Rig Veda 8.25.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 25, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.25
- Devata
- Aditi
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
ता माता विश्ववेदसासुर्याय प्रमहसा । मही जजानादितिॠतावरी ॥
tā mātā viśvávedasā asuryā́ya prámahasā | mahī́ jajānā́ditiḥ ṛtā́varī ||
माँ अदिति, जो बड़ी है और सत्य धरम को धारण करती है, उन्होंने पैदा किया चमकदार प्रभु के लिए। वो सब जानने वाली शक्ति के लिए, बड़ी महत्व के लिए, हमारे अंदर बड़ी चेतना पैदा करती है।
Word by Word
- ताः
- those (fem.), theyPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- माता
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्ववेदसः
- all-knowing, of universal knowledgeAdjective (epithet)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणम् ताः) / संबन्धRoot विश्ववेदस् (प्रातिपदिक; विश्व + वेदस्)
- असुर्याय
- to/for the Asurya (lordly one)Adjective/Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot असुर्य (प्रातिपदिक; असुर + य)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्गः (क्रियाविशेषकः)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- महसा
- with greatness/mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot महस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मही
- great, mighty (fem.)Adjective/Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अदितेः विशेषणम्) / संबन्धRoot मही (प्रातिपदिक)
- जजान
- has begotten, gave birthVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot जन् (धातु) → जजान (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट)
- अदितिः
- AditiNoun (deity)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋतावरी
- truth-law-bearing, aligned with ṛtaAdjective (epithet)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अदितेः विशेषणम्)Root ऋतावरी (प्रातिपदिक; ऋत + आवरी)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ताः माता विश्ववेदसः असुर्याय प्र महसा । मही जजान अदितिः ऋतावरी ॥ 1) देवना॒गरी-पाठे ‘विश्ववे॑दसासु॒र्या॑य’ = ‘विश्ववेदसः असुर्याय’ (विसर्ग-लोपः/सन्धिः: -सः + अ- → -सा-)
- 2) ‘ज॑जा॒नादि॑तिॠ॒ताव॑री’ = ‘जजान अदितिः ऋतावरी’ (अ + अ → आ; तथा ‘अदितिः’ + ‘ऋ-’ में पदसंयोग)
- 3) ‘प्रम॑हसा’ = ‘प्र महसा’ (उपसर्ग ‘प्र’ का संयोग)
- वैदिक-स्वर (उदात्त/अनुदात्त/स्वरित) मूल संहितापाठानुसार शब्दों पर स्थित है
The meaning
Outer meaning
The vast Mother Aditi, bearer of ṛta, gives birth to (or for) the all-knowing power and for mighty greatness, for the luminous lordship.
Inner meaning
Aditi is the Infinite Mother-Consciousness—undivided, unbound. From her wideness (mahī) arise the powers of integral knowing (viśvavedasā) and luminous sovereignty (asuryāya)—the ‘asura’ here as lordship of a higher being, not later demonology. ‘Pramahasā’ is great greatness: the expansive force that supports transformation. Psychologically, the verse points to the source of our growth: when the being opens to the Infinite (Aditi), it generates within itself higher knowing, true mastery, and a vast strength—births of consciousness rather than acquisitions.
Universal truth
All higher powers—true knowledge, luminous mastery, and greatness—are born from an inner infinity. When consciousness becomes wide and undivided, it naturally generates truth-bearing capacities.
Themes
Cosmogony (inner birth/manifestation), Rita-establishment, Inner sovereignty (asurya), Knowledge-as-light
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.89.10 (Aditi as wide mother), Rig Veda 2.27 (Aditi and the Ādityas), Rig Veda 5.69 (Aditi)
Family tradition
Aditi praise appears across families; Book 8 often integrates cosmic mother imagery with Aditya theology (Mitra-Varuṇa lineage).
Significance
The seer discloses the generative secret of yoga: wideness (Aditi) is not an accessory but the womb from which higher faculties are born.
The deity
- Devata
- Aditi
- Epithets
- mahī (the Vast), ṛtāvarī (bearer of ṛta), mātā (mother)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Bhaga, Indra (as beneficiary of wideness)
Cosmic role
Primordial infinite matrix giving birth to the Ādityas and sustaining cosmic order and freedom from limitation.
Inner power
Infinite, unfragmented awareness that births truth-knowledge and luminous mastery in the individual.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aditi/Āditya invocation for protection, wideness, and truth-order in rites; supportive in consecrations and prayers for wholeness.
ता मा॒ता वि॒श्ववे॑दसासु॒र्या॑य॒ प्रम॑हसा । म॒ही ज॑जा॒नादि॑तिॠ॒ताव॑री ॥
ता । मा॒ता । वि॒श्वऽवे॑दसा । अ॒सु॒र्या॑य । प्रऽम॑हसा । म॒ही । ज॒जा॒न॒ । अदि॑तिः । ऋ॒तऽव॑री ॥
tā | mātā | viśva-vedasā | asuryāya | pra-mahasā | mahī | jajāna | aditiḥ | ṛta-varī
44
4 × ~11
Expansive, maternal sweep with a strong generative cadence (jajānā).
