Rig Veda 5.31.6: Mandala 5, Sukta 31, Mantra 6
Sukta 5.31
प्र ते पूर्वाणि करणानि वोचं प्र नूतना मघवन्या चकर्थ । शक्तीवो यद्विभरा रोदसी उभे जयन्नपो मनवे दानुचित्राः ॥
prá te pū́rvāṇi káraṇāni vocaṃ prá nū́tanā maghavan yā́ cakártha | śaktī́vo yád vibhárā ródasī ubhé jáyann apó mánave dā́nucitrāḥ ||
मैं तुम्हारे पुराने काम बताता हूँ और वो नए काम जो तुमने अभी किए। जब तुमने आसमान और धरती दोनों को संभाला, तब तुमने पानी छोड़ा मनु के लिए। वो पानी दानु में छुपा था और बहुत रूप में था।
Indra praise within Soma liturgy; recounting of heroic deeds as stotra to invoke repeatable inner victory
R̥ta as cosmic stability (supporting the worlds), Manu as archetypal mind, waters as consciousness/illumination
Indra’s ‘upholding Heaven and Earth’ expresses restoration of ṛta—stable alignment between higher law and earthly functioning.
Truth becomes operative when concealed streams (āpaḥ) are brought into manifestation for the human mind.
Unveiling: hidden waters/powers emerge from the depths (Dānu) into ordered life.
Proto-Vedāntic and Integral Yoga-compatible reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent-descent and liberation of hidden consciousness.
Waters = flowing inspiration and delight; Heaven/Earth = higher mind and embodied nature; Dānu = subconscient storehouse where powers are latent but bound.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s sustaining of the two worlds and the releasing of the waters to Manu: the classic liberation motif where hidden streams are made to flow for humanity. Innerly: the will of illumination stabilizes higher-lower consciousness and frees blocked currents of awareness for the human seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- ap- ‘waters’ reflects PIE *h₂ep-; Manu reflects PIE *men- ‘mind, think’; √bhṛ ‘bear’ reflects PIE *bher-. The verse thus encodes an inherited IE cosmology of ‘bearing the worlds’ and ‘releasing waters’ with archaic lexemes.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s act is remembrance-as-mantra: by proclaiming both ‘former’ and ‘new’ deeds, the seer renews Indra’s presence in the present sacrifice/inner work, turning myth into executable power for liberation of the waters of consciousness.
Recall-and-renew: contemplate earlier inner openings, then invite a fresh descent of force to release blocked ‘waters’ of clarity and joy.
Ājñā (illumined mind) integrating with Anāhata/Manipūra (harmonizing heart-will with action)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while mentally repeating key phrases; exhale emphasizes ‘release’ (āpaḥ).
Dynamic stillness: calm center with active luminous force.
Begin with gratitude for prior progress; identify one current obstruction; invoke Indra as the power that upholds both ‘above and below’; sit quietly and feel a downward flow like released waters through the body-mind.
Vedic accenting with udatta on key invocatory particles (pra) and deity-epithets; svarita often following udatta per śākhā rules (exact śikṣā varies by recension).
Lean lightly on ‘pra’ openings; give clear lift to ‘maghavan’; maintain steady triṣṭubh pace without rushing compound clusters.
Keep retroflex ṇ in ‘pūrvāṇi’ and ‘karaṇāni’ clear., ‘rodasī’ as ro-da-sī (long ī)., ‘dānu-citrāḥ’: dā-nu-ci-trāḥ, with aspirate clarity on trāḥ.
Bright, forward, declarative; end each pāda with a settled cadence.
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