Rig Veda 5.20.3: Mandala 5, Sukta 20, Mantra 3
Sukta 5.20
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
होतारं त्वा वृणीमहेऽग्ने दक्षस्य साधनम् । यज्ञेषु पूर्व्यं गिरा प्रयस्वन्तो हवामहे ॥
hótāraṁ tvā vṛṇīmahé’gne dákṣasya sā́dhanam | yajñéṣu pū́rvyaṁ girā́ práyasvanto havāmahe ||
हम तुम्हे अपना पुजारी चुनते हैं, अग्नि। तुम वो हो जो सही तरीके से सब कुछ सिद्ध करते हो। यज्ञ में हम तुम्हे पुराना गुरु मान के बुलाते हैं। दिल से पूजा करते हैं और तुम्हे आवाज़ देते हैं।
Word by Word
- होतारम्
- the Hotṛ-priest (invoker)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (हवामहे/वृणीमहे का)Root होतृ (प्रातिपदिक; √हु ‘यज्/आह्वान’ से)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (वृणीमहे/हवामहे का)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वृणीमहे
- we chooseVerbलट्; उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √वृ (वृणोति ‘चुनना/वरण करना’)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- दक्षस्य
- of skill/ability (dakṣa)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (साधनम् का)Root दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- साधनम्
- accomplisher; means of accomplishmentNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (वृणीमहे का; ‘त्वा … साधनम्’ = ‘you as the accomplisher’)Root साधन (प्रातिपदिक; √साध् ‘सिद्ध करना/सम्पादयितुम्’ से)
- यज्ञेषु
- in the sacrificesNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पूर्व्यम्
- ancient; primevalAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole विशेषण (होतारम्/त्वा का)Root पूर्व्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘पूर्व’ से)
- गिरा
- with a hymn/voiceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करण (हवामहे का)Root गिर् (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रयस्वन्तः
- possessing refreshment/strength; vigorousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (हवामहे का)Root प्रयस्-वत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘प्रयस्’ = refreshment/strength + -वत्)
- हवामहे
- we invokeVerbलट्; उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √ह्वे/√हू (हवते ‘आह्वान करना’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: होतारं त्वा वृणीमहे । अग्ने दक्षस्य साधनम् । यज्ञेषु पूर्व्यं गिरा प्रयस्वन्तो हवामहे ॥ सन्धि: (1) वृणीमहेऽग्ने = वृणीमहे + अग्ने (अ + अ → ’अ/ऽ’ अवग्रह)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We choose you as Hotṛ, O Agni, accomplisher of dakṣa. In sacrifices, the ancient one, we call you with the word, we who are full of ardour.
Inner meaning
A decisive inner selection: Agni is chosen as the priest within—leader of the psychological yajña. ‘Dakṣasya sādhanam’ is crucial in Aurobindo/Kashyap line: dakṣa is discerning intelligence and right skill in works; Agni accomplishes it by purifying motive and giving effective power. The mantra describes integral practice: speech (girā) + effort/ardour (prayasvantaḥ) + the eternal inner Guide (pūrvyam) working in every sacrifice (yajñeṣu) of life.
Universal truth
Progress requires an inner guide-force that unites knowledge and will. When the conscious Fire leads, action becomes skillful, true, and upward-moving.
Themes
Agni as Hotṛ, Consecration of will, Mantric speech as instrument, Inner sacrifice
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.1.1, RV 5.11, RV 5.20.4
Family tradition
The Atri corpus repeatedly establishes Agni as the inner priest and organizer of the sacrifice—turning rite into sādhanā.
Significance
Atri’s ‘choice’ is archetypal: the human being consents to be led by a higher Will, enabling dakṣa—right works as yoga.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Hotṛ, Pūrvyá (ancient), Dakṣasya sādhanam
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (word), Indra (illumined mind-force), Varuṇa (ṛta-law)
Cosmic role
Priest of the worlds; awakener of gods in the human; establisher of effective order in action.
Inner power
Divine Will that converts aspiration into competent, true execution (dakṣa).
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni as Hotṛ invocation; used in śrauta offerings to establish Agni’s officiating role.
होता॑रं त्वा वृणीम॒हेऽग्ने॒ दक्ष॑स्य॒ साध॑नम् । य॒ज्ञेषु॑ पू॒र्व्यं गि॒रा प्रय॑स्वन्तो हवामहे ॥
होता॑रम् । त्वा॒ । वृ॒णी॒म॒हे॒ । अग्ने॑ । दक्ष॑स्य । साध॑नम् । य॒ज्ञेषु॑ । पू॒र्व्यम् । गि॒रा । प्रय॑स्वन्तः । ह॒वा॒म॒हे॒ ॥
hotāram | tvā | vṛṇīmahe | agne | dakṣasya | sādhanam | yajñeṣu | pūrvyam | girā | prayasvantaḥ | havāmahe
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Steady and declarative; suited to ‘choosing’ and establishing a covenant with the inner Fire.
