Rig Veda 6.35.2: Mandala 6, Sukta 35, Mantra 2
Sukta 6.35
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
कर्हि स्वित्तदिन्द्र यन्नृभिर्नॄन्वीरैर्वीरान्नीळयासे जयाजीन् । त्रिधातु गा अधि जयासि गोष्विन्द्र द्युम्नं स्वर्वद्धेह्यस्मे ॥
karhi svit tad indra yan nṛbhir nṝn vīrair vīrān nīḷayāse jaya ājīn | tri-dhātu gā adhi jayāsi goṣv indra dyumnaṃ svaḥ-vad dhehy asme ||
कब होगा यह, इंद्र? जब तुम लोगों के बीच बहादुर लोग रखोगे और जंग जीताओगे? तीन जगह से गायें जीत के, इंद्र, तुम हमारे अंदर चमक डालो। यह चमक आसमान तक पहुंचे।
Word by Word
- कर्हि
- when?Indeclinableकाल/प्रश्नार्थक अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot कर्हि (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- स्वित्
- pray?/indeed?/I wonderIndeclinableनिपात (प्रश्न/संशय/उत्सुकता-प्रयोग)Root स्वित् (निपात)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- which/that (which)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्धसूचक)Role KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नृभिः
- with menNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- नॄन्
- menNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वीरैः
- with heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- वीरान्
- heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- नीळयासे
- you set/settle/establishVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole KartāRoot नीळय् (धातु; ‘नीळयति’ = निहित/निवासयति/स्थापयति; RV-प्रयोग)
- जयाजीन्
- victorious in battleAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot जयाजि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘जय’+‘आजि’ = विजयोपेताः/युद्धजयीः, RV)
- त्रिधातु
- threefold/three-layeredAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग ‘गाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्; द्वितीया, बहुवचन (पदानुसारम्) / (RV-प्रयोगे अव्ययवत् विशेषण-प्रयोगः)Role KarmaRoot त्रिधातु (प्रातिपदिक)
- गाः
- cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधि
- over/uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (अधि = upon/over; ‘अधि + √जि’)Root अधि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- जयासि
- you win/conquerVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot जि (धातु)
- गोषु
- among the cows/at the cattleNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्यु॒म्नम्
- splendour/gloryNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot द्यु॒म्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वर्वत्
- heavenly, sun-brightAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (द्यु॒म्नम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot स्वर्वत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्वर्’ + वत्)
- धेहि
- place/giveVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot धा (धातु)
- अस्मे
- for us/to usPronounसप्तमी (वेदे दत्तिवत्/सम्प्रदानार्थे), बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संधि-विच्छेद (मुख्य): स्वित्तदिन्द्र → स्वित् + तत् + इन्द्र
- यन्नृभिर्नॄन् → यत् + नृभिः + नॄन्
- वीरैर्वीरान् → वीरैः + वीरान्
- वीरान्नीळयासे → वीरान् + नीळयासे
- गोष्विन्द्र → गोषु + इन्द्र
- स्वर्वद्धेह्यस्मे → स्वर्वत् + धेहि + अस्मे. (उदात्त/स्वरित चिह्न पाठानुसार; पद-विश्लेषणे रूपनिर्णयः संधि-विच्छेदोपरि कृतः।)
The meaning
Outer meaning
When is that, O Indra, when with men you set heroes among heroes, winning the battles? Winning the threefold-founded cows among the herds, O Indra, place in us a splendour full of svàr (heavenly light).
Inner meaning
Indra works through ‘men’ (nṛbhiḥ)—the active powers in us—and establishes ‘heroes among heroes’: stronger soul-forces (vīrāḥ) set within the field of energies to conquer inner battles (ājī). The ‘cows’ are rays of knowledge/light (go), and ‘threefold-founded’ (tridhātu) indicates a stable foundation across the triple nature—body, life, mind (or earth, mid-world, heaven). The prayer asks for dyumna svarvat: a splendour saturated with svàr, the solar light of illumined consciousness, to be placed within us.
Universal truth
Victory is inward organization: higher strength installed among our energies, knowledge won on a stable foundation, and a luminous splendour established in the self.
Themes
victory, recovery of light, establishing heroic powers, truth-splendour
The seer
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja (probable)
- Other hymns
- RV 6.35
Family tradition
Indra hymns here often interpret victory as the winning of light (go) and the installation of heroic forces (vīra) in the human field.
Significance
A practical psychology of conquest: establish inner heroes, win stable knowledge across the triple nature, and embody svàr as living splendour (dyumna) within.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- jayājīn (battle-winner), gopati (lord of the cows/lights, implied), dyumnin (splendid, implied)
- Related deities
- Maruts (heroic energies), Sūrya (svàr/solar light), Bṛhaspati (release of cows by word)
Cosmic role
Leader of victorious hosts; winner and guardian of the rays; giver of svàr-splendour.
