Rig Veda 3.33.4: Mandala 3, Sukta 33, Mantra 4
Sukta 3.33
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Nadyaḥ
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
एना वयं पयसा पिन्वमाना अनु योनिं देवकृतं चरन्तीः । न वर्तवे प्रसवः सर्गतक्तः किंयुर्विप्रो नद्यो जोहवीति ॥
énā vayáṃ páyasā pínvamānā ánu yóniṃ devákṛtaṃ cárantīḥ | ná vártave prasaváḥ sárga-taktaḥ kiṃyúr vípro nadyò johavīti ||
हम इस रास्ते पे जा रहे हैं, खाना और दूध से भर के। भगवान ने जो रास्ता बनाया है, उसके पीछे चल रहे हैं। यह धक्का पीछे नहीं जाता, आगे ही बढ़ता है। रिशि नदियों को पुकारता है, वो जानना चाहते हैं कि नदियाँ कहाँ जा रही हैं, और वो उनका साथ देंगे कि नहीं।
Word by Word
- एना
- by/with these twoPronounस्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया द्विवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot एतद् (प्रातिपदिक: एन-)
- वयम्
- wePronounप्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot अस्मद्
- पयसा
- with milk; with water/juiceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot पयस्
- पिन्वमाना
- being swollen/filled; swellingVerb (participle)वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपदे शतृ-प्रत्ययः; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम्Role KartāRoot पि√न्व् (पिन्वति) / पि√न्व्
- अनु
- along; followingIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अनु
- योनिम्
- course; channel; womb/sourceNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot योनि
- देवकृतम्
- made by the godsAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (योनिम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot देवकृत (देव + कृत) अथवा √कृ (कृत) समास
- चरन्तीः
- moving; flowingVerb (participle)वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययः; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (वेदे—नद्यः इत्यर्थे)Role KartāRoot चर् (चरति)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक-अव्ययम्Root न
- वर्तवे
- for turning back; to returnNoun (infinitival/gerundive form)दत्तिव/चतुर्थी एकवचनम्; प्रयोजनार्थे (infinitive-like: ‘for turning/backing’)Role SampradānaRoot वर्तु (वर्तन्/वर्त) अथवा √वृत् (वर्तते) से व्युत्पन्न
- प्रसवः
- impulse; onward drive; outflowNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot प्रसव
- सर्गतक्तः
- fashioned for flowing; stream-hewnAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (प्रसवः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot सर्ग + तक्त (√तक्ष् ‘to fashion’ → तक्त ‘hewn/constructed’) समास
- किम्
- what?Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (प्रश्नार्थम्)Role KarmaRoot किम्
- युः
- the young one; youthNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यु (प्रातिपदिक: यु- ‘युवा/युवक’)
- विप्रः
- inspired sage; poetNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot विप्र
- नद्यः
- riversNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot नदी
- जोहवीति
- calls upon; invokes repeatedlyVerbलट् (वर्तमानकालः) परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot हु (जुहोति) with intensive/reduplicated present stem
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-wise): एना | वयम् | पयसा | पिन्वमाना | अनु | योनिम् | देवकृतम् | चरन्तीः || न | वर्तवे | प्रसवः | सर्गतक्तः | किम् | युः | विप्रः | नद्यः | जोहवीति । Notable: (1) देवकृतं चरन्तीः → देवकृतम् + चरन्तीः (final -म् before c-)
- (2) किंयुर्विप्रो → किम् + युः + विप्रः (anusvāra before y; sandhi gives -ंयु- and -र्वि-)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker(s) move along a divinely made channel like rivers swelling with nourishing milk; the forward impulsion of the stream does not turn back, and the inspired seer calls to the rivers to gain passage.
Inner meaning
The seeker’s consciousness, filled with the soul’s nourishment (payas), follows the god-shaped inner channel (yoniṃ devakṛtam)—the true psychic track prepared by the higher Powers. Once the divine impulsion (prasava) for the release of the currents is set in motion, it is irreversible: the yoga moves forward. The vipra (seer-mind) invokes the inner river-forces—streams of experience and illumination—to reveal their hidden course and consent to the passage from limitation to wideness.
