Rig Veda 7.95.5: Mandala 7, Sukta 95, Mantra 5
Sukta 7.95
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Sarasvatī
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इमा जुह्वाना युष्मदा नमोभिः प्रति स्तोमं सरस्वति जुषस्व । तव शर्मन्प्रियतमे दधाना उप स्थेयाम शरणं न वृक्षम् ॥
imā́ juhvānā yuṣmád ā namo-bhíḥ práti stómaṃ sarasvati juṣasva | táva śárman priya-táme dádhānā úpa stheyāma śaráṇaṃ ná vṛkṣám ||
सरस्वती, हम हाथ उठा के तुम्हे पूजा कर रहे हैं। हमारी यह स्तुति सुन ले और खुश हो जा। तुम्हारी शरण में हम सफ़ेद हैं, जैसे पेड़ के सारे में कोई खड़ा हो।
Word by Word
- इमाः
- thesePronoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्म (जुषस्व इत्यस्य) / विषयRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जुह्वानाः
- offering/uttering (in oblation)Participleस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (इमाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (स्तुतिकर्तारः/यजमानाः)Root हु (धातु) → जुह्वान (शतृ/वर्तमान-कृदन्त, आत्मनेपद-प्रवृत्ति)
- युष्मत्
- from you / of youPronounपञ्चमी (अपादानार्थे), एकवचन (समूह-देवता-सम्बोधनार्थे)Role अपादान (युष्मत्-सम्बन्धात्)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नमोभिः
- with reverencesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towardsIndeclinableअव्ययRole (दिशा/सम्बन्ध) कर्मप्रवृत्तिनिर्देशकRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- स्तोमम्
- hymn of praiseNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- सरस्वति
- O SarasvatīNoun (Deity name)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान/सम्बोधन (आह्वान)Root सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
- जुषस्व
- enjoy/acceptVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया)Root जुष् (धातु)
- तव
- yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शर्मन्
- in (your) shelter/comfortNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot शर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रियतमे
- most dearAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (शर्मन् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role अधिकरण (विशेषणरूपेण)Root प्रियतम (प्रातिपदिक; प्रिय + तमप्)
- दधानाः
- placing/holdingParticipleस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (वयम्/स्तुतिकर्तारः इत्यस्य)Role कर्तृRoot धा (धातु) → दधान (शतृ/वर्तमान-कृदन्त)
- उप
- near, up toIndeclinableअव्ययRole (दिशा/सामीप्य) क्रियाविशेषणRoot उप (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- स्थेयाम
- may we stand / may we abideVerbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् (इच्छार्थ-प्रार्थना), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root स्था (धातु)
- शरणम्
- refugeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (उपस्थेयाम इत्यस्य)Root शरण (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- likeIndeclinableअव्यय (उपमा)Role (उपमान-निर्देशक)Root न (अव्यय)
- वृक्षम्
- a treeNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole उपमान (शरणम् इत्यस्य)Root वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): इमाः जुह्वानाः युष्मत्-आ (→ युष्मदा) नमोभिः प्रति स्तोमम् सरस्वति जुषस्व । तव शर्मन् प्रियतमे दधानाः उप स्थेयाम शरणम् न वृक्षम् ॥ 1) युष्मत् + आ (आगम/प्रत्यय-प्रयोगः, वैदिके ‘युष्मदा’ इति रूपम्) । 2) शर्मन् + प्रियतमे: संहितायाम् ‘शर्मन्प्रियतमे’ (न् + प्) । 3) उप + स्थेयाम: संहितायाम् ‘उपस्थेयाम’ (उपसर्ग-संयोगः) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The worshippers, hands uplifted in offering and reverence, ask Sarasvatī to accept their hymn and delight in it. They seek to draw near to her most cherished sheltering peace, like one taking refuge by a tree.
Inner meaning
The seeker offers the energies of speech and aspiration (stoma, namas) to Sarasvatī as the flowing goddess of inspired truth-word. “Uplifted hands” signifies raising the active powers of the being toward the higher consciousness. The prayer is to stand close to her śarman—an inner poise of protection and wideness—so the mind can rest in her luminous current as in a living refuge (tree = stable axis of growth).
Universal truth
When our speech becomes an offering and our will turns upward, the higher current of truth-consciousness responds; abiding near that inner peace, the being finds a stable refuge amid life’s movements.
Themes
Nature symbol to inner refuge, Consent of the deity (juṣ), Shelter in inspiration, Devotional approach (namas)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha (Maitrāvaruṇa lineage; traditional Vasiṣṭha-gotra)
- Other hymns
- RV 7.95.1-7, RV 7.96.1-6, RV 7.33 (Vasiṣṭha–Viśvāmitra context)
Family tradition
Royal purohita tradition; hymns emphasize Ṛta, harmony, and the truth-word (vāk) as a path of realization.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s vision often turns sacrifice inward: speech becomes mantra-power, and the goal is to establish the being in ṛta (right order) through luminous inspiration.
The deity
- Devata
- Sarasvatī
- Epithets
- Sarasvatī, śarman (giver of sheltering peace, implied)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner priest of the offering), Bṛhaspati (lord of the mantra), Maruts (dynamic powers allied to inspiration)
Cosmic role
River of inspiration and truth-flow; upholder of right order through illumined speech and discernment.
Inner power
The streaming force of inspired word (vāk) that purifies thought, opens inner passages, and establishes a protected wideness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Sarasvatī-stotra within Soma-yajña or river/inspiration invocations; also used as praise in recitation cycles of Maṇḍala 7.
