Rig Veda 6.47.22: Mandala 6, Sukta 47, Mantra 22
Sukta 6.47
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
प्रस्तोक इन्नु राधसस्त इन्द्र दश कोशयीर्दश वाजिनोऽदात् । दिवोदासादतिथिग्वस्य राधः शाम्बरं वसु प्रत्यग्रभीष्म ॥
prastoká ín nu rādhasas ta indra dáśa kośayī́r dáśa vājíno ’dāt | divódāsād atithigvásya rādhaḥ śā́mbaraṃ vásu práty agrabhīṣma ||
इंद्र, तेरी देन में से थोड़ा सा हिस्सा भी बहुत है। तूने दस खजाने दिए और दस तेज़ घोड़े। दिवोदास और अतिथिग्व से हमने शंबर का माल पाया। यह जीत में मिलने वाली दौलत थी।
Word by Word
- प्रस्तोकः
- (the giver) Prastoka (proper name)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (वाक्य-कर्ता) / विषयRoot प्र-स्तोक (प्रातिपदिक) < स्तोक
- इत्
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Root इद् (निपात) रूप: इत्
- नु
- now, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Root नु (निपात)
- राधसः
- of bounty, of giftNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root राधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- त
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role (अन्वय-सम्बन्ध/अनुवृत्ति)Root तद् (सर्वनाम)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दश
- tenAdjectiveअव्ययवत् संख्या; (यहाँ) द्वितीया बहुवचन-विशेषणार्थेRole कर्म (संख्या-निर्देशः)Root दशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- कोशयीः
- sheaths/containers (quivers, cases)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot कोशयी (प्रातिपदिक; ‘कोश’ + यिन्/यी-प्रत्यय, स्त्री)
- दश
- tenAdjectiveअव्ययवत् संख्या; (यहाँ) द्वितीया बहुवचन-विशेषणार्थेRole कर्म (संख्या-निर्देशः)Root दशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजिनः
- prize-winning (horses/steeds), racersNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदात्
- gaveVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot दा (धातु)
- दिवोदासात्
- from DivodāsaNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole अपादानRoot दिवोदास (प्रातिपदिक)
- अतिथिग्वस्य
- of AtithigvaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अतिथिग्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- राधः
- bounty, giftNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/विषय (सन्दर्भानुसार ‘बounty’ as object)Root राधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- शाम्बरम्
- Śambara’s (belonging to Śambara)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म-विशेषणRoot शाम्बर (प्रातिपदिक; शम्बर-सम्बन्धि)
- वसु
- wealth, treasureNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towards, in return, backIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अग्रभीष्म
- we seized, we tookVerbलुङ् (अorist), आत्मनेपद, उत्तम, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot ग्रह् (धातु) + उपसर्ग: आ (आ-ग्रह्) ; रूप: अ-ग्रभीष्म
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): प्र॒स्तो॒कः | इत् | नु | राधसः | त | इन्द्र | दश | कोशयीः | दश | वाजिनः | अदात् || दिवोदासात् | अतिथिग्वस्य | राधः | शाम्बरम् | वसु | प्रति | अग्रभीष्म || Notable: वाजिनोऽदात् = वाजिनः + अदात् (अः + अ → ओऽ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Only a small portion of Indra’s bounty is mentioned, yet he gave ten treasure-chests and ten swift horses. From Divodāsa and Atithigva the singers received Śāmbara wealth—gains corresponding to victory.
Inner meaning
The seer hints that what is enumerated is ‘only a small portion’ of Indra’s gifts: outer images point to inner measures. Ten chests are capacities to hold and organize the gains of consciousness; ten horses are powers of effective movement—life-forces made victorious. Divodāsa (“servant of the divine light”) and Atithigva (one who receives the ‘guest’—the descending god-presence) stand as inner types: the being that serves light and welcomes the higher influence. Śāmbara wealth is what is won from the fortress of resistance (Śambara): recovered energies, clarified faculties, and stable force that ‘answers’ (prati) to the victory—i.e., becomes usable in life.
Universal truth
Spiritual victory yields practical instruments: capacities to contain, organize, and move with the gained light. The true gift is not mere experience but usable power and ordered wealth of being.
Themes
dāna-stuti, Indra’s bounty, victory wealth (Śāmbara), plentitude (vāja)
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.47.23 (enumeration of tens), RV 6.26 (Indra’s gifts and victories)
Family tradition
Remembers ancestral victory-myths (Divodāsa/Atithigva) while encoding inner yogic economics: how grace becomes organized power.
Significance
Bharadvāja’s lineage links patron-figures to inner archetypes: service to light and receptivity to the divine guest are conditions for stable gains.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Maghavan, Vṛtrahan, Datā (giver)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Dispenser of victorious force and organizer of gains after conquest of obstruction.
Inner power
Grace that becomes capacity: not only illumination but strengthened faculties and usable energies.
In ritual
Where it is used
Dāna-stuti / praise of Indra’s gifts in Soma context; may function as patron-praise embedded in Indra hymns.
