Rig Veda 5.61.2: Mandala 5, Sukta 61, Mantra 2
Sukta 5.61
- Rishi
- Śyāvāśva Ātreya
- Devata
- Maruts
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
क्व वोऽश्वाः क्वाभीशवः कथं शेक कथा यय । पृष्ठे सदो नसोर्यमः ॥
kva vo’śvāḥ kvābhīśavaḥ kathaṃ śeka kathā yaya | pṛṣṭhe sado nasor yamaḥ ||
तुम्हारे घोड़े कहाँ हैं? लगाम कहाँ है? तुम कैसे चल पा रहे हो? तुम्हारी सवारी कैसी है? रास्ता कैसे चल रहे हो?
Word by Word
- क्व
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (स्थान/अवस्था-प्रश्न)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot क्व (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- वः
- of you (your)Pronounषष्ठी (gen.), बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot युष्मद्
- अश्वाः
- horsesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अश्व-
- क्व
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot क्व (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- आभीशवः
- reins (bridle-straps)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot आ-भीशु-
- कथम्
- how?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (प्रकार-प्रश्न)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot कथम् (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- शेक
- was able / couldVerbलिट् (परोक्स/परफेक्ट), 3 पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot शक्
- कथा
- how?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (कथं इव ‘how?’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot कथा (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- यय
- wentVerbलिट् (परोक्स/परफेक्ट), 3 पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot या
- पृष्ठे
- on the back / on the ridgeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot पृष्ठ-
- सदः
- seat; sitting-place; assemblyNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सदस्-
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानार्थक निपातRoot न (उपमा-निपात)
- असोर्यमः
- Yama, the Asurya (mysterious/otherworldly)Compound (Adj+Noun)यमः: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; असुर्य- = विशेषण (यमस्य)Role KartāRoot असुर्य- (विशेषण) + यम-
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-विग्रह): क्व | वः | अश्वाः | क्व | आभीशवः | कथम् | शेक | कथा | यय | पृष्ठे | सदः | न | असोर्यमः । (1) वोऽश्वाः = वः + अश्वाः (अः + अ → ’अ, अवग्रह)
- (2) क्वा॒३॒॑भीशवः = क्व + आभीशवः (अव्यय ‘क्व’ + आ- आरम्भ; संधौ दीर्घ-संयोग)
- (3) न॒सोर्यमः = न + असोर्यमः (अ + अ → अ; पदपाठे ‘न असोर्यमः’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet asks the Maruts: where are your horses and reins? How are you capable; how do you travel? What is your seat on the back, and what is the yoking/measure of your course?
Inner meaning
The ‘horses’ are vital energies (aśvāḥ) that carry the divine impulsions; the ‘reins’ (abhīśavaḥ) are the powers of control and direction—disciplined will and luminous mind that guide life-force. The rishi asks how these forces move: by what law (yamaḥ) and what seat (sadaḥ) they establish themselves in the being—how the higher dynamism can be harnessed without disorder. It is a psychological inquiry into right governance of prāṇa by a higher guidance.
Universal truth
Power must be yoked to wisdom: effective spiritual action depends on both energy (horses) and conscious guidance (reins), moving according to an inner law rather than impulse.
Themes
divine mobility, control of force, mystery of the gods’ vehicle
The seer
- Rishi
- Śyāvāśva Ātreya
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.60, RV 5.61
Family tradition
Atri’s descendants frequently explore the mechanics of inner sacrifice—how forces are summoned and rightly directed.
Significance
Here the seer is not merely praising but seeking the ‘method’ of divine action—how higher energies are guided and seated in the human vehicle.
The deity
- Devata
- Maruts
- Epithets
- swift ones (implied by horses), well-yoked (implied by yamaḥ)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Soma
Cosmic role
They drive the storm-chariot, regulate atmospheric energies, and assist Indra’s victory by forceful, coordinated movement.
