Rig Veda 7.28.4: Mandala 7, Sukta 28, Mantra 4
Sukta 7.28
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra with Varuṇa invoked as protector of ṛta
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Bhayankara and Shanta (peace)
एभिर्न इन्द्राहभिर्दशस्य दुर्मित्रासो हि क्षितयः पवन्ते । प्रति यच्चष्टे अनृतमनेना अव द्विता वरुणो मायी नः सात् ॥
ebhír na indrā́habhir daśasya durmitrā́so hí kṣitáyaḥ pávante | práti yác caṣṭé anṛ́tam anenā́ áva dvitā́ váruṇo māyī́ naḥ sāt ||
इंद्र के साथ दिन गुज़ार, हमें ताकत दे। दुश्मन लोग हमारे खिलाफ मिल जाते हैं, गलत लोग हमारे पीछे पड़ जाते हैं। जब कोई झूठ बोलता है, तब वरुण हमें बचाए। वो अंदर की बात जानता है, वो हमें डबल प्रोटेक्ट करेगा।
Word by Word
- एभिः
- with thesePronounपुं/नपुं, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एतद्
- नः
- for us / to usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आभिः
- with these (fem.)Pronounस्त्री, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एतद्
- दशस्य
- of worship/serviceNounनपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Vedic gen. in -स्य)Role सम्बन्धRoot दशस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘worship/service, honour’)
- दुर्मित्रासः
- evil allies / ill-wishersNounपुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot दुर्मित्र (प्रातिपदिक; दुḥ+मित्र ‘bad-friend’)
- हि
- for / indeedIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/causal)Root हि (निपात)
- क्षितयः
- the peoples / settlementsNounस्त्री, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot क्षिति (प्रातिपदिक; ‘dwelling, people/settlement’)
- पवन्ते
- purify themselves / become pureVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्र.पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot पू (धातु; ‘to purify, cleanse’)
- प्रति
- against / in return / towardsIndeclinableअव्यय (directional)Root प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यत्
- that whichPronounनपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चष्टे
- he sees / declaresVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्र.पुरुष, एकवचनRoot चक्ष् (धातु; ‘to see, perceive, declare’)
- अनृतम्
- untruth / falsehoodNounनपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अनृत (प्रातिपदिक; ‘untruth, falsehood’)
- अनेन
- by thisPronounपुं/नपुं, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एतद्
- अव
- down / awayIndeclinableअव्यय (down/away; with verb implied)Root अव (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- द्विता
- again / a second time / in twofold mannerIndeclinableअव्ययRoot द्विता (अव्यय; ‘in two ways/again/secondly’)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- मायी
- the crafty / wielder of māyāAdjectiveपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Vedic nom. sg. in -ī)Role कर्तृ (विशेषण)Root मायिन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘possessing māyā, crafty/magical’)
- नः
- for us / to usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सात्
- may he be / may he becomeVerbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् (Vedic optative/benedictive), परस्मैपद, प्र.पुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (धातु; ‘to be’)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: ए॒भिर्न॑ इ॒न्द्राह॑भिर्दशस्य दुर्मि॒त्रासो॒ हि क्षि॒तय॒: पव॑न्ते । प्रति॒ यच्चष्टे॒ अनृ॑तमने॒ना अव॑ द्वि॒ता वरु॑णो मा॒यी न॑: सात् ॥ Sandhi resolution (major): 1) एभिः + नः → एभिः नः (visarga before nasal often remains in Saṃhitā as -r/ḥ; here written एभिर्नः)
- 2) इन्द्र + आभिः → इन्द्र आभिः (vowel sandhi a+ā; Saṃhitā: इन्द्राह॑भिः)
- 3) आभिः + दशस्य → आभिः दशस्य (Saṃhitā: आभिर्दशस्य)
- 4) प्रति + यत् → प्रति यत् (Saṃhitā: प्रति॒ यच्च- with assimilation y+t → ycc in recitation)
- 5) अनृतम् + अनेन → अनृतम् अनेन (Saṃhitā: अनृ॑तमने॒ना; m+a → ma, with vowel coalescence)
- 6) मायी + नः → मायी नः (Saṃhitā: मा॒यी न॑:)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With these days/works together with Indra, make us capable; hostile alliances and factions flow against us. When untruth is spoken back by those without the right way, may Varuṇa, the wise wielder of law, protect us doubly.
Inner meaning
‘Days with Indra’ are the successive inner efforts where illumination is invited into action. The ‘hostile friendships’ are mixed impulses and pseudo-allies in the psyche—desires and opinions that pretend to help but actually drain force. When the lower nature answers with anṛta (distortion, falsehood), Varuṇa—the guardian of ṛta, vast purity and truth-law—must establish a double protection: clarity in mind and sincerity in life-force.
Universal truth
Progress requires both power and truth: illumination (Indra) must be guarded by integrity (Varuṇa) so that falsehood and inner faction cannot derail the path.
Themes
truth-defense, hostile forces/false alliances, dual protection
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.86 (Varuṇa: release from sin/falsehood into ṛta), RV 7.88 (Varuṇa: vastness, truth, protection), RV 7.18 (Indra: strength and right victory)
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha hymns frequently pair Indra’s victorious force with Varuṇa’s moral-spiritual law, emphasizing sincerity, confession, and restoration to ṛta.
Significance
The seer articulates a psychology of conflict: inner factions and false replies are met not only by power but by a higher law of truth that purifies and protects.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (primary) with Varuṇa (protective invocation)
- Epithets
- Indra as helper in effort (implicit), Varuṇa māyī (wise wielder of ordering power)
- Related deities
- Mitra (right harmony/contract, implied by dur-mitra contrast), Agni (inner priest who maintains sincerity), Soma (delight that supports truth-force)
Cosmic role
Indra provides force and victorious illumination; Varuṇa stabilizes the cosmos through ṛta, restraining falsehood and restoring harmony.
