Rig Veda 3.40.6: Mandala 3, Sukta 40, Mantra 6
Sukta 3.40
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
गिर्वणः पाहि नः सुतं मधोर्धाराभिरज्यसे । इन्द्र त्वादातमिद्यशः ॥
gírvāṇaḥ pā́hi naḥ sutáṃ mádhor dhā́rābhir ajyase | índra tvādā́tam íd yáśaḥ ||
इन्द्र, हमारी बातें सुनता है ना, तू इस सोम रस की हिफाज़त कर। तेरे ऊपर मीठा रस बहा रहे हैं, जैसे तेल मालिश करते हैं। तू ही बधाई देता है, तू ही नाम कमाता है। यह सब तेरी देन है।
Word by Word
- गिर्वणः
- O praise-delighting (Indra)विशेषणपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (इन्द्र का विशेषण)Role सम्बोधन (आह्वान)Root गिर्-वण (प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्तुति/गिर्’ + ‘वण’ = ‘स्तुतियों से प्रिय/स्तुतिप्रिय’)
- पा॒हि
- protect!क्रियालोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आह्वान/आज्ञा)Root पा (धातु) ‘रक्षणे’
- नः
- our / of usसर्वनामषष्ठी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (अधिकार/स्वाम्य: ‘our’)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुतम्
- the pressed (Soma)संज्ञा (कृदन्त-विशेष्य)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सु (धातु) ‘सवने/प्रसवे’ → क्त (कृदन्त) ‘सुत’
- मधोः
- of the sweet (Soma)संज्ञानपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध: ‘of sweetness / of honeyed Soma’)Root मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
- धाराभिः
- with streamsसंज्ञास्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot धारा (प्रातिपदिक)
- अज्यसे
- you are anointed / bedewedक्रियालट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध: ‘you are anointed/bedewed’)Root अञ्ज् (धातु) ‘अञ्जने/लेपने’
- इन्द्र
- O Indraसंज्ञापुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- youसर्वनामद्वितीया, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दातम्
- given / bestowedकृदन्त (विशेषण/भाव)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (त्वा के साथ: ‘given/appointed’)Role कर्म-विशेषण (त्वा-विशेषण)Root दा (धातु) ‘दाने’ → क्त (कृदन्त) ‘दात’
- इद्
- indeedअव्ययनिपात (बलार्थ/निश्चयार्थ)Role सम्बन्ध (वाक्य-प्रबलन)Root इद् (निपात)
- यशः
- fame / gloryसंज्ञानपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ता (अस्ति/भवति-लुप्त के साथ: ‘(it) is fame’)Root यशस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: गिर्वणः | पाहि | नः | सुतम् | मधोः | धाराभिः | अज्यसे || इन्द्र | त्वा | दातम् | इद् | यशः || 1) मधो॒र्धारा॑भिः = मधोः + धाराभिः (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ‘ः’ + ‘ध’ → ‘र्ध’)
- 2) त्वादा॑त॒मिद्यश॑: = त्वा + दातम् + इद् + यशः (संहिता-पाठ में संयोग/सन्धि से ‘त्वा’ + ‘दातम्’ → ‘त्वादातम्’; ‘इद्’ के पूर्व/पश्चात् संधि से ‘मिद्य’ जैसा संयोग)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, delighting in song, protect our pressed Soma; you are anointed with streams of sweetness; glory is given by you.
Inner meaning
Indra as ‘girvaṇaḥ’ (he who rejoices in the word/mantra) guards the distilled delight so it is not lost to lower impulses. The sweetness (madhu) is the sustaining rasa of practice; Indra is ‘anointed’—made active in us—by these streams. The resulting yaśas is inner victory and luminous self-manifestation granted by the higher Mind.
Universal truth
When speech becomes true mantra and delight becomes pure sweetness, the higher intelligence is established and protects the practice; authentic glory is an inner radiance born of truth and right force, not ego.
Themes
Protection of the offering, Consecration by sweetness, Glory as divine gift, Mantric reciprocity
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Kauśika lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.14, RV 3.30, RV 3.31, RV 3.54
Family tradition
Strong emphasis on mantra (gir) as a power that invokes and stabilizes the gods within the human system.
Significance
Highlights the Vedic insight that right speech is not ornament but force; Indra ‘rejoices’ in the word because mantra aligns mind with truth-power.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Girvaṇaḥ (word-delighting)
- Related deities
- Soma, Sarasvatī (speech), Agni
Cosmic role
Protector of Soma and leader of victorious action; he is consecrated by Soma and then consecrates the worlds with strength.
