Rig Veda 6.49.13: Mandala 6, Sukta 49, Mantra 13
Sukta 6.49
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Viṣṇu
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यो रजांसि विममे पार्थिवानि त्रिश्चिद्विष्णुर्मनवे बाधिताय । तस्य ते शर्मन्नुपदद्यमाने राया मदेम तन्वा तना च ॥
yó rajā́ṃsi vi-mamé pārthivā́ni tríś cid víṣṇur mánave bādhitā́ya | tásya te śármann upa-dadyámāne rāyā́ madema tanvā́ tanā́ ca ||
वो विष्णु ने ज़मीन को नाप लिया, तीन हिस्सों में। मनु के लिए, जब उसके दुश्मन उसको दबाने लगे थे। अब तुम्हारी शरण में हम खुश रहते हैं। अपनी पूरी ताकत के साथ, अपने शरीर और अपने दिल दोनों में।
Word by Word
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रजांसि
- the regions / spacesNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- विममे
- measured outVerbलिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √मा (माने/मितौ) धातु
- पार्थिवानि
- earthlyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम् (रजांसि इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक; पृथिवी-सम्बन्धी)
- त्रिः
- thriceIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (क्रियाविशेषणम्)Root त्रिस् (संख्यावाचक-अव्यय)
- चित्
- even / indeedIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (निपातः)Root चित् (निपात)
- विष्णुः
- ViṣṇuNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
- मनवे
- for ManuNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
- बाधिताय
- to the oppressed / hard-pressedAdjective (past passive participle)पुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम् (मनवे इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role SampradānaRoot बाधित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √बाध् ‘पीडने’)
- तस्य
- of himPronounपुंलिङ्गः/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनम् (सम्बोधनार्थे ‘thy/your’)Role Sambandha (genitive)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शर्मन्
- in (your) protection / shelterNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot शर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपदद्यमाने
- when (it is) being bestowed / as it is grantedParticiple (present middle/passive, locative abs.)सप्तमी, एकवचनम्, नपुंसकलिङ्गे (शर्मन् इत्यनेन सह; ‘being bestowed/being granted’)Role Adhikaraṇa (सप्तमी-सम्बन्धः)Root उप-√दा (दाने) वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपदे कृदन्तः
- रायाः
- with wealthNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot राय्/रायि (प्रातिपदिक ‘धन’)
- मदेम
- may we rejoiceVerbलोट्/विधिलिङ्-प्रयोगः (आशीर्लिङ्-भावः), उत्तमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √मद् (हर्षे/मदे) धातु
- तन्वा
- with (our) body / selfNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot तनू (प्रातिपदिक)
- तना
- continually / in successionIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (क्रियाविशेषणम्)Root तन (अव्यय; ‘तना’)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (समुच्चयः)Root च (समुच्चय-निपात)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: (1) त्रिश्चिद् → त्रिः + चित् (visarga before palatal becomes ś; final -d is padapāṭha-style junction marker in saṃhitā). (2) शर्मन्नुपदद्यमा॑ने → शर्मन् + उपदद्यमाने (final -n of neuter stem in loc. ‘शर्मन्’ followed by vowel u-; saṃhitā shows gemination/assimilation). (3) त॒न्वा॒३॒॑ तना॑ च → तन्वा + तना + च (no further sandhi; pluti mark indicates Vedic prolongation in recitation). Accent marks are retained as in the given saṃhitā text
- pada forms here are normalized without explicit accent notation
The meaning
Outer meaning
Vishnu, who measured out the earthly spaces three times for Manu when he was pressed by the adversary—under that shelter being given, may we rejoice in wealth, in body and in our inmost being.
Inner meaning
Viṣṇu is the all-pervading divine consciousness that establishes the right ‘spaces’ (rajāṃsi) for human evolution. His ‘three strides’ are the progressive expansions of awareness—often read as the three worlds, but inwardly as successive widenings (physical-vital-mental opening to higher light, or waking-dream-sleep transformed). Manu is the human mind/soul-collective under pressure of limiting forces (bādhitāya). Viṣṇu’s act creates room for growth; in that offered protection (śarman) the seeker rejoices in plenitude (rāyā) both outwardly (tanvā) and inwardly (tanā—more subtle self, the inmost thread of being).
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a widening of consciousness; when the larger divine Presence establishes inner space, the pressured human being finds protection and a joy that pervades both outer life and inner essence.
Themes
Vishnu’s three strides, Recovery of inner space, Protection and plenitude
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 1.154 (Vishnu strides—by other rishis, thematic parallel), RV 6.49.1-15
Family tradition
Aṅgirasa line where the recovery of light is paired with establishing vastness and right order; Vishnu appears as the power of wide extension supporting the human under siege.
Significance
Within a multi-deity hymn, the turn to Vishnu marks a movement from energetic action (Maruts) to stable wideness and protection—an essential complement in integral sādhanā.
The deity
- Devata
- Viṣṇu
- Epithets
- trivikrama (three-strider; implied), all-pervading measurer (vimame), giver of śarman (shelter)
- Related deities
- Indra (often paired with Vishnu), Varuṇa (order), Savitṛ (impulsion)
Cosmic role
Establishes the worlds/regions by measured extension; creates the wide paths for gods and men; sustains order against the adversary.
Inner power
Widening consciousness, spacious peace, and protective vastness that neutralizes pressure of limiting forces.
In ritual
Where it is used
Viṣṇu stuti within śrauta sequences (often connected with the ‘strides’ and the establishment of space for sacrifice).
