Rig Veda 7.71.2: Mandala 7, Sukta 71, Mantra 2
Sukta 7.71
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
उपायातं दाशुषे मर्त्याय रथेन वाममश्विना वहन्ता । युयुतमस्मदनिराममीवां दिवा नक्तं माध्वी त्रासीथां नः ॥
upā́yātaṃ dāśúṣe mártyāya ráthena vāmám aśvinā váhantā | yuyutám asmád anirā́m amī́vāṃ divā́ náktaṃ mādhvī́ trā́sīthāṃ naḥ ||
अश्विन भाइयों, आप अपने अच्छे रथ में बैठ के उस इंसान के पास आओ जो आपको पूजा कर रहा है। हमें बीमारी से बचा लो जो कोई खुशी नहीं देती। दिन हो या रात, आप मीठी तरह हमें रक्षा करो।
Word by Word
- उप
- near, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot उप
- आयातम्
- come (you two), approachVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपदRoot या (याति) + आ-
- दाशुषे
- to the worshipper/giverNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दाश्वस् (√दाश् ‘to give, worship’)
- मर्त्याय
- to the mortalNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot मर्त्य
- रथेन
- with/by a chariotNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot रथ
- वाम्
- of you two / yourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), द्विवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद्
- अम्
- indeed (enclitic particle)Indeclinableनिपात/पदपूरणRoot अम् (एन्क्लिटिक अव्यय) अथवा पदपूरण
- अश्विना
- O Aśvins (you two horsemen)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अश्विन्
- वहन्ता
- bearing, conveying (you two)Verbवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), प्रथमा, द्विवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (कर्तरि)Role कर्ताRoot √वह् (वहति)
- युयुतम्
- ward off, keep away (you two)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √यु (युनक्ति/युयुते) / √युध्? (वेद. ‘to ward off’) → युयुत-
- अस्मत्
- from usPronounपञ्चमी, बहुवचन (वेद. ‘from us’)Role अपादानRoot अस्मद्
- अनिराममीवाम्
- the non-harmless disease; the unwholesome sicknessAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अमीवाम् विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot अन्- + इराम + अमीव (अमीवा) अथवा अन्- + निराम + अमीव
- दिवा
- by dayIndeclinableकालवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot दिव् (दिवा)
- नक्तम्
- by nightIndeclinableकालवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot नक्त
- माध्वी
- sweet (honey-like), graciousAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अमीवाम् विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot माध्वी
- त्रासिथाम्
- protect (you two), saveVerbलुङ् (आशीर्लिङ्/वेद. injunctive-like aorist), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √त्रा (त्रायते/त्राति)
- नः
- us / for usPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: उप | आयातम् | दाशुषे | मर्त्याय | रथेन | वाम् | अम् | अश्विना | वहन्ता । युयुतम् | अस्मत् | अनिराममीवाम् | दिवा | नक्तम् | माध्वी | त्रासिथाम् | नः ॥ 1) उपाया॑तम् = उप + आयातम् (उपसर्ग ‘उप’ + आ-√या, लोट् 2द्वि)
- 2) रथे॑न वा॒मम॑श्विना॒ = रथेन + वाम् + अम् + अश्विना (एन्क्लिटिक ‘अम्’ पदपूरण; वाम् षष्ठी-द्विवचन)
- 3) युयुतम॒स्मद् = युयुतम् + अस्मत् (सन्धि: -म् + अ-)
- 4) अनिराममीवां = अनिराम + अमीवाम् (समास/सन्धि; ‘अमीवा’ ‘disease’ स्त्री., acc. sg. अमीवाम्)
- 5) दिवा नक्तम्—कालवाचक अव्ययद्वयम्
- 6) त्रासीथां नः = त्रासिथाम् + नः (एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Aśvins are asked to come near to the offering mortal, borne in their beautiful chariot; they should drive away sickness that brings no delight, and protect the worshippers by day and by night, as honey-sweet powers.
