Rig Veda 4.6.7: Mandala 4, Sukta 6, Mantra 7
Sukta 4.6
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
न यस्य सातुर्जनितोरवारि न मातरापितरा नू चिदिष्टौ । अधा मित्रो न सुधितः पावकोऽग्निर्दीदाय मानुषीषु विक्षु ॥
ná yásya sā́tur jánitor avā́ri ná mā́tarāpitárā nú cid iṣṭáu | ádhā mitró ná su-dhítaḥ pāvakó ’gnír dīdāya mā́nuṣīṣu víkṣu ||
किसी ने भी अग्नि की रास्ते नहीं रोकी। न उसके बाप ने, न माँ-बाप ने। वो ऐसे चले जैसे मित्र अपनी जगह पकड़ के। यह अग्नि लोगों के बीच चमका और सबको साफ करता है।
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेध (negation)Root न
- यस्य
- whosePronounषष्ठी एकवचन (m./n.)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सातुः
- winning/aid; successful attainmentNounप्रथमा एकवचन (m.)Role Kartā (as subject of implied ‘is/exists’)Root सातु- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘साति’/‘सातु’ = gaining, winning, aid)
- जनितोः
- of the begetter/producerNounषष्ठी/अभ्यस्त-रूप द्विवचन? (Vedic: जनितोः = gen. sg. of जनितृ- also occurs; here best as षष्ठी एकवचन)Role सम्बन्धRoot जनितृ- (प्रातिपदिक; begetter, producer)
- अवारि
- was hindered/checkedVerbलुङ् (aorist), 3rd sg., आत्मने/कर्मणि-प्रयोग (impersonal/passive sense)Role KriyāRoot √वृ (वृणोति/वारयति; Vedic aorist passive/impersonal ‘was hindered/checked’)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- मातरौ
- (his) two mothersNounप्रथमा द्विवचन (f.)Role Kartā (with implied ‘are/stand’ in negated clause)Root मातृ-
- अपितरौ
- fatherless / without a fatherAdjective (used substantively)प्रथमा द्विवचन (m.) (agreeing with implied dual referent; Vedic usage with मातरौ)Role Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier)Root अ-पितृ- (नञ्-समास; ‘without a father’)
- नु
- now/indeedIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/temporal: ‘now/indeed’)Root नु
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableनिपात (emphasis: ‘even’)Root चित्
- इष्टौ
- in the sacrifice/riteNounसप्तमी एकवचन (f.) (Vedic locative in -au)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot इष्टि- (sacrifice, oblation; from √यज/इष् in kṛt tradition)
- अधा
- thenIndeclinableनिपात (then/thereupon)Root अधा
- मित्रः
- Mitra (the Friend-god)Nounप्रथमा एकवचन (m.)Role KartāRoot मित्र-
- न
- like/asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न
- सुधितः
- well-disposed/well-kindledAdjective (PPP)प्रथमा एकवचन (m.)Role Viśeṣaṇa (of अग्निः)Root सु-धि-त (ppp from √धा with सु-; ‘well-set/ well-kindled/ well-ordered’)
- पावकः
- purifyingAdjective/Nounप्रथमा एकवचन (m.)Role Viśeṣaṇa (of अग्निः)Root पावक- (from √पू ‘to purify’; ‘purifying’)
- अग्निः
- Agni (Fire)Nounप्रथमा एकवचन (m.)Role KartāRoot अग्नि-
- दीदाय
- shone forthVerbलिट् (perfect), 3rd sg., परस्मैपदRole KriyāRoot √दी (दीदीते/दीद्यति; ‘to shine’)
- मानुषीषु
- among the human (ones)Adjective (used substantively with ‘clans’)सप्तमी बहुवचन (f.)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot मानुषी- (human, belonging to men)
- विक्षु
- in the clans/settlementsNounसप्तमी बहुवचन (f.) (Vedic locative plural)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot विश्- (clan, settlement; Vedic loc. pl. ‘vikṣu’)
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved/normalized padas: न | यस्य | सातुः | जनितोः | अवारि | न | मातरौ | अपितरौ | नु | चित् | इष्टौ || अधा | मित्रः | न | सुधितः | पावकः | अग्निः | दीदाय | मानुषीषु | विक्षु । Notes: (1) RV text has अवा॑रि = aorist form (impersonal/passive sense) from √वृ/√वार ‘to hinder/ward off’
- (2) इष्टौ is Vedic locative sg. in -au (later -au/-e alternations)
- (3) विक्षु is Vedic locative plural of विश् ‘clan’ with preverb-like vi- in the stem (traditional RV form)
- (4) pाव॒को॒ऽग्निः: avagraha indicates sandhi: पावकः + अग्निः (visarga before vowel)
The meaning
Outer meaning
No one has barred Agni’s winning movement—not the begetter nor even the parents in their chosen act. Then, like Mitra well-established, the purifying Agni has shone among the human clans.
