Rig Veda 6.67.9: Mandala 6, Sukta 67, Mantra 9
Sukta 6.67
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja tradition
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
प्र यद्वां मित्रावरुणा स्पूर्धन्प्रिया धाम युवधिता मिनन्ति । न ये देवास ओहसा न मर्ता अयज्ञसाचो अप्यो न पुत्राः ॥
prá yád vā́m mitrā́varuṇā spūrdhán priyā́ dhā́ma yuvádhitā minánti | ná ye devā́sa óhasā ná mártā ayajñasā́co apyó ná putrā́ḥ ||
हे मित्र और वरुण, जब तुम्हारे पवित्र स्थान हिलने लगते हैं और कोई अच्छा काम करता है, तब कोई भी उन्हे तोड़ नहीं सकता। न देवता अपनी ताकत से, न इंसान। जो लोग यज्ञ नहीं करते वो तुम तक नहीं पहुँच सकते, जैसे बेटे जो घर में नहीं आ सकते।
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root प्र (उपसर्ग)
- यत्
- when/that whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्धसूचक)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाम्
- of you two / you twoPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया, द्विवचनRole सम्बन्ध/कर्म (सन्दर्भानुसार)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- मित्रावरुणा
- Mitra and VaruṇaNoun (dual compound)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot मित्र- + वरुण- (देवनाम)
- स्पूर्धन्
- they vie, contendVerbलट् (वेदे वर्तमान/सामान्य), 3 पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (वैदिक रूप: स्पूर्धन् = स्पर्धन्ति)Role कर्तृ-क्रियाRoot स्पर्ध् (धातु)
- प्रियाः
- dear, belovedAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (धाम-शब्दस्य विशेषणम्)Role विशेषणRoot प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- धाम
- abodes, seats, ordinancesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (वैदिक: धाम = धामानि)Role कर्म (मिनन्ति इत्यस्य)Root धामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- युवधिता
- youthful, freshAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (प्रियाः धाम इत्यस्य विशेषणम्; वैदिक बहुवचन-रूप)Role विशेषणRoot युवधि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘युवधि’ = युवत्/युवा-सम्बद्ध, ‘youthful/young’ इत्यर्थे वैदिक)
- मिनन्ति
- they diminish, impair, violateVerbलट्, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole कर्तृ-क्रियाRoot मिन् (धातु)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधाव्ययRoot न (निषेध)
- ये
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (अग्रम् वाक्ये)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवासः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- ओहसा
- by might, by powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot ओहस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- norIndeclinableनिषेधाव्ययRoot न (निषेध)
- मर्ताः
- mortalsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot मर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयज्ञसाचः
- not accompanying sacrifice; unsacrificing alliesAdjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (न-इत्यनेन निषिद्ध)Root अ-यज्ञ-साच् (प्रातिपदिक; साच् ‘सहचर/अनुगामी’)
- अप्यः
- watery, aquaticAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (उपमान-विशेषणम्)Role विशेषणRoot अप्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अप्’/‘अप्य’ जल-सम्बद्ध/जलचर इत्यर्थे)
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमार्थक अव्ययRoot न (उपमा)
- पुत्राः
- sonsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमानपद)Root पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): प्र | यत् | वाम् | मित्रावरुणा | स्पूर्धन् ( = स्पर्धन्ति, वैदिक संक्षेप) | प्रियाः | धाम ( = धामानि, वैदिक नपुंसक बहुवचन) | युवधिता (वैदिक विशेषण-रूप) | मिनन्ति || न | ये | देवासः | ओहसा | न | मर्ताः | अयज्ञसाचः | अप्यः | न | पुत्राः । Notable: यद्वाम् → यत् वाम्
- स्पूर्धन् is a Vedic 3pl present form for classical स्पर्धन्ति
The meaning
Outer meaning
When Mitra and Varuṇa’s beloved seats/abodes are stirred by striving, none—neither gods nor mortals—can diminish them; those who move without sacrifice cannot reach them, like sons without access to a hidden home.
