Rig Veda 7.56.25: Mandala 7, Sukta 56, Mantra 25
Sukta 7.56
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Maruts, with a closing inclusive invocation to Indra, Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni, Waters, Plants, Forest powers
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
तन्न इन्द्रो वरुणो मित्रो अग्निराप ओषधीर्वनिनो जुषन्त । शर्मन्त्स्याम मरुतामुपस्थे यूयं पात स्वस्तिभिः सदा नः ॥
tán na índro váruṇo mitró agnír ā́pa óṣadhīr vaníno juṣanta | śármant syāma marútām upásthe yūyáṃ pāta svastíbhiḥ sádā naḥ ||
इंद्र, वरुण, मित्र, अग्नि, पानी, पेड़-पौधे और जंगल सब हमारी बात मान लें। हम मरुत्स की गोद में सुखी रहें। तुम हमेशा हमें बुराई से बचाते रहो।
Word by Word
- तत्
- that (boon/thing)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- for us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निः
- AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- आपः
- the WatersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक; pluralia tantum)
- ओषधीः
- the plants / herbsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot ओषधि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वनिनः
- the forest(-dwellers) / trees (lit. those of the wood)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot वनिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- जुषन्त
- may (they) favor / acceptVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot जुष् (धातु)
- शर्म
- shelter, protection, blissNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot शर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्याम
- may we beVerbविधिलिङ् (आशीर्लिङ्/सम्भावना), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अस् (धातु)
- मरुताम्
- of the MarutsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot मरुत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपस्थे
- in the lap / presenceNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot उपस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- यूयम्
- you (all)Pronounप्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पात
- protect!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot पा (धातु; ‘to protect’)
- स्वस्तिभिः
- with well-being(s), with blessingsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot स्वस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
- सदा
- alwaysIndeclinableअव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot सदा (अव्यय)
- नः
- usPronounद्वितीया (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: तन्न॒ इन्द्रो॒… → पदपाठ-विभाग: तत् नः इन्द्रः वरुणः मित्रः अग्निः आपः ओषधीः वनिनः जुषन्त । (तत् + नः → तन्नः)
- 2) अग्निरापः → अग्निः आपः (विसर्ग-लोप/रेफ-सन्धि)
- 3) शर्मन्त्स्याम → शर्मन् स्याम (न् + स् → न्त्स्)
- 4) मरुता॑मु॒पस्थे॑ → मरुताम् उपस्थे (म् + उ → मुप्)
- 5) स्व॒स्तिभि॒: सदा॑ → स्वस्तिभिः सदा (विसर्गः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Indra, Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni, the Waters, the plants, and the forest-lords accept this for us. May we be in peace in the lap of the Maruts; may you always guard us with well-being.
Inner meaning
This closing verse gathers a full ecology of powers—illumined mind (Indra), vast law and purity (Varuṇa), harmony and right relation (Mitra), divine will and aspiration (Agni), the flowing consciousness-currents (Āpas), healing growth-forces (Oṣadhīḥ), and the great life-powers of the embodied world (Vaninaḥ). The seeker asks that all these accept the offering—i.e., that every plane of nature consents to the inner sacrifice. ‘In the lap of the Maruts’ is to rest within protected, energized wideness: dynamic peace. ‘Svastibhiḥ’ indicates not a single luck, but stable states of well-being—rightness, safety, and auspicious movement.
Universal truth
Wholeness requires the consent of many powers in us—mind, ethics, will, emotion, body, and the larger life-field. True protection is a harmony of forces held in a dynamic peace.
Themes
benediction, integral-harmony, protection, peace
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha (Vasiṣṭha-gotra)
- Other hymns
- RV 7.86–7.89 (Varuṇa cycle: truth, confession, release), RV 7.1 (Agni as priest of the inner sacrifice), RV 7.56 (Maruts)
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s hymns frequently culminate in śarma and svasti—peace as the fruit of right force and right law.
Significance
A characteristic Vasiṣṭha closure: integrate multiple divine powers so the transformation becomes complete—force (Maruts) held within peace (śarman) and guarded by svasti.
The deity
- Devata
- Marutāḥ (primary), with inclusive invocation
- Epithets
- protective hosts, upasthe (supporting lap)
- Related deities
- Indra, Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni, Āpas, Oṣadhīḥ, Vaninaḥ
Cosmic role
Maruts as the dynamic protective field; allied powers invoked to harmonize the whole cosmos of the rite.
Inner power
Dynamic peace: energized protection that keeps the being safe while it grows in force and light.
In ritual
Where it is used
Benedictive closing of a Marut hymn-section; acceptance (juṣanta) and protection (pāta) formula.
तन्न॒ इन्द्रो॒ वरु॑णो मि॒त्रो अ॒ग्निराप॒ ओष॑धीर्व॒निनो॑ जुषन्त । शर्म॑न्त्स्याम म॒रुता॑मु॒पस्थे॑ यू॒यं पा॑त स्व॒स्तिभि॒: सदा॑ नः ॥
तत् । नः॒ । इन्द्रः॑ । वरु॑णः । मि॒त्रः । अ॒ग्निः । आपः॑ । ओष॑धीः । व॒निनः॑ । जु॒ष॒न्त॒ । शर्म॑न् । स्या॒म॒ । म॒रुता॑म् । उ॒पऽस्थे॑ । यू॒यम् । पा॒त॒ । स्व॒स्तिऽभिः॑ । सदा॑ । नः॒ ॥
tat | naḥ | indraḥ | varuṇaḥ | mitraḥ | agniḥ | āpaḥ | oṣadhīḥ | vaninaḥ | juṣanta | śarman | syāma | marutām | upa-sthe | yūyam | pāta | svasti-bhiḥ | sadā | naḥ
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Concluding, benedictive triṣṭubh—still strong, but with a settling cadence toward ‘śarman’ and ‘svasti’.