Inner meaning
The ascent of the inner Fire’s ‘sātu’ (winning advance, victorious movement) cannot be ultimately obstructed by origins or conditioning—neither by the ‘janitṛ’ (begetter: causal past, inherited formations) nor by ‘mātara-pitarā’ (the parents: mind and life, or earth and heaven as formative powers) even in their preferred routines (‘iṣṭau’). When Agni is ‘sudhita’ like Mitra—well-placed, harmonized, firmly founded in the being—he shines as pāvaka (purifier) in the human collectivity (mānuṣīṣu vikṣu): the awakened will becomes a stable law of harmony, not a momentary flare.
Universal truth
True progress of consciousness is not finally stopped by past causes or entrenched habits; once the inner will is established in harmony (Mitra-principle), it radiates purification through individual and collective life.
Themes
Agni’s establishment in humanity, harmonizing power (Mitra-like), victorious movement, inner law and clarity
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1, RV 4.2, RV 4.3, RV 4.4, RV 4.5, RV 4.6
Family tradition
Gautama seers articulate Agni’s establishment in the human as a decisive spiritual event—Agni becomes a law (ṛta) within the mortal.
Significance
Vāmadeva frames spiritual transformation as inevitable when the inner Fire is rightly founded; even inherited constraints cannot bar the soul’s victorious advance.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (with Mitra analogy)
- Epithets
- pāvaka, sudhita, dīdyat (shining)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa (implied by Mitra-Varuṇa order), Uṣas
Cosmic role
Agni manifests the gods in the human; Mitra-aspect indicates stable harmony and right arrangement of forces.
Inner power
Purifying will that becomes a settled friend (mitra) within—organizing the nature into right relation.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Agni praise in household and śrauta contexts; suited to establishing-fire moments
न यस्य॒ सातु॒र्जनि॑तो॒रवा॑रि॒ न मा॒तरा॑पि॒तरा॒ नू चि॑दि॒ष्टौ । अधा॑ मि॒त्रो न सुधि॑तः पाव॒को॒३॒॑ऽग्निर्दी॑दाय॒ मानु॑षीषु वि॒क्षु ॥
न । यस्य॑ । सातुः॑ । जनि॑तोः । अवा॑रि । न । मा॒तरा॑पि॒तरा॑ । नु । चि॒त् । इ॒ष्टौ । अध॑ । मि॒त्रः । न । सुऽधि॑तः । पा॒व॒कः । अ॒ग्निः । दी॒दा॒य॒ । मानु॑षीषु । वि॒क्षु ॥
na | yasya | sātuḥ | janitoḥ | avāri | na | mātarāpitarā | nu | cit | iṣṭau | adha | mitraḥ | na | su-dhitaḥ | pāvakaḥ | agniḥ | dīdāya | mānuṣīṣu | vikṣu
44
4 x ~11 syllables
Declarative, establishing; the cadence supports the idea of ‘well-founded’ stability.
Builds confidence and continuity; encourages the sense of an irreversible inner advance.
