Rig Veda 4.46.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 46, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.46
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Vāyu
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
रथेन पृथुपाजसा दाश्वांसमुप गच्छतम् । इन्द्रवायू इहा गतम् ॥
rathéna pṛthu-pā́jasā dāśvā́ṃsam úpa gacchatam | índra-vāyū ihá ā́ gatam ||
इन्द्र और वायु, तुम दोनों बड़े शक्तिशाली हो। अपनी रथ लेकर उसके पास जाओ जो यज्ञ कर रहा है। यहाँ आओ, हमारे काम में शामिल हो जाओ। तुम्हारी शक्ति से यह यज्ञ बड़ा हो जाएगा।
Word by Word
- रथेन
- with/by a chariotNounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृथुपाजसा
- with broad/abundant might (splendour/strength)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग (पाजस्-शब्दः); तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot पृथु-पाजस् (समास/प्रातिपदिक; पृथु + पाजस्)
- दाश्वांसम्
- the worshipper/giver (the one who has offered)Participle (Adjectival Noun)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot दाश्वांस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दाश्/दाश् ‘to give, worship, offer’)
- उप
- near, towardsIndeclinableअव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- गच्छतम्
- (you two) go/comeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root √गम् (गच्छ-)
- इन्द्रवायू
- O Indra and VāyuNoun (dual deity name)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र-वायु (द्वन्द्व-समास प्रातिपदिक)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot इह (अव्यय)
- आ
- hither, unto (towards)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- गतम्
- (you two) comeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपद (वैदिक रूप: गतम् = गच्छतम्/आगच्छतम्)Role (क्रिया)Root √गम्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: रथेन | पृथुपाजसा | दाश्वांसम् | उप | गच्छतम् । इन्द्रवायू | इह | आ | गतम् ॥ 1) दाश्वांसम् + उप → दाश्वांसम् उप (अनुस्वारान्त m-परः ‘उ’ इत्यादौ; संहितायां ‘मुप’ इति लेखनम्)
- 2) इन्द्रवायू इह → इन्द्रवायू इह (स्वर/संहिता-प्रभावः; संधि-परिवर्तनं न आवश्यकम्)
- 3) इह + आ → इहा (स्वर-संहिता; ‘इह’ + ‘आ’ = ‘इहा’)
- 4) गतम् वैदिके लोट्-द्विवचन-रूपेण ‘आ गतम्’ = ‘आगच्छतम्’ इत्यर्थे प्रयुज्यते
The meaning
Outer meaning
With a chariot of broad might, approach the sacrificer (the giver of offering). O Indra and Vāyu, come here.
Inner meaning
The seeker calls the twin powers—Indra (luminous mind) and Vāyu (life-force/breath)—to enter the inner field of work (adhvara as inner yajña). Their “broad-powered chariot” is the coordinated movement of illumined thought and purified prāṇa that can carry the aspiration steadily. The dāśvāṃs (the giver) is the soul-personality offering its energies; the gods are invited to take up the sacrifice and widen it into a larger consciousness.
Universal truth
Transformation requires both clarity of intelligence and a disciplined life-force. When mind and breath move together in a wide, ordered power, the offering of one’s works becomes a vehicle for expansion of consciousness.
Themes
Approach to sacrificer, Wide power, Divine arrival, Indra-Vāyu duality
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1 (Agni), RV 4.16 (Indra), RV 4.26–27 (Vāmadeva’s self-revelatory hymns), RV 4.47 (Vāyu/Indra-Vāyu context)
Family tradition
Vāmadeva is a principal seer of Maṇḍala 4; hymns often show the psychology of ascent—calling Indra, Soma, and allied powers to widen and liberate the being.
Significance
Vāmadeva’s vision emphasizes inner sacrifice: the gods are powers of consciousness; the yajña is the disciplined offering of works, breath, and thought to widen into the Vast (bṛhat).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Vāyu (dual)
- Epithets
- pṛthu-pājas (wide-powered), niyutvat (yoked with ordered steeds—esp. Vāyu), sajoṣas (in one accord, harmonious)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Maruts, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Indra breaks the coverer and releases the luminous waters/cows; Vāyu sets the life-movement in right course and bears Soma (delight) to the gods.
