपात्
- Tanūnapāt (a divine epithet, esp. of Agni)Noun (proper/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot तनूनपात् (प्रातिपदिक; तन् + नपात्)
- उच्यते
- is called / is saidVerbलट् (वर्तमान), कर्मणि-प्रयोग, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot वच् (धातु)
- गर्भः
- embryo; hidden oneNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्ध-वाक्ये) / विधेय-नामRoot गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
- आसुरः
- asuric; belonging to the AsuraAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (गर्भः इति विशेषणम्)Root आसुर (प्रातिपदिक; असुर-सम्बन्धी)
- नराशंसः
- Narāśaṃsa (praise of men; a divine epithet)Noun (proper/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot नराशंस (प्रातिपदिक)
- भवति
- becomes / isVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot भू (धातु)
- यत्
- when; that whichPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (अव्यक्त-सम्बन्धे)Role अधिकरण/सम्बन्ध (यदा-सम्बन्धः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विजायते
- is born forth; comes to birthVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot जन् (धातु) + वि- (उपसर्ग)
- मातरिश्वा
- Mātariśvan (a divine being; often the bringer of fire)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot मातरिश्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- what; whichPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (कर्म-सम्बन्धे)Role कर्म (अमीमीत इत्यस्य)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अमीमीत
- measured out; apportionedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; पुनरुक्त-आगम (अ-मी-मी-त)Root मा (धातु; मिमीते/मिमीत ‘to measure’)
- मातरि
- in the motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वातस्य
- of the windNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root वात (प्रातिपदिक)
- सर्गः
- rush; emission; impulseNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ / विधेय-नामRoot सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक; √सृज्-सम्बन्ध)
- अभवत्
- came to be; aroseVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot भू (धातु) + अभि- (उपसर्ग)
- सरीमणि
- in the course/track of flowing; in the stream (of motion)Noun (locative adverbial)पुं/नपुंसक (वैदिके अनिश्चित), सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सरीमन्/सरीम (प्रातिपदिक; ‘running/flowing’ इत्यर्थे) + इ (सप्तमी-एकवचन)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धि-विग्रह): तनूनपात् उच्यते | गर्भः आसुरः | नराशंसः भवति | यत् विजायते || मातरिश्वा | यत् अमीमीत | मातरि | वातस्य सर्गः | अभवत् | सरीमणि || 1) तनूनपादुच्यते → तनूनपात् + उच्यते (त् + उ → दु/दुच्चारण-सम्बन्धः; संहितायां ‘दु’ लेखनम्)
- 2) आसुरो → आसुरः (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते)
- 3) अभवत्सरीमणि → अभवत् + सरीमणि (त् + स → त्स्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is named Tanūnapāt as a divine embryo; when he is born he is Narāśaṃsa. When Mātariśvan ‘measured’ him within the Mother, the Wind’s release and flowing movement came into being along its course.
Inner meaning
The inner Fire (Agni) begins as a secret formation within the being (tanūnapāt: ‘self-born/child of the body’), a concealed will-to-transform held in the womb of Nature (the Mother). When it emerges into active consciousness it becomes Narāśaṃsa—‘the human-affirming/praise-worthy power’ that can receive and carry the soul’s aspiration. Mātariśvan (the life-breath that brings the Fire) ‘measures’ or establishes this flame in the matrix of the being; then prāṇa (Vāta) is released into a free, unobstructed flow—life-energy becomes a conscious channel for the sacrifice.
Universal truth
All spiritual awakening starts as a subtle seed of will in the depths; when established by disciplined breath and right measure, it is born into luminous action, and the life-force is liberated to move in harmony with truth.
Themes
Multiple names/forms of Agni, Fire and breath dynamics, Cosmogonic emergence in the Mother, Embodied spirituality
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kauśika
- Other hymns
- RV 3.29, RV 3.30, RV 3.33, RV 3.53, RV 3.62
Family tradition
Viśvāmitra’s line emphasizes the power of mantra (brahman) to found a new inner order; Agni is repeatedly invoked as the formative will and leader of the sacrifice.
Significance
Viśvāmitra is emblematic of the yogic conversion from outer power to inner mastery; his Agni hymns often map the birth of the flame from secret depths into an illumined, world-ordering action (ṛta).
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (Tanūnapāt / Narāśaṃsa) with Mātariśvan
- Epithets
- Tanūnapāt, Narāśaṃsa, Garbha (Embryo), Āsura (lordly)
- Related deities
- Vāyu (as Vāta), Maruts (as energisms of breath/force), Uṣas (as awakening that follows ignition)
Cosmic role
Hidden in the waters/mother as seed of order; born as the priestly mediator who opens the ways and sets the worlds in right motion.
Inner power
Psychic will and aspiration becoming an active, articulate flame; breath-supported ignition that liberates prāṇic flow for the inner sacrifice.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni-kindling and Agni praise within soma-less fire rites; also applicable to Agni’s birth themes in śrauta contexts.
तनू॒नपा॑दुच्यते॒ गर्भ॑ आसु॒रो नरा॒शंसो॑ भवति॒ यद्वि॒जाय॑ते । मा॒त॒रिश्वा॒ यदमि॑मीत मा॒तरि॒ वात॑स्य॒ सर्गो॑ अभव॒त्सरी॑मणि ॥
तनू॒ऽनपा॑त् । उ॒च्य॒ते॒ । गर्भः॑ । आ॒सु॒रः । नरा॒शंसः॑ । भ॒व॒ति॒ । यत् । वि॒ऽजाय॑ते । मा॒त॒रिश्वा॑ । यत् । अमि॑मीत । मा॒तरि॑ । वात॑स्य । सर्गः॑ । अ॒भ॒व॒त् । सरी॑मणि ॥
tanū-napāt | ucyate | garbhaḥ | āsuraḥ | narāśaṃsaḥ | bhavati | yat | vi-jāyate | mātariśvā | yat | amimīta | mātari | vātasya | sargaḥ | abhavat | sarīmaṇi
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (with Vedic resolutions/caesura)
Forward-driving, declarative cadence suited to cosmogonic statements and inner process-descriptions.