Inner power
Indra: energizing clarity; Varuṇa: conscience of truth, vast calm, and protective purity that seals the being against distortion.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña context with protective prayer; also suitable as a general iṣṭi-style supplication for safeguarding truth.
ए॒भिर्न॑ इ॒न्द्राह॑भिर्दशस्य दुर्मि॒त्रासो॒ हि क्षि॒तय॒: पव॑न्ते । प्रति॒ यच्चष्टे॒ अनृ॑तमने॒ना अव॑ द्वि॒ता वरु॑णो मा॒यी न॑: सात् ॥
ए॒भिः । नः॒ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । अह॑ऽभिः । द॒श॒स्य॒ । दुः॒ऽमि॒त्रासः॑ । हि । क्षि॒तयः॑ । पव॑न्ते । प्रति॑ । यत् । च॒ष्टे॒ । अनृ॑तम् । अ॒ने॒नाः । अव॑ । द्वि॒ता । वरु॑णः । मा॒यी । नः॒ । सा॒त् ॥
ebhiḥ | naḥ | indra | aha-bhiḥ | daśasya | duḥ-mitrāsaḥ | hi | kṣitayaḥ | pavante | prati | yat | caṣṭe | anṛtam | anenāḥ | ava | dvitā | varuṇaḥ | māyī | naḥ | sāt
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Argumentative and protective cadence—like a firm petition and sealing of boundaries.
Creates vigilance and inner straightness; supports discernment against false currents.
- अहभिः (ahabhiḥ)
- Literal: by days. Symbolic: successive stages of practice; repeated inner disciplines
- दशस्य (daśasya)
- Literal: make capable/skillful; show favor. Symbolic: grant competence in the yoga/work; right capacity to act
- दुर्मित्र (durmitra)
- Literal: bad friend, hostile friendship. Symbolic: pseudo-aids: desires, ego-alliances, misleading impulses
- क्षितयः (kṣitayaḥ)
- Literal: peoples, factions, dwellers. Symbolic: sub-personalities and competing tendencies in the being
- पवन्ते (pavante)
- Literal: flow, stream, purify (here: flow against). Symbolic: pressure-currents of habit-energy moving through consciousness
- अनृत (anṛta)
- Literal: untruth, falsehood. Symbolic: distortion of perception; denial of the soul’s truth
- वरुण (varuṇa)
- Literal: Varuṇa. Symbolic: vast truth-law; purifier and protector of ṛta in the inner being
- मायी (māyī)
- Literal: possessing māyā, wise wielder of power. Symbolic: master of formative knowledge-power that sets right order
- द्विता (dvitā)
- Literal: doubly. Symbolic: twofold guarding: within (mind/heart) and without (speech/action)
Protective prayer within Indra hymn; aligns with rites seeking victory and truth-protection amid contest
When facing opposition, accusations, or social/inner conflict; at moments requiring truth-defense and protection.
Recited to secure divine aid: Indra for capability, Varuṇa for ṛta-protection against anṛta.
Use before difficult conversations or decisions: invoke clarity (Indra) and integrity (Varuṇa) to prevent reactive false speech.
anṛta = a- ‘not’ + ṛta ‘right order’ → ‘disorder/untruth’. Varuṇa from √vṛ ‘encompass/bind’ → lord of binding law and vastness. māyā from √mā ‘measure, form’ → power of right formation; here ‘māyī’ as the one who can rightly shape and restrain.
ṛta vs anṛta (cosmic truth vs distortion), Varuṇa as law and purification
Explicit: Varuṇa’s protection is the restoration and guarding of ṛta against anṛta.
Truth is not only insight but right response (speech and action aligned).
Cosmos maintained by law and discernment: order is preserved through right boundaries and truthful formation.
Dharma/Ṛta-centered theism with psychological application (Integral Yoga resonance: sincerity as protection).
‘Flows’ are habit-currents and social/psychic pressures; Varuṇa’s vastness is the spacious witness-consciousness that contains and corrects.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the contest between ṛta and anṛta: hostile powers ‘flow’ in, and the seer seeks divine guardianship. Indra represents victorious force; Varuṇa represents the binding law that restrains falsehood—together forming power-plus-order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- ṛta (from √ar ‘fit, order’) reflects an inherited Indo-European notion of ‘rightly fitted order’ (cf. Avestan aša). The privative a- in anṛta is a common PIE morphological strategy for negation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi does not ask only for success but for protection of truth: he appeals to Indra for effective help amid conflict and to Varuṇa for lawful, purifying restraint of untruth—an inner ethical-cosmic reciprocity rather than mere material gain.
Detect ‘false replies’ within—automatic justifications, reactive speech—and return to vast truth-awareness.
Viśuddha (truthful speech) supported by Ājñā (discernment).
Nadi-śodhana (alternate nostril) 6–6 pace to balance factions; end with a long exhale invoking Varuṇa’s vastness.
Witness clarity with ethical firmness; calm strength.
Before chanting, set an intention of sincerity; after chanting, keep 1–2 minutes of silence watching speech-impulses arise and dissolve without assent.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) per Śākala; exact accents require marked saṃhitā/pada-svara.
Maintain steadiness; do not rush through consonant clusters (durmitrāso, anṛtam). Slightly emphasize ‘anṛtam’ and ‘varuṇo’ as semantic pivots without breaking svara integrity.
durmitrāso: roll r lightly; keep long ā, kṣitayaḥ: kṣ cluster tight; final ḥ audible but light, anṛtam: retroflex ṛ; short a at start, varuṇo: retroflex ṇ; o rounded, māyī: long ā and long ī clearly sustained
Clear, restrained, protective—more even than forceful.
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