Rig Veda 4.9.7: Mandala 4, Sukta 9, Mantra 7
Sukta 4.9
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
अस्माकं जोष्यध्वरमस्माकं यज्ञमङ्गिरः । अस्माकं शृणुधी हवम् ॥
asmā́kaṃ joṣy adhvarám asmā́kaṃ yajñám aṅgiraḥ | asmā́kaṃ śṛṇudhī hávam ||
हे अंगिरस, हमारे काम में खुश हो। हमारी यज्ञ में भी खुश हो। हमारी पुकार सुनो। हमारी बात ऊपर वाले तक पहुँचाओ और हमारे दिल में जवाब दो।
Word by Word
- अस्माकम्
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation/possessor)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जोष्य
- be pleased with / acceptVerbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; वैदिक रूप: जोष्य = जुषस्व/जुष (आशीर्लिङ्/लोट्-समकक्ष प्रयोग)Role (क्रिया) —Root जुष् (धातु)
- अध्वरम्
- the rite, sacrificial service (adhvara)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अध्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्माकम्
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञम्
- sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अङ्गिरः
- O Aṅgiras (Agni as Aṅgiras)Noun (proper/vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; वैदिक सम्बोधन-रूप: अङ्गिरः (< अङ्गिरस्)Role सम्बोधनRoot अङ्गिरस् (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषि/कुलनाम)
- अस्माकम्
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शृणुधि
- hearVerbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root श्रु (धातु)
- हवम्
- invocation, callNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हव (प्रातिपदिक; √हू ‘आह्वान’ से)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): अस्माकम् | जोष्य | अध्वरम् | अस्माकम् | यज्ञम् | अङ्गिरः | अस्माकम् | शृणुधि | हवम् । विशेष: ‘जोष्य’ वैदिक आज्ञार्थक/आशीर्वचन-प्रयोग है (√जुष् ‘तुष्ट होना/स्वीकार करना’), जहाँ क्लासिकल अपेक्षा ‘जुषस्व/जुष’ मिलती है। ‘अङ्गिरः’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन (अङ्गिरस्-शब्द) का वैदिक रूप है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Agni as Aṅgiras: “Delight in our faultless rite and sacrifice; hear our call.” The singer asks the divine Fire to accept the offering and respond.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks the inner Agni—seer-will and priest of the soul—to take joy in the rightly ordered inner work (adhvara) and the conscious self-offering (yajña). “Hear our call” becomes: let the aspiration rise without distortion, be received by the higher consciousness, and be answered as an awakening within the heart and mind.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress depends on sincerity and right order in effort, and on an inner responsiveness of the Divine Presence: when aspiration is steady and the work is straight, the guiding fire “hears” and kindles the next movement of growth.
Themes
acceptance of sacrifice, invocation, Agni-Aṅgiras identity
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1–4.58 (Vāmadeva Gautama corpus, general), RV 1.31; RV 6.16 (Agni as priest and hearer of call—parallel themes)
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 4 is associated with the Gautamas (Vāmadeva). Even when a verse’s rishi is listed as unknown in modern indices, the spiritual atmosphere remains that of the Angirasa quest: kindling Agni to recover light and widen consciousness.
Significance
The “unknown” rishi stance here is archetypal: any seeker becomes the rishi when aspiration is made straight (adhvara) and offered (yajña); then Agni-Aṅgiras answers as inner guidance and illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (as Aṅgiras)
- Epithets
- Aṅgiras, Hotṛ (inner priest), Jātavedas (knower of births), Purohita (leader placed in front)
- Related deities
- Indra (illumined mind that breaks resistance), Soma (bliss that crowns the offering), Uṣas (dawn-illumination that Agni ushers), Angirases (seer-powers of discovery)
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine worlds; carrier of offering; awakener of the gods’ powers in the sacrifice; opener of hidden light.
Inner power
The flame of will and discernment that accepts the offering, purifies motives, and translates aspiration into realizations (light, wideness, strength).
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / general Agni-invocation within soma-less offerings; also adaptable as opening of daily consecration
अ॒स्माकं॑ जोष्यध्व॒रम॒स्माकं॑ य॒ज्ञम॑ङ्गिरः । अ॒स्माकं॑ शृणुधी॒ हव॑म् ॥
अ॒स्माक॑म् । जो॒षि॒ । अ॒ध्व॒रम् । अ॒स्माक॑म् । य॒ज्ञम् । अ॒ङ्गि॒रः॒ । अ॒स्माक॑म् । शृ॒णु॒धि॒ । हव॑म् ॥
asmākam | joṣi | adhvaram | asmākam | yajñam | aṅgiraḥ | asmākam | śṛṇudhi | havam
2 pādas (hemistichs) in the transmitted line; may belong to a longer metrical frame in the hymn context.
