Rig Veda 6.16.5: Mandala 6, Sukta 16, Mantra 5
Sukta 6.16
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
त्वमिमा वार्या पुरु दिवोदासाय सुन्वते । भरद्वाजाय दाशुषे ॥
tvám imā́ vā́ryā purú divodā́sāya sunvaté | bharádvājāya dāśúṣe ||
अग्नि, दिवोदास के लिए जो सोम पीता है, और भरद्वाज के लिए जो दान देता है, तु उनके लिए अच्छी अच्छी चीज़ें लाता है। यह शक्तियाँ उनको खुशी और सफलता देती हैं।
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं (त्रिलिङ्ग), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इमाः
- thesePronoun (demonstrative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वार्याः
- choice boons / desirable giftsNoun/Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot वार्य (प्रातिपदिक; वरीवस्/वर् ‘to choose, desire’ से ‘desirable/choice’)
- पुरु
- many, muchIndeclinable (quantifier)अव्यय (अपरिवर्तनीय)Role विशेषण (कर्म-विशेषण)Root पुरु (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- दिवोदासाय
- to DivodāsaNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दिवोदास (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
- सुन्वते
- to the Soma-presserParticiple (present active)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन (सुन्वत्-शब्द)Role सम्प्रदान (दिवोदासाय के विशेषणरूपेण)Root √सु (सवने) ‘to press (Soma)’; वर्तमान कृदन्त/शतृ-प्रत्यय
- भरद्वाजाय
- to BharadvājaNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot भरद्वाज (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषि-नाम)
- दाशुषे
- to the worshipper / giver (the pious offerer)Participle (perfect/resultative, used as noun)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (भरद्वाजाय के विशेषणरूपेण)Root √दाश्/√दश् ‘to worship, give, offer’; भूतकृदन्त (दाश्वांस्/दाशुष्-प्रातिपदिक) ‘worshipper/giver’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (resolved): त्वम् | इमाः | वार्याः | पुरु | दिवोदासाय | सुन्वते | भरद्वाजाय | दाशुषे । बाह्य-सन्धि विशेष: ‘त्वमि॒मा’ = ‘त्वम् + इमाः’ (म् + इ → मि; इमाः का दीर्घ ‘आः’ बहुवचन-प्रथमा स्त्री)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni brings many desirable boons for Divodāsa who presses Soma and for Bharadvāja who offers gifts.
Inner meaning
Agni, the divine Will, manifests ‘vāryā puru’—many choice powers—when the being both presses Soma (extracts delight/essence through inner discipline) and gives offering (dāśuṣe: self-giving). Divodāsa (‘servant of the divine light’) and Bharadvāja (the seer-offerer) represent two complementary movements: delight distilled and will offered; together they draw down capacities for victory and fullness.
Universal truth
When aspiration is joined with joy (Soma) and generosity of self-offering, the inner Fire releases latent powers and gifts of growth.
Themes
Agni-mediation, Soma-ritual (inner pressing), boons as spiritual powers (vārya), reciprocity of offering and grace
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.16, RV 6.14, RV 6.15
Family tradition
Bārhaspatya inspiration: speech (vāc) and will (agni) working together to found inner victory.
Significance
The rishi frames attainment as a reciprocity: the human offers (dāśuṣ) and distills Soma; the divine Fire responds by revealing many ‘vāryā’ powers.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Dātṛ (giver, implied), Havyavāhana (carrier of offerings, implied), Jātavedas (knower of births, implied)
- Related deities
- Soma, Indra, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Bestower of boons through the sacrificial exchange; awakener of hidden riches (vāryā) in the worlds.
Inner power
Revelatory will: brings forth capacities from the subconscient and organizes them toward the divine aim.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña context: praising Agni for the benefit of the Soma-presser and the offerer
त्वमि॒मा वार्या॑ पु॒रु दिवो॑दासाय सुन्व॒ते । भ॒रद्वा॑जाय दा॒शुषे॑ ॥
त्वम् । इ॒मा । वार्या॑ । पु॒रु । दिवः॑ऽदासाय । सु॒न्व॒ते । भ॒रत्ऽवा॑जाय । दा॒शुषे॑ ॥
tvam | imā | vāryā | puru | divaḥ-dāsāya | sunvate | bharat-vājāya | dāśuṣe
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4 pādas × 11 syllables
expansive, forward-driving, suited to declaration and bestowal
Builds a sense of widening and increase; supports confidence that powers can manifest.