Builds a sense of emergence—seed to birth to release—supporting a felt transition from inward concentration to expanded breath-flow.
- तनूनपात् (tanūnapāt)
- Literal: offspring of the body / self-born child. Symbolic: the immanent divine will secretly formed in embodied nature
- गर्भ (garbha)
- Literal: embryo, womb. Symbolic: hidden formation of the flame in the subconscient/inner mother
- आसुर (āsura)
- Literal: lordly, of Asura-power. Symbolic: sovereign force of consciousness (not ‘demonic’), the mastery of being
- नराशंस (narāśaṃsa)
- Literal: praised by men / praise of men. Symbolic: the flame that becomes the accepted mediator of aspiration and illumination in human nature
- मातरिश्वन् (mātariśvan)
- Literal: moving in the mother. Symbolic: prāṇa as carrier of the fire; the life-breath that brings and installs Agni
- मातृ (mātari)
- Literal: in the Mother. Symbolic: in Prakṛti / the inner matrix of the being
- वात (vāta)
- Literal: wind. Symbolic: life-breath, vital current, prāṇic dynamism
- सर्ग (sarga)
- Literal: sending forth, release, outflow. Symbolic: liberation of energies into right movement
- सरीमन् (sarīman)
- Literal: flowing course, stream. Symbolic: the channel/path of conscious life-flow aligned to the yoga
Identification of Agni’s epithets in pravargya/agnicayana-related theology broadly; also recited where Tanūnapāt/Narāśaṃsa functions are invoked in the rite.
At the opening/establishing of the fire and during Agni-stotras that emphasize his hidden birth and manifestation.
Invocation of Agni’s forms; establishing the fire; offering with clarified butter while reciting/intoning.
Used as a contemplative chant for ‘igniting the inner fire’ and releasing constricted prāṇa—especially before meditation or pranayama.
- (tanū ‘body’ + napāt ‘offspring’; napāt from PIE *nepōt- ‘descendant’ cf. Latin nepōs): fire as embodied birth. in RV often ‘lordly, possessing asu (life-force)’ rather than later ‘anti-god’. ātariśvan: traditionally fire-bringer; philologically linked to ‘in the mother’ (mātari) + √/ ‘move, breathe’ → a carrier of breath/force. (√ sṛj ‘release, emit’): outflow of vāta (wind/breath).
Embodiment of divine fire (tanūnapāt), Asu (life-force) and vāta (breath) as allied powers, Birth of the divine word/praise (narāśaṃsa)
The ‘measuring’ and ‘release’ imply energies set into right proportion so life-movement aligns with ṛta.
Birth of Narāśaṃsa indicates truth becoming speakable/receivable in the human instrument.
Agni as embryo in the Mother; prāṇa released as the dynamic of manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic and yogic symbolism (Aurobindonian psychological exegesis)
dawn-like (symbolic emergence)
Fire = will/psychic flame; Wind = prāṇa; Mother = prakṛti/inner matrix; Stream-course = nāḍī-like channel of conscious movement.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The myth of Agni’s forms and his conveyance/measurement by Mātariśvan: fire hidden as embryo, then born and praised. Psychologically, the inner flame first forms within embodiment, then manifests as an intelligible, praiseworthy power; breath-force (vāta) is released and aligned with the awakened fire.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- napāt ‘offspring’ reflects PIE *nepōt- (Latin nepōs). The birth lexeme √jan (vijāyate) is PIE *ǵenh₁-. The tight linkage of ‘fire’ with ‘breath/wind’ resonates with IE ritual-poetic physiology where life-breath animates the sacrificial flame.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi is not bargaining but naming and discerning Agni’s inner modalities—embryo, born, praised—thereby aligning human understanding with the god’s operations; recognition (naming) itself becomes a mode of participation in the divine function.
Feel the ‘embryo-flame’ in the heart/solar region; let it rise into clarity, then allow the breath to become smooth and unobstructed.
Anāhata (psychic flame) with support from Maṇipūra (will/heat).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow 1:2 exhale emphasis to ‘release the wind’ after ignition.
From inward gatheredness to luminous, flowing awareness.
Begin with a few minutes of stillness; intone the mantra slowly; on ‘vātasya sargaḥ’ consciously soften the belly and lengthen exhale, imagining prāṇa moving in a clear channel aligned to truth.
Use standard Rigvedic svara discipline: identify udātta on marked syllables in the pada text; maintain anudātta baseline with svarita fall on combined accents (requires śākhā-specific notation).
Keep the cadence of Triṣṭubh with a clear mid-pāda lift; avoid flattening the birth-terms (garbha, vijāyate) and release-terms (sargaḥ, sarīmaṇi).
: lengthen ū; dental ‘t’ in -pāt, : ś as palatal ‘sh’; anusvāra before s is lightly nasalized, : śv cluster—keep ‘sh’ + ‘v’ distinct, : long ī; retroflex ṇ in -maṇi
Warm, steady, slightly rising on birth imagery; soften and broaden on ‘vātasya sargaḥ’.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
