Rig Veda 5.34.4: Mandala 5, Sukta 34, Mantra 4
Sukta 5.34
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यस्यावधीत्पितरं यस्य मातरं यस्य शक्रो भ्रातरं नात ईषते । वेतीद्वस्य प्रयता यतंकरो न किल्बिषादीषते वस्व आकरः ॥
yásyāvadhīt pitáraṃ yásya mātáraṃ yásya śakró bhrā́taraṃ nā́ta īṣate | vétīd v asya práyatā yatáṃkaro ná kílbiṣād īṣate vásva ā́karaḥ ||
जिसने बाप और माँ को गिरा दिया, जिसके सामने भाई भी टक्कर नहीं ले सकता, वो जानता है कि आगे कैसे चलना है। जो अपनी जान को कंट्रोल में रखता है और मेहनत करता है, उससे कोई दोष नहीं लगता। वो खज़ाना बन जाता है। इंद्र की यह ताकत है, भागने वाली इच्छा को रोक के सही दिशा में लगा देना।
Word by Word
- यस्य
- whosePronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अवधीत्
- slew/killedVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वध् (हनने)
- पितरम्
- fatherNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पितृ
- यस्य
- whosePronounपुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मातरम्
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot मातृ
- यस्य
- whosePronounपुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शक्रः
- Śakra (Indra)Noun (proper epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- भ्रातरम्
- brotherNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot भ्रातृ
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- अतः
- therefore/from thatIndeclinableअपादानार्थक/हेतौ (ablatival adverb)Role हेतु/अपादान (adverbial)Root अतः
- ईषते
- seeks/strivesVerbलट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √ईष् (ईषण/प्रयत्न/इच्छा)
- वेति
- knows/recognizesVerbलट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √विद् (ज्ञाने) / (वेद्-सम्बन्धः)
- इद्
- indeedIndeclinable (particle)निपात (एव/खलु-बलार्थक)Root इद्
- वस्य
- of wealth/goodNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रयता
- restrained, disciplinedAdjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषण-सम्बन्धः)Root प्र-√यम् (नियमे/संयमे) → प्रयत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- यतंकरः
- one who makes effort/one who strivesNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यतंकर (प्रातिपदिक; यतं + कर ‘making/doing’)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- किल्बिषात्
- from sin/offenceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole अपादानRoot किल्बिष (प्रातिपदिक)
- ईषते
- seeks/strivesVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √ईष्
- वस्वः
- of wealth/treasureNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- आकरः
- mine, source, repositoryNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot आकर (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘यस्याव॑धीत्पि॒तरम्’ इति संधिः: यस्य + अवधीत् + पितरम् → यस्यावधीत्पितरम् (अ + अ → आ; त् + प् → त्प्)
- ‘यस्य॑ मा॒तरम्’ = यस्य + मातरम् (संधि-रहित)
- ‘भ्रात॑रं॒ नात॑’ इत्यत्र: न + अतः → नातः (अ + अ → आ)
- ‘वेतीद्व॑स्य’ इति: वेति + इद् + वस्य → वेतीद्वस्य (इ + इ → ई; इद् + वस्य → द्वस्य)
- ‘किल्बि॑षादीषते’ इति: किल्बिषात् + ईषते → किल्बिषादीषते (त् + ई → दी)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra is described as so overpowering that he “struck down” father and mother, and even a brother cannot resist him. He knows the forward-driving energies, and the disciplined striver does not fear blame and becomes a source of wealth.
Inner meaning
In Aurobindonian psychology, “father” and “mother” can signify inherited formations: the mental tradition (pitṛ) and the vital-nature matrix (mātṛ) that condition the seeker. Indra’s force breaks these limiting authorities when they obstruct the ascent. “Brother” suggests lateral equals—competing impulses or allied powers in the being—that also cannot resist the descending illumination. Indra “knows” (vetti) the true impulsions (prayatāḥ) and turns raw effort into yoked, directed tapas (yataṃkaraḥ): the will becomes disciplined, no longer troubled by inner guilt (kilbiṣa) or social blame, and turns into an “ākara” (mine/source) of vasyu/vasu—inner plenitude (strength, joy, right means).
Universal truth
Spiritual progress often requires a decisive illumination that overrules inherited conditioning and reorganizes the entire motivational system; when effort becomes consecrated and disciplined, fear of judgment falls away and abundance follows as a natural result of inner order.
Themes
Indra as master of discipline, Overcoming deep-seated formations, Plenitude (vasu) through right harnessing
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.34 (whole sūkta), RV 5.40 (Atri’s solar/vision themes)
Family tradition
Atri lineage noted for hymns of inner illumination and forceful overcoming; a seer-family frequently invoking Indra for victory over obscuration.
Significance
Atri’s voice often carries the tone of concentrated tapas: the seer calls for a decisive divine intervention that breaks limiting formations and releases the hidden light.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (Śakra)
- Epithets
- Śakra (Mighty), Maghavā (Bountiful), Dhuni (Shaker/Driving force—implicit in the sūkta’s imagery)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Breaker of the cover (Vṛtra-type resistance), releaser of the waters/cows (light and energies), establisher of victorious order for the Aryan (striving) consciousness.