Inner meaning
The seeker (martyāya) offers and calls the Aśvins to draw near in the ‘fair chariot’—the right-moving, well-ordered action of higher forces in the embodied life. The sickness (amīvā) that is ‘without delight’ (anirām) points to joyless disturbance: depression, nervous disorder, vitality drained of rasa. The Aśvins, as mādhvī (honeyed/bliss-bearing), restore sweetness—Soma-like delight in life—and guard both waking and sleeping layers from relapse.
Universal truth
Higher help is not only for crisis but for restoring joy and harmony to life; protection must extend to both conscious and subconscious existence.
Themes
Invocation, Healing, Protection, Aśvins, Day-and-night guardianship
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.70.6–7 (craft of brahman and svasti), RV 7.71.1 (night→dawn protection)
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s Aśvin hymns frequently emphasize healing and right functioning of the embodied being as a support for spiritual advance.
Significance
The rishi links protection with sweetness (madhu): true healing is not mere absence of illness but the return of delight and harmony.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau (Nā́satyā)
- Epithets
- mādhvī (honeyed), Aśvinā, Nā́satyā
- Related deities
- Soma, Uṣas, Agni
Cosmic role
Physicians of the gods; rescuers who arrive swiftly in a radiant vehicle; protectors through daily cycles.
Inner power
They repair the joy-current in the nerves and life-force, restore functional harmony, and ward off recurring disturbances.
In ritual
Where it is used
Healing/protection invocation within Aśvin offerings; morning rites
उ॒पाया॑तं दा॒शुषे॒ मर्त्या॑य॒ रथे॑न वा॒मम॑श्विना॒ वह॑न्ता । यु॒यु॒तम॒स्मदनि॑रा॒ममी॑वां॒ दिवा॒ नक्तं॑ माध्वी॒ त्रासी॑थां नः ॥
उ॒प॒ऽआया॑तम् । दा॒शुषे॑ । मर्त्या॑य । रथे॑न । वा॒मम् । अ॒श्वि॒ना॒ । वह॑न्ता । यु॒यु॒तम् । अ॒स्मत् । अनि॑राम् । अमी॑वाम् । दिवा॑ । नक्त॑म् । मा॒ध्वी॒ इति॑ । त्रासी॑थाम् । नः॒ ॥
upa-āyātam | dāśuṣe | martyāya | rathena | vāmam | aśvinā | vahantā | yuyutam | asmat | anirām | amīvām | divā | naktam | mādhvī iti | trāsīthām | naḥ
44
4 × 11 syllables (typical for RV 7.71)
Supplicatory yet firm; strong imperatives (yuyutam, trāsīthām) give decisive cadence.
Invokes immediate closeness and relief; stabilizes the listener with a sense of guarded sweetness.
- upāyātam
- Literal: come near. Symbolic: bring the divine aid into immediate felt experience
- dāśuṣe
- Literal: to the giver/offerer. Symbolic: to the one who consecrates energies sincerely
- ratha (vāma)
- Literal: chariot (fair/pleasant). Symbolic: right movement of forces; ordered dynamism supporting the path
- amīvā
- Literal: sickness, affliction. Symbolic: disturbance in mind-life-body; obscuring or hostile vibration
- anirām
- Literal: without delight/joy. Symbolic: loss of rasa—dryness, fatigue, despair, joyless compulsion
- mādhvī
- Literal: honeyed, sweet. Symbolic: bliss-supporting power; restoration of sweetness in consciousness
- trāsīthām
- Literal: protect, save. Symbolic: establish a guarding presence; prevent fall-back into disorder
Aśvina-śastra / morning or dawn-associated invocations in Soma rites (general Aśvin praise used to call the twin healers to the offering); also suitable as a healing/protection verse within prayāja-style invocations.