Inner meaning
The “priyā dhāmāni” are stable inner stations of harmony and vast law—states of consciousness where truth-order is lived. When noble striving (spūrdh) awakens these states, they become unassailable: ordinary forces (even ‘gods’ as powers) and human impulses cannot reduce them. But the ‘ayajñasācaḥ’—those who do not walk with the inner sacrifice (self-offering, purification, aspiration)—cannot arrive there; they remain outside the ‘hidden home’ of the soul because entry requires consecration, not mere effort.
Universal truth
Enduring inner realization cannot be diminished once grounded in sincere practice; but it is not accessible through ambition alone—only through a disciplined path of offering, purification, and truth-alignment.
Themes
Rita-order, Inner-sacrifice, Protection-of-divine-abodes, Access-to-secret-home
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya tradition)
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.67.1-11 (Mitra–Varuṇa), RV 6.62 (Aśvins: help to the seeker), RV 6.75 (victory-force imagery)
Family tradition
Mandala 6 Bharadvāja hymnic school emphasizing inspired formulation (brahman) and ethical-spiritual order.
Significance
The Bharadvāja stream frequently contrasts consecrated aspiration (yajña as inner discipline) with unconsecrated movement, insisting that higher states are protected by truth and right method.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- priyadhāman (having cherished abodes, implied), dharmapāla (guardians of law, interpretive), ṛtadhṛt (bearers of ṛta, interpretive)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Aryaman, Bhaga, Savitar (impeller of right movement)
Cosmic role
They secure the inviolable foundations of cosmic and social order—contracts, truth, and the vast law that stabilizes worlds.
Inner power
They establish ‘protected inner stations’: harmony (Mitra) and vast purity/law (Varuṇa) that cannot be diminished once awakened.
In ritual
Where it is used
Praise/invocation in Mitra–Varuṇa sequences; used to affirm stability of ṛta in the rite and in the sacrificer.
प्र यद्वां॑ मित्रावरुणा स्पू॒र्धन्प्रि॒या धाम॑ यु॒वधि॑ता मि॒नन्ति॑ । न ये दे॒वास॒ ओह॑सा॒ न मर्ता॒ अय॑ज्ञसाचो॒ अप्यो॒ न पु॒त्राः ॥
प्र । यत् । वा॒म् । मि॒त्रा॒व॒रु॒णा॒ । स्पू॒र्धन् । प्रि॒या । धाम॑ । यु॒वऽधि॑ता । मि॒नन्ति॑ । न । ये । दे॒वासः॑ । ओह॑सा । न । मर्ताः॑ । अय॑ज्ञऽसाचः । अप्यः॑ । न । पु॒त्राः ॥
pra | yat | vām | mitrāvaruṇā | spūrdhan | priyā | dhāma | yuva-dhitā | minanti | na | ye | devāsaḥ | ohasā | na | martāḥ | ayajña-sācaḥ | apyaḥ | na | putrāḥ
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4×11 syllables (with Vedic flexibility)
Dynamic, forward-driving; suitable for ‘striving’ imagery and firm negations (na…na…).
Builds a sense of inviolability and resolve; the repeated negation seals the mind against doubt.
- spūrdh
- Literal: striving, contest. Symbolic: ardent aspiration; tapas-like effort that awakens higher states
- priyā dhāmāni
- Literal: beloved abodes/seats. Symbolic: stable planes/states of harmony and truth-consciousness
- yuvadhitā
- Literal: set in motion/impelled by you two. Symbolic: divine initiation: the higher powers activate the inner stations
- minanti
- Literal: diminish, injure. Symbolic: reduce the attainment; pull consciousness down
- ayajñasācaḥ
- Literal: those who go without sacrifice. Symbolic: unconsecrated life-movement; ego-driven action without offering
- apyaḥ gṛha
- Literal: hidden home (implied by apya). Symbolic: secret psychic dwelling; inner sanctuary accessible by consecration
- putrāḥ
- Literal: sons. Symbolic: human beings as heirs of the divine, who must claim inheritance through right discipline
General Śrauta usage: recitation in praise/invocation of Mitra–Varuṇa within Soma-yajña contexts (e.g., morning/related stotras and śastras), also adaptable for rites seeking ṛta-protection and social/cosmic harmony.
During dual-deity offerings or recitations emphasizing truth, law, and protection of the rite from fault.
Chanted as uktha with offerings; also as a ‘protective affirmation’ against forces that would diminish the dhāman (inner seat).
