Rig Veda 7.22.4: Mandala 7, Sukta 22, Mantra 4
Sukta 7.22
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
श्रुधी हवं विपिपानस्याद्रेर्बोधा विप्रस्यार्चतो मनीषाम् । कृष्वा दुवांस्यन्तमा सचेमा ॥
śrudhī hávaṃ vipipānátsyā́dreḥ bódhā viprásyā́rcato manīṣā́m | kṛṣvā́ duvā́ṃsy ántamā́ sacēmā́ ||
हवन का आवाज़ सुन, पत्थर ने सोम रस पिया है। जो रिशि गा रहा है, उसकी सोच को जाग ले। हमारी पूजा ऐसी हो कि हम तेरे पास पहुँच जाएँ। वहाँ हम तेरे साथ रहेंगे।
Word by Word
- श्रुधी
- hear; listenVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; (वेद.) ‘श्रुधी’ = शृणु/श्रुणु (आज्ञा)Role (मुख्य क्रिया)Root श्रु (धातु)
- हवम्
- the call/invocationNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हव (प्रातिपदिक)
- विपिपानस्य
- of the well-drinking (one)Adjective (participial)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘विपिपान’ = ‘well-drinking/fully drinking’Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root वि-पा (धातु) → विपिपान (कृदन्त/विशेषण)
- अद्रेः
- of the stone/rock (press-stone)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
- बोधाः
- take notice; be awareVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; वैदिक रूप ‘बोधाः’ (आज्ञा)Role (मुख्य क्रिया)Root बुध् (धातु)
- विप्रस्य
- of the inspired poet/seerNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्चतः
- of the praising (one)Adjective (present participle)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘अर्चत्’ = ‘praising/singing’Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अर्च् (धातु) → अर्चत् (कृदन्त)
- मनीषाम्
- thought; inspired insightNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot मनीषा (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृष्वा
- make; doVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘कुरु’ का वैदिक रूपRole (मुख्य क्रिया)Root कृ (धातु)
- दुवांसि
- worshippers; servantsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot दुवांस् (प्रातिपदिक; वेद. ‘दुवांस्’ = ‘worshipper/one who serves’)
- अन्तमम्
- most intimate; nearestAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘most intimate/nearest’Role कर्म/परिणाम (कृष्वा के साथ: ‘make (us) most near’)Root अन्तम (प्रातिपदिक; superlative)
- आ
- towards; hitherIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- सचेमा
- may we accompany; may we be in fellowshipVerbविधिलिङ् (संभावना/इच्छा), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘सचेम’ = ‘may we accompany/associate’Role (मुख्य क्रिया)Root सच् (धातु) + मा (विधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् 1pl)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: विपिपा॒नस्याद्रे॒ः → विपिपानस्य + अद्रेः (अ + अ → आ). विप्र॒स्यार्च॑तः → विप्रस्य + अर्चतः (अ + अ → आ). Other padas are already in near-pada form
- ‘आ’ is a separate particle before सचेमा
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra is asked to hear the call of the stone that has drunk deep, and to awaken to the thought of the inspired singer who chants. Make our offerings lead to the inmost so that we may accompany thee there.
Inner meaning
The ‘stone that has drunk deep’ (vipipānasya adreḥ) suggests the pressing-force saturated with Soma: tapas filled with delight. Indra is urged to hear that call—i.e., to respond to the concentrated practice that has become ripe. He is also asked to awaken to the manīṣā (inspired thought) of the vipra (seer) as it chants—inner intuition seeking divine assent. The crucial prayer: ‘kṛṣvā duvāṃsi antamā’—make our doings/offerings draw us to the inmost (antama), the deepest sanctuary of being where Indra’s light dwells; then ‘sacemā’—may we companion thee there, living in that inner union rather than only receiving outer boons.
Universal truth
When discipline is filled with joy and guided by intuition, the Divine responds; true offering is that which draws consciousness inward to its deepest center, where companionship with the higher Power becomes stable.
Themes
hearing and awakening, Soma instrumentation, inner approach, union with Indra
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.22.3 (awake to the word), RV 7.1 (Agni leading the inner sacrifice; thematic)
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s yoga is toward the ‘inmost’—not only victory outside but an established inner companionship with the divine powers.
Significance
The rishi articulates a mature aim of sādhanā: offerings that culminate in inner union (sakhya/sac) with the illumined Mind.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Maghavan (bounteous), Vṛtrahan (implicit), Somapā (implicit through adri/Soma context)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Maruts
Cosmic role
Hears the invocation, consents to the seer’s inspired thought, and leads the sacrifice toward its secret goal.
Inner power
The responding illumination that draws the seeker inward to the psychic center and establishes companionship with the higher consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña hymn segment: invitation to Indra to hear and accept, culminating in request for inner attainment.