Universal truth
When the right inner channel is found and the divine impulsion awakens, the movement of growth becomes naturally progressive; resistance may delay but cannot permanently reverse a sincere, truth-aligned evolution of consciousness.
Themes
Rita-aligned movement, Invocation to rivers, Guided passage, Inner increase (pinv-)
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kauśika
- Other hymns
- RV 3.33 (whole sūkta on the rivers and passage), RV 3.62.10 (Gāyatrī mantra, traditional attribution), RV 3.53 (social and spiritual integration themes)
Family tradition
Kauśika lineage associated with transformative tapas and the conversion of force into illumined power; Viśvāmitra embodies the passage from rajasic might to brahmic vision.
Significance
As seer of the ‘crossing’, Viśvāmitra symbolizes the yogic transition: the being seeks passage through powerful life-currents by alignment with ṛta and the help of illumined gods.
The deity
- Devata
- Nadyaḥ (River Powers)
- Epithets
- devakṛta-yoni-following (moving in god-made channels), sargatakta (stream-fashioned), consenting movers (implied by the request for passage)
- Related deities
- Savitṛ (prasava/impulsion, explicit in 3.33.6), Indra (releaser of the waters, explicit in 3.33.6–7), Soma (nourishing sweetness, implicit in payas)
Cosmic role
They are the dynamic flows that carry the offering and the traveler—life, mind, and delight streaming according to ṛta.
Inner power
Capacity of consciousness to flow, purify, and widen; the ‘currents’ that must be harmonized so they become supportive rather than obstructive.
In ritual
Where it is used
River-crossing and travel protection; also recited in contexts invoking the Waters (Āpaḥ) for safe passage and purification.
ए॒ना व॒यं पय॑सा॒ पिन्व॑माना॒ अनु॒ योनिं॑ दे॒वकृ॑तं॒ चर॑न्तीः । न वर्त॑वे प्रस॒वः सर्ग॑तक्तः किं॒युर्विप्रो॑ न॒द्यो॑ जोहवीति ॥
ए॒ना । व॒यम् । पय॑सा । पिन्व॑मानाः । अनु॑ । योनि॑म् । दे॒वऽकृ॑तम् । चर॑न्तीः । न । वर्त॑वे । प्र॒ऽस॒वः । सर्ग॑ऽतक्तः । कि॒म्ऽयुः । विप्रः॑ । न॒द्यः॑ । जो॒ह॒वी॒ति॒ ॥
enā | vayam | payasā | pinvamānāḥ | anu | yonim | deva-kṛtam | carantīḥ | na | vartave | pra-savaḥ | sarga-taktaḥ | kim-yuḥ | vipraḥ | nadyaḥ | johavīti
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4 pādas of ~12 syllables each
Long, forward-driving cadence suited to movement and streaming; spacious but insistent.
Induces a sense of onward flow and inevitability—useful for meditation on progress through inner currents.
- एना (enā)
- Literal: by this, along this (path/means). Symbolic: the discovered inner method/track of the sacrifice—right orientation of consciousness
- पयसा (payasā)
- Literal: with milk, nourishing sap. Symbolic: psychic nourishment; essence-force that increases inner growth (often linked to Soma’s sweetness)
- पिन्वमानाः (pinvamānāḥ)
- Literal: swelling, growing full. Symbolic: consciousness becoming charged with force and delight; expansion by inner sustenance
- योनि (yoni)
- Literal: womb, source, channel, bed. Symbolic: the secret seat of manifestation; the true inner channel where energies can flow safely and rightly
- देवकृत (devakṛta)
- Literal: made by the gods. Symbolic: formed by higher powers—an ordained inner order rather than mental construction
- प्रसव (prasava)
- Literal: impulsion, bringing forth. Symbolic: Savitṛ-like divine push that releases and carries the movement forward
- सर्गतक्त (sargatakta)
- Literal: fashioned for streaming/flowing. Symbolic: a will shaped for continuous outpouring—unbroken progress of inner currents
- विप्र (vipra)
- Literal: inspired seer. Symbolic: illumined mind that can invoke and negotiate with the forces of life-consciousness
- नद्यः (nadyaḥ)
- Literal: rivers. Symbolic: currents of consciousness/experience; dynamic powers of the flow that must consent to the passage
Supplication for non-obstructed passage; aligning with the ‘god-made’ channel so the flow does not ‘turn back’
At journeys, crossings, or when invoking supportive flows for a rite; also as a thematic hymn in āprī-like sequences of movement and passage.