Grounds resolve; strengthens the sense of inner priesthood and consecration of works.
- होतृ (hotṛ)
- Literal: invoking priest. Symbolic: the inner mediator who calls down higher powers into life
- वृणीमहे (vṛṇīmahe)
- Literal: we choose. Symbolic: free assent of the soul; deliberate consecration
- दक्ष (dakṣa)
- Literal: skill, capacity, discerning power. Symbolic: right intelligence in action; luminous competence
- साधनम् (sādhanam)
- Literal: accomplisher, means. Symbolic: effective process-force of realization
- पूर्व्य (pūrvyam)
- Literal: ancient, primordial. Symbolic: timeless inner Fire present through all stages of evolution
- गिरा (girā)
- Literal: by the word/hymn. Symbolic: mantric speech as instrument of invocation
- प्रयस्वन्तः (prayasvantaḥ)
- Literal: full of effort/ardour. Symbolic: tapas in practice; steady aspiring energy
Agni-invocation in soma and iṣṭi contexts; functions as hotṛ-priestly praise to establish the divine mediator at the sacrifice (general Śrauta use, not uniquely restricted).
At the beginning of a sacrifice or when reaffirming the priestly function of Agni.
Formal choosing/invocation of Agni; offering with spoken mantra (girā).
Daily consecration of work: recite before beginning tasks to invite right skill (dakṣa) and purified motive.
hotāram < √hu ‘to call, invoke, pour’; agent noun hotṛ ‘invoker’ (inner mediator). vṛṇīmahe < √vṛ ‘to choose, select’; 1pl middle, indicating self-involvement in consecration. dakṣa (dakṣasya) from √dakṣ ‘to be able, competent, to accomplish’ → skill/insight-power enabling right action. sādhanam < √sādh ‘to accomplish, set right, succeed’ → instrument/means and accomplisher. girā < √gṛ ‘to sing, praise’ → formative speech/utterance. práyasvantaḥ from práyas (connected with √pṛ/√prī ‘to fill, please’ and Vedic práyas ‘pressed offering/strengthening ardour’) → energetic fullness for the work.
Dakṣa (luminous skill/discernment), Yajña (consecrated interchange), Ādi/primeval transmission (pūrvyam)
Agni as hotṛ ensures the sacrifice conforms to ṛta—right sequence and right intention.
True action is action aligned with inner truth, not outer compulsion.
Evolutionary continuity (‘pūrvyam’): the same Fire leads from inconscience to light.
Karma-yoga prototype: consecrated action led by inner divine Will.
Flame as upward aspiration; priest as organizing intelligence within; ‘ancient fire’ as perennial consciousness-force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as Hotṛ/mediator: the divine Fire is chosen as the priestly power that carries the human offering (word, will, effort) to the gods and brings back their forces. Mythically, this is the foundational yajña-exchange; psychologically, it is the installation of the awakened Will and aspiration as the agent of transformation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- hotāram derives from √hu ‘invoke/pour’, comparable to Indo-Iranian sacrificial vocabulary (Avestan zaotar ‘priest’ is functionally parallel, though from different root; the priestly mediator role is a shared Indo-Iranian institution). dakṣa from √dakṣ ‘be able’ aligns with PIE *dek-/*dḱ- ‘to take, be fit/able’ (semantic field of competence), while √sādh ‘accomplish’ continues an Indo-Iranian emphasis on ‘setting right/succeeding’ in ritual and action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer-community actively 'chooses' Agni (vṛṇīmahe), implying reciprocity: humans offer speech and ardour (girā, práyas), and Agni, as sādhanam of dakṣa, perfects the work by aligning it with right order and effective power. This is not mere praise but a contract of inner collaboration in yajña.
Consecrate action: ‘Let the inner Fire be the doer and organizer.’
Maṇipūra (will/works) and Viśuddha (mantric word)
Recite once per exhale for 3 cycles; feel the exhale as offering of effort into Agni.
Consecrated dynamism—quietly powerful readiness to act rightly.
Before work: (1) pause, (2) recite, (3) feel a warm steady flame in the navel region, (4) proceed with one-pointed skill and sincerity.
Vedic accents as marked (e.g., होता॑रं); maintain triṣṭubh pacing with clear pāda breaks.
Slight emphasis on ‘hotāraṃ’ and ‘dakṣasya sādhanam’; keep ‘yajñeṣu pūrvyaṃ’ flowing as one uplift.
hotāraṃ: long ā; nasal -ṃ lightly, vṛṇīmahe: retroflex ṇ; do not soften to n, dakṣasya: kṣ conjunct clean, prayasvanto: keep ‘ya’ light; avoid ‘pra-yas’ splitting too hard
Warm, steady, priestly; articulate consonant clusters clearly.
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