Rig Veda 7.9.3: Mandala 7, Sukta 9, Mantra 3
Sukta 7.9
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अमूरः कविरदितिर्विवस्वान्त्सुसंसन्मित्रो अतिथिः शिवो नः । चित्रभानुरुषसां भात्यग्रेऽपां गर्भः प्रस्व आ विवेश ॥
amūraḥ kavír áditir vivásvān su-saṃsán mitró átithiḥ śivó naḥ | citrábhānur uṣásām bhāty ágre 'pā́m gárbhaḥ prasvá ā viveśa ||
यह रिशी कभी घबराता नहीं, वो सब कुछ अपने में समेटा है। वो चमकदार है, अच्छे नियम वाला है, और हमारे घर का मेहमान बन के आया है। वो पहले सुबह की रोशनी में चमकता है। पानी में से पैदा हुआ वो आगे बढ़ने वाला अब प्रकट हो गया है।
Word by Word
- अमूरः
- wise/skillful (epithet)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अमूर (प्रातिपदिक; न-समास/विशेषण)
- कविः
- seer, poetNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदितिः
- Aditi (goddess)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- विवस्वान्
- Vivasvān (the Sun)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot विवस्वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुसंसत्
- well-seated / well-establishedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विवस्वान् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot सु-सम्-सद् (कृदन्त; √सद् ‘to sit/settle’)
- मित्रः
- Mitra (deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अतिथिः
- guestNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot अतिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
- शिवः
- auspicious, graciousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / for usPronounषष्ठी (gen.), बहुवचन (enclitic)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- चित्रभानुः
- bright-flamed/bright-shining (Agni)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot चित्र-भानु (समास; प्रातिपदिक)
- उषसाम्
- of the dawnsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot उषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- भाति
- shinesVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KartāRoot √भा (भा दीप्तौ)
- अग्रे
- in front, at the foreIndeclinable (adverbial locative)सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभावः (क्रियाविशेषणम्)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपाम्
- of the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot अप्/आप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- गर्भः
- embryo, womb, hidden oneNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रस्वः
- the impeller/producer; the begetterNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot प्रस्व (प्रातिपदिक; ‘प्रसव/प्रसवः’ इत्यर्थे वैदिकरूपम्)
- आ
- towards, intoIndeclinableउपसर्गः (√विश् सह)Root आ (उपसर्ग)
- विवेश
- has enteredVerbलिट् (परोक्स/परिपूर्ण), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot √विश् (विश् प्रवेशने)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेद): अमूरः | कविः | अदितिः | विवस्वान् | सुसंसत् | मित्रः | अतिथिः | शिवः | नः | चित्रभानुः | उषसाम् | भाति | अग्रे | अपाम् | गर्भः | प्रस्वः | आ | विवेश । 1) ‘विवस्वा॑न्त्सुसं॒सन्’ = ‘विवस्वान् सुसंसत्’ (न् + स् → न्स्)
- 2) ‘मि॒त्रो अति॑थिः’ = ‘मित्रः अतिथिः’ (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते ओ-रूपः)
- 3) ‘शि॒वो न॑:’ = ‘शिवः नः’ (विसर्ग-लोपः)
- 4) ‘अग्रे॒ऽपाम्’ = ‘अग्रे अपाम्’ (ए + अ → एऽ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is unbewildered and a seer; he is called Aditi, Vivasvan, well-seated Mitra, the auspicious Guest for us. With varied radiance he shines before the Dawns; as the Child of the Waters, the forward-impelling, he has entered manifestation.
Inner meaning
The inner Fire is not a narrow ritual flame but the many-named power of consciousness: wideness (Aditi), radiant life-force (Vivasvān), harmonizing law (Mitra), and the welcomed divine Presence (Atithi) in the house of the being. His ‘varied light’ (citrabhānu) indicates differentiated illuminations—intuition, inspiration, discrimination—arriving at the front of our awakenings (uṣasām agre). As Apām Napāt (‘child of the waters’), Agni is the secret fire in the deep life-substance (āpas = subtle waters of consciousness) that presses forward (prasva) into formed experience: the divine will emerging from the subconscient into waking nature.
