Rig Veda 8.3.10: Mandala 8, Sukta 3, Mantra 10
Sukta 8.3
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
येना समुद्रमसृजो महीरपस्तदिन्द्र वृष्णि ते शवः । सद्यः सो अस्य महिमा न संनशे यं क्षोणीरनुचक्रदे ॥
yéna samudrám asṛ́jo mahī́r apás tád índra vṛ́ṣṇi te śávaḥ | sadyáḥ só asya mahimā́ ná saṃnáśe yáṃ kṣoṇī́r anucakradé ||
इसी ताकत से तुमने समुंदर और बड़े पानी बना दिए। यह इंद्र की बैल जैसी ताकत है। जिसकी बड़ाई कभी कम नहीं होती, धरती उसके पीछे चलती रहती है।
Word by Word
- येन
- by which (power/means)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम् (instrumental sg.)Role करणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → य-
- समुद्रम्
- the oceanNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (acc. sg.)Role कर्मRoot समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- असृजः
- you released/let looseVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (क्रिया)Root सृज्
- महीः
- the great (waters)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया-बहुवचनम् (acc. pl.)Role कर्मRoot मही (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक; ‘मह्/महि’ ‘great’)
- अपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया-बहुवचनम् (acc. pl.)Role कर्मRoot अप्/आप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (nom. sg.)Role (विशेष्य/विधेय)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन-एकवचनम् (voc. sg.)Role सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृष्णि
- in (your) manly strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (loc. sg.)Role अधिकारणRoot वृष्णि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bull-like might/virility’)
- ते
- of you/yourPronounषष्ठी-एकवचनम् (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शवः
- power, mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (nom. sg.)Role कर्तृ (विधेय-नाम)Root शवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सद्यः
- immediatelyIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (क्रियाविशेषण)Root सद्यस् (अव्यय)
- सः
- he/that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (nom. sg.)Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्य
- of him/of thisPronounषष्ठी-एकवचनम् (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महिमा
- greatness, majestyNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (nom. sg.)Role कर्तृRoot महिमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- notIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (निषेध)Root न (अव्यय-निषेध)
- सन्नशे
- vanishes, is lostVerbलिट्/लुट्-प्रयोगो न; अत्र ‘नश्’ धातोः आत्मनेपदे वर्तमान/विधिलिङ्-सम्भाव्यः: 3.एकवचनम् (Vedic: -e ending) — ‘perishes/vanishes’Role (क्रिया)Root नश् (with preverb सम् → सन्नश्) अथवा ‘सन्-नश्’ (Vedic sandhi of सम् + नश्)
- यम्
- whomPronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (acc. sg.)Role कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → य-
- क्षोणीः
- the earths/lands (regions)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (nom. pl.)Role कर्तृRoot क्षोणी (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after, alongIndeclinableअव्ययम् (उपसर्गार्थे ‘after, along’)Role (क्रियायोग)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- चक्रदे
- followed, ran afterVerbपरस्मैपदम्, 3.पुरुषः, एकवचनम् (Vedic ending -e; perfect/aorist-type)Role (क्रिया)Root क्रम् (Vedic: चक्रदे < चक्रदे/चक्रदे = perfect/aorist-like form with reduplication; often from √क्रम् ‘to stride, go’ with preverb अनु) अथवा √कृ (चक्रे) न; अत्र अर्थतः ‘followed/ran after’
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-style): समुद्रमसृजः → समुद्रम् असृजः
- माहीरपः → महीः अपः
- तदिन्द्र → तत् इन्द्र
- वृष्णि ते → वृष्णि ते (no change)
- सद्यः सो → सद्यः सः
- संनशे → सन्नशे (सम् + नश् with nasal assimilation)
- क्षोणीरनुचक्रदे → क्षोणीः अनु चक्रदे. Accent marks in the saṃhitā text are retained on the surface forms
- pada analysis given on resolved words
The meaning
Outer meaning
By which you sent forth the ocean, the great waters—this, O Indra, is your bull-like force. Immediately his greatness does not diminish, whom the earth-realms follow in their circling course.
Inner meaning
Indra’s illumined power releases the ‘ocean’ of great waters—symbol of vast truth-consciousness and streaming light-forces once held back by limitation. This is vṛṣṇi śavaḥ: the irresistible strength that breaks inner dams and lets the great currents move. Once this action begins, the greatness of that awakened power does not decline; the ‘earth-realms’ (kṣoṇīḥ)—the embodied fields of experience and the layers of physical consciousness—begin to follow its new orbit, reorganizing around the higher center.
Universal truth
When higher consciousness is released into life, it reorders the whole system; embodied existence starts circling the new truth-center, and the gain becomes self-sustaining.
Themes
Cosmogony, Waters symbolism, Cosmic order, Indra’s imperishable greatness
The seer
- Rishi
- Kāṇva lineage (probable; specific seer uncertain)
- Lineage
- Kāṇva (probable)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.32 (Indra releases waters after slaying Vṛtra), RV 1.51 (release motifs), RV 8.3 (context)
Family tradition
Kāṇva hymns frequently describe Indra’s releasing of waters as both cosmic and psychological liberation.
Significance
The seer interprets Indra’s greatness as a transformative center that physical life can ‘follow’, hinting at integration of higher consciousness into embodiment.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vṛṣṇi (bull-like), mahīmān (great), āpām mocayitā (releaser of waters; implied)
- Related deities
- Vṛtra (as the coverer, implicit), Soma (often the released delight), Varuṇa (cosmic waters/order, thematic proximity)
Cosmic role
Liberator of the waters/light; establisher of a new order in the worlds through victorious force.
