Rig Veda 7.89.3: Mandala 7, Sukta 89, Mantra 3
Sukta 7.89
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
क्रत्वः समह दीनता प्रतीपं जगमा शुचे । मृळा सुक्षत्र मृळय ॥
krátvaḥ samaha dī́natā pratī́paṃ jagamā śuce | mṛḷā́ su-kṣatra mṛḷáya ||
हमने अपनी मर्ज़ी से गलत रास्ता पकड़ा। अब हम कमज़ोर हो गए हैं। हे साफ वाला, तू मुझे माफ कर। तू बड़ा राजा है, तू दया कर।
Word by Word
- क्रत्वः
- of (your) resolve/will, of (your) power of intentionNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचन (Vedic: -वः = -स्य)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root क्रतु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सम्
- together, completelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb)Role क्रियाविशेषण (modifies the verb)Root सम् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अह
- indeed, surelyIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/asseverative particle)Role निपात (discourse particle)Root अह (अव्यय; Vedic particle)
- दीनताम्
- wretchedness, miseryNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म (object of ‘to go/come to’)Root दीनता- (प्रातिपदिक; from दीन ‘wretched’ + -ता)
- प्रतीपम्
- against, in opposition; adverselyAdjective (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (adverbial accusative)Role क्रियाविशेषण (manner/direction)Root प्रतीप- (प्रातिपदिक)
- जगम
- has gone, has comeVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Vedic perfect stem: जगम-)Role क्रियाRoot गम् (धातु)
- आ
- towards, hitherIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb; often with गम्)Role क्रियाविशेषण (directional)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- शुचे
- O Pure/Brilliant one (epithet of the deity)Noun/Adjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address)Root शुच्/शुचि- (प्रातिपदिक ‘bright, pure’; voc.)
- मृळा
- be gracious!, show mercy!Verbलोट् (imperative); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (injunction)Root मृळ् (धातु ‘to be gracious, to show mercy’)
- सुक्षत्र
- O well-protecting/with good dominionAdjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address)Root सु- + क्षत्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- मृळय
- be gracious!, have mercy!Verbलोट् (imperative); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (causative/iterative-looking Vedic imperative form used as ‘be gracious’)Role क्रिया (injunction)Root मृळ् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): क्रत्वः | सम् | अह | दीनताम् | प्रतीपम् | जगम | आ | शुचे | मृळा | सुक्षत्र | मृळय || 1) ‘क्रत्व॑:’ is Vedic gen.sg
- in -वः (= classical -स्य)
- 2) ‘समह’ is read as ‘सम् अह’ (anusvāra before vowel; n/pada-text often separates)
- 3) ‘जगमा’ is split as ‘जगम आ’ (perfect stem + preverb ā)
The meaning
Outer meaning
By our own will we have reached a needy weakness, going against the right course, O Pure One. Be gracious, O you of good sovereignty, be gracious.
Inner meaning
Kratú—will/intent—when misdirected, becomes the very cause of inner poverty (dīnatā): loss of strength, joy, and clarity. ‘Pratīpam’ indicates moving against the current of ṛta, the right flow of truth. Addressing Varuṇa as Śuci (the Pure), the seeker asks for cleansing grace so will can be re-aligned and strength restored.
Universal truth
Suffering often arises not from lack of power but from misused power; purification is the re-education of the will into right direction.
Themes
misuse-of-will, contrary-to-ṛta, purification-and-grace
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.86 (self-acknowledgment before Varuṇa), RV 7.89 (series on human error and divine mercy)
Family tradition
The Vasiṣṭha confessional mode emphasizes responsibility (‘by our own will’) and the possibility of restoration through truth and grace.
Significance
A key Aurobindonian theme: the will (kratu) must be converted—misdirection causes weakness; surrender to the Pure restores right force.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- śuci, sukṣatra
- Related deities
- Mitra, Aditi, Agni (as purifier of will, thematic complement)
Cosmic role
Ensures right course of beings; purifier who corrects deviation and re-establishes lawful movement.
Inner power
The cleansing light that straightens the will and replaces adverse motion with harmonious direction.
