Rig Veda 3.45.3: Mandala 3, Sukta 45, Mantra 3
Sukta 3.45
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
गम्भीराँ उदधीँरिव क्रतुं पुष्यसि गा इव । प्र सुगोपा यवसं धेनवो यथा ह्रदं कुल्या इवाशत ॥
gambhīrā́m̐ udadhī́m̐r iva krátuṁ puṣyasi gā́ iva | prá su-gopā́ yávasaṁ dhenávo yáthā hradáṁ kulyā́ iva ā́śata ||
इंद्र का इरादा समुंदर जैसा गहरा है। वो चमकते हुए जानवरों की तरह उनको बढ़ाता है। पानी आगे बढ़ता है जैसे गाय चारा के पास जाती है। नलियाँ जैसे तालाब में जाती हैं।
Word by Word
- गम्भीरान्
- deep (ones)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot गम्भीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- उदधीन्
- oceansNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot उदधि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRoot इव
- क्रतुम्
- resolve; power of will; ritual insightNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुष्यसि
- you make thrive; you nourishVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot पुष्
- गाः
- cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRoot इव
- प्र
- forth; forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot प्र
- सु
- well; goodIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot सु
- गोपाः
- a good herdsman/guardianNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot गोपा (प्रातिपदिक; गो+पा)
- यवसम्
- pasture; fodder; grassNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यवस (प्रातिपदिक)
- धेनवः
- milch-cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- as; just asIndeclinableउपमा/सम्बन्ध-अव्ययRoot यथा
- ह्रदम्
- a pool; lakeNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
- कुल्याः
- channels; water-coursesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot कुल्या (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRoot इव
- आशत
- they reached; they attainedVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot अश्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): गम्भीरान् + उदधीन् + इव + क्रतुम् + पुष्यसि + गाः + इव । प्र + सु + गोपाः + यवसम् + धेनवः + यथा + ह्रदम् + कुल्याः + इव + आशत । विशेषम्: ‘प्र सुगोपा’ इति संहितायां ‘प्र सु॑गो॒पा’—अत्र ‘सु’ निपातः, ‘गोपा’ प्रातिपदिकम्
- ‘इवाशत’ = ‘इव + आशत’ (स्वर-संहितया दीर्घ/संयोग-प्रभावः)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
You nourish the will-to-work, deep as oceans, as cows are fostered. Forward move the well-guarded streams of increase, as milch-cows hasten to pasture, as channels run to a lake.
Inner meaning
Indra here is not only breaker but nurturer of kratu (the effective will, intelligent intention). That will is gambhīra—deep, vast, steady like the oceans: not restless desire but profound purposeful force. The ‘cows’ are rays of knowledge; as they are fostered, so the will is increased by illumination. Then the ‘well-guarded’ (su-gopāḥ) streams—currents of growth, delight, and right movement—press forward. The imagery of dhenavaḥ (milch-cows) to yavasa (pasture) signifies fruitful energies moving toward their sustaining field; kulyāḥ (channels) to hrada (lake) shows many life-movements converging into a calm inner fullness. Psychologically: scattered energies are gathered into a deep reservoir of consciousness, and the will is fed by knowledge until it flows naturally toward its true nourishment.
Universal truth
True will is deepened and made fruitful by knowledge and right guidance. When energies are protected and oriented, they converge into inner fullness, and life becomes a natural flow toward nourishment rather than a struggle for scraps.
Themes
Inner growth of will, Recovery and fostering of Light (go as rays/knowledges), Directed flow of forces toward fullness, Indra as increaser and guardian
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 3.45.1-2 (invocation and breakthrough), RV 3.44.3-4 (upholding and arming)
Family tradition
Within the Viśvāmitra Indra cycle, this verse shows the constructive phase after victory: the nurturing and channeling of forces into abundance.
Significance
Viśvāmitra’s vision integrates battle and harmony: once obstructions are broken, the deeper work is cultivation—making will vast, guarded, and naturally flowing toward plenitude.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- puṣyasi (nourisher—functional epithet here), gopā (protector—implied by su-gopāḥ in the movement he enables)
- Related deities
- Soma (nourishing delight), Sarasvatī (channels/flows of inspiration), Puṣan (nourishment and right paths)
Cosmic role
Giver of increase and right movement; organizer of energies after liberation; sustainer of abundance.
Inner power
Capacity to deepen and stabilize will (kratu) and to guide prāṇic and mental currents into a unified fullness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra emphasizing puṣṭi (increase) and the right flow of offerings/energies in Soma ritual.
ग॒म्भी॒राँ उ॑द॒धीँरि॑व॒ क्रतुं॑ पुष्यसि॒ गा इ॑व । प्र सु॑गो॒पा यव॑सं धे॒नवो॑ यथा ह्र॒दं कु॒ल्या इ॑वाशत ॥
ग॒म्भी॒रान् । उ॒द॒धीन्ऽइ॑व । क्रतु॑म् । पु॒ष्य॒सि॒ । गाःऽइ॑व । प्र । सु॒ऽगो॒पाः । यव॑सम् । धे॒नवः॑ । य॒था॒ । ह्र॒दम् । कु॒ल्याःऽइ॑व । आ॒श॒त॒ ॥
gambhīrān | udadhīn-iva | kratum | puṣyasi | gāḥ-iva | pra | su-gopāḥ | yavasam | dhenavaḥ | yathā | hradam | kulyāḥ-iva | āśata
44
4 padas × 11 syllables (probable; requires precise syllable check with saṃhitā)
Broader, more flowing than gāyatrī; suited to imagery of depth and streams.
Creates spaciousness and continuity; encourages long breath and a sense of gathered fullness.