Inner power
Illumined leadership that organizes the inner forces into courageous alignment and retrieves hidden knowledge.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra victory-invocation; also relevant to Soma rites emphasizing winning of ‘cows’ (lights)
कर्हि॑ स्वि॒त्तदि॑न्द्र॒ यन्नृभि॒र्नॄन्वी॒रैर्वी॒रान्नी॒ळया॑से॒ जया॒जीन् । त्रि॒धातु॒ गा अधि॑ जयासि॒ गोष्विन्द्र॑ द्यु॒म्नं स्व॑र्वद्धेह्य॒स्मे ॥
कर्हि॑ । स्वि॒त् । तत् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । यत् । नृऽभिः॑ । नॄन् । वी॒रैः । वी॒रान् । नी॒ळया॑से । जय॑ । आ॒जीन् । त्रि॒ऽधातु॑ । गाः । अधि॑ । ज॒या॒सि॒ । गोषु॑ । इन्द्र॑ । द्यु॒म्नम् । स्वः॒ऽवत् । धे॒हि॒ । अ॒स्मे इति॑ ॥
karhi | svit | tat | indra | yat | nṛ-bhiḥ | nṝn | vīraiḥ | vīrān | nīḷayāse | jaya | ājīn | tri-dhātu | gāḥ | adhi | jayāsi | goṣu | indra | dyumnam | svaḥ-vat | dhehi | asme iti
44
4×11 (approx.)
Martial yet luminous; a questioning onset moving toward a clear petition
Stimulates courage and clarity; ends by invoking a settled radiance in the listener’s mind.
- नृऽभिः (nṛbhiḥ)
- Literal: with men. Symbolic: active faculties/energies in the seeker; operative powers of the nature
- वी॒रैः… वी॒रान् (vīraiḥ… vīrān)
- Literal: heroes… heroes. Symbolic: courageous soul-forces; purified life-energies acting under light
- नी॒ळया॑से (nīḻayāse)
- Literal: you seat/establish. Symbolic: installation of higher powers as stable occupants in the nature
- आ॒जीन् (ājīn)
- Literal: battles/contests. Symbolic: inner conflicts against inertia, desire, fear, obscurity
- त्रि॒धातु॒ गाः (tridhātu gāḥ)
- Literal: threefold-founded cows. Symbolic: rays of knowledge secured across the triple being; stable illumination
- गोषु (goṣu)
- Literal: among the cows/herds. Symbolic: within the field of rays—levels/collections of knowledge; also the luminous planes
- द्यु॒म्नम् (dyumnam)
- Literal: splendour. Symbolic: radiant power in mind and life; energetic illumination
- स्वः॒ऽवत् (svar-vat)
- Literal: full of svàr. Symbolic: filled with solar consciousness; supramental/illumined mind light
Prayer for victory and the gaining of 'cows' (lights) and dyumna; used in contexts of seeking triumph and luminous prosperity through Indra in Soma rites.
Before/after competitive or challenging undertakings; in recitations for strength, victory, and illumination
Calling Indra to establish heroic forces and grant dyumna; symbolic ‘winning of cows’ through praise
Use for inner resilience: before difficult conversations/exams/creative work—invoke courage + clarity, not aggression.
: from nīḍa 'nest/seat' (< √nī 'to lead' + seat notion), hence 'to lodge/establish firmly'. : battle/contest, from √aj 'drive' (movement/impulse). : tri + dhātu; dhātu from √dhā 'set, establish'—threefold foundation (often read as three worlds or triple principle of order). : rays/lights; dyumna from √dyu 'shine' (PIE *dyew-).
triple order (tri-dhātu) as structured consciousness, go as illuminations recovered, dyumna as radiance of truth-force
Right victory is the establishment of svàr in the human field—order through illumination rather than force alone.
Winning ‘cows’ is gaining true knowledge, not mere opinion; svàr-filled dyumna indicates truth-lit consciousness.
Ascent and embodiment: svàr descends as dyumna into the human; knowledge is secured across the triple planes.
Integral yoga reading: transformation of the triple nature by descent/establishment of higher light.
dawn-to-sunrise transition (implied by svàr/solar fullness)
Sun = illumined consciousness; cows = rays of insight; battle = inner struggle for mastery; threefold foundation = body-life-mind integration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The winning of the cows (gāḥ) as recovered lights/knowledges, here 'threefold-founded' (tri-dhātu), through Indra’s victory in the contests. The hero-setting among heroes is the establishment of inner powers aligned to conquer obscurity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dyu-/svàr vocabulary belongs to PIE *dyew- (sky/light). √dhā 'place' is PIE *dʰeh₁-. The battle lexicon (āji) shares the IE tendency to derive contest terms from motion/drive roots.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra to organize the human instruments (nṛbhir) by seating heroes among heroes—an inner discipline and hierarchy of forces. The reciprocal gift sought is svàr-filled dyumna placed 'in us', i.e., an internalized luminous victory.
Install the ‘hero among heroes’: choose one highest intention (truth, courage, clarity) and seat it as leader in the mind; then call for rays of insight across body-life-mind.
ājñā (svàr-illumination) supported by maṇipūra (heroic will)
bhastrikā-light (very gentle, 10–15 breaths) to awaken energy, followed by calm breathing while repeating ‘dyumnaṃ svarvad dhehi asme’
Solarized mind: bright, courageous, organized
Visualize three levels (body, life, mind) receiving one coherent light. End by feeling a stable ‘splendour’ in the brow and heart, then act from that clarity.
Rigvedic three-tone; keep strong udātta on indra, vīra, jayāsi, gāḥ, dyumnam, svarvat.
First two pādas: energetic, martial articulation; last pāda: broaden and brighten on ‘dyumnaṃ svarvad’, then settle gently on ‘dhehy asme’.
nīḻayāse: retroflex ḻ (as in Vedic) if trained; otherwise a careful ‘ḍ’/‘l’ approximation without overdoing, tridhātu: clear aspirate th; do not pronounce as ‘tidhaatu’, svarvad: keep ‘sv’ cluster crisp; short a in svar
Bright, ringing, confident; avoid harshness—keep it ‘solar’
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