इ॒मा जुह्वा॑ना यु॒ष्मदा नमो॑भि॒: प्रति॒ स्तोमं॑ सरस्वति जुषस्व । तव॒ शर्म॑न्प्रि॒यत॑मे॒ दधा॑ना॒ उप॑ स्थेयाम शर॒णं न वृ॒क्षम् ॥
इ॒मा । जुह्वा॑नाः । यु॒ष्मत् । आ । नमः॑ऽभिः । प्रति॑ । स्तोम॑म् । स॒र॒स्व॒ति॒ । जु॒ष॒स्व॒ । तव॑ । शर्म॑न् । प्रि॒यऽत॑मे । दधा॑नाः । उप॑ । स्थे॒या॒म॒ । श॒र॒णम् । न । वृ॒क्षम् ॥
imā | juhvānāḥ | yuṣmat | ā | namaḥ-bhiḥ | prati | stomam | sarasvati | juṣasva | tava | śarman | priya-tame | dadhānāḥ | upa | stheyāma | śaraṇam | na | vṛkṣam
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh cadence; minor textual variants may shift counts)
Forward-driving yet spacious; suited to invocation and approach (upa-stheyāma).
Builds a sense of ascent (offering) followed by settling into protection (śarman), leaving the listener with calm confidence.
- जुह्वानाः (juhvānāḥ)
- Literal: offering/sacrificing. Symbolic: consecrating one’s energies and speech into inner yoga-sacrifice
- नमोभिः (namobhiḥ)
- Literal: with reverences. Symbolic: self-giving, surrender of ego-claim to the higher truth
- स्तोमम् (stomam)
- Literal: hymn of praise. Symbolic: formed mantra-thought that carries aspiration upward
- जुषस्व (juṣasva)
- Literal: take delight/accept. Symbolic: the higher Power’s consent and intimate reception of the offering
- शर्मन् (śarman)
- Literal: shelter, protection, peace. Symbolic: inner peace-wideness that guards and harmonizes the being
- शरणम् (śaraṇam)
- Literal: refuge. Symbolic: a stable inner reliance on truth-consciousness
- वृक्षम् (vṛkṣam)
- Literal: tree. Symbolic: firm rootedness and upward growth; the axis of protection and shade (inner stability)
Sarasvatī invocation in river/purification and inspiration contexts; used to secure clarity of speech, right flow of the rite, and protective peace for the sacrificer.
During stotra/śastra praise or when invoking Sarasvatī for inspired speech and right performance.
Recitation/chant with añjali (uplifted hands), mental offering of speech and intention.
Before study, teaching, creative work, or meditation: offer one’s speech/thought to truth and sit in a felt sheltering peace.
Sarasvatī from saras ‘flowing water/lake’ + vatī ‘possessing’ → the power of inspired flow. √juṣ ‘enjoy/accept’ indicates divine consent to the offering. śarman ‘shelter/peace’ is the settled ease of protection; √sthā ‘stand’ (stheyāma) conveys stable establishment near the goddess—abiding in inspiration. The tree simile (vṛkṣa) suggests living support: rootedness, shade, and refuge—psychologically, a stable axis of consciousness.
inspired speech (vāc) as a goddess-power, śarman as protective peace, nearness/abiding (upa-sthā) as yogic stance
Approaching Sarasvatī is approaching the current that aligns speech and mind with ṛta.
Acceptance of the hymn symbolizes consent of Satya to enter human speech.
Word as a bridge between the human and the divine; refuge as establishment in a stable plane of consciousness.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent of mind into truth-consciousness through mantra and surrender.
The river is the flowing inspiration; the tree is the steady inner axis—rooted in silence, branching as luminous understanding, giving shade as peace.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is ‘the river-goddess as refuge and inspirer who accepts the hymn.’ Innerly, Sarasvatī is the flowing power of inspired truth-speech; by her consent, the seeker ‘stands near’ her sheltering peace, as under a living tree of support.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sthā (stheyāma) reflects PIE *steh₂- ‘stand’ (cf. Eng. stand, Lat. stō). The river-name formation parallels Indo-European sacral hydronyms; while ‘Sarasvatī’ is specifically Indo-Aryan, the poetic identification of rivers with goddesses is pan-IE.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi approaches with namas and offering, asking Sarasvatī to ‘enjoy/accept’ the stoma. The reciprocity is protection and inspirative shelter: the seeker holds her śarman and gains stable abiding in the flow of truth-speech.
Offer speech and thought upward; then rest attention in a felt ‘shelter’ in the heart-mind where calm wideness descends.
Viśuddha (throat; purified speech) with support from Anāhata (heart-peace).
Gentle ujjāyī or slow nasal breathing; exhale with the sense of offering, inhale with the sense of receiving shelter.
Quiet receptive mind (śānta), with a subtle upward aspiration.
Chant once slowly, then sit 3–5 minutes sensing Sarasvatī as a cool luminous stream descending through the throat into the heart; end by invoking ‘śarman’ as a protective field around the being.
Vedic svara as per Śākala tradition (udātta/anudātta/svarita); key lifts often on vocatives and imperatives (sarasvati, juṣasva).
Keep clear udātta rise on principal syllables; avoid flattening ‘juṣasva’ and ‘śarman’. Maintain caesura after the first pāda break (|).
(sa-ras-va-ti): light ‘ti’, no English ‘sh’, (juṣasva): retroflex ṣ; short ‘a’ in -sva, (śarman): ś as ‘sh’, but crisp; final -n is dental, (vṛkṣam): conjunct vṛ-kṣ; keep ṛ vocalic, not ‘ri’
Warm, steady, devotional; soften at ‘tava śarman’ as you ‘rest’ in the sound.
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.