- kratu
- Literal: will, resolve, intelligent power. Symbolic: effective spiritual will; coordinated intention-force
- gambhīra
- Literal: deep. Symbolic: vast steady depth of consciousness (not surface impulse)
- udadhīḥ
- Literal: oceans. Symbolic: immense depths of being; stable wideness
- gāḥ
- Literal: cows. Symbolic: rays of light/knowledge
- su-gopāḥ
- Literal: well-guarded. Symbolic: energies protected from dispersion; disciplined currents
- dhenavaḥ
- Literal: milch-cows. Symbolic: productive life-energies yielding ‘milk’ (nourishing joy/strength)
- yavasa
- Literal: pasture/grass. Symbolic: field of right nourishment—truth, practice, sattwic supports
- kulyāḥ
- Literal: channels. Symbolic: directed movements of prāṇa and thought
- hradam
- Literal: lake/pond. Symbolic: inner reservoir of calm plenitude (collected consciousness)
Soma-yajña context: Indra-invocation during Soma pressing and offering (general Indo-Indra soma cycle usage; specific śrauta placement varies by śākhā)
After invoking Indra’s victory, to affirm nourishment and increase; also apt in rites seeking prosperity/strength.
Stuti for nurturing will and abundance; aligning flows.
For daily practice: chant to cultivate disciplined energy, deepen resolve, and gather scattered attention into a calm reservoir—useful for burnout recovery and steady sādhanā.
Key terms: krátu- (m.) ‘will, resolve, effective intelligence’ from √kṛ ‘to do/make’ with sense of formative power; puṣyasi 2sg pres. from √puṣ ‘to thrive, cause to thrive’; gā́ḥ ‘cows’ (inner sense: rays/knowledges), PIE *gʷōus ‘cow’ but Vedic polyvalent (light/wealth/knowledge); su-gopā́ḥ ‘well-guarded’ (su- ‘good’ + gopā́ ‘protector’, from √gup/√gop ‘to guard’); yávasa- ‘pasture, fodder’ (nourishment-field); hradá- ‘lake’ (collecting basin); kulyā́- ‘channel’ (directed flow). Syntax: main clause ‘(thou) puṣyasi kratum’ with similes; second hemistich compares directed flows/cows hastening toward nourishment/reservoir—image of forces converging into an inner fullness.
Kratu (effective will as instrument of Ṛta), Plenitude and containment (inner ‘ocean’/‘lake’ as gathered consciousness), Movement from dispersion to convergence (channels to reservoir)
‘Well-guarded channels’ reflect r̥ta: energies moving in true pathways toward fullness rather than dispersion.
Knowledge-rays (gāḥ) foster kratu—truth informing will.
From depth arises ordered flow; multiplicity of channels converges into unity (lake).
Integral Yoga psychology of gathering (saṃhati) and widening (wideness of consciousness).
Oceans/lake = depth and collected peace; streams/channels = directed energies; pasture = sustaining truth-field; cows = knowledge-rays; milk = nourishing joy/strength.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is Indra as the increaser who fosters kratu (effective will) and causes the luminous ‘cows’ (rays/knowledges) and their nourishing flows to move rightly. The imagery of channels running to a lake recasts the classic release-and-guidance motif: forces of increase, once secured (su-gopāḥ), are led into an inner reservoir of plenitude rather than scattered in the dark.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- gā́ḥ ‘cows’ continues PIE *gʷōus (cf. Gk bous, Lat bōs), but Vedic extends it semantically to ‘light/wealth/knowledge’ within the poetic system. The verbal √puṣ ‘to thrive’ has Indo-Iranian parallels (Av. pūs- ‘to prosper’), supporting an inherited notion of increase/fostering; √aś ‘to reach’ (āśata) reflects a common IE motion/attainment semantic field (cf. Skt aś- ‘attain’). The compounding su-gopā́ḥ shows productive IE-style prefixation (su- ‘good’) plus agent noun, marking ‘secured/protected’ forces.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer addresses Indra not as an external storm-god only, but as an inner sovereign power who cultivates the practitioner’s kratu. The reciprocal economy is psychological: the hymn’s vision (mati) and offered aspiration invite Indra’s guarding and right-direction of the life-forces, so that the ‘streams’ of nourishment and the ‘cows’ of light converge into a stable inner fullness (hrada), establishing a condition favorable to Ṛta (right order) in the human vessel.
Deepen kratu (steady will) and guide energies into a calm inner reservoir.
svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/flow) harmonized with maṇipūra (will/kratu)
Slow lengthened exhale (1:2 ratio) for 5 minutes; then chant on a single unbroken breath per pāda if possible (triṣṭubh supports longer phrasing).
Collected, wide, quietly productive.
After chanting, sit and feel ‘channels’ of attention returning to one inner lake (heart-center or midline). Then set one deep, simple intention for the day—kratu that is ‘oceanic’, not anxious.
Ṛgvedic svaras per marked text; triṣṭubh allows longer melodic arcs—avoid flattening mid-pāda.
Let ‘gambhīrān’ and ‘kratum’ carry weight; keep imagery-words (udadhīn, dhenavaḥ, kulyāḥ, hradam) clearly articulated.
gambhīrān: pronounce ‘mbh’ cluster with voiced bh, udadhīn: dental d; long īn, kratum: crisp t; short u, dhenavo: dh aspirated; e long-ish, kulyāḥ: retroflex ḷ? (here ‘l’ is dental; pronounce ‘kul-yāḥ’ with clear y glide), hradam: initial hr cluster clean, not ‘haradam’
Deep, flowing, sustained; emphasize continuity.
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