Invocation and praise to obtain ‘anukūlatā’ (consent) of the powers; symbolic offering into/near water.
Before major transitions (moves, initiations, retreats): meditate on the ‘god-made channel’ and ask inner energies to align and carry you forward.
devakṛta ‘god-made’ indicates a channel formed by higher order (ṛta). vartave from √vṛt ‘turn’ (PIE *wert- ‘turn’). sarga ‘sending/flow’ from √sṛj ‘let go, emit’ (PIE *sreg- ‘let go/throw’ is debated; but Indo-Aryan √sṛj is stable). takta from √takṣ ‘fashion, carve’ (PIE *teks- ‘craft’ cf. Latin texere ‘weave’). johavīti is an intensive/frequentative of √hū ‘call’.
Devakṛta yoni (divinely formed path in ṛta), Irreversibility of true impulsion (prasava), Vipra as inner knower invoking the powers
The rivers move in a devakṛta yoni—an image of ṛta as the pre-established law/channel of becoming.
Truth as the ‘true channel’: when found, the movement does not ‘turn back’ into falsehood or deviation.
Outflow from a womb/source into manifest streams—becoming as ordered streaming.
Proto-Vedānta / integral yoga reading (Aurobindo): psychological waters and the law of inner evolution.
The flowing life-mind currents, nourished by inner sweetness, moving through a divinely prepared channel toward wideness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘god-made channel’ and the irreversible forward flow: the waters follow a divinely fashioned yoni and do not turn back—an image of right-directed evolution and the soul’s passage when aligned with ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vṛt ‘turn’ reflects PIE *wert- (turn). √takṣ ‘craft’ reflects PIE *teks- (weave/craft). The verse fuses inherited craft-metaphor (fashioned channel) with cosmological flow, a hallmark of Indo-European poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The vipra stands as the questioning aspirant (kimyuḥ), calling the rivers into conscious cooperation; by recognizing their course as devakṛta, he seeks consent and alignment rather than coercion—invocation as harmonizing reciprocity.
Align inner currents with the ‘devakṛta yoni’: feel a subtle channel from heart/psychic center into a wide, clear movement ahead.
Anāhata (psychic opening) to Viśuddha/Ājñā (clear flow and guidance)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow ujjāyī to sense an even forward stream; exhale as ‘release into the channel’.
Progressive widening (urvī-bhāva) with calm forward momentum.
When blocked, don’t force; invoke consent of the ‘rivers’ (energies). Reaffirm the true channel (yoni) and let the divine impulsion carry the movement.
Vedic accenting with udatta peaks on key invocatory words; anudatta grounding on particles; svarita transitions on compounded/connected syllables (follow the śākhā recitation for this sūkta).
Keep the cadence flowing across caesuras; slightly emphasize ‘páyasā’, ‘yóniṃ’, ‘devákṛtam’, ‘prásavaḥ’. Avoid hard stops mid-stream.
Hold long vowels clearly: yoniṃ, devakṛtaṃ, carantīḥ., Retroflex clarity: ṇ in yoniṃ; ṭ/ḍ where applicable in compounds., Nasalization: keep ‘-ṃ’ as a light anusvāra before consonants., Maintain ‘v’ vs ‘b’: vipro (v-), not bipro.
Flowing, resonant, with a forward-moving legato to mirror the rivers.
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