Rig Veda 7.87.1: Mandala 7, Sukta 87, Mantra 1
Sukta 7.87
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
रदत्पथो वरुणः सूर्याय प्रार्णांसि समुद्रिया नदीनाम् । सर्गो न सृष्टो अर्वतीॠतायञ्चकार महीरवनीरहभ्यः ॥
rádat pátho váruṇaḥ sū́ryāya prá ā́rṇāṃsi samudríyā nadī́nām | sárgo ná sṛṣṭó árvātīr ṛtā-yáñ cakā́ra mahī́r avanī́r áha-bhyaḥ ||
वरुण ने सूरज के लिए रास्ते बना दिए। उसने नदियों का पानी समुंदर तक पहुँचाया। उसने पानी को सही दिशा में बहाया, जैसे कोई चीज़ छोड़ दी हो। उसने धरती के खेत बनाए ताकि दिन गुज़रें और सब ठीक चले।
Word by Word
- रदत्
- he cleft / he openedVerbलङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRole Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)Root रद् (दन्त्य-धातु) / रद (to split, cleave; Vedic)
- पथः
- paths, waysNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा बहुवचन (Vedic form; here object)Role KarmaRoot पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- सूर्याय
- for the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग (prefix) / क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र (उपसर्ग)
- अर्णांसि
- flood-waters, wavesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wave, flood, waters’)
- समुद्रियाः
- of the sea / oceanicAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (agreeing with नदीनााम् as a qualifier: ‘of the sea(-like)’)Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root समुद्रिय (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक from समुद्र)
- नदीनाम्
- of the riversNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचनRole SambandhaRoot नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- सर्गः
- a surge / outflowNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (of the simile-clause)Root सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक; ‘flow, outpouring, discharge’)
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमान-निपात (in simile: ‘like’)Root न (निपात)
- सृष्टः
- released, let looseParticiple (verbal adjective)भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole (qualifies सर्गः)Root सृज् (धातु) → सृष्ट (PPP)
- अर्वती
- Arvatī (a river/stream)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (of the following verb)Root अर्वती (प्रातिपदिक; name/epithet of a river/stream; ‘swift/abounding in horses’ in later usage)
- ऋताय
- for Ṛta (cosmic order), for truth/orderNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (Vedic), चतुर्थी एकवचनRole Sampradāna / प्रयोजनRoot ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
- चकार
- has made / fashionedVerbलिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRole KriyāRoot कृ (धातु)
- महीः
- great, vastAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन (qualifying अवनीः)Role Karma (with अवनीः)Root मही (प्रातिपदिक; ‘great, vast’)
- अवनीः
- channels, beds (of waters)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अवनी (प्रातिपदिक; ‘river-bed/stream; earth; channel’—here ‘channels/river-beds’)
- अहभ्यः
- from the days / than the daysNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी/षष्ठी बहुवचन (abl./gen. pl.; Vedic form)Role Apādāna (source) / SambandhaRoot अहन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘day’) → अह (Vedic stem) + भ्यस्
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved sandhi (padapāṭha-style): रदत् | पथः | वरुणः | सूर्याय | प्र | अर्णांसि | समुद्रियाः | नदीनाम् || सर्गः | न | सृष्टः | अर्वती | ऋताय | चकार | महीः | अवनीः | अहभ्यः । Notes: (1) वरु॑ण॒: → वरुणः (visarga)
- (2) प्रार्णां॑सि → प्र + अर्णांसि (prefix + vowel coalescence)
- (3) समुद्रिया॑ न॒दीना॑म् kept as two padas: समुद्रियाः + नदीनाम् (genitive relation)
- (4) सर्गो॒ न → सर्गः न (oḥ sandhi before n)
- (5) सृ॒ष्टो → सृष्टः (visarga)
- (6) म॒हीर॒वनी॒रह॑भ्यः → महीः + अवनीः + अहभ्यः (final -īḥ + initial a- separated; Vedic sandhi in saṃhitā)
- Accent marks are not reproduced in the pada forms but correspond to the saṃhitā accents given
The meaning
Outer meaning
Varuṇa has carved paths for the Sun, set the rivers flowing to the ocean; he released the waters to move in ṛta and fashioned the great earth-fields for the days.
Inner meaning
Varuṇa establishes the inner ‘paths of the Sun’—the courses of illumination (sūrya) through the mind. He sets free the currents of consciousness (rivers) that run toward the ocean of infinite being (samudra/Aditi). When the release happens (sargo na sṛṣṭaḥ), energies long held by obstruction begin to stream in the line of ṛta, and the ‘great fields’ (mahīr avanīḥ) are the widened planes of the embodied life where the light can act day by day.
Universal truth
Order is not limitation but the true channel of freedom: the divine law carves pathways for light and releases life-currents into a vastness where existence can widen and progress.
Themes
Nature-praise (innerized), Rita-order, Cosmic regularity, Waters symbolism
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha (traditional for RV 7.87)
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha
- Other hymns
- RV 7.87.1-5, RV 7.86, RV 7.88
Family tradition
Varuṇa-centered revelation of cosmic order mirrored in inner disciplines; emphasizes wideness and right channeling of forces.
Significance
This verse is a master-image of Aurobindonian symbolism: light’s pathways and released waters signify the yogic conversion of mind and life into truth-flow toward the Infinite.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- R̥tāvān (upholder of ṛta, implied), Pracetā (luminous knower, implied), Samrāṭ (sovereign, implied)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Aditi, Mitra, Sarasvatī (river/flow as knowledge)
Cosmic role
Architect of cosmic routes: governs the sun’s course, the rivers’ flow, and the ordered wideness of earth-time.