In ritual
Where it is used
Prāyaścitta-like confession to Varuṇa; moral-ritual purification
क्रत्व॑: समह दी॒नता॑ प्रती॒पं ज॑गमा शुचे । मृ॒ळा सु॑क्षत्र मृ॒ळय॑ ॥
क्रत्वः॑ । स॒म॒ह॒ । दी॒नता॑ । प्र॒ति॒ऽई॒पम् । ज॒ग॒म॒ । शु॒चे॒ । मृ॒ळ । सु॒ऽक्ष॒त्र॒ । मृ॒ळय॑ ॥
kratvaḥ | samaha | dīnatā | prati-īpam | jagama | śuce | mṛḷa | su-kṣatra | mṛḷaya
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4×8
Direct and didactic; the first line confesses causality, the second line repeats the remedy.
Strengthens moral clarity and self-responsibility; the refrain invites a soft descent of purification rather than self-condemnation.
- क्रत्वः (kratvaḥ)
- Literal: by will, by purposeful power. Symbolic: the directing faculty of the being; intention that can align with or oppose ṛta
- दीनता (dīnatā)
- Literal: poverty, wretchedness, weakness. Symbolic: inner depletion—loss of courage, clarity, and vital force due to misalignment
- प्रतीपम् (pratīpam)
- Literal: against the stream, adverse. Symbolic: movement contrary to the right law; perverse direction of desire/thought
- शुचे (śuce)
- Literal: O Pure one. Symbolic: the purifying truth-consciousness that burns away distortion
- सुक्षत्र (sukṣatra)
- Literal: good dominion. Symbolic: right governance of the will and impulses under truth
Confessional refrain highlighting misused kratu; appropriate for rites of rectification and petitions for purification.
After recognizing wrong intention, during vows of self-correction, or as a weekly self-purification practice.
Recitation with a conscious ‘turn’ (saṅkalpa) to reverse pratīpa movement—choose one concrete correction.
A mantra for habit-change: repeat while naming the misdirected will and affirming a new alignment with truth.
(kratu) ‘will, resolve, inspired intelligence’ (a key RV psychological term) from √/√? (semantic: power to do/shape). from dīna ‘poor, low’ (root √ ‘to cut down, diminish’ in sense). (pratīpa) ‘against the stream’ (prati- ‘against’ + īpa/āp?; idiomatically ‘contrary’). (śuci) ‘bright, pure’ from √ ‘to shine, be clear’.
kratu (formative will) and its misdirection, purity (śuci) as condition for Ṛta, dīnatā as contraction of being
Pratīpam is literal opposition to ṛta’s flow; Varuṇa restores lawful movement.
Purity (śuci) is satya in action—truth cleansing the motives behind action.
Will is a creative power; when aligned, it builds worlds; when misaligned, it collapses inner order into weakness.
Integral Yoga psychology: conversion of will and motives as the essence of purification.
Going ‘upstream’ against the cosmic current = egoistic insistence; weakness is the fatigue of that resistance; purity restores effortless flow.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘going against the current of Ṛta’ mythologem: human kratu can oppose the divine order, resulting in dīnatā (contraction). The remedy sought is Varuṇa’s purifying grace.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- kratu as ‘power of resolve’ belongs to an archaic Indo-Iranian psychological vocabulary paralleling other IE terms for mind/will as efficacious force; śuci ‘bright/pure’ continues the common IE association of purity with brightness.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi acknowledges responsibility (kratuḥ) and addresses Varuṇa as śuci, implying that only the pure law-power can re-orient the will and restore sovereignty (su-kṣatra) in the human being.
Observe intention at its root; offer misdirected kratu to the Pure; invite re-alignment with the right current.
Ājñā (right direction) and Maṇipūra (will-force)
Breath with inner reversal: inhale feeling ‘turning back to ṛta’, exhale releasing ‘pratīpa’ insistence.
From depleted self-contradiction to clarified, cleansed resolve.
Write one sentence of truth about the misdirection; chant 27 times; then sit 3 minutes in silence feeling the will straighten and simplify.
Keep the confession line steady and clear; refrain with gentle emphasis on ‘mṛḷā’ (mercy) and ‘sukṣatra’ (right rule).
Mark ‘kratvaḥ’ as the causal hinge; pause slightly after ‘dīnatā’ to feel the consequence, then release into the refrain.
(kratvaḥ): cluster ‘kr’ clean; final visarga light, (samaha): short vowels, do not overlengthen, (pratīpam): long ‘ī’, clear retroflex ‘p’ is not aspirated, (śuce): palatal ‘ś’, short ‘e’
penitent but luminous; avoid heaviness—aim for cleansing clarity
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