Opens the chest and mind to wideness; evokes a felt sense of sheltering infinity.
- अदिति (aditi)
- Literal: the unbound, infinite; mother goddess. Symbolic: infinite consciousness; undivided wholeness as womb of transformation
- मही (mahī)
- Literal: the vast (feminine). Symbolic: wideness of being that can hold higher truth
- ऋतवरी (ṛtāvarī)
- Literal: bearing ṛta. Symbolic: consciousness that carries truth-order as its substance
- विश्ववेदसा (viśvavedasā)
- Literal: all-knowing. Symbolic: integral knowledge, wide illumination
- असुर्याय (asuryāya)
- Literal: to/for asurya (lordship). Symbolic: luminous sovereignty of the higher self; mastery by truth
- प्रमहसा (pramahasā)
- Literal: of great greatness. Symbolic: expansive force, magnified consciousness-power
General praise/invocation; suitable for rites seeking protection and establishment in ṛta (truth-order), and for affirming the ‘wide’ state (mahī) before offerings.
When invoking the Ādityas’ protection or establishing ṛta; also for removing constriction (aditi = unbinding).
Recitation with offerings seeking wide protection and right order.
A mantra for expanding consciousness: use during anxiety/constriction to return to ‘the Vast’ and allow new capacities to be born.
Key terms: (1) áditiḥ: traditionally from a- ‘not’ + diti ‘division/boundary’ (cf. √dā ‘to cut, divide’ in semantic field), hence ‘the undivided/infinite’. (2) viśvá-vedasā: viśvá ‘all’ + védas ‘knowledge’ (< √vid ‘to know’), dative dual/singular form per pada tradition; sense ‘to the all-knowing power’. (3) ásurya: from ásura ‘lord, possessor of vital power’ (connected with asu ‘life-breath’), here in older positive sense ‘sovereign, divine lordship’. (4) máhas ‘greatness, vast might’ (< PIE *megʰ- ‘great’), with pra- intensifying. (5) ṛtá-varī: ṛtá ‘truth-order’ (< √ar/ṛ ‘to fit, to rise/attain proper motion’ in Vedic semantics) + varī ‘bearing/choosing’ (from √vṛ ‘choose, cover, enclose’; in RV often ‘one who bears/contains’).
Ṛta (cosmic order), Satyam–Ṛtam–Bṛhat (truth-order-vastness as an inner attainment), Aditi (infinity, undivided consciousness)
Aditi is ṛtāvarī: infinity that does not dissolve order but grounds it.
Truth is natural to the infinite; falsehood arises from division and contraction.
Birth of gods/powers from the Infinite Mother; manifestation as emergence of ordered powers from wideness.
Integral Vedāntic reading: infinite consciousness as origin of knowledge and mastery; aligns with later Upaniṣadic ‘brahman as vast’ themes.
night-to-dawn threshold (apt for ‘birth’ imagery, though not explicit)
Sky = infinite awareness; womb = creative matrix of new consciousness; stars/sun = emergent lights of knowledge and sovereignty.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Mother of the gods’ motif: Aditi as the infinite womb from which the powers of lordship, knowledge, and greatness are born. Mythically, it is cosmogonic birthing; psychologically, it is the arising of wide truth-consciousness (mahī) that supports divine governance (asurya) and total knowing (viśvavedas) in the human vessel.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- máhas ‘greatness’ aligns with PIE *megʰ- ‘great’ (cf. Greek mégas, Latin magnus). védas/√vid ‘know’ is pan-IE (cf. Latin vidēre ‘see’, English wit). The verse’s compound density (viśvá-vedasā, ṛtá-varī) is a hallmark of early IE poetic diction: abstract cosmic qualities are compressed into epithets functioning as agents.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer does not bargain; he recognizes a prior ontological gift: Aditi already ‘gives birth’ to the inner conditions for right rule and knowledge. The reciprocity is implicit—by naming her as ṛtāvarī, the rishi aligns speech and aspiration with ṛta, inviting the Mother’s infinite formation to take shape in consciousness.
Rest in wideness: feel the Infinite Mother as the space in which thoughts arise and dissolve; invite birth of higher knowing.
Sahasrara (infinite openness) with Anahata (maternal wideness).
Open-awareness breathing: slow inhale sensing expansion in all directions; slow exhale releasing boundaries; 12 cycles.
Vast, receptive, quietly luminous.
Do not ‘strain’ for knowledge. Enter Aditi (wideness) first—through relaxation and sincerity—then allow insights (viśvaveda) and right mastery (asuryā) to arise as births, not conquests.
Sustain long vowels and let the phrase ‘mahī jajāna’ open outward; end with a calm settling on ṛtāvarī.
Emphasize: MAHĪ JAJĀNA … ADITIḤ … ṚTĀVARĪ.
aditiḥ: light final ḥ; avoid hard stop., viśvavedasā: clear śv cluster; long ā at end., asuryāya: keep palatal y; do not turn into ‘asur-ya’.
Soft, expansive, slightly resonant; allow natural breath pauses to widen attention.
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