- vāryā
- Literal: choice, desirable boons. Symbolic: select inner capacities—discernment, strength, wideness, peace—released by Agni
- puru
- Literal: many. Symbolic: multiplicity of powers (śaktis) unfolding as consciousness grows
- divodāsa
- Literal: servant/giver of heaven (divaḥ). Symbolic: the part of us that serves the higher light; devotion to illumination
- sunvate
- Literal: to the Soma-presser. Symbolic: one who extracts bliss-essence from experience through tapas and refinement
- bharadvājāya
- Literal: to Bharadvāja. Symbolic: the inspired mind that offers (gives) its gains back to the Divine
- dāśuṣe
- Literal: to the giver/offerer. Symbolic: self-giving, surrender of possession and ego-claim
Agni-invocation in Soma-yajña context: Agni as Hotṛ and mediator bringing the gods; applicable broadly in Agniṣṭoma-type Soma rites and daily agnihotra-oriented praise as inner kindling.
During Soma pressing/praise sequences; also general Agni stotra for prosperity and strength
stuti requesting boons; offering oblations while reciting
Meditate on ‘many vāryā powers’: ask for specific inner qualities (clarity, courage, calm) to manifest through disciplined joy (Soma) and self-giving.
Key terms: vāryā́ < √vṛ 'choose, prefer' → 'choice-worthy, desirable boon'. sunvaté (dat. sg. pres. ptc.) < √su 'press Soma/express essence' → inner sense: extraction of delight/Ananda for the gods. dāśúṣe (dat. sg. pf./aor. ptc. used as noun) < √dāś 'offer, serve' → the one who gives himself/oblation. divodā́sa: compound diváḥ 'of heaven/light' + dā́sa 'servant/giver' → a devotee of the luminous plane. bharád-vāja: bharat 'bearing' + vāja 'strength, plenitude, victorious force' (PIE *wegʷh- 'to convey' often compared for bhar- 'carry'; vāja linked with vigor/impulsion).
R̥ta (right order upheld by correct offering and right will), Ananda/Soma (delight as essence offered upward), Satyam-R̥tam-Bṛhat (implied: boons as expansions into the Vast)
Boons arise when action (Agni) and delight (Soma) are aligned with ṛta.
The ‘choice boons’ are those that serve truth-growth, not ego desire.
Manifestation of latent powers from the hidden to the expressed through Agni’s formative force.
Integral Vedic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap): Soma as bliss-principle supporting manifestation
Pressing Soma = extracting refined joy from experience; Agni = catalytic will that turns that essence into effective powers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the reciprocal economy of sacrifice: the human (sunvat, dāśuṣ) offers the extracted essence (Soma/oblation) and the god-power Agni, as mediator, releases/actualizes 'vāryā'—choice boons. Psychologically, the awakened will (Agni) converts disciplined offering into an abundance of inner capacities and wideness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The verse is built on datives of beneficiary (divodāsāya, sunvate, bharadvājāya, dāśuṣe), a common IE poetic syntax marking gift-exchange. Roots with broad IE parallels include √bhar 'carry/bear' (cf. PIE *bher-), and possibly vāja as a strength/impulsion term aligned with IE notions of force/prize; the grammar encodes an IE-style patronage formula: 'to X, the offering one, grant Y'.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The relationship is transactional but inwardly transformative: the seer (Bharadvāja) speaks as representative of the offering consciousness (dāśuṣ), asking Agni to manifest boons for the Soma-worker (sunvat). Dakṣiṇā is not mere payment but the self-giving that allows Agni to 'choose' (√vṛ) and disclose the right powers in the seeker—aligning the human act with R̥ta.
Unite will (Agni) with delight (Soma): feel joy as fuel for steady aspiration; invite ‘many vāryā’ qualities.
anāhata (joy/devotion) with support from maṇipūra (will)
inhale feeling Soma-coolness in the heart; exhale offering it into a warm central flame
uplifted, receptive, widening
After chanting, name 3 inner boons you seek (e.g., clarity, courage, sweetness); hold them as already forming in the fire of aspiration.
Triṣṭubh recitation with clear udatta peaks on content words (vāryā, puru, sunvate); exact svara requires śākhā marks not supplied.
Keep ‘divodāsāya’ as four beats (di-vo-dā-sā-ya) without rushing; ‘bharadvājāya’ with clear long ā.
vāryā: long ā; ‘ry’ cluster clean, divodāsāya: ‘vo’ not ‘vao’; long ā in dā, dāśuṣe: ś as palatal, not s; uṣe with short u
bright, granting tone; slightly expansive on puru
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