Inner power
The shaping intelligence and moral-spiritual law that creates clear channels for illumination and releases blocked energies into vast consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Varuṇa praise emphasizing ṛta in solar and hydrological order; suitable for rites seeking stability, regularity, and purification (waters as carriers of ṛta).
रद॑त्प॒थो वरु॑ण॒: सूर्या॑य॒ प्रार्णां॑सि समु॒द्रिया॑ न॒दीना॑म् । सर्गो॒ न सृ॒ष्टो अर्व॑तीॠता॒यञ्च॒कार॑ म॒हीर॒वनी॒रह॑भ्यः ॥
रद॑त् । प॒थः । वरु॑णः । सूर्या॑य । प्र । अर्णां॑सि । स॒मु॒द्रिया॑ । न॒दीना॑म् । सर्गः॑ । न । सृ॒ष्टः । अर्व॑तीः । ऋ॒त॒ऽयन् । च॒कार॑ । म॒हीः । अ॒वनीः॑ । अह॑ऽभ्यः ॥
radat | pathaḥ | varuṇaḥ | sūryāya | pra | arṇāṃsi | samudriyā | nadīnām | sargaḥ | na | sṛṣṭaḥ | arvatīḥ | ṛta-yan | cakāra | mahīḥ | avanīḥ | aha-bhyaḥ
44
4 x ~11
Expansive and architectural; strong verbs (‘radat’, ‘cakāra’) give a constructive cadence.
Elicits a sense of wideness and ordered movement; helpful for visualizing inner channels opening.
- sūrya
- Literal: Sun. Symbolic: illumined mind; truth-light that reveals and leads
- pathaḥ
- Literal: paths. Symbolic: channels of right movement for thought and perception
- nadī
- Literal: river. Symbolic: streams of consciousness/energy moving toward the Infinite
- samudra
- Literal: ocean. Symbolic: infinite being; wideness of Aditi; vast consciousness
- sarga
- Literal: release, letting-go, emission. Symbolic: liberation of energies from inner binding
- ṛtayant
- Literal: moving in ṛta. Symbolic: energies compelled into truth-order, harmonious law
- mahī avanī
- Literal: great earth-fields. Symbolic: widened foundation of embodied life for the soul’s work
- ahabhyaḥ
- Literal: for the days. Symbolic: for ongoing stages of practice; daily unfolding of realization
Varuṇa praise emphasizing ṛta in solar and hydrological order; suitable for rites seeking stability, regularity, and purification (waters as carriers of ṛta).
Varuṇa hymns in Soma rites; also suitable for dawn/daytime recitation to align with ‘Sun-paths’.
Recitation as praise of cosmic order; inwardly paired with offering of water as symbol of released flows.
Use when seeking clarity and life-flow: before planning, study, or creative work to ‘hew paths for the Sun’ in the mind.
√rad ‘cut/carve’ → radat: the Sun’s ‘paths’ are lawfully carved—cosmic regularity. Waters are ‘released’ (sargaḥ…sṛṣṭaḥ) and become ṛtā-yán, truth-moving: a prime image of ṛta as directed flow. samudríyā underscores teleology: rivers find their ocean, like movements of consciousness returning to the Vast.
Ṛta as lawful path and directed flow, teleology toward the Vast (ocean as symbol of wideness), purification through ordered movement
Explicit: waters move ‘ṛtayant’—the divine makes energies obey truth-order.
Sun-paths symbolize satya-dṛṣṭi (truth-seeing) stabilized as a route, not a flash.
Ordering and channeling: carving paths, releasing currents, widening the earth-plane for progressive manifestation.
Vedic cosmology read as inner yoga: mind (sun) and life (waters) harmonized under truth-law.
morning to midday (sun-path emphasis)
Illumination finds its channel; life-energies flow toward infinite consciousness; embodiment becomes a wide field for practice.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘carved paths and released waters’ mythologem: Varuṇa establishes the Sun’s regular track and the rivers’ ocean-ward flow, making nature itself ṛta-in-motion. Psychologically, the ‘paths’ are channels of right cognition; the ‘waters’ are streams of life-force and feeling released to move toward the Vast, not to stagnate in disorder.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The imagery of ‘path’ (páthas) and ‘order’ is deeply IE; *pent(h)- ‘path’ is a classic PIE stem (cf. English ‘find’ is not cognate, but ‘path’ is Germanic; Indo-Iranian has panthāḥ). The root √sṛj ‘release’ parallels widespread IE metaphors of loosening/binding that structure religious language.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi praises Varuṇa as the inner governor whose law is visible as cosmic regularity. By contemplating Sun-path and river-flow as ṛta, the devotee aligns his own movements—thought, breath, desire—into ordered channels, seeking to become ‘ṛtā-yán’ in life.
Visualize Varuṇa carving clear ‘sun-paths’ in the mind and releasing river-like currents of prāṇa/thought into the ocean of still vastness.
Ajna (sun-path of discernment) and Sahasrara (oceanic wideness).
‘River-to-ocean’ breathing: inhale up the spine, exhale widening above the head into spaciousness; keep the sense of ordered flow.
Widened clarity; luminous order.
1) Invoke inner law (ṛta) as benevolent order. 2) Let thoughts align into a single clear track. 3) Allow blocked emotions/energies to ‘run’ without distortion toward spacious awareness. 4) Conclude by feeling the body as a wide field for the day’s right action.
Triṣṭubh; maintain strong accent on action-verbs (radat, prārṇāṃsi, cakāra) to convey constructive power.
Keep pāda breaks clean; let ‘ṛtayant’ be articulated distinctly (ṛ-ta-yan-t).
radat: single flap ‘r’, dental d., prārṇāṃsi: cluster prā-; long ā; anusvāra nasalization., samudriyā: clear ‘ya’ ending, not ‘ia’., avanīr: long ī; avoid shortening.
expansive, clear, slightly elevated
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