Supplicatory and direct, driven by the triple “asmākam” repetition—an anaphoric insistence that builds intimacy and urgency.
Repetition steadies aspiration and gathers scattered energies; the ear-feel is ‘calling and receiving,’ suitable for kindling inner fire before meditation.
- अस्माकम् (asmākam)
- Literal: of us / our. Symbolic: the personal nature offered to be transformed; the seeker’s consecrated field
- जोषि (joṣi)
- Literal: take delight in, favor. Symbolic: divine consent and intimate acceptance; the Fire’s glad participation
- अध्वर (adhvara)
- Literal: sacrifice/rite; ‘uninjured, not crooked’. Symbolic: straight-ordered inner discipline; an integral, undivided movement of will
- यज्ञ (yajña)
- Literal: sacrifice. Symbolic: self-offering of mind-life-body into the divine working
- अङ्गिरः (aṅgiraḥ)
- Literal: Angiras; a name of Agni / seer-family. Symbolic: Agni as seer-power that brings hidden light (cows) from the cave
- हव (havam)
- Literal: call, invocation. Symbolic: aspiration (śraddhā + will) that summons higher help
Direct appeal for acceptance of the yajña and attentive hearing of the havam; typical of invitatory/confirmation verses in Agni liturgy.
At the beginning of worship/meditation when establishing the inner fire and offering intention
Invoking Agni to accept the rite and to hear the call; mental offering of works and speech
Use as a short sankalpa: repeat while aligning intention, then sit silently for the ‘answer within’ (inner warmth, clarity, guidance).
joṣi from √juṣ ‘to enjoy, be pleased, accept’ → divine assent. yajña from √yaj ‘to worship/sacrifice’ (PIE *h₁yeh₂ǵ- ‘worship’). aṅgiras: traditional fire-seer designation; often linked with ‘ember/fire’ imagery (aṅgāra) in later Sanskrit; functionally denotes Agni’s inspired lineage-power. śṛṇudhí from √śru (PIE *ḱleu-).
divine assent (acceptance) as completion of sacrifice, śravaṇa (hearing) as channel of truth
Adhvara implies the straight, unbroken movement aligned with Ṛta; the prayer asks that the work be in that order and therefore effective.
“Hear our call” presumes truthful speech from the heart; satya is the condition for divine response.
Agni as first awakener: from the human level he opens the path to the luminous worlds (svaḥ).
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindo): sacrifice as inner yoga of transformation rather than external rite alone.
Fire = will and purification; sound/call = mantra-aspiration; ‘straight rite’ = coherent alignment of thought-feeling-action.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The god who ‘hears’ and ‘takes delight’: the mythic reciprocity where divine powers respond to rightly ordered offering. Inwardly, the seeker asks that the inner Fire consent to the discipline (adhvara) and amplify the call (havam) into effective contact.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The imperative śṛṇudhí continues the PIE *ḱleu- line (‘hear’), foundational to IE poetics where ‘hearing’ also implies renown and transmission. yajña from √yaj reflects Indo-Iranian ritual vocabulary with close Avestan parallels (yasna).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- A clear covenantal structure: ‘our work/sacrifice’ offered → request for ‘joyful acceptance’ and ‘hearing’. The Rishi positions Agni-Aṅgiras as both recipient and active responder, completing the circuit between human aspiration and divine action.
Kindle the inner will: offer the day’s actions into Agni and ask for an answering guidance.
anahata (heart)
gentle nāsikā breathing; exhale on “havam” to release the call upward
Collected aspiration (ekāgratā) with receptive silence afterward
Repeat 9 or 27 times; then pause 2–3 minutes in the heart, watching for a warm clarity or a quiet directive impulse.
Use the saṃhitā accenting (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as transmitted; maintain clear udātta lifts on key invocatory words (e.g., asmā́kam, hávam) where marked in your recension.
Keep each pada distinct; let the triple “asmākam” be slightly emphasized without rushing; soften at “śṛṇudhī” (a receptive pivot).
aṅgiraḥ: nasal ‘ṅ’ (velar) before ‘g’, śṛṇudhī: vocalic ‘ṛ’ as a brief rolled/retroflex vowel; long ‘ī’ held, adhvaram: aspirate ‘dhv’ cluster cleanly; avoid inserting a vowel
warm, invoking, with a gentle inward turn on the final “havam”
9
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