Soothes after intensity; stabilizes the nervous system; leaves a protected, auspicious aftertaste.
- इन्द्रः (indraḥ)
- Literal: Indra. Symbolic: Illumined mind; power that breaks the cover and brings light
- वरुणः (varuṇaḥ)
- Literal: Varuṇa. Symbolic: Vastness; law of truth; purifier and upholder of ṛta
- मित्रः (mitraḥ)
- Literal: Mitra. Symbolic: Harmony, right relation, concord of energies
- अग्निः (agniḥ)
- Literal: fire. Symbolic: Divine will; leader of inner sacrifice
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: Consciousness-currents; purification; life-flow
- ओषधीः (oṣadhīḥ)
- Literal: plants, herbs. Symbolic: Healing and growth-forces; regenerative energies in the being
- वनिनः (vaninaḥ)
- Literal: forest-lords/powers of the woods. Symbolic: Great life-powers of the physical-vital field; guardians of embodied nature
- शर्मन् (śarman)
- Literal: peace, shelter. Symbolic: Inner wideness and protection; settled felicity
- उपस्थे (upasthe)
- Literal: in the lap. Symbolic: Held and sustained by a higher supporting force
- स्वस्तिभिः (svastibhiḥ)
- Literal: with well-beings/auspiciousness. Symbolic: Stable right states—health, harmony, safe progress
Concluding benediction (śānti/avāhana-like closure): acceptance by multiple powers and request for ongoing protection and svasti.
As a concluding verse after offerings/praise, seeking acceptance by the invoked powers and ongoing welfare.
Recited to seal the rite: request acceptance, peace, and protective auspiciousness.
End-of-practice seal for meditation sessions; also suitable as a daily ‘protective closing’ before sleep or travel.
: from √juṣ ‘to enjoy, accept favorably’. : shelter/peace (possibly from √śṛ ‘to protect’ semantic field). : su- ‘good’ + asti ‘being’ → ‘good-being, well-being’. Varuṇa from √vṛ ‘cover/encompass’ (lord of vast law); Mitra from mi ‘bind’ (friendship/contract).
svasti (good-being), śarman (peace/shelter), ṛta guardianship (Varuṇa, Mitra)
The many powers ‘accepting’ signifies alignment of the individual microcosm with cosmic order.
Svastibhiḥ as enduring true well-being, not transient pleasure.
Integration: many streams (waters, plants, forests) gathered into a single harmony around the central sacrifice.
Integral symbolic theism: cosmos as a play of conscious powers; wholeness through coordinated invocation.
Fire = will; waters = flow/purification; plants = healing growth; forest = embodied life-field; lap of Maruts = protective energetic atmosphere.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The integrative closure: multiple cosmic powers ‘accept’ the offering, culminating in shelter ‘in the lap of the Maruts’ and continuous svasti. Mythically it is the alignment of many deities to secure peace; psychologically it is the harmonization of faculties—will (Agni), force (Indra), law (Varuṇa), concord (Mitra), and life-flows (Waters/Plants)—into stable well-being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- svasti ‘good-being’ is a transparent archaic compound (su- + asti) comparable to Indo-European formations with ‘good’ + ‘being’ semantics. √juṣ ‘accept/enjoy’ reflects inherited sacral diction of divine ‘enjoyment/acceptance’ of offerings. The coordinated deity list is a common Indo-European hymnic strategy for totalizing protection.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi seeks not a single boon but a stable condition—śarman and svasti—maintained ‘always’. The relationship becomes ongoing guardianship: the Maruts (and allied powers) are asked to keep the aspirant in a continuous field of auspicious being, implying sustained inner practice and divine support.
Integration and sealing: offer all parts of the being to the Divine—mind (Indra), law (Varuṇa), harmony (Mitra), will (Agni), emotional flow (Āpas), healing body-force (Oṣadhīḥ), embodied life-field (Vaninaḥ).
Anāhata (peace/śarman) with whole-axis harmonization
Slow exhale-lengthening (e.g., 4-in/6-out) while repeating ‘śarman syāma… svastibhiḥ’.
Quiet, protected wideness; dynamic peace rather than collapse into tamas.
Use as a closing mantra: feel a protective circle around you; let the day’s energies be arranged into harmony and welfare.
Tri-svara; keep benedictive words (juṣanta, śarman, pāta, svastibhiḥ) clear and slightly emphasized without force.
Let the first pāda be invocatory listing; soften into ‘śarman syāma’; end with a protective cadence on ‘sadā naḥ’.
juṣanta: ‘ṣ’ retroflex; ‘nta’ crisp, oṣadhīḥ: long īḥ at end; avoid turning ‘dh’ into ‘d’, vaninaḥ: dental n; light visarga, upasthe: ‘sth’ cluster clear, svastibhiḥ: ‘sv’ cluster; final visarga light
Warm, blessing-like, steady; gentle resonance in the chest.
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