Inner power
Mantric intelligence: power that is awakened by true speech and then guards and magnifies the soul’s delight into effective force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma praise during Soma offerings; protective invocation over the pressed Soma
गिर्व॑णः पा॒हि न॑: सु॒तं मधो॒र्धारा॑भिरज्यसे । इन्द्र॒ त्वादा॑त॒मिद्यश॑: ॥
गिर्व॑णः । पा॒हि । नः॒ । सु॒तम् । मधोः॑ । धारा॑भिः । अ॒ज्य॒से॒ । इन्द्र॑ । त्वाऽदा॑तम् । इत् । यशः॑ ॥
girvaṇaḥ | pāhi | naḥ | sutam | madhoḥ | dhārābhiḥ | ajyase | indra | tvādātam | it | yaśaḥ
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Alternation of guarding firmness and flowing sweetness; balanced cadence.
Creates a protective envelope around practice; then softens into sweetness, ending with confident affirmation of divine gift.
- girvaṇaḥ
- Literal: delighting in hymns/words. Symbolic: The illumined mind that responds to mantra—vibration of truth-speech
- pāhi
- Literal: protect, guard. Symbolic: Preserve the purified energy from dissipation and distortion
- sutaṃ
- Literal: pressed. Symbolic: Refined essence of experience, made fit by discipline
- madhoḥ dhārābhiḥ
- Literal: with streams of sweetness/honey. Symbolic: Continuous flow of blissful rasa nourishing the consciousness
- ajyase
- Literal: you are anointed. Symbolic: The divine power becomes operative/installed in the being
- yaśaḥ
- Literal: glory, fame. Symbolic: Inner splendour of realized force—victorious self-expression of the soul
Soma rite: safeguarding and consecration of Soma; affirmation that the resulting ‘yaśas’ (victorious manifestation) is Indra’s gift
During/after pressing and before offering; also as a protective chant over offerings.
Guarding formula and praise; visualization of anointing streams.
Use when maintaining purity of practice (e.g., guarding attention from distraction); also before chanting sessions to ‘consecrate’ speech.
gir ‘song/word’ from √gṛ ‘to sing, praise’. pāhi from √pā ‘protect’ (also ‘drink’; distinct roots homonymous in later tradition, but Vedic keeps semantic clarity by context). madhu ‘sweet/honey’ (PIE *médʰu, cf. English mead). dhārā from √dhṛ ‘to hold/flow as held stream’ (semantic development to ‘stream’). ajyase from √añj ‘to anoint’ (PIE *h₂engʷ-? uncertain; but Indo-Iranian has robust anointing lexicon). yaśas from √yaś ‘to be honored, shine in esteem’.
Mantra efficacy (Indra as girvāṇaḥ—responsive to inspired speech), Divine grace as origin of success (tvādātam yaśaḥ)
Protection of Soma = protection of right movement; sweetness flows in ordered channels.
Yaśas is ‘tvādātam’—true glory is received from the higher truth, not constructed by ego.
Consecration/anointing as installation of divine force into the created nature.
Mantra-śakti view: sound-vibration as consciousness-force (Aurobindo/Kashyap psychological reading).
Sweet streams = continuous rasa of devotion and joy; anointing = establishing a higher vibration in the nervous system.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The anointing/empowerment of Indra by Soma’s sweet streams: Soma consecrates the warrior-power. Inwardly, the illumined force is ‘anointed’ by continuous delight, and from that comes yaśas—manifest victorious radiance in life and consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- madhu is classic PIE *médʰu (mead/honey). yaśas relates to honor/glory lexemes across IE (though not a neat one-to-one cognate set), showing the archaic cultural focus on ‘renown’ as a sign of realized power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra to guard the prepared delight (so it remains pure and effective) and acknowledges that the resulting glory/success is not egoic acquisition but Indra’s bestowal—divine force translating inner offering into outer and inner victory.
Guard the refined joy of practice; let mantra awaken protective illumination; receive inner glory as a gift, not an achievement.
viśuddha (throat)
Bhrāmarī (gentle) or lengthened exhale; chant with resonance in throat and chest.
Protected, harmonized, quietly empowered.
Chant once, then listen inwardly to the after-sound; feel a ‘seal’ over the mind, and a sweet flow descending through the throat into the heart.
Lift on ‘gírvāṇaḥ’ and ‘índra’; keep ‘pāhi naḥ’ firm; let ‘mádhoḥ dhārābhiḥ’ flow smoothly.
Avoid clipping ‘dhārābhiḥ’; sustain vowels to evoke ‘streams’.
(girvaṇaḥ): ‘rv’ conjunct clean, (pāhi): long ‘ā’, (madhor dhārābhiḥ): sandhi—link ‘madhor’ to ‘dhārā-’ without a hard break, (tvādātam): ‘tvā’ long; dental ‘t’ at end
Resonant, slightly sonorous (mantric), protective steadiness.
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