Dawn and transitional times; also when illness/inauspiciousness is feared
Invitation in the chariot + expulsion of sickness + request for protection
Use for psychosomatic healing and restoring joy: chant during recovery, burnout, or anxiety; pair with gentle breath and body awareness.
upā́yātam: upa-√yā ‘to go/approach’ (imperative, 2nd dual). dāśúṣe: dat. sg. of dāśú- ‘giver, worshipper’, from √dāś/√daś ‘to offer, serve’ (Vedic). váhantā: pres. act. ptcp. dual nom. from √vah ‘to carry, convey’. yuyutám: imperative dual from √yudh/√yut ‘to separate, keep apart, ward off’ (Vedic yuyoti ‘drives away’). amī́vā: ‘disease/affliction’, a Vedic term for debilitating forces; anirā́m: a- + īrā (refreshment, vital sap, comfort/nourishment) → ‘devoid of īrā’, hence ‘non-nourishing/joyless’. mādhvī́: from mádhu ‘honey; sweetness; delight’ (also Soma-delight), indicating a psychic rasa of harmony. trā́sīthām: imperative dual from √trā ‘to protect, save’.
R̥ta as right movement (the ordered approach of divine helpers), madhu as delight-consciousness, healing as restoration of harmony in the being
Health is harmony with ṛta in the body-mind; the Aśvins restore that alignment.
Sustaining creation through cyclical protection and renewal—day/night guarded by divine powers.
Vedic yoga-psychology: disease as disharmony; healing as re-establishing right vibration and delight.
Day and night explicitly
Chariot = coordinated faculties; honey = rasa/bliss in life-force; day/night = waking/subconscious domains needing protection.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The coming of the Divine Twins in their chariot to the human offerer, bringing protection and driving away affliction. Mythically this is the Aśvins’ archetypal epiphany: swift arrival, rescue, and healing across the full cycle of day and night; psychologically it is the descent of twin harmonizing forces that restore balance and delight (madhu) in the embodied seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key verbal roots are conservative Indo-European inheritances: √yā ‘go’ (cf. PIE *h₁ey- ‘go’), √vah ‘carry’ (PIE *weǵh- ‘convey’, cf. English ‘weigh’ in older sense of transport/vehicle terms via Germanic developments), and √trā ‘protect’ (often connected with PIE *terh₁- ‘cross over, overcome; rescue’ in semantic extensions). The dual morphology (upāyātam, trāsīthām) foregrounds the archaic Indo-European category of the divine pair.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- It is a reciprocal economy of offering and aid: the human ‘dāśuṣ’ (offerer) calls the Aśvins to approach, and in return asks them to ‘separate’ (yuyutam) the hostile force of amī́vā and to ‘protect’ (trāsīthām) continuously. The verse frames the yajña as an inner alignment: the seeker’s giving opens a channel for the twin powers to act as guardians of consciousness in both waking (divā) and inner/night states (naktam).
Invite the Aśvins into the body: feel a ‘fair chariot’ of coordinated breath, attention, and posture. Ask to remove joyless fatigue and restore sweetness (madhu) in the heart and nerves.
Anahata (sweetness/rasā) and Svadhisthana (rasa, vitality)
Gentle bhrāmarī (humming) 5 rounds, then chant; or slow exhale-focused breathing to soothe the nervous system.
Protected repose with subtle joy returning.
When chanting yuyutam… amīvām, visualize the affliction leaving as a grey mist. On mādhvī trāsīthām, feel warm honey-light spreading through chest and abdomen.
Triṣṭubh with clear imperative stress; maintain accent peaks on upāyātam, yuyutam, trāsīthām.
Slightly lengthen caesura between hemistichs; emphasize mādhvī as a sweetening tonal color (softer timbre).
upāyātam: long ā in pā and yā., anirām: roll the r lightly; keep long ā., trāsīthām: distinct thāṃ; nasalization on final ṃ if present in your tradition.
Soothing, healing resonance; firm only on the expulsive verb yuyutam.
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