Rig Veda 8.3.19: Mandala 8, Sukta 3, Mantra 19
Sukta 8.3
- Rishi
- Kāṇva tradition
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
निरिन्द्र बृहतीभ्यो वृत्रं धनुभ्यो अस्फुरः । निरर्बुदस्य मृगयस्य मायिनो निः पर्वतस्य गा आजः ॥
nír indra bṛhatī́bhyo vṛtráṃ dhánu-bhyo asphuraḥ | nír arbudásya mṛgáyasya māyíno níḥ párvatasya gā́ ā́jaḥ ||
इंद्र, तुमने बड़ी ताकतों से रुकावट तोड़ दी। उनकी धनुष से तोड़ दी। तुमने धोखेबाज़ अर्बुद को भगा दिया। पहाड़ से गायें निकाल ली, जो रोशनी और ज्ञान की किरण हैं।
Word by Word
- निः
- out; forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; ‘out, forth’Root निस् (उपसर्ग) / निः (अव्यय)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहतीभ्यः
- from the Bṛhatī (chants/metres)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी/षष्ठी; बहुवचन (रूपतः -भ्यः = पञ्चमी-बहु; अर्थतः ‘from/for the bṛhatī(-chants)’)Role अपादानRoot बृहती (प्रातिपदिक; ‘बृहती’ छन्दस्/स्तुति)
- वृत्रम्
- Vṛtra (the obstructer)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वृत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- धनुभ्यः
- from the bowsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी; बहुवचनRole अपादानRoot धनु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्फुरः
- you burst forth / you shatteredVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद; 2 पुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot स्फुर् (धातु; ‘to burst forth, spring, shatter’)
- निः
- outIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; ‘out’Root निस् (उपसर्ग) / निः (अव्यय)
- अर्बुदस्य
- of Arbuda (a demon/serpent)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अर्बुद (प्रातिपदिक)
- मृगयस्य
- of the hunter/pursuerNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root मृगय (प्रातिपदिक; ‘hunter/pursuer’, RV-usage)
- मायिनः
- of the crafty/illusion-working oneAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचन (विशेषणम्: अर्बुदस्य/मृगयस्य)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root मायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- निः
- outIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; ‘out’Root निस् (उपसर्ग) / निः (अव्यय)
- पर्वतस्य
- of the mountainNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
- गाः
- the cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- forth; towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग; ‘towards, forth’ (क्रियायोगे)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अजः
- you drove/ledVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद; 2 पुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot अज् (धातु; ‘to drive, lead’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi-resolution): निः इन्द्र बृहतीभ्यः वृत्रम् धनुभ्यः अस्फुरः । निः अर्बुदस्य मृगयस्य मायिनः निः पर्वतस्य गाः आ अजः ॥ 1) निरि॑न्द्र = निः + इन्द्र (विसर्ग-सन्धि: निः + इ- → निरि-)
- 2) निरर्बु॑दस्य = निः + अर्बुदस्य (विसर्ग-सन्धि: निः + अ- → निर-)
- 3) निः पर्वतस्य: पाठे ‘निः’ + ‘पर्वतस्य’ (विसर्गः स्थिरः)
- 4) गा आ॑जः = गाः + आ + अजः (विसर्गः लोपः/पद-सीमा; उपसर्ग ‘आ’ क्रियायोगे ‘अजः’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra shattered Vṛtra away from the great ones and their bows; he drove out the deceiver Arbuda, the hunter, and forced the cows out from the mountain.
Inner meaning
Indra breaks the obstruction (Vṛtra) that blocks the ‘great powers’ (bṛhatībhyaḥ—expansive consciousness-forces) from releasing their effective action (bows as directed force). He expels the deceptive ‘hunter’ Arbuda—symbol of predatory desire and illusion that stalks the soul’s light. Finally he brings the cows (go) out of the mountain: the hidden rays of knowledge released from the hard subconscient/ignorance (parvata).
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a decisive illumination that breaks inner resistance, exposes deceptive impulses, and liberates concealed knowledge from the depths.
Themes
Vṛtra-slaying, cow-release (light/knowledge), anti-māyā, breaking-concealment
The seer
- Rishi
- Kāṇva (Kaṇvāḥ) tradition (probable)
- Lineage
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.62 (cows released from the rock), RV 4.1 (Agni finds the hidden light), RV 2.12 (Indra’s heroic deeds)
Family tradition
Kaṇvas often recount the ‘release of the cows’ as a central image of revelation—knowledge recovered from concealment by Indra’s victory.
Significance
This line of seers presents mythic battles as inner psychology: demons are resistances; cows are illuminations; mountain/rock is the subconscient barrier.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vṛtra-slayer (implied), breaker of the mountain (implied)
- Related deities
- Angiras (seekers of the cows), Bṛhaspati (power of the Word that breaks the rock), Maruts (storm-forces aiding the breakthrough)
Cosmic role
Liberator of light; destroyer of deceiving forces; opener of the hidden riches of consciousness.