A mantra for protecting meditation gains: recite when facing relapse into old habits; reaffirm consecration (inner yajña) as the condition for access.
Key terms: (1) spūrdhán: from √spṛdh ‘to strive/contend’; in inner sense, the pressure of tapas/aspiration that drives manifestation. (2) dhā́man-: from √dhā ‘to place/establish’; ‘a placed seat/abode’, often a luminous station of the gods—stable formations of consciousness. (3) minánti: from √mī ‘to lessen/damage’; used for forces that would reduce or obscure established truth-forms. (4) óhas- ‘might’ (cf. √uh/√vah semantic field of strength/bearing): indicates effective power, yet even that cannot ‘lessen’ the divine dhāman. (5) ayajñasā́caḥ: a- + yajña + sāca ‘accompanying’; those not moving in the current of yajña—yajña taken as inner offering and right action aligned to ṛta. (6) apyá: ‘hidden/secret, interior’ (often connected with ‘waters’ as subconscious depths); hence ‘access to the hidden home’.
Ṛta (cosmic rightness sustaining divine seats), Yajña as inner offering/transformative action, Satya/indiminishable truth-form implied by ‘cannot be diminished’
Mitra–Varuṇa’s dhāmāni are embodiments of ṛta; they are stable against diminishment.
Truth is the ‘access key’: without truthful consecration (yajña), one cannot enter the hidden home.
Establishment and guarding of ‘stations’ (dhāman) in the cosmos and in consciousness—fixed seats of order.
Ethical mysticism leading toward Upaniṣadic interiorization: access to the ‘hidden home’ aligns with the later notion of the inner self (antarātman) approached by discipline.
Dhāman = inner plane/state; ‘hidden home’ = psychic sanctuary; striving = inner heat that turns consciousness toward that sanctuary.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The indiminishable ‘dhāman’ (luminous stations/abodes) of Mitra–Varuṇa: once set and upheld through right striving, they cannot be reduced by any force. The counter-motif is exclusion: the ‘ayajñasācaḥ’ (those outside yajña) cannot gain access to the ‘apya’ (hidden/interior) realm—an initiation/eligibility mythologem rather than a battle scene.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhā ‘to place’ (dhā́man-) is a clear PIE inheritance (*dʰeh₁- ‘put, set’). √mī ‘to lessen’ aligns with PIE *mei-/*meh₁- semantic fields of diminution/measurement in Indo-European (compare the broader IE tendency to express ‘measure/lessen’ with *me- roots). The dual compound Mitrā́varuṇā preserves an archaic Indo-European poetic habit of paired deities functioning as a single juridical-cosmic power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi positions himself (and humanity) as dependent on the gods’ established truth-seats: aspiration (spūrdh) and yajña are the means of participation. The reciprocity is implicit: when the human being aligns with yajña (inner offering) and ṛta, Mitra–Varuṇa’s ‘dear abodes’ become accessible and protective; when one is ‘ayajñasāca’, the bond is severed—no entry to the hidden home of the gods.
Stabilize a ‘seat of consciousness’—choose one quality: harmony (Mitra) or vast purity (Varuṇa)—and dwell there without bargaining.
anāhata (harmony) or ājñā (lawful clarity)
Box breathing 4-4-4-4 for 6 cycles; then chant once, sit in stillness feeling a protected ‘inner seat’.
Firm, collected, protected; less susceptible to external suggestion or inner fluctuation.
Before chanting, inwardly offer one habitual impulse into the fire of discipline. After chanting, keep a vow of truth in one small act today—this is ‘yajña-sāca’.
Maintain Vedic accenting as available; emphasize the ‘na…na…’ negations with clear udātta peaks where marked in tradition.
Let the voice rise slightly on spūrdhan and priyā dhāma; deliver the double negation (na…na…) with firm, even stress; soften on the final simile ‘apyo na putrāḥ’.
mitrāvaruṇā: long ā; clear retroflex ṇ, spūrdhan: cluster ‘spūr’ with long ū, ayajñasācaḥ: ‘yajña’ with palatal ‘jñ’; ‘sācaḥ’ long ā, apyo: ‘py’ cluster clean, not ‘piyo’
Resolute, bright; clear consonants; avoid rushing the negations.
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