- sātu
- Literal: winning, gain; victorious course. Symbolic: the soul’s forward movement toward realization
- janitṛ
- Literal: begetter. Symbolic: causal past; originating impulse; karmic/habitual formation
- mātara-pitarā
- Literal: mother and father. Symbolic: mind and life as formative parents; or earth/heaven conditions shaping experience
- iṣṭi / iṣṭau
- Literal: chosen act, desired rite. Symbolic: preferred patterns; habitual ‘chosen’ movements of nature
- Mitra
- Literal: deity of covenant/friendship. Symbolic: harmonizing truth, right relation, settled clarity
- sudhita
- Literal: well-set, well-founded. Symbolic: inner fire established in stable equilibrium
- pāvaka
- Literal: purifying. Symbolic: power that clarifies and refines consciousness
- mānuṣīṣu vikṣu
- Literal: among human clans. Symbolic: in the multiple parts of the human nature; also in society/collective field
Affirmation of Agni’s unobstructed establishment among human communities—suitable for rites emphasizing consecration/installation of fire and the maintenance of communal order through yajña
When invoking Agni as purifier and establisher of the rite; also at beginnings of communal worship.
Kindling/feeding fire; affirming unobstructed efficacy of Agni.
Recite before difficult tasks to break ‘conditioning’: affirm that the inner will’s progress is not barred by past or environment.
sātu- from √san/√sā 'win, gain' → attainment/forward victory. avāri likely from √vṛ/var 'cover, obstruct' (aorist), echoing prior verse’s 'varanta'. su-dhita from √dhā 'set, place' → established order; pāvaka from √pū 'purify'. dīdāya is an intensive/perfect of √dī 'shine'. The comparison with Mitra frames Agni’s shining as not merely brilliance but lawful harmony (ṛta’s social/cosmic analogue).
unhindered attainment (sātu), establishment (su-dhita) as inner stability, purification (pāvaka)
Mitra-like ‘sudhita’ indicates ṛta as harmony in relations; Agni enforces it by purification.
Truth becomes operative in the human when Agni shines ‘among the clans’ (parts/people).
Establishment of divine law within the mortal field; the descent of orderly light into multiplicity.
Integral-psychological Vedic reading: transformation by establishing the divine will as a stable inner governor.
Shining fire = awakened will; ‘parents’ = conditioning forces; Mitra = harmonizing order; clans = multiplicity of impulses gathered into unity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni’s birth/appearance among humans as an unconstrained divine establishment: the Fire is not limited by ordinary causality (parents/begetter), but manifests as a cosmic principle, firmly founded like Mitra. This is the mythic theme of the divine power entering the human field to found order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- viś 'clan/settlement' continues PIE *weyḱ- 'clan, house' (cf. Latin vicus 'village'). √dhā 'set' is PIE *dʰeh₁- 'put, place' (cf. Greek thésis, English 'do' via Germanic developments). √dī 'shine' relates to PIE *deyh₂- 'shine' (broadly reflected in Indo-Iranian). These roots underpin the verse’s archaic social-cosmic vocabulary: clan, establishment, shining.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Agni as a power that must be 'well-established' (su-dhita) in the human collectivity and in the personal being. The reciprocity is: humans provide the field (viś) and the chosen offering (iṣṭi), while Agni provides purification and stable luminous order, Mitra-like, within that field.
Establish Agni steadily in the heart/solar plexus as a friendly law of harmony (Mitra within).
Anahata (Mitra/harmony) supported by Manipura (Agni/will)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while feeling warmth spread evenly through the chest.
Stable, friendly clarity; non-reactive forward movement.
When old patterns arise, repeat mentally ‘na yasya sātuḥ…’ and feel the forward current continue without argument.
Rigvedic three-tone accents; confirm exact udātta placements from an accented text/recitation.
Keep ‘na… na…’ crisp to mark the rhetorical negation; let ‘adhā’ open the turn into establishment.
sātuḥ (long ā; visarga at end), janitoḥ (retroflex ṭ? here dental t; keep ‘toḥ’ with visarga), mātarāpitarā (long ā; avoid swallowing middle vowels), sudhitaḥ (dh aspirated; short i), pāvakaḥ (āv long; final ḥ clear), dīdāya (long ī; do not over-roll d), vikṣu (kṣ cluster clean)
Even, steady, ‘settled’ tone; less sharpness, more continuity.
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