Rig Veda 6.16.36: Mandala 6, Sukta 16, Mantra 36
Sukta 6.16
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
ब्रह्म प्रजावदा भर जातवेदो विचर्षणे । अग्ने यद्दीदयद्दिवि ॥
bráhma prajā́vadā́ bhara jātávedo vícarṣaṇe | ágne yád dī́dayad diví ||
अग्नि, तुम जो सब कुछ जानते हो, तुम जो सब जगह देख सकते हो। जब तुम आसमान में चमक रहे हो, तब हमें वोह बात दो जो हमें आगे ले जाए। वोह बात जो लोगों के मन में उतर जाए और उनकी आत्मा को भर दे।
Word by Word
- ब्रह्म
- sacred hymn / prayerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन (अत्र कर्मरूपेण)Role KarmaRoot ब्रह्मन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रजावता
- with offspring; progeny-bearingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचन (विशेषणरूपेण)Role KaraṇaRoot प्रजा-वत् (प्रातिपदिक; -वत् प्रत्यय)
- आ
- towards; hitherIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root आ (उपसर्ग)
- भर
- bring! / bear!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot √भृ (भरणे)
- जातवेदः
- O Jātavedas (Agni), knower of birthsNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot जातवेदस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विचर्षणे
- O far-seeing one / widely shining oneNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot विचर्षणि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- which; that (thing)Pronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (यत् = यम्/यद् ‘which/that’)Role KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दीदयत्
- shone; flashedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot √दीद्/√दी (दीप्तौ) (इच्छार्थ/प्रयोजक-भावे; पुनरुक्त-धातु-रूप)
- दिवि
- in heaven; in the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot द्यौ/दिव्- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: ब्रह्म॑ प्र॒जाव॒दा भ॑र॒ जात॑वेदो॒ विच॑र्षणे । अग्ने॒ यद्दी॒दय॑द्दि॒वि ॥ पदच्छेद (सन्धि-विग्रह): ब्रह्म | प्रजावता | आ | भर | जातवेदः | विचर्षणे | अग्ने | यत् | दीदयत् | दिवि । मुख्य सन्धि: (1) प्रजाव॒दा = प्रजावता (तृतीया एकवचन; -त् → -दा संहितायाम्/पदपाठ-परम्परायाम्) (2) जातवेदो = जातवेदः (विसर्ग-लोपः संहितायाम्) (3) यद्दीदयद्दिवि = यत् + दीदयत् + दिवि : त् + द् → द्द् (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि, जश्त्व/द्वित्व)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Jātavedas, wide-seeing Agni, bring us the brahman (inspired word) rich in progeny; when you blaze in heaven.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks Agni, knower of all births (jātavedas), to bring the brahman—mantric inspiration that generates ‘prajā’ (soul-children: new formations of consciousness, noble thoughts, right impulses). When Agni ‘blazes in divi’—in the luminous heaven of mind—he becomes vicarṣaṇi (wide-seeing), opening a higher mental clarity where true word descends and creates living inner offspring (capacities, realizations, powers).
Universal truth
When the inner will rises into a higher clarity, inspired speech/thought becomes creative: it produces new, living possibilities in character and life.
Themes
Mantric creation, Agni as knower of births, Illumined mind, Inner progeny (prajā)
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.16.37 (giraḥ—flowing utterances), RV 6.16.34 (Agni breaks coverers—precondition for true brahman), RV 1.31 (Agni as giver of inspired speech—theme parallel)
Family tradition
A lineage where brahman (inspired word) and Agni are inseparable: the fire awakens the word; the word feeds the fire.
Significance
This is a classic Bharadvāja movement: from kindled will to illumined mind to creative word that multiplies inner realizations.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (Jātavedas)
- Epithets
- Jātavedas, Vicarṣaṇi, Dīdyat (blazing)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspired flow of speech), Bṛhaspati (lord of brahman), Uṣas (illumination that precedes the blaze)
Cosmic role
Bearer of knowledge through births; awakener of the gods; illuminator of the heaven (div) and mediator of inspiration.
Inner power
Reveals the creative Word; turns mental heaven into a luminous field where truth-thought is born.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni-stotra requesting brahman and progeny; used in domestic/shrauta contexts where ‘prajā’ is sought
ब्रह्म॑ प्र॒जाव॒दा भ॑र॒ जात॑वेदो॒ विच॑र्षणे । अग्ने॒ यद्दी॒दय॑द्दि॒वि ॥
ब्रह्म॑ । प्र॒जाऽव॑त् । आ । भ॒र॒ । जात॑ऽवेदः॑ । विऽच॑र्षणे । अग्ने॑ । यत् । दी॒दय॑त् । दि॒वि ॥
brahma | prajāvat | ā | bhara | jāta-vedaḥ | vi-carṣaṇe | agne | yat | dīdayat | d ivi
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4 × ~11; strong mid-line caesura typical of triṣṭubh
Ascending and expansive; the second half lifts into ‘divi’ (heaven) imagery.