Universal truth
The guiding flame of consciousness manifests in many aspects—wideness, radiance, harmony, and intimate presence. When it rises from the depths, it brings a dawn-forefront illumination that organizes life according to truth.
Themes
Agni as Atithi (divine guest), Apām Napāt / child in the waters motif, dawn-forefront illumination, integration of cosmic powers in the human dwelling
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.60 (Mitra-Varuṇa), RV 7.62 (solar illumination), RV 7.88 (Varuṇa and inner truth)
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 7 often fuses Agni with solar and cosmic principles (Aditi/Mitra), indicating an integral vision of the one Flame expressing as multiple godheads.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s spiritual gift is synthesis: he perceives Agni as the psychic center that can assume the wideness of Aditi and the harmonizing law of Mitra, leading the being into ordered illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (with Apām Napāt aspect)
- Epithets
- amūraḥ, kaviḥ, aditiḥ, vivasvān, susaṃsat mitraḥ, atithiḥ, śivaḥ, citrabhānuḥ, apāṃ garbhaḥ, prasvaḥ
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Mitra, Aditi, Sūrya/Vivasvān, Apām Napāt, Sarasvatī
Cosmic role
Mediator-flame who appears as solar radiance and as the hidden fire in the waters; initiates dawn-illumination and harmonizes the worlds.
Inner power
Unconfused intuition (kavi) joined with wideness (aditi) and harmony (mitra), emerging from the depths (āpas) to lead the nature forward (prasva).
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni invocation with Apām Napāt/‘child of waters’ imagery; used in fire-kindling and purification sequences
अमू॑रः क॒विरदि॑तिर्वि॒वस्वा॑न्त्सुसं॒सन्मि॒त्रो अति॑थिः शि॒वो न॑: । चि॒त्रभा॑नुरु॒षसां॑ भा॒त्यग्रे॒ऽपां गर्भ॑: प्र॒स्व१॒॑ आ वि॑वेश ॥
अमू॑रः । क॒विः । अदि॑तिः । वि॒वस्वा॑न् । सु॒ऽसं॒सत् । मि॒त्रः । अति॑थिः । शि॒वः । नः॒ । चि॒त्रऽभा॑नुः । उ॒षसा॑म् । भा॒ति॒ । अग्रे॑ । अ॒पाम् । गर्भः॑ । प्र॒ऽस्वः॑ । आ । वि॒वे॒श॒ ॥
amūraḥ | kaviḥ | aditiḥ | vivasvān | su-saṃsat | mitraḥ | atithiḥ | śivaḥ | naḥ | citra-bhānuḥ | uṣasām | bhāti | agre | apām | garbhaḥ | pra-svaḥ | ā | viveśa
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Expansive and luminous; suited to enumerating epithets and unfolding a many-sided vision.
Creates a widening in the chest and brow; the sequence of names feels like successive unveilings of one power.
- अमूरः (amūraḥ)
- Literal: unbewildered, not confused. Symbolic: clarity that is not lost in mixed impulses
- कविः (kaviḥ)
- Literal: seer-poet. Symbolic: intuitive consciousness that ‘hears’ truth
- अदितिः (aditiḥ)
- Literal: the unbound, infinite mother. Symbolic: wideness of being; freedom from limitation
- विवस्वान् (vivasvān)
- Literal: shining, radiant (solar). Symbolic: radiant life-force and luminous mind
- मित्रः (mitraḥ)
- Literal: friend; deity of harmony. Symbolic: power of concord, right relation, luminous law
- अतिथिः (atithiḥ)
- Literal: guest. Symbolic: the divine presence welcomed inwardly
- चित्रभानुः (citrabhānuḥ)
- Literal: of variegated light. Symbolic: multiple modes of illumination in the mind
- उषसाम् अग्रे (uṣasām agre)
- Literal: in front of the dawns. Symbolic: at the leading edge of awakening states
- अपाम् गर्भः (apām garbhaḥ)
- Literal: embryo/child of the waters. Symbolic: secret fire in the depths of life-consciousness (Apām Napāt)
- प्रस्वः (prasvaḥ)
- Literal: impelling forward, driving. Symbolic: evolutionary push of consciousness into manifestation
Agni praised as auspicious guest and as the shining power preceding the dawns; suitable for kindling/invocation sequences where Agni is established and called to bring the gods.
