Rig Veda 4.3.8: Mandala 4, Sukta 3, Mantra 8
Sukta 4.3
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni as the one who answers Maruts, Sūrya, Aditi
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
कथा शर्धाय मरुतामृताय कथा सूरे बृहते पृच्छ्यमानः । प्रति ब्रवोऽदितये तुराय साधा दिवो जातवेदश्चिकित्वान् ॥
kathā́ śárdhāya marútām ṛtā́ya kathā́ sūré bṛhaté pṛcchyámānaḥ | práti brávo áditaye turā́ya sā́dha divó jāta-vedaś cikitvā́n ||
मरुत देवताओं की सेना से कैसे बात करोगे? वो जो सीधा काम करते हैं। सूरज भगवान से सवाल का जवाब कैसे दोगे? वो इतना बड़ा है। अदिति माता को जवाब देना, वो जल्दी करती है। जातवेदस अग्नि, तुम सब जानते हो। आसमान की तरफ का काम पूरा करो और पक्का बना दो।
Word by Word
- कथा
- how?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययRoot कथा (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- शर्धाय
- to/for the host, troopNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot शर्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
- मरुताम्
- of the MarutsNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी बहुवचनRole SambandhaRoot मरुत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋताय
- to/for ṛta (cosmic order / truth)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग (ऋतम्) / विशेषण-भाव; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
- कथा
- how?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययRoot कथा (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- सूरे
- to/for the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot सूर (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहते
- to/for the great (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक; चतुर्थी एकवचन (विशेषणम्)Role SampradānaRoot बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृच्छ्यमानः
- being asked / when questionedVerb (participle)वर्तमान कर्मणि कृदन्त (शानच्); पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot प्रच्छ् (धातु) → पृच्छ्यमान (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
- प्रति
- towards, in replyIndeclinableअव्यय; दिशार्थ/प्रत्यर्थRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ब्रवः
- you speak / you sayVerbलट् (वर्तमान); मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: ब्रवः = ब्रवीषि)Role KriyāRoot ब्रू (धातु)
- अदितये
- to AditiNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- तुराय
- to/for the swift (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचन (विशेषणम्)Role SampradānaRoot तुर (प्रातिपदिक)
- साधा
- together; rightlyIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘साथम्/सम्यक्/सह’ अर्थेRoot साधा (अव्यय)
- दिवः
- of heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole SambandhaRoot द्यौ/दिव् (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौः)
- जातवेदः
- O Jātavedas (Agni), knower of birthsNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot जातवेदस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चिकित्वान्
- knowing, discerningAdjective/Participleभूतकृदन्त (वत्/वान्); पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot चित् (धातु) → चिकित्वस्/चिकित्वान् (कृदन्त)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘मरुता॑मृ॒ताय॑’ इति संधिः: मरुताम् + ऋताय → मरुतामृताय (म् + ऋ → मृ)
- ‘ब्र॒वोऽदि॑तये’ इति: ब्रवः + अदितये → ब्रवोऽदितये (अः + अ → ओऽ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet asks how one will answer the Maruts in their rightness and the great Sun when questioned; he urges speaking in response to swift Aditi and accomplishing the heavenward fulfillment, O Jātavedas, the knowing one.
Inner meaning
The seeker is ‘questioned’ by forces of the path: the Maruts (dynamic life-powers that demand courageous right movement), Sūrya (illumining truth-mind that tests clarity), and Aditi (the infinite Mother-consciousness calling for wideness and freedom). Agni as Jātavedas (knower of all births/energies) must give the right inner response—speech and action aligned with Ṛta—so the ascent to ‘divaḥ’ (the higher heaven of consciousness) becomes sādhā, accomplished and stable.
Universal truth
When higher forces press upon us—energy, illumination, infinity—our progress depends on an inner fire of knowledge that can answer with truthful speech and effective action, making the ascent real, not merely imagined.
Themes
answering higher powers, integration of force and light, accomplishment (sādh), heavenward fulfillment
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.2, RV 4.3, RV 4.26 (Vāmadeva’s wider tradition of identity with the divine)
Family tradition
The Gautama-Vāmadeva hymns often show the ascent as a collaboration: Agni awakens, Maruts energize, Sūrya illumines, Aditi widens. This verse is a compact map of that inner ecology.
Significance
Vāmadeva emphasizes that illumination must be answered, not merely received—truth demands response (prati-brū). Spiritual life is dialogic: higher powers question, the soul replies through purified speech and deed.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (Jātavedas)
- Epithets
- Jātavedas, cikitvān (the discerning/knowing one)
- Related deities
- Maruts, Sūrya, Aditi
Cosmic role
Mediator who translates the demands of cosmic powers (Maruts, Sūrya, Aditi) into an accomplished ascent toward heaven.
Inner power
Discerning fire of knowledge that can respond rightly under pressure—turning questioning into realization.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni-centered recitation within soma-related or general śrauta sequences; also suitable for invocations of Maruts and Sūrya in ancillary rites
क॒था शर्धा॑य म॒रुता॑मृ॒ताय॑ क॒था सू॒रे बृ॑ह॒ते पृ॒च्छ्यमा॑नः । प्रति॑ ब्र॒वोऽदि॑तये तु॒राय॒ साधा॑ दि॒वो जा॑तवेदश्चिकि॒त्वान् ॥
क॒था । शर्धा॑य । म॒रुता॑म् । ऋ॒ताय॑ । क॒था । सू॒रे । बृ॒ह॒ते । पृ॒च्छ्यमा॑नः । प्रति॑ । ब्र॒वः॒ । अदि॑तये । तु॒राय॑ । साध॑ । दि॒वः । जा॒त॒ऽवे॒दः॒ । चि॒कि॒त्वान् ॥
kathā | śardhāya | marutām | ṛtāya | kathā | sūre | bṛhate | pṛcchyamānaḥ | prati | bravaḥ | aditaye | turāya | sādha | divaḥ | jāta-vedaḥ | cikitvān
44
4 × ~11
Call-and-response feel: repeated ‘kathā’ questions, then imperative/assurance in the latter half.