यो रजां॑सि विम॒मे पार्थि॑वानि॒ त्रिश्चि॒द्विष्णु॒र्मन॑वे बाधि॒ताय॑ । तस्य॑ ते॒ शर्म॑न्नुपद॒द्यमा॑ने रा॒या म॑देम त॒न्वा॒३॒॑ तना॑ च ॥
यः । रजां॑सि । वि॒ऽम॒मे । पार्थि॑वानि । त्रिः । चि॒त् । विष्णुः॑ । मन॑वे । बा॒धि॒ताय॑ । तस्य॑ । ते॒ । शर्म॑न् । उ॒प॒ऽद॒द्यमा॑ने । रा॒या । म॒दे॒म॒ । त॒न्वा॑ । तना॑ । च॒ ॥
yaḥ | rajāṃsi | vi-mame | pārthivāni | triḥ | cit | viṣṇuḥ | manave | bādhitāya | tasya | te | śarman | upa-dadyamāne | rāyā | madema | tanvā | tanā | ca
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Balanced and expansive; suited to themes of measure and wideness.
Opens the breath and mind; induces a sense of protected spaciousness.
- विष्णुः (viṣṇuḥ)
- Literal: Vishnu. Symbolic: all-pervading consciousness that widens and sustains the worlds within
- रजांसि (rajāṃsi)
- Literal: spaces/regions. Symbolic: fields of consciousness; inner domains to be opened
- विममे (vimame)
- Literal: measured out. Symbolic: established right measure/order; created capacity and scope
- त्रिः (triḥ)
- Literal: thrice. Symbolic: triple expansion/three strides—graded widenings of consciousness
- मनवे (manave)
- Literal: for Manu. Symbolic: for the human being / mental man in evolution
- बाधिताय (bādhitāya)
- Literal: pressed/afflicted. Symbolic: constricted by hostile limitation, fear, ignorance
- शर्मन् (śarman)
- Literal: shelter, protection, peace. Symbolic: state of secure wideness and grace
- उपदद्यमाने (upadadyamāne)
- Literal: being bestowed. Symbolic: descending/being granted as lived experience
- राया (rāyā)
- Literal: wealth, abundance. Symbolic: plenitude of consciousness-force and joy
- तन्वा (tanvā)
- Literal: by/with the body. Symbolic: outer nature transformed and supported
- तना (tanā)
- Literal: by/with the thread (inmost). Symbolic: inner being/psychic continuity, subtle essence
Vishnu strides motif in Soma ritual and Vishnu-related offerings; invoked for establishing wide order and protection.
In recitations invoking Viṣṇu for protection and right room/field for the rite and the sacrificer.
Praise and request for śarman and rāyas (plenitude).
Mantra for times of pressure/anxiety: to invoke inner wideness, protection, and a joyful sufficiency in both outer life and inner being.
vi-mame from √mā ‘to measure’ (PIE *meh₁-). Vishnu’s ‘three strides’ are reinterpreted as the soul’s recovery of wide spaces of consciousness (bṛhat) against compression (bādhita). rāyí from √rā ‘to give’ becomes ‘plenitude bestowed’, not material wealth.
Ṛta as measured order (mā), Threefold world/planes, Rāyí as plenitude of being
‘Measuring out’ implies ṛta—cosmic rightness and proportion that counters chaotic constriction.
Opened spaces allow truth-light to be housed and lived.
World-formation through divine measurement and expansion (three strides).
Early cosmological Vedānta; Aurobindonian ‘wideness’ as key sign of higher consciousness.
Expansion of the inner ‘earth’ (embodied life-field) into a wide, luminous domain where the adversary’s pressure cannot bind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Vishnu’s three strides measuring the worlds. Inner sense: the divine wide-presence establishes ordered spaces in the consciousness for Manu (the human) when oppressed; entering that ‘śarman’ the seeker rejoices in rāyí—plenitude in body and in the deeper continuity of being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mā ‘measure’ continues PIE *meh₁- (measure). Manu is cognate with PIE *manu-/*men- ‘man, thinking being’ (cf. Germanic *mann-). The verse preserves archaic Indo-European cosmo-legal imagery: measuring space as founding order.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi places himself with ‘Manu’ (humanity under constraint) and seeks Vishnu’s already-established cosmic act as a present shelter. The reciprocity is: remembrance/praise of the stride-act; in return, Vishnu’s śarman is ‘given’ (upa-dadyamāna), enabling rejoicing in inner plenitude.
Widening: feel consciousness expand in three waves—body-field, life-field, mind-field—until a protective vastness is established.
ajna
Three-part breathing (lower ribs → mid-chest → upper chest) coordinated with the ‘three strides’; then effortless spacious breathing.
Quiet vastness; protected openness; joy without strain.
Chant slowly; after ‘triś cid’ pause briefly to sense expansion; on ‘śarmann’ rest in a dome of protection; end by feeling joy permeate tanū (body) and tanā (inmost).
Tri-svara; maintain a spacious, even udātta rise; treat ‘triś cid’ with clear emphasis; keep cadences broad.
Do not clip ‘vimame’; let it unfold. Slight contemplative pause after the first hemistich supports the sense of wideness.
(viṣṇur manave): retroflex ṇ; sandhi ‘r m’ clean, (bādhitāya): long ā; aspirated dh, (śarmann upadadyamāne): double ‘nn’ held lightly; ‘dy’ cluster clear, (tanā ca): long ā in tanā, soft ‘c’
Wide, calm, resonant; longer vowels sustained.
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