प्र॒स्तो॒क इन्नु राध॑सस्त इन्द्र॒ दश॒ कोश॑यी॒र्दश॑ वा॒जिनो॑ऽदात् । दिवो॑दासादतिथि॒ग्वस्य॒ राध॑: शाम्ब॒रं वसु॒ प्रत्य॑ग्रभीष्म ॥
प्र॒स्तो॒कः । इत् । नु । राध॑सः । ते॒ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । दश॑ । कोश॑यीः । दश॑ । वा॒जिनः॑ । अ॒दा॒त् । दिवः॑ऽदासात् । अ॒ति॒थि॒ऽग्वस्य॑ । राधः॑ । शा॒म्ब॒रम् । वसु॑ । प्रति॑ । अ॒ग्र॒भी॒ष्म॒ ॥
prastokaḥ | it | nu | rādhasaḥ | te | indra | daśa | kośayīḥ | daśa | vājinaḥ | adāt | divaḥ-dāsāt | atithi-gvasya | rādhaḥ | śāmbaram | vasu | prati | agrabhīṣma
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4 × ~11; enumerative but still with Triṣṭubh drive.
Measured counting within a heroic cadence; a ‘ledger of victory’ tone.
Builds gratitude and confidence; stabilizes the mind by rhythmically ‘counting’ gains as established facts.
- प्रस्तोकः (prastokaḥ)
- Literal: a small portion. Symbolic: outer statement is a token of a much larger inner bounty
- राधस् (rādhas)
- Literal: bounty, grace, gift. Symbolic: divine increase; strengthening of the being
- कोश (kośa)
- Literal: treasure-chest, store. Symbolic: receptive/containing faculties; organized reserves of force
- वाजिनः (vājinaḥ)
- Literal: swift steeds; possessors of vāja. Symbolic: energies of effective action; victorious life-force
- दिवोदास (divodāsa)
- Literal: servant of heaven/light. Symbolic: the part that serves illumination and offers itself to it
- अतिथिग्व (atithigva)
- Literal: one who goes to/receives the guest. Symbolic: the being hospitable to the descending divine presence
- शाम्बरं वसु (śāmbaraṃ vasu)
- Literal: Śambara’s wealth. Symbolic: recoveries from entrenched resistance; reclaimed powers
Dāna-stuti (praise of gifts) within a Soma-sacrifice context; supports the reciprocity of offering and divine/human patronal giving.
After or alongside offerings when acknowledging boons; also in celebratory recitations of victory and prosperity.
Recital enumerating gifts; confirmation of Indra’s generosity.
Gratitude practice: count concrete inner gains (clarity, steadiness, courage) as ‘treasures and horses’ given by the higher power.
rādhas ‘gift, grace’ (√rādh ‘to prosper, succeed, grant’). vāja ‘strength, prize, plenitude’ (often from √vaj/√vāj ‘be strong, speed’). kośa ‘container, treasury’ (also ‘sheath’—suggestive for inner “holding-forms”).
grace (rādhas) as multiplier of effort, recovery of soul’s rightful riches
True gifts come as ordered increase—capacities aligned to right functioning.
Victory is ‘true’ when its wealth is stable and serviceable (prati-agrabhīṣma: we firmly received).
After the breaking of resistance, forces are redistributed into the being as structured wealth.
Psychological symbolism of ‘wealth’ as faculties and powers; integral transformation of life.
Horses = mobilized prāṇa; chests = stable receptacles/kośas of force; ‘ten’ = completeness of a cycle of powers in the manifested nature.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The post-victory acquisition of ‘Śāmbara’ wealth: a mythic-economic image of recovering the hoarded riches of light/force after the defeat of the withholder.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vājín- (‘strong, swift’) participates in an Indo-European semantic field linking speed/strength with victory-prize. kośa as ‘container’ parallels widespread IE metaphors of ‘holding’ wealth/power in vessels or enclosures.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The poet frames received gifts as Indra’s rādhas working through human patrons; the divine power is the true source, while the human giver is an instrument—establishing a layered reciprocity (yajña → Indra → patron → seer-community).
Receive and organize: feel inner ‘containers’ (kośas) becoming capable of holding higher force; feel prāṇa as swift horses under guidance.
maṇipūra (capacity/strength) + viśuddha (right expression of gratitude)
slow box breathing 4-4-4-4 for 5 rounds, then chant once; pause to ‘receive’ in silence for 30 seconds.
Settled, grateful, quietly empowered.
After any breakthrough, do not rush onward—‘store’ it. Name the gained power, place it inwardly in a ‘kośa’, then commit one action where that power will be used.
Ṛgvedic accentuation as per śākala; confirm on saṃhitā text for exact udatta positions.
Let ‘daśa’ repetitions be even and steady; avoid rushing the enumerations; emphasize ‘praty agrabhīṣma’ as firm reception.
kośayīr: long ī; keep ś palatal., vājino: long ā; j is soft but clear., divodāsād: maintain sandhi with long ā (dāsād).
Warm, steady, grateful; less martial than 6.47.21.
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