Rig Veda 3.33.6: Mandala 3, Sukta 33, Mantra 6
Sukta 3.33
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra with Savitṛ
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इन्द्रो अस्माँ अरदद्वज्रबाहुरपाहन्वृत्रं परिधिं नदीनाम् । देवोऽनयत्सविता सुपाणिस्तस्य वयं प्रसवे याम उर्वीः ॥
índro asmā́m aradad vájra-bāhur ápāhan vṛtráṃ paridhíṃ nadī́nām | devó anayatsavitā́ supā́ṇis tásya vayáṃ prasavé yāma urvī́ḥ ||
इंद्र ने हमारे लिए रास्ता बनाया, उनके हाथ में वज्र था। उन्होंने वृत्र को मारा, जो नदियों को रोक के रखता था। सविता भगवान ने अच्छे हाथों से हमे आगे बढ़ाया। अब हम उस धक्के से बड़े-बड़े इलाके जा रहे हैं।
Word by Word
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usPronounत्रिलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अरदत्
- broke through / cleftVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root रद् (धातु; ‘to cleave/break/tear’)
- वज्रबाहुः
- whose arm is the vajra (thunderbolt-armed)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Root वज्र-बाहु (समास; प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- away, offIndeclinableअव्ययRole (क्रियाविशेषण/उपसर्ग)Root अप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अहन्वृत्रम्
- he slew VṛtraVerb + Noun (object) (sandhi-resolved form)अहन्: लङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; वृत्रम्: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (वृत्रम्)Root हन् (धातु; ‘to slay’) + वृत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- परिधिम्
- the enclosing barrier / embankmentNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot परिधि (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRole (उपमान-सूचक)Root न (अव्यय)
- नदीनाम्
- of the riversNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवः
- the godNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनयत्
- led along / guidedVerbलङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root नी (धातु; ‘to lead’) with उपसर्ग अनु-
- सविता
- SavitṛNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (ऋ-प्रातिपदिक; nom. sg. ‘सविता’)Role कर्तृ (देवः = सविता)Root सवितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुपाणिः
- with good handsNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (सवितुः विशेषणम्)Root सु-पाणि (समास; प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्य
- of him / hisPronounपुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wePronounत्रिलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रसवे
- at the impulse / instigationNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot प्रसव (प्रातिपदिक)
- याम
- we goVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole (क्रिया)Root या (धातु; ‘to go’)
- उर्वीः
- to the wide (spaces/regions)Noun/Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म/गति-लक्ष्य (गन्तव्य)Root उर्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: इन्द्रः | अस्मान् | अरदत् | वज्रबाहुः | अप | अहन् | वृत्रम् | परिधिम् | न | नदीनाम् || देवः | अनयत् | सविता | सुपाणिः | तस्य | वयम् | प्रसवे | याम | उर्वीः || प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) इन्द्रो॑ = इन्द्रः (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते) (2) अरद॒द्वज्र॑बाहुः = अरदत् + वज्रबाहुः (त् + व → द्-व, जश्त्व/संधि-लेखन) (3) अपा॑हन्वृ॒त्रम् = अप + अहन् + वृत्रम् (अप + अहन् → अपाहन्; ततः अहन् + वृत्रम् संहितायाम्) (4) देवो॑ऽनयत् = देवः + अनयत् (विसर्गः + अ → ओऽ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, thunder-armed, made a way by striking down Vṛtra, the barrier of the rivers. Savitṛ led onward with good hands; by that impulsion the travelers go through wide spaces.
Inner meaning
Indra is the illumined Mind-force that cleaves a passage in consciousness. Vṛtra is the Coverer: the subconscient resistance that hems in the inner rivers (currents of life and awareness). When Indra smites that enclosing dam (paridhi), the blocked energies can flow. Savitṛ—divine Impeller—then leads with ‘good hands’ (skillful, benevolent guidance), giving the true prasava: the forward push of evolution. The result is urvīḥ—wideness: expanded being, freer movement of prāṇa and thought, and a larger field for the sacrifice.