Inner power
Capacity to mobilize and discipline life-force; establish a stable energetic seat and right measure in action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Interrogative praise: eliciting the secret of the gods’ swift arrival and controlled power, preparing for offering and request
क्व१॒॑ वोऽश्वा॒: क्वा॒३॒॑भीश॑वः क॒थं शे॑क क॒था य॑य । पृ॒ष्ठे सदो॑ न॒सोर्यम॑: ॥
क्व॑ । वः॒ । अश्वाः॑ । क्व॑ । अ॒भीश॑वः । क॒थम् । शे॒क॒ । क॒था । य॒य॒ । पृ॒ष्ठे । सदः॑ । न॒सोः । यमः॑ ॥
kva | vaḥ | aśvāḥ | kva | abhīśavaḥ | katham | śeka | kathā | yaya | pṛṣṭhe | sadaḥ | nasoḥ | yamaḥ
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4 × ~8
Rapid questioning pulses; short clauses mirror quick turns of attention.
Energizes inquiry and self-observation; encourages a ‘check-and-align’ attitude toward one’s forces.
- aśvāḥ
- Literal: horses. Symbolic: vital energies, forces of action and progress
- abhīśavaḥ
- Literal: reins. Symbolic: governing intelligence/will that directs energy
- śeka
- Literal: able, capable (fit to do). Symbolic: spiritual capacity—preparedness of the instrument
- sadaḥ (pṛṣṭhe sadaḥ)
- Literal: seat, sitting-place (on the back). Symbolic: stable poise of consciousness supporting action
- yamaḥ
- Literal: yoking, measure, restraint, rule. Symbolic: inner law of right action; disciplined regulation of force
Interrogative praise: eliciting the secret of the gods’ swift arrival and controlled power, preparing for offering and request
Recited in Marut sequences to invite swift, well-directed aid; often near offerings seeking force and protection.
Calling the Maruts’ chariot-powers; aligning the rite’s energies with right measure (yama).
Useful before work or sādhanā requiring disciplined energy—invoke guidance for prāṇa and clarity for direction.
aśva: ‘horse’ (PIE *h₁éḱwos) a classic IE inheritance; in RV often symbol of dynamic energy. abhīśu: ‘rein’ from abhi- + √īś/īś? or √as/īṣ ‘bind’ (etymology debated); functionally ‘control-line’. √yam ‘restrain, yoke, direct’ (PIE *yem-) in yamaḥ: ordering principle; inwardly the discipline that governs force. nasoḥ: gen. dual/sg. of nasa ‘nose’; often associated with prāṇa/breath channels in later yogic reading—here kept as a suggestive physiological image of ‘breath-seat/measure’.
yama (restraint) as ordering of energy, breath/nostril imagery as life-channel (suggestive)
‘Yamaḥ’ as measure echoes R̥ta: energies move by truth-order, not chaos.
Harnessing primal energies into ordered manifestation; the cosmos as a well-yoked movement.
Sāṃkhya-yogic resonance: prāṇa (energy) governed by buddhi (directive intelligence), uplifted by higher light.
Steeds = prāṇic currents; reins = concentrated will; seat = stable inner posture; yoking = regulation/measure.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The hidden chariot-mechanism of the storm-gods: horses, reins, seat, and yoking—how the divine host traverses space. Inwardly, it asks how higher energies move through the human system and by what discipline (yama) they are guided rather than scattered.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- aśva is a direct IE cognate set (Latin equus, etc.), showing inherited poetic technology: the ‘horse’ as speed/force. √yam ‘yoke/restrain’ (PIE *yem-) anchors the controlling principle needed to harness power—an IE theme in chariot and ritual metaphors.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi does not merely praise; he seeks the operational secret: what are the controls of divine force? The implied reciprocity is pedagogic—by revealing/activating their ‘reins’ and ‘yoking,’ the gods teach the sacrificer how to govern inner energies in ṛta.
Bring energy under luminous control: ‘Where are my horses and reins today?’
Maṇipūra (energy) guided by Ājñā (direction)
Nāḍī-śodhana (6–12 rounds) to balance ‘steeds’; then silent repetition on exhale.
Collected dynamism—calm power ready for action.
Scan the body for restless currents; apply ‘reins’ by steady attention at brow-center; act only when inner ‘yama’ (right measure) is felt.
Maintain clear svarita turns on interrogatives; keep pāda endings settled to convey ‘measure’.
Articulate ‘kvá’ distinctly; separate ‘kvābhīśavaḥ’ cleanly; do not swallow consonant clusters.
‘abhīśavaḥ’: long ī; ś as palatal, not retroflex, ‘kathaṃ’: anusvāra as nasalization before consonant, ‘pṛṣṭhe’: retroflex ṛ and ṣṭh cluster—crisp articulation
Focused, rhythmic, like guiding breath with a firm hand.
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