Inner power
Forceful illumination that can ‘burst’ the knot and drive out illusion and predatory desire.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise in Soma ritual sequences; recounting heroic deeds to strengthen the offering (general)
निरि॑न्द्र बृह॒तीभ्यो॑ वृ॒त्रं धनु॑भ्यो अस्फुरः । निरर्बु॑दस्य॒ मृग॑यस्य मा॒यिनो॒ निः पर्व॑तस्य॒ गा आ॑जः ॥
निः । इ॒न्द्र॒ । बृ॒ह॒तीभ्यः॑ । वृ॒त्रम् । धनु॑ऽभ्यः । अ॒स्फु॒रः॒ । निः । अर्बु॑दस्य । मृग॑यस्य । मा॒यिनः॑ । निः । पर्व॑तस्य । गाः । आ॒जः॒ ॥
niḥ | indra | bṛhatībhyaḥ | vṛtram | dhanu-bhyaḥ | asphuraḥ | niḥ | arbudasya | mṛgayasya | māyinaḥ | niḥ | parvatasya | gāḥ | ājaḥ
44
4 × ~11
Percussive, impact-heavy; repeated ‘niḥ’ creates a hammering release rhythm.
Produces catharsis and a sense of breaking-through; energizes will against inner resistance.
- निः (niḥ)
- Literal: out, forth, away. Symbolic: release/expulsion of obstruction; emergence of light
- बृहतीभ्यः (bṛhatībhyaḥ)
- Literal: from the great/expansive (powers). Symbolic: from wide consciousness-forces seeking manifestation
- वृत्रम् (vṛtram)
- Literal: Vṛtra, the coverer. Symbolic: inertia/ignorance that blocks flow of light and inspiration
- धनुभ्यः (dhanubhyaḥ)
- Literal: from bows. Symbolic: from the tense directed will-force of action
- अस्फुरः (asphuraḥ)
- Literal: you shattered, burst apart. Symbolic: decisive breakthrough, rupture of the knot
- अर्बुद (arbuda)
- Literal: Arbuda (a demon-name). Symbolic: congealed desire/greed; deceptive mass that ‘hunts’ the light
- मृगय (mṛgaya)
- Literal: hunter. Symbolic: restless seeking in desire, predation on inner energies
- मायिनः (māyinaḥ)
- Literal: the magician/deceiver. Symbolic: illusion-making mind-vital that misleads
- पर्वत (parvata)
- Literal: mountain. Symbolic: hard mass of subconscient/ignorance concealing light
- गाः (gāḥ)
- Literal: cows. Symbolic: rays of knowledge, illuminations set free
Indra’s heroic deed recollection within Soma praise: narrating obstruction-breaking to invoke the same force in the present seeker.
During Indra stotras describing victories to invite the same power into the rite.
Recitation of Indra’s deeds; symbolic ‘opening’ of abundance and light for the sacrificer.
Use when facing inertia/addiction/compulsion: chant to invoke the ‘bursting’ power that expels the hunter-like impulses and releases clarity.
vṛtra- from √vṛ ‘cover’ → obstruction. māyin ‘one of māyā’ from √mā ‘measure/form’ → power to shape appearances; here: deceptive formation. √aj ‘drive’ (PIE *h₂eǵ- ‘drive’) common in chariot/herding lexicon; in inner sense, driving forth hidden illuminations. parvata ‘mountain’ as the fixed mass of subconscient resistance. gāḥ ‘cows’ in RV repeatedly symbolize light-rays/knowledges recovered from concealment.
release of light from concealment, māyā as deceptive formation (psychological obstruction), bṛhat (the Vast) as goal-field of consciousness
Vṛtra is the arrest of ṛta; Indra’s action restores flow and order.
Cows as satya-rays—truths concealed and then revealed.
Revelation as liberation of hidden light from the dense foundation of being.
Psychological cosmology: worlds and beings as formations of consciousness; demons as resistances in evolution.
Tensioned will (bow) needs the breaker-force; the mountain is the hardened subconscient; cows are illuminations released into the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A compressed cluster: Vṛtra/obstruction shattered; the māyin hunter Arbuda expelled; cows released from the mountain. This is the archetypal liberation myth—Indra breaks the covering and restores the hidden lights.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The expulsion particle níḥ repeated is a stylistic device of iterative victory. √aj ‘drive’ belongs to the IE herding/chariot semantic core; the ‘cows released’ motif parallels broader IE ‘recovery of stolen cattle’ myths, here internalized as recovery of light.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recalls Indra’s paradigmatic victories to awaken that same power in the present. Remembrance (smṛti-like function) is invocation: by narrating the deed, the seer reactivates Indra’s obstruction-breaking within the human field.
Break the ‘coverer’ thought-pattern; call forth hidden insight from the depths.
maṇipūra (breakthrough will) and mūlādhāra (subconscient ‘mountain’)
Kapalabhāti (gentle, 30–60 strokes) then one slow chant cycle; sit and feel a ‘clearing out’ (niḥ).
Forceful clarity; readiness to confront and expel deception.
During chanting, identify one recurring inner ‘hunter’ (compulsion/illusion). On ‘niḥ’, feel it being driven out; on ‘gāḥ’, feel a clean ray of understanding emerging.
Rigvedic accents; repeated initial ‘niḥ’ should be crisp; maintain pitch contours without monotone hammering.
Mark each ‘niḥ’ with a clean onset; keep retroflexes (ṇ, ṭ where present) precise; avoid swallowing visarga in niḥ before vowels/consonants.
niḥ: visarga audible, lightly aspirated, bṛhatībhyaḥ: vocalic ṛ; long ī, dhanubhyaḥ: dh aspirated; bh aspirated, asphuraḥ: sph as cluster /sph/, māyinaḥ: long ā; y clear glide, parvatasya: rv cluster clean, gā ājaḥ: long ā in gāḥ; separate ājaḥ with slight pause
Firm, percussive, courageous; allow a bright release on ‘gāḥ’.
7
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.