At the start of offerings, especially where waters and purification are ritually present
Praise/invocation identifying Agni with cosmic supports to establish auspiciousness and clarity
Meditation for integrating clarity + wideness + harmony; useful when life feels fragmented or confused.
amūra- (a- + √muh ‘to be bewildered’); kaví- (seer; from √kū/√kav ‘to see/poetize’ in Vedic usage); áditi (a-diti ‘unboundness’, from √dā/√di ‘to bind, cut’ debated; semantic: ‘undivided’); vivásvān (vi-√vas ‘shine, dwell’ → radiant); mitrá (PIE *mitro- ‘contract/friend’ in Indo-Iranian social-religious register); átithi (a- ‘not’ + tithi ‘fixed day’ → ‘one without fixed appointment’: guest); bhā́nu (√bhā ‘shine’); uṣás (√vas/√uṣ ‘burn, dawn’); gárbha (√gṛbh/√grab ‘seize, contain’ → contained embryo); viveśa (perf. √viś ‘enter’).
Aditi (infinity, unbounded consciousness), Mitra (harmony, right relation), birth of light from the waters (manifestation from the subconscient)
Mitra-name signals establishment of ṛta as harmonious law in thought and relation.
Amūra/kavi indicates truth-perception that is not distorted by desire or fear.
Hidden fire in the waters entering manifestation—consciousness emerging from the depths into formed life.
Integral symbolic cosmology: one Conscious-Force (Agni) differentiating as wideness, radiance, harmony, and evolutionary emergence.
pre-dawn into dawn
Waters = deep subconscient/life-ocean; child in waters = secret aspiration; dawns = successive illuminations; varied light = differentiated insights.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘fire/child in the waters’ (apā́m gárbhaḥ) mythologem: a hidden luminous principle gestating within the waters (often the subconscient or undifferentiated flow) and entering manifestation, shining before the dawns—light being born out of obscurity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhā ‘shine’ (bhā́ti, bhānu-) reflects PIE *bʰeh₂- ‘shine’ (cf. Greek φαίνω via related developments). √viś ‘enter’ (viveśa) aligns with PIE *weyḱ- ‘settle, enter a house/clan’ (Indo-Iranian viś ‘clan/settlement’). The collocation of dawn/light/waters is part of an inherited Indo-European poetic complex.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes the deity as an inner visitor (atithi) who makes the human ‘house’ a well-ordered seat (su-saṃsat). In exchange for receptivity and right relation (Mitra), the deity grants an auspicious entry of luminous consciousness—shining at the front of the dawning mind.
Invoke the ‘many-named’ inner fire: wideness (Aditi) + harmony (Mitra) + radiant clarity (Vivasvān).
viśuddha (truth-speech) and ājñā (illumined seeing)
Slow inhale ‘widening’ (Aditi), soft pause, exhale ‘harmonizing’ (Mitra); then mantra repetition
Quiet, lucid openness with a sense of inner guidance arriving before the day’s movements.
Chant, then sit as if welcoming a noble guest in the heart; allow thoughts to arrange themselves into simple, truthful order; act only after that inner ‘Mitra’ consent is felt.
Tri-svara Vedic chanting; keep the epithet-chain clearly segmented by natural word breaks.
Let the voice slightly lift on the name-epithets: kaviḥ, aditiḥ, vivasvān, mitraḥ, atithiḥ, citrabhānuḥ.
amūraḥ: long ū maintained, aditiḥ: dental d, short i vowels kept light, vivasvān: v pronounced as soft ‘va’ not ‘wa’, uṣasām: ṣ retroflex; keep distinct from s, apāṃ: long ā; nasal ṃ lightly
Clear, luminous, welcoming tone; avoid aggressive force—let it ‘shine in front of the dawns’.
9
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