Creates an upward pull; supports invocation for clarity and inspired articulation.
- ब्रह्म (brahma)
- Literal: sacred word/prayer. Symbolic: mantric inspiration; creative truth-speech (vāṅmaya śakti)
- प्रजावत् (prajāvat)
- Literal: with offspring. Symbolic: fruitful in inner creations—new states, insights, powers
- जातवेदः (jātavedaḥ)
- Literal: knower of births. Symbolic: Agni as knower of all becomings; guide through inner evolution
- विचर्षणे (vicarṣaṇe)
- Literal: wide-seeing. Symbolic: expanded vision-consciousness
- दीदयत् (dīdayat)
- Literal: blazing, shining. Symbolic: intensified illumination in the mind
- दिवि (divi)
- Literal: in heaven/sky. Symbolic: in the luminous mind-plane; higher mentality
Mantra for strengthening the brahman (inspired formulation) in the Soma rite; invoking Agni’s heavenly blaze to empower the rite and the inner speech.
When seeking blessing of inspired speech, learning, and fruitful outcomes; often in sequences praising Agni’s illumination.
Recitation with offerings into fire; intention for creative intelligence and right progeny (outer/inner).
For students/creators: chant before study/writing; frame ‘prajā’ as wholesome ideas and capacities generated by truth-seeing.
bráhman (neut.) from √bṛh 'to grow, expand' → the expanding/formative word of truth that builds consciousness. prajā́-vat: prajā́ 'progeny, generation' (pra-√jan 'be born forth') + -vat 'possessing'—psychologically, mantra that generates right inner formations. bhara: imperative of √bhṛ 'bear/bring'. jātavedas: jāta 'born' + veda 'knowing' (√vid 'know')—Agni as knower of all becomings. dīdayat: perfect/imperfect-like injunctive nuance; from √dī 'shine', intensification suggests steady blaze.
Brahman (formative word), Prajā (creative becoming), Dyau/Div (luminous mind/heaven)
True brahman is effective when aligned with ṛta; Agni’s blaze in div implies ṛta in thought.
Inspired word as satya-vāk—speech that carries truth-force.
Creation through word and light: illumination in div births prajā (new formations).
Vedic mantra-theory prefiguring later ideas of śabda as creative power; yogic ascent to higher mind.
day (blazing in heaven)
Sky/heaven = mind-space; blaze = heightened clarity; prajā = inner offspring (virtues, insights, right impulses).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of 'mantra as creative progenitor': the brahman is not only praise but a generative power that produces prajā (inner becomings). Agni, blazing in the higher heaven, is asked to bring that creative word into the human sphere—linking celestial illumination to terrestrial/psychic generation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid 'know' in veda has PIE *weid- (Lat vidēre, Eng. wit). diví relates to PIE *dyeu- (daylight/sky). √bhṛ 'bear' aligns with PIE *bher- (Eng. bear). These roots preserve an Indo-European nexus: light/sky (div), knowing/seeing (vid), and bearing/bringing (bhṛ) as a single poetic logic of revelation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi requests not external goods but the 'brought' brahman—speech-power that can generate inner prajā. Agni is approached as the mediator who transfers heavenly illumination into articulate, effective mantra within the practitioner, establishing a reciprocity between divine light and human utterance.
Invoke Agni in the ‘heaven of mind’ to receive a living mantra/insight; let it generate new inner capacities (prajā).
Ajna (clarity/vision) supported by Manipura (will to manifest)
Bhrāmarī (gentle) or silent mantra on exhale to invite ‘brahma’ descent; keep breath smooth.
Expanded, luminous mental space; receptive creativity.
Sit upright; visualize a flame rising from navel to forehead; chant and then remain silent, allowing a ‘seed-thought’ to form; write one sentence of truth as your day’s brahman.
Three-tone Rigvedic; highlight vocatives (jātavedo, vicarṣaṇe, agne) with clear udātta lifts.
Maintain caesura after ā bhara; keep ‘yad dīdayad divi’ as a single rising phrase.
jātavedo: long ā; v as soft labiodental, vicarṣaṇe: retroflex ṣ; do not turn into ‘sh’ too soft, dīdayat: long ī; articulate repeated d, divi: short i vowels; light ending
Clear, uplifted, slightly bright; avoid harshness to keep ‘brahman’ pure.
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