Inner power
Indra: illumined intelligence, decisive will of the mind; Vāyu: purified prāṇa, dynamic life-current that supports concentration and receptivity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña invitatory to Indra-Vāyu (āhvāna)
रथे॑न पृथु॒पाज॑सा दा॒श्वांस॒मुप॑ गच्छतम् । इन्द्र॑वायू इ॒हा ग॑तम् ॥
रथे॑न । पृ॒थु॒ऽपाज॑सा । दा॒श्वांस॑म् । उप॑ । ग॒च्छ॒त॒म् । इन्द्र॑वायू॒ इति॑ । इ॒ह । आ । ग॒त॒म् ॥
rathena | pṛthu-pājasā | dāśvāṃsam | upa | gacchatam | indravāyūiti | iha | ā | gatam
24
3 pādas × 8 syllables (typical gāyatrī cadence)
Compact, forward-driving, invocation-like; quick approach rhythm.
Creates immediacy and ‘arrival’—supports summoning of force and breath into the present moment of practice.
- rathena
- Literal: by/with the chariot. Symbolic: the organized vehicle of inner movement; coordinated faculties carrying aspiration
- pṛthu-pājasā
- Literal: with broad/wide power, wide radiance. Symbolic: expansive capacity of consciousness; large-force action not cramped by ego
- dāśvāṃsam
- Literal: the giver, worshipper who offers. Symbolic: the offering soul-nature; the aspirant who yields energies to the Divine
- upa gacchatam
- Literal: come near, approach (dual). Symbolic: descent/entry of higher powers into the active consciousness
- indravāyū
- Literal: Indra and Vāyu. Symbolic: illumined mind + regulated life-breath acting in harmony
- iha ā gatam
- Literal: come here. Symbolic: bring the higher action into the present embodied field (not only beyond)
Soma invitation: calling the dual deities to the sacrificer (dāśvāṃs) to partake and empower the rite
At Soma pressing and offering sequences; invitatory before libation
Calling the deities to the seat/pressing; offering of Soma with hymnic invitation
Before meditation or prāṇāyāma: invite clarity (Indra) and regulated breath-force (Vāyu) to govern the session and widen the inner working.
pṛthu ‘broad’ (PIE *pl̥th₂u- cf. Greek platýs ‘broad’). pājas ‘strength, might, energy’ (connected with brightness/power in RV usage). dāśvāṃs ‘giver’ from √dāś/√dā ‘to give, offer’: innerly the part of the being that can surrender and offer to the divine.
surrender/offering (dāśvāṃs), expansion (bṛhat tendency), divine descent into embodied field (iha)
The ‘wide-powered chariot’ suggests movement in ṛta—ordered, not impulsive.
Truth manifests when Indra’s light enters the works; the call ‘iha’ insists on embodied satya.
Descent of higher powers into the field of action to enlarge and reorganize life.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: gods as functions of consciousness; yajña as self-offering.
Chariot = disciplined sādhanā-vehicle; Wind = prāṇa-current; Wide radiance = expanded mental light.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘gods come to the giver’ mythologem: divine powers approach the sacrificer with wide force. Innerly, when the being becomes dāśvāṃs (capable of offering), the combined breath-force and illumined power can enter ‘here’ and widen the consciousness for the work.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pṛthu reflects PIE *pl̥th₂u- ‘broad’ (cf. Greek platýs). √gam ‘go’ (gacchatam, ā gatam) continues PIE *gʷem- ‘to go, come’ (cf. Greek baínō is different, but Latin veniō is from *gʷem-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi frames himself/the patron as dāśvāṃs—one who gives—thus establishing the condition for divine nearness (upa). The devatā respond by bringing expansive power (pṛthu-pājas) into the human domain (iha).
Invite illumined mind (Indra) and regulated life-force (Vāyu) to ‘enter the work’—make the sitting an inner yajña.
Ājñā (clarity/illumination) with support from Anāhata (prāṇa balance)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or even-count breathing to yoke Vāyu; then steady attention at brow to invoke Indra.
Collected, widened, action-ready poise (śakti with clarity).
Begin with a short offering: ‘May my thoughts and breaths become your chariot.’ Chant once slowly, then sit and feel a broadening above the head and a smooth current in the chest.
Use Vedic svara as per śākhā tradition; key lifts often fall on deity-names and imperative verbs (requires pada-text accent marks for exact mapping).
Give clear emphasis to ‘rathena’, ‘pṛthupājasā’, and the call ‘indravāyū’; keep ‘iha’ crisp to mark immediacy.
ṛ in rathena/pṛthu is vocalic ‘ri’ (not ‘ra’), pṛthu: keep retroflex ṛ and aspirate th light, vāyū: lengthen ū; avoid turning it into ‘vayu’ short
Bright, invoking, forward-placed; steady breath support.
3
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