Inner power
Breakthrough energy that opens the subconscient and releases vast currents of inspiration and joy into the system.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma praise in Soma sacrifice; mythic release of waters often recited to support victory and abundance.
येना॑ समु॒द्रमसृ॑जो म॒हीर॒पस्तदि॑न्द्र॒ वृष्णि॑ ते॒ शव॑: । स॒द्यः सो अ॑स्य महि॒मा न सं॒नशे॒ यं क्षो॒णीर॑नुचक्र॒दे ॥
येन॑ । स॒मु॒द्रम् । असृ॑जः । म॒हीः । अ॒पः । तत् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । वृष्णि॑ । ते॒ । शवः॑ । स॒द्यः । सः । अ॒स्य॒ । म॒हि॒मा । न । स॒म्ऽनशे॑ । यम् । क्षो॒णीः । अ॒नु॒ऽच॒क्र॒दे ॥
yena | samudram | asṛjaḥ | mahīḥ | apaḥ | tat | indra | vṛṣṇi | te | śavaḥ | sadyaḥ | saḥ | asya | mahimā | na | sam-naśe | yam | kṣoṇīḥ | anu-cakrade
44
4 × ~11
Strong, image-heavy, with a sweeping ‘flood-release’ feel.
Energizes and opens; can produce a felt sense of inner ‘release’ and widening circulation.
- samudram
- Literal: ocean. Symbolic: vastness of truth-consciousness; plenitude of being
- mahīr apas
- Literal: great waters. Symbolic: streams of light, inspiration, and Ananda released into the nature
- asṛjaḥ
- Literal: you let go/sent forth. Symbolic: breaking the inner obstruction; liberation of held-back energies
- vṛṣṇi te śavaḥ
- Literal: your bull-like force. Symbolic: irresistible victorious power of illumination
- mahimā
- Literal: greatness. Symbolic: stable stature of awakened consciousness
- kṣoṇīḥ
- Literal: earths/earth-realms. Symbolic: planes of embodied life; physical consciousness-fields
- anucakrade
- Literal: followed in circling. Symbolic: revolution around a new axis; re-patterning of habits and life-movements
Cosmic praise within Indra-stotra; supports the sacrificer’s confidence by recalling world-ordering deeds (release of waters, establishment of cosmic movement).
During stotras/śastras praising Indra’s cosmic deeds; also in contexts seeking rain/abundance metaphorically and ritually.
Recitation to affirm Indra’s power and invoke unstoppable greatness.
Chant when stuck in inertia or emotional blockage; use as a ‘breakthrough’ verse before deep meditation or creative work.
√sṛj ‘release’ frames cosmogonic act: letting waters/ocean flow—outerly hydrological, innerly release of vast consciousness-energy. ap ‘waters’ in Veda is multivalent: life-force, clarity, flowing consciousness. anu-cakrade from √cakr ‘wheel/turn’ depicts worlds following Indra’s established movement—orderly rotation akin to ṛta. vṛṣṇi (bull-like) marks concentrated potency that accomplishes release and order.
Ṛta as ordered movement (wheel imagery), Imperishability of greatness (mahimā not diminishing), Release of waters as liberation of consciousness
kṣoṇīḥ anucakrade: worlds follow a lawful orbit—Ṛta as reorganized order around the awakened center.
The released waters signify truth-streams; greatness that ‘does not diminish’ suggests stable satya-standpoint.
Cosmic manifestation as release and circulation of waters/energies; re-creation in the human as opening the inner ocean.
Vedic cosmopsychology: cosmic acts mirror inner transformation.
Ocean/waters = vast consciousness and its currents; earth-realms = embodied layers learning a new rhythm around the higher light.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The cosmogonic ‘release of the waters/ocean’ by Indra, coupled with establishment of ordered cosmic motion (earth-realms following like a wheel). Innerly, it is liberation: the opening of vast streams of consciousness (ap) and the fixing of the being into ṛta-like right rotation around the truth-force.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sṛj ‘release’ is an Indo-Iranian hallmark verb (Avestan has related release/flow semantics). √cakr ‘wheel/turn’ corresponds to PIE *kʷekʷlo- ‘wheel’ (cf. Greek kyklos, English wheel via Germanic *hwehwla- from the same PIE base). The wheel metaphor for cosmic order is widely IE.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi grounds his invocation in Indra’s world-ordering capacity: the same force that released the cosmic waters can release and direct the seeker’s inner currents. Praise becomes a means to align the individual’s movement with the deity’s imperishable mahimā.
Visualize a blocked inner channel opening; allow a ‘great water’ of quiet force to flow through the body-mind.
maṇipūra (breakthrough will-force) rising to ājñā (illumination) and then widening above.
Kapalabhati (gentle, 30–60 strokes) to break inertia, followed by slow chanting to stabilize the flow.
Dynamic opening into wideness; then steady orbiting around a higher center (samādhāna).
After chanting, sit and feel the ‘circling’—let thoughts and sensations revolve around a silent luminous point rather than pulling you outward.
Svara not supplied; chant with a slightly stronger rise on ‘samudram’ and ‘vṛṣṇi’ to carry the breakthrough image.
Keep compound phrases intact: mahīr apas; vṛṣṇi te śavaḥ. Pause at the double-bar caesura for integration.
samudram: clear dental d, not retroflex, asṛjaḥ: vocalic ṛ; final ḥ audible, kṣoṇīḥ: kṣ cluster; long īḥ with visarga, anucakrade: keep ‘nu’ short; ‘kr’ cluster clear
Forceful, opening, resonant chest voice; finish with steadiness (undiminishing greatness).
3
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