Inner power
Illuminating intelligence joined to irresistible will: the power that converts chaotic drives into organized force and courage.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotras within Soma-yajña sequences (general Indra praise)
यस्याव॑धीत्पि॒तरं॒ यस्य॑ मा॒तरं॒ यस्य॑ श॒क्रो भ्रात॑रं॒ नात॑ ईषते । वेतीद्व॑स्य॒ प्रय॑ता यतंक॒रो न किल्बि॑षादीषते॒ वस्व॑ आक॒रः ॥
यस्य॑ । अव॑धीत् । पि॒तर॑म् । यस्य॑ । मा॒तर॑म् । यस्य॑ । श॒क्रोअः । भ्रात॑रम् । न । अतः॑ । ई॒ष॒ते॒ । वेति॑ । इत् । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । अ॒स्य॒ । प्रऽय॑ता । य॒त॒म्ऽक॒रः । न । किल्बि॑षात् । ई॒ष॒ते॒ । वस्वः॑ । आ॒ऽक॒रः ॥
yasya | avadhīt | pitaram | yasya | mātaram | yasya | śakroaḥ | bhrātaram | na | ataḥ | īṣate | veti | it | oṃ iti | asya | pra-yatā | yatam-karaḥ | na | kilbiṣāt | īṣate | vasvaḥ | ākaraḥ
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Strong, marching cadence with emphatic turns suited for heroic assertion.
Builds resolve and forward drive; supports a felt ‘lift’ of will and a cutting clarity in the listener.
- पितरम् (pitaraṃ)
- Literal: father. Symbolic: mental tradition, inherited conceptual authority; past formations in mind
- मातरम् (mātaraṃ)
- Literal: mother. Symbolic: matrix of vital-nature and habitual impulses; formative prakṛti
- शक्र (śakra)
- Literal: the Mighty (Indra). Symbolic: divine Mind-Power that compels and reorganizes the being
- भ्रातरम् (bhrātaram)
- Literal: brother. Symbolic: peer impulses/forces, rival tendencies, lateral supports that still resist change
- प्रयता (prayatā)
- Literal: forward-pressed/extended efforts. Symbolic: projected soul-energies in aspiration and action
- यतंकऱः (yataṃkaro)
- Literal: maker of restraint/yoking. Symbolic: disciplining tapas; harnessing energies into a single directed will
- किल्बिष (kilbiṣa)
- Literal: fault, blame, sin. Symbolic: inner guilt, self-reproach, tamasic discouragement that blocks progress
- वस्वः आकरः (vasva ākaraḥ)
- Literal: mine/source of wealth. Symbolic: stable inner plenitude—force, clarity, joy, right resources for the yoga
Indra praise within Soma rites; also used as a force-hymn for overcoming hostile powers (inner/outer) in ritual progression
During Soma pressing/recitation cycles; also as a victory-invocation in communal rites.
Stotra/śastra praise to invite Indra’s force and bounty.
Use before demanding work or sādhanā sessions to invoke disciplined will and freedom from self-blame.
pitar/mātar are not reduced to genealogy here: they can denote generating principles. √yam ‘to restrain, yoke’ in yatam- suggests yogic discipline; √vid ‘to know’ (veti) indicates mastery-knowledge. kilbiṣa denotes fault/defilement; the verse contrasts disciplined force with the deformations of uncontrolled nature.
Rita as disciplined right movement, Yoga-like restraint (√yam), Transformation of inherited nature
Indra’s ‘yoking’ of energies expresses Ṛta as inner alignment—forces move in right relation rather than conflict.
Truth-known impulsions replace habitual reactions; knowledge of the real motive-power.
Re-creation of the person: a new inner order is forged by illumination overcoming inherited conditioning.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-psychological reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): gods as powers of consciousness.
The storm-god’s mastery becomes the inner thunderbolt that breaks fixed patterns and harnesses life-force into tapas.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A hyperbolic Indra-myth of irresistible power (even against ‘father/mother/brother’). Innerly it encodes the conquest of the most ingrained generative patterns of the psyche so that effort becomes yoked (yatam-karaḥ) and turns into a stable source of plenitude (vasva ākaraḥ).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid ‘know’ (veti) < PIE *weyd- ‘to see/know’ (cf. Latin vidēre, English wit). √yam ‘restrain/yoke’ < PIE *yem- ‘to hold’ (cf. Latin premere is not cognate; but Indo-Iranian has strong √yam continuity). The semantic pairing of ‘knowing’ and ‘yoking’ matches archaic IE poetics: mastery is both cognition and harnessing.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi invokes Indra not merely as a destroyer but as the power that disciplines effort and removes the fear of inner fault (kilbiṣa). The gift expected is a re-ordered life-force that becomes a ‘mine of riches’—spiritual abundance rather than material gain.
Offer inherited reactions to the inner Indra; invoke a clear, fearless will that disciplines desire and action.
maṇipūra (will/force)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while mentally repeating ‘śakra’ on the hold to steady will.
From rajasic turbulence to sattvic-heroic steadiness; a poised command over impulses.
Identify one dominant inherited pattern (‘father/mother’ formation). On each recitation, feel Indra’s light descending into the navel-center, yoking the energy into a single chosen intention.
Use Vedic tri-svara: identify udatta peaks on emphatic words (yásya, śákraḥ, véti, vásvaḥ), with svarita falls following; keep anudatta low and steady between peaks.
Let ‘yásya… yásya… yásya…’ rise slightly with each repetition; give a firm stress to ‘śákraḥ’ and a clear lift on ‘véti’.
Keep retroflex in ‘mātaraṃ’ (ṭ is not present; but keep clear dental ‘t’)., Pronounce ‘śakro’ with clear palatal ‘ś’., In ‘kilbiṣāt’, keep ‘ṣ’ retroflex and short ‘a’ at end in sandhi context.
Firm, resonant, forward-placing (chest to mask), without shouting.
11
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.