श्रु॒धी हवं॑ विपिपा॒नस्याद्रे॒र्बोधा॒ विप्र॒स्यार्च॑तो मनी॒षाम् । कृ॒ष्वा दुवां॒स्यन्त॑मा॒ सचे॒मा ॥
श्रु॒धि । हव॑म् । वि॒ऽपि॒पा॒नस्य॑ । अद्रेः॑ । बोध॑ । विप्र॒स्य । अर्च॑तः । म॒नी॒षाम् । कृ॒ष्व । दुवां॑सि । अन्त॑मा । सचा॑ । इ॒मा ॥
śrudhi | havam | vi-pipānasya | adreḥ | bodha | viprasya | arcataḥ | manīṣām | kṛṣva | duvāṃsi | antamā | sacā | imā
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Alternation of listening/awakening imperatives with a deepening pull toward ‘antamā’.
Starts with alert invocation, ends with an inward-drawing resonance; supports introversion and depth.
- अद्रिः (adriḥ)
- Literal: pressing stone. Symbolic: tapas—concentrated pressure of practice
- विपिपानस्य (vipipānasya)
- Literal: having drunk deeply. Symbolic: discipline saturated with Ananda; practice that has absorbed delight
- हवम् (havam)
- Literal: call, invocation. Symbolic: soul-cry arising from ripe concentration
- विप्रस्य (viprasya)
- Literal: of the inspired seer. Symbolic: intuitive consciousness that can chant truth
- मनीषाम् (manīṣām)
- Literal: thought, inspired intelligence. Symbolic: illumined intuition guiding the offering
- दुवांसि (duvāṃsi)
- Literal: offerings, acts of worship. Symbolic: all works and energies consecrated in the inner sacrifice
- अन्तमा (antamā)
- Literal: most inward. Symbolic: the inner heart-cave / psychic depth; secret center of union
- सचेम (sacemā)
- Literal: may we accompany, be together. Symbolic: companionship/union with the divine Power in consciousness
Soma-pressing invocation: Indra is called to hear both the adri (pressing act) and the vipra’s manīṣā; aligns with the offering sequence at the savana.
During Soma pressing/chanting when calling Indra’s presence and seeking fruition of offerings.
Recitation alongside Soma pressing and libation; inner sense: offer works and aspiration to be led inward.
A powerful closing mantra for meditation: offer the day’s actions and ask they lead to the inmost; cultivate companionship with the higher mind in silence.
vipipāna- (vi+√pā) applied to adri is a vivid ritual metaphor: the stone 'drinks' Soma-juice; psychologically, the instrument of will is saturated with delight-force and therefore calls effectively. manīṣā from √man 'think' denotes formed insight, not discursive thought. antamā marks movement to the innermost station—inner heart/cave symbolism.
manīṣā (insight), inner approach (antamā) toward the secret seat of power, sacā (companionship as yoga of union)
The ‘path’ of offerings is right when it leads inward to the secret truth of being, not merely outward results.
Manīṣā is truth-intuition; Indra’s awakening to it is the sanction of Satya in mind.
Inward return to the secret source (antamā) where powers originate; communion as the goal of manifestation.
Integral/Vedāntic tendency: inner sanctuary (antaryāmin-like) as locus of divine companionship.
Concentrated practice imbued with joy, generating an invocation that draws consciousness into the heart’s depth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is 'approach to the inmost seat': through the saturated instrument (adri) and inspired thought (manīṣā), the offerings become a path to the antamā—where companionship with Indra is realized as inner union.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √śru 'hear' is PIE *ḱleu- 'hear' (cf. Greek klýō, English listen via different root but 'loud' from *ḱleu- is related). √man 'think' is PIE *men- (cf. Latin mens, English mind). These roots anchor the verse in inherited Indo-European cognitive and auditory semantics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra to respond not only to offerings but to the inner formation of insight (manīṣā). The relationship is pedagogical and yogic: Indra is the power that awakens to the chant and then leads the seeker’s acts into the innermost communion.
Offer all actions inwardly; ask that they become a movement toward the ‘antamā’—the psychic depth—and rest there with the higher Light.
hṛdaya (anāhata/psychic center)
Exhale-focused practice (long exhale) while repeating ‘antamā sacemā’ mentally; 21 cycles.
Inwardly gathered, intimate companionship with illumination.
After chanting, sit in the heart-area; feel offerings (thoughts, emotions, actions) drawn into a quiet center; let Indra’s clarity stand there as a companion-presence.
Tri-svara; imperatives ‘śrudhī’ and ‘bodhā’ take clear udātta lift; allow the final request pāda to descend inwardly in tone.
Crisp articulation on ‘śrudhī havam’; soften and deepen on ‘antamā sacemā’ to mirror inward movement.
‘śrudhī’ with palatal ‘ś’ and long ī., ‘vipipānasya’ divide vi-pi-pā-na-sya; keep long ‘ā’., ‘manīṣām’ long ī; retroflex ‘ṣ’., ‘kṛṣvā’ syllabic ‘ṛ’ clear; ‘ṣv’ cluster distinct.
Attentive at start, then increasingly hushed and inward; end with a gentle, intimate cadence.
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