Universal truth
Breakthrough requires both illumination (Indra) and right guidance/impulsion (Savitṛ): vision clears the obstruction, and a higher will carries the new movement into stable wideness.
Themes
Vṛtra-slaying, River release, Divine guidance, Journey into wideness
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kauśika
- Other hymns
- RV 3.33.7 (Indra’s heroic deed reiterated), RV 3.62.10, RV 3.53
Family tradition
A lineage where tapas meets mantric illumination; the crossing motif becomes an inner conquest of Vṛtra.
Significance
The rishi’s experience is a classic Vedic psychology: illumination breaks the dam, then the divine Impeller stabilizes the new forward movement into wideness.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (with Savitṛ)
- Epithets
- vajrabāhu (thunder-armed), vṛtra-han (Vṛtra-slayer, implied), path-maker (aradad: made a way)
- Related deities
- Agni (leader of the inner sacrifice, often prepares the ascent for Indra’s victory), Soma (gives delight-force that sustains the conquest), Āpaḥ/Nadyaḥ (released currents)
Cosmic role
Indra releases the waters/energies by slaying the Coverer; Savitṛ impels and guides the right course of the released movement.
Inner power
Indra: decisive illumination and force of breakthrough. Savitṛ: steady, benevolent guidance that converts breakthrough into a sustained evolutionary journey.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-invocation for obstacle-removal; also used where ‘opening the path’ is sought (travel, initiation, beginning of rites).
इन्द्रो॑ अ॒स्माँ अ॑रद॒द्वज्र॑बाहु॒रपा॑हन्वृ॒त्रं प॑रि॒धिं न॒दीना॑म् । दे॒वो॑ऽनयत्सवि॒ता सु॑पा॒णिस्तस्य॑ व॒यं प्र॑स॒वे या॑म उ॒र्वीः ॥
इन्द्रः॑ । अ॒स्मान् । अ॒र॒द॒त् । वज्र॑ऽबाहुः । अप॑ । अ॒ह॒न् । वृ॒त्रम् । प॒रि॒ऽधिम् । न॒दीना॑म् । दे॒वः॑ । अ॒न॒य॒त् । स॒वि॒ता । सु॒ऽपा॒णिः । तस्य॑ । व॒यम् । प्र॒ऽस॒वे । या॒मः॒ । उ॒र्वीः ॥
indraḥ | asmān | aradat | vajra-bāhuḥ | apa | ahan | vṛtram | pari-dhim | nadīnām | devaḥ | anayat | savitā | su-pāṇiḥ | tasya | vayam | pra-save | yāmaḥ | urvīḥ
48
4 x ~12 syllables
Heroic yet spacious; combines the strike of Indra with the onward leading of Savitṛ.
Energizes the will for breakthrough while simultaneously inducing a sense of guided forward motion and widening.
- इन्द्र (indra)
- Literal: Indra. Symbolic: divine Mind/illumination that conquers darkness and releases energies
- वज्रबाहु (vajrabāhu)
- Literal: thunderbolt-armed. Symbolic: power of decisive luminous force that can cleave entrenched resistance
- वृत्र (vṛtra)
- Literal: the Coverer. Symbolic: subconscient obstruction; the inertia/ignorance that dams the inner flows
- परिधि (paridhi)
- Literal: enclosure, hemming ring. Symbolic: limiting boundary-formation around consciousness; the ‘dam’ of habit and fear
- नदी (nadī)
- Literal: river. Symbolic: currents of life-force and awareness that seek their path
- सविता (savitā)
- Literal: Savitṛ, the impeller. Symbolic: divine Will/impulsion that sets right movement and leads it skillfully
- सुपाणि (supāṇi)
- Literal: good-handed. Symbolic: beneficent, skillful guidance—right action of higher will in the instruments
- प्रसव (prasava)
- Literal: impulsion, bringing forth. Symbolic: forward evolutionary push; the ‘permission’ and drive of the higher Power
- उर्वीः (urvīḥ)
- Literal: wide spaces. Symbolic: wideness of consciousness; liberation from narrow mental-vital limits
Mythic validation of safe crossing: Indra removes obstruction; Savitṛ leads the journey under divine impulsion (prasava)
At moments of impediment in ritual progress; in hymns recalling Indra’s release of waters as a paradigm of successful rite.
