Rig Veda 8.3.4: Mandala 8, Sukta 3, Mantra 4
Sukta 8.3
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
अयं सहस्रमृषिभिः सहस्कृतः समुद्र इव पप्रथे । सत्यः सो अस्य महिमा गृणे शवो यज्ञेषु विप्रराज्ये ॥
ayáṃ sahásram ṛ́ṣi-bhiḥ sáhaḥ-kṛtaḥ samudrá iva paprathé | satyáḥ só asya mahimā́ gṛṇé śávo yajñéṣu vipra-rā́jye ||
यह शक्ति एक हज़ार रिशियों ने बनाई है। यह समुंदर की तरह फैल गई है। सच है, इनका बड़ा काम है। मैं यज्ञ में इनकी ताकत का गुण गाता हूँ। यह सबसे बड़े रिशि हैं।
Word by Word
- अयम्
- this (one), hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रम्
- a thousandNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषिभिः
- by/with the seersNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्कृतः
- made/formed with might; powerfully fashionedAdjective (past passive participle)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (PPP), कर्मणि प्रयोगःRole KartāRoot सहस् + √कृ (कृञ् करणे) → कृत (कृदन्त)
- समुद्रः
- ocean, seaNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानवाचकम् अव्ययम्Root इव (अव्यय)
- पप्रथे
- has spread out, has expandedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √प्रथ् (प्रथँ विस्तारे)
- सत्यः
- true, realAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्य
- of him/thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महिमा
- greatness, majestyNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम् (वैदिके -न्/आ-रूपभेदः)Role KartāRoot महिमन् (प्रातिपदिक; न्-प्रत्ययान्त)
- गृणे
- I praise, I singVerbलट्, आत्मनेपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √गॄ (गॄ स्तुतौ) / √गृ (वैदिकः स्तुतौ)
- शवः
- strength, mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (वैदिके रूपम्: शवो)Role Karma (of गृणे)Root शवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञेषु
- in the sacrificesNounपुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- विप्रराज्ये
- in the seer-poet’s dominion/sovereignty (priestly rule)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot विप्रराज्य (प्रातिपदिक; समासः: विप्र + राज्य)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): अयम् | सहस्रम् | ऋषिभिः | सहस्कृतः | समुद्रः | इव | पप्रथे || सत्यः | सः | अस्य | महिमा | गृणे | शवः | यज्ञेषु | विप्रराज्ये || 1) ऋषि॑भि॒: सह॑स्कृतः → ऋषिभिः सहस्कृतः (विसर्गः पदान्ते; संहितायां ‘:’ चिह्नेन). 2) समु॒द्र इ॑व → समुद्रः इव (विसर्ग-लोप/रूपभेदः संहितायाम्). 3) सत्यः सो अ॑स्य → सत्यः सः अस्य (विसर्गः + सः; संहितायां ‘सो’). 4) गृ॑णे॒ शवो॑ → गृणे शवः (वैदिके नपुंसक ‘शवस्’ का संहितारूप ‘शवो’). 5) उच्चारण-स्वराः (उदात्त/अनुदात्त/स्वरित) पाठे चिह्निताः
- पदच्छेदे सामान्यरूपेण दर्शितम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A power strengthened by a thousand seers has spread like an ocean. True is his greatness; I proclaim his force in sacrifices, in the sovereignty of the inspired.
Inner meaning
The ‘power’ (śavas) of Indra becomes immense when supported by many realizations—‘a thousand seers’ symbolizes a multitude of illumined faculties or repeated experiences that consolidate the divine force. It spreads ‘like an ocean’ (samudra): vast, continuous, inexhaustible. In the inner yajña, this force reigns as vipra-rājya—sovereignty of the inspired mind—where intuition and revelation govern rather than the surface intellect.
Universal truth
When many insights and sincere practices accumulate, a stable and vast power forms in consciousness. Truth-verified greatness expands like an ocean and establishes inspired leadership in life.
Themes
Greatness of Indra, Truth-consciousness, Collective seer-force, Expansion metaphor
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.3 (contextual cluster praising Indra’s power)
Significance
Highlights the collective nature of revelation: the divine force becomes oceanic when many ‘seer-moments’ support it—an image of cumulative sadhana leading to stable mastery.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (praised through his śavas and mahimā)
- Epithets
- mahīmā-vān (of greatness), satya (truth-founded), ocean-wide power
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Expands the worlds of consciousness and establishes inspired sovereignty (vipra-rājya) in the cosmic order.
Inner power
A truth-verified might that becomes vast through repeated revelations and governs the inner sacrifice.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise within Soma ritual recitations; proclamation of greatness during yajña.