Energizes and clarifies; the mind feels ‘questioned’ and then steadied by Agni’s decisive command to accomplish.
- मरुत् (marut)
- Literal: storm-gods, troop. Symbolic: dynamic vital energies that insist on courageous right action
- शर्ध (śardha)
- Literal: troop, host. Symbolic: organized collective forces in the being (prāṇic powers)
- ऋत (ṛta)
- Literal: cosmic rightness. Symbolic: inner law of truth-movement; right rhythm of thought, will, and life
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- Literal: sun. Symbolic: illumining mind/truth-vision that questions and clarifies
- पृच्छ्यमान (pṛcchyamāna)
- Literal: being questioned. Symbolic: inner testing/discernment demanded by truth
- अदिति (aditi)
- Literal: the infinite, unbound. Symbolic: limitless consciousness; the Mother of wideness and freedom
- तुर (tura)
- Literal: swift, impelling. Symbolic: rapid forward movement of the infinite force
- जातवेदस् (jātavedas)
- Literal: knower of births. Symbolic: Agni as inner knowing that understands all energies and their transformations
- साध (sādha)
- Literal: accomplish, make effective. Symbolic: stabilize realization; make the ascent concrete
- दिवः (divaḥ)
- Literal: of heaven. Symbolic: higher plane of consciousness, luminous fulfillment
Prayer for successful coordination of dynamic forces (Maruts) and illumination (Sūrya) under the infinity (Aditi), accomplished by Agni’s discriminating knowledge.
When seeking right movement (ṛta) and successful completion (sādha) of a rite; moments of transition/ascent in the ritual sequence.
Recitation to establish alignment with Ṛta and invoke supportive powers for successful offering and ascent.
Use before demanding tasks or sadhana intensification: ‘Answer the forces rightly; accomplish the heavenward work.’
Marút from √mar ‘to shine’/‘to storm’ debated; functionally storm-hosts. Sū́rya from √svar ‘shine’ (PIE *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’ cognates). Áditi a- ‘not’ + √dā ‘to bind/cut’ (dīti); ‘unbound, infinite’. turá ‘swift’ from √tur ‘to hasten, overcome’. cikitvā́n from √cit ‘to perceive, know’ reduplicated intensive; distinct knowing.
Aditi (infinity, freedom), Rita (rightness of forces), discriminating knowledge (cikitvā́n)
Maruts are explicitly ‘ṛtāya’—their true movement is right rhythm; the seeker must align responses to that rhythm.
Sūrya’s questioning symbolizes satya-testing: truth must withstand scrutiny.
Ascent to ‘divaḥ’ as a re-creation of the being: energy + light + infinity coordinated by Agni’s knowing.
Integral/psychological Veda: deities as functional powers composing a single ascent of consciousness.
dawn-to-morning (implied by Sūrya rising as questioner)
Winds = prāṇic energies; Sun = illumined mind; Sky-infinite = unbounded awareness; Fire = will-knowledge that integrates them.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The interrogation by the higher powers and the right ‘answer’ that restores harmony: Maruts (force), Sūrya (light), Aditi (infinite freedom) require correct alignment. Psychologically, it is the demand that action-forces be governed by illumination and infinity, accomplished by Agni’s knowing.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Sūrya belongs to the IE solar lexicon (PIE *sóh₂wl̥; cf. Latin sōl, English sun). √cit ‘perceive’ reflects PIE *(s)keit- ‘to perceive/know’ (often compared with Greek τίσις?; more securely with ‘cite’ semantic is later; the main point is the archaic reduplication cikit- as an inherited intensifying strategy).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Agni not merely to receive offerings but to ‘reply’ on behalf of the human to the cosmic examiners. Agni’s role is executive knowledge: he accomplishes (sādh) the integration so the human movement can stand in the light of heaven and infinity.
Responding to inner tests: align energy (Maruts), clarity (Sūrya), wideness (Aditi) through the steady flame of Jātavedas.
Maṇipūra (fire/will) supported by Anāhata (wideness/Aditi)
Brisk-energetic 3 rounds of bhastrikā (gentle) or kapalabhāti, then settle into even breathing while chanting.
Alert, courageous, truth-facing; then expansive and settled.
When emotions or forces surge, do not suppress—‘answer’ them by bringing them under Ṛta: name the truth, offer the movement into Agni, widen into Aditi, and let Sūrya clarify the next step.
Rigvedic svara with clear udātta on key invocations; the repeated ‘kathā’ should sound interrogative without rushing.
Mark the turn at ‘prati bravo’—shift from questioning to answering. Keep ‘jātavedaḥ cikitvān’ as a firm concluding cadence.
śardhāya: retroflex ‘ḍh’ breathy, marutām: light ‘tām’ nasalized, pṛcchyamānaḥ: cluster ‘pṛcch’—do not simplify, aditaye: soft dental ‘d’, jātavedaḥ: long ‘jā’
Bright and steady; slightly more force on ‘sādha’ (accomplish).
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