Recitation to invoke Indra’s vṛtra-slaying force; symbolic ‘opening’ actions (clearing, stepping forward) paired with Savitṛ’s guidance.
For inner blockages (procrastination, fear, inertia): invoke Indra for the cut, Savitṛ for the right next step.
vajra ‘thunderbolt’ (weapon of force). ahan from √han (PIE *gʷhen-). paridhi ‘enclosure’ (pari- + √dhā ‘place’ → placed around). savitā from √sū/√su ‘impel’ (Savitṛ as impeller). supāṇi ‘good-handed’ (su- + pāṇi ‘hand’). prasava from pra-√sū ‘impulsion/release’. urvī ‘wide’ (spaciousness). aradat: traditionally linked to opening/clearing a way; the exact dhātu assignment is debated in secondary literature, but sense is ‘he made passage’ in context.
Vṛtra as obstruction of flow (psychological and cosmic), Savitṛ as prasava (evolutionary impulsion), Urvī (wideness) as expansion into bṛhat consciousness
Release is not chaos; Savitṛ’s ‘good hands’ ensure the liberated energies move in right order.
True progress is marked by widening and guidance, not merely violent release.
Creation as liberation of blocked waters/energies and their guidance into ordered manifestation.
Integral-psychological Veda: the gods as powers of consciousness acting on subconscient resistance.
dawn/morning (Savitṛ’s leading suggests the solar impulse)
A luminous strike breaks inertia; then a solar will guides the newly freed energies into stable wideness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The classic Vṛtra-myth applied to the rivers: Indra smites the obstructing ‘enclosure’ that hems the waters; Savitṛ then leads by divine impulsion—release plus guidance into wideness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √han ‘slay’ < PIE *gʷhen-. √nī ‘lead’ aligns with PIE *ne(i)h₁- ‘to lead’ (cf. Latin dūcere is different; but ‘lead’ roots are widespread). The obstruction/release narrative is an inherited Indo-European storm-god pattern (dragon/serpent slaying releasing waters).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi grounds his request for passage in a cosmic precedent: Indra has already opened the way by removing inner/outer obstruction; Savitṛ ensures right-directed motion. The human journey is legitimized as participation in the gods’ own work of ṛta.
Visualize a constricting ring (paridhi) around the inner flow; invoke Indra’s vajra as a single decisive illumination that breaks it; then rest in Savitṛ’s golden guidance leading forward.
Maṇipūra (will and breakthrough) guided by Ājñā (right direction) toward Sahasrāra-like wideness
3–7 rounds: inhale ‘gather’, hold briefly imagining vajra-strike (without strain), exhale releasing the blocked current; then smooth breathing for Savitṛ’s steady lead.
Dynamic clarity: forceful release followed by calm, luminous direction.
Do one decisive act that cuts the obstruction (Indra), then immediately establish a simple right routine/path (Savitṛ) so the released energy does not relapse into old grooves.
Strong udatta emphasis on ‘índro’, ‘vájrabāhuḥ’, ‘vṛtrám’, ‘savitā’; keep svarita falls clean after the heroic peaks.
Give a firm, clipped energy to the Indra-action verbs (aradad, apāhan) and a smoother, luminous flow to Savitṛ-leading (anayat… prasave… yāma).
vṛtram: clear vocalic ṛ; keep cluster ‘tr’ crisp., paridhiṃ: articulate ‘dh’ aspirate; do not flatten to ‘d’., supāṇis: long ā; retroflex ṇ with clear nasal contact.
Bright, forceful in first half; then steady, sunlit resonance in second half.
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