अ॒यं स॒हस्र॒मृषि॑भि॒: सह॑स्कृतः समु॒द्र इ॑व पप्रथे । स॒त्यः सो अ॑स्य महि॒मा गृ॑णे॒ शवो॑ य॒ज्ञेषु॑ विप्र॒राज्ये॑ ॥
अ॒यम् । स॒हस्र॑म् । ऋषि॑ऽभिः । सहः॑ऽकृतः । स॒मु॒द्रःऽइ॑व । प॒प्र॒थे॒ । स॒त्यः । सः । अ॒स्य॒ । म॒हि॒मा । गृ॒णे॒ । शवः॑ । य॒ज्ञेषु॑ । वि॒प्र॒ऽराज्ये॑ ॥
ayam | sahasram | ṛṣi-bhiḥ | sahaḥ-kṛtaḥ | samudraḥ-iva | paprathe | satyaḥ | saḥ | asya | mahimā | gṛṇe | śavaḥ | yajñeṣu | vipra-rājye
Two hemistichs with expansive phrasing matching the ‘ocean’ image.
Broad, majestic, spreading rhythm; longer breath-feel.
Induces a sense of wideness and stable power; supports meditative expansion.
- शवः (śavaḥ)
- Literal: force, might. Symbolic: effective spiritual energy of illumination; Indra’s decisive power in us
- सहस्रम् (sahasram)
- Literal: a thousand. Symbolic: multiplicity/completeness of awakened perceptions; abundant confirmations of truth
- ऋषिभिः (ṛṣibhiḥ)
- Literal: by seers. Symbolic: inner seeing faculties; moments of revelation that build the power
- समुद्र इव (samudra iva)
- Literal: like an ocean. Symbolic: vastness, depth, continuity of consciousness-force
- सत्यः (satyaḥ)
- Literal: true. Symbolic: truth-established, not a passing excitement; verified by inner law
- विप्रराज्ये (viprarājye)
- Literal: in the kingship/sovereignty of the inspired. Symbolic: rule of intuition/illumined mind over the nature
General Soma-yajña praise; emphasizes collective r̥ṣi participation—hymn as communal force-field.
When magnifying Indra’s might before or during offerings; also suitable for contemplative recitation in retreats.
Recitation as a declaration (gṛṇe) of the deity’s greatness to establish inner authority.
Use when building resilience over time—after consistent practice—affirming that accumulated insights are forming a stable ‘ocean’ of strength.
sahas- ‘force’ (cognate cluster around vigor); sahaḥ-kṛtaḥ ‘made by force’ implies collective r̥ṣi-energy shaping a field for Indra. √prath ‘spread’ gives oceanic metaphor for expanding consciousness/power. satyá ‘true’ (sat ‘being’ + -ya) anchors the hymn in Truth-consciousness (Satyam). vipra-rājya: not political kingship but the reign of inspired cognition—illumined governance of the inner being.
Satya (Truth), Expansion (prath), Vipra-rājya (sovereignty of illumined mind)
Vipra-rājya implies governance by ṛta-informed inspiration rather than chaotic impulse.
Explicit: satyaḥ—greatness is true, not illusory; power is valid when truth-founded.
Expansion (paprathe) as a creation motif: consciousness-force spreads to hold wider worlds.
Integral-Vedantic psychology: inspired sovereignty as an evolutionary stage of consciousness.
Ocean = vast, continuous awareness; waves = dynamic movements of force within stable depth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s might as an expanding oceanic power, ‘forged’ by seers: the god is intensified by a collective brahman. The inner myth is the building of a vast truth-field (satya) where Indra’s force rules as vipra-rājya—the sovereignty of inspired consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √prath ‘spread’ relates to PIE *pleth₂- / *pr̥th- semantic area of breadth (cf. Sanskrit pṛthú ‘broad’). sat ‘being’ reflects PIE *h₁es- ‘to be’ (cf. Latin est). The verse binds ‘being/truth’ to ‘expansion’—a characteristic IE poetic linkage of ontology and cosmic breadth.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi speaks as part of a thousand-seer lineage that ‘makes’ the force-field where Indra manifests. Praise (gṛṇe) is both acknowledgment and an act of installation of Indra’s śavas within yajña, culminating in inner vipra-rājya.
Feel a vast ‘ocean’ of strength forming from repeated true perceptions; rest in depth, let surface waves be action.
anāhata (heart)
Ocean-breath: slow inhale 4–6, slow exhale 6–8 while mentally repeating ‘samudra iva’.
From effortful striving to stable, wide, truth-founded power.
Recall multiple moments of clarity (your ‘thousand seers’) and let them combine into one continuous field. Then act from that field, not from momentary emotion.
Notated svaras not provided; chant with broadened phrasing, sustaining vowels on ‘samudra iva paprathe’.
Give weight to ‘sahasram’, ‘samudra iva’, ‘satyaḥ’, ‘mahimā’, ‘viprarājye’.
(sahasraṃ): keep ‘sr’ cluster clear, (ṛṣibhiḥ): vocalic ṛ; ‘bhiḥ’ with visarga, (paprathe): crisp ‘pr’, (viprarājye): long ā; ‘jy’ cluster clean
Deep, expansive, resonant; allow longer pauses to evoke wideness.
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