Rig Veda 8.32.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 32, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.32
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
न्यर्बुदस्य विष्टपं वर्ष्माणं बृहतस्तिर । कृषे तदिन्द्र पौंस्यम् ॥
ny àrbúdasya viṣṭápaṃ varṣmā́ṇaṃ bṛhatás tira | kṛṣé tád indra páuṃsyam ||
अरबुद का बड़ा किला था, इंद्र ने उसे भी नीचे गिरा दिया। वो बड़ा बड़ा रूप था, उसको तोड़ के रख दिया। यह इंद्र की हिम्मत है, जो बड़ा बड़ा रोकता है, उसे साफ कर देती है।
Word by Word
- नि
- down, forth (as preverb)Indeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root नि (upasarga)
- अर्बुदस्य
- of Arbuda (a foe/demon/serpent-name)Nounmasculine, genitive singularRole सम्बन्ध (genitival relation)Root अर्बुद (प्रातिपदिक)
- विष्टपम्
- seat, abode, stationNounneuter, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot विष्टप (प्रातिपदिक) < वि-स्तप्/स्तभ् (etym. ‘support/seat’)
- वर्ष्माणम्
- height, bulk, eminenceNounneuter, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot वर्ष्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहतः
- of the great one (i.e., of the great foe/being)Adjective (used substantively) / Noun-epithetmasculine/neuter, genitive singularRole सम्बन्ध (genitival relation)Root बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तिरः
- across, over, beyondIndeclinableavyaya (adverb/preposition)Root तिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृषे
- thou hast overcome/dragged down (lit. ‘ploughed through’)Verbperfect (Vedic), 2nd person singular, parasmaipadaRole (finite verb)Root कृष् (धातु)
- तत्
- thatPronounneuter, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)masculine, vocative singularRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- पौंस्यम्
- manly power, heroismNounneuter, accusative singularRole Karma (apposition to तत्)Root पौंस्य (प्रातिपदिक) < पुंस् ‘man’
Sandhi Notes
- Pada-resolution: न्यर्बुदस्य → नि + अर्बुदस्य (ni + a- gives ny- by sandhi). वि॒ष्टपं॑, व॒र्ष्माणं॑ are accusatives coordinated as objects
- बृह॒तस्ति॑र → बृहतः + तिरः (genitive + indeclinable ‘across/over’). कृ॒षे is Vedic perfect 2sg of √कृष् used in the sense ‘to overcome/drag down, plough through’. तदि॑न्द्र॒ → तत् + इन्द्र (tad + indra; external sandhi with loss of final -t before vowel in recitation)
The meaning
Outer meaning
You cast down Arbuda’s stronghold, the swollen mass of the great one; you made it for breaking—this is your manly might, O Indra.
Inner meaning
Arbuda is a formation of massive, swollen obstruction—an inert, overgrown resistance in the being that blocks the ‘vast’ (bṛhat), the wideness of consciousness. Indra hurls it down and renders it breakable: illumination does not merely oppose resistance; it changes its substance so it can be dismantled. This is pauṃsya—soul-virility, the courageous power to clear space for wideness.
Universal truth
True strength is the power to remove what narrows and congests the inner life, making room for vastness and freedom.
Themes
Indra combat, breaking strongholds, expansion, bṛhat
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.32.2, RV 8.32.4
Family tradition
Kāṇva poetry often contrasts bṛhat (vast) with obstructive ‘forts’—a psychology of widening.
Significance
The seer emphasizes that widening is not passive; it is achieved by force of illumination that breaks entrenched formations.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- pauṃsya-vān (possessor of virile might), vṛtrahan (theme)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (breaker of caves), Agni (leader of inner sacrifice)
Cosmic role
Clears the vast spaces; destroys the forts of darkness; makes the path for the gods’ working.
Inner power
Expansive illumination that converts immovable inertia into breakable material; power to widen mind and life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-invocation for overcoming great obstacles; Soma sacrifice praise context
न्यर्बु॑दस्य वि॒ष्टपं॑ व॒र्ष्माणं॑ बृह॒तस्ति॑र । कृ॒षे तदि॑न्द्र॒ पौंस्य॑म् ॥
नि । अर्बु॑दस्य । वि॒ष्टप॑म् । व॒र्ष्माण॑म् । बृ॒ह॒तः । ति॒र॒ । कृ॒षे । तत् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । पौंस्य॑म् ॥
ni | arbudasya | viṣṭapam | varṣmāṇam | bṛhataḥ | tira | kṛṣe | tat | indra | paiṃsyam
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4 × ~11
Heavy-opening then releasing cadence (suited to ‘casting down’ imagery)
Creates a felt sense of pressure lifting and space widening after the third/fourth pada.
- अर्बुद (arbuda)
- Literal: name of a demon; swollen mass. Symbolic: bulky inertia, congested obstruction
- विष्टपम् (viṣṭapam)
- Literal: stronghold/support/seat. Symbolic: fixed structure of resistance in consciousness
- वर्ष्माणम् (varṣmāṇam)
- Literal: swelling, bulk, mass. Symbolic: inflated inertia that seems ‘too big to move’
- बृहतः (bṛhataḥ)
- Literal: of the great/vast. Symbolic: the wide consciousness (bṛhat) seeking manifestation
- पौंस्य (pauṃsya)
- Literal: manliness, virile power. Symbolic: courage-force of the illumined mind to clear the path
Indra praise in Soma: emphasizes Indra’s capacity to break entrenched obstruction and widen the field for Ṛta.
When obstacles appear ‘massive’; as part of heroic deed catalogues
Recitation with offering; mental identification of the ‘fort’ to be broken
Use as a mantra for breaking lethargy/depression-like heaviness and reclaiming spaciousness.
bṛhat 'the vast' from √bṛh 'to grow, expand'—a key RV term for the wide truth-consciousness (bṛhat). varṣman 'height/bulk' conveys accumulated mass. viṣṭapa can mean 'seat/abode/firm place' (later 'heaven'); here likely 'fixed stronghold'. pauṃsya from pumān/pum- 'man' → 'manly strength'. kṛṣe: √kṛṣ has 'draw/plough' and by extension 'tear/drag down'; the semantic allows inner 'ploughing up' of hardened formations.
bṛhat (the Vast), removal of entrenched obstruction, heroic force (pauṃsya) as spiritual potency
R̥ta requires open channels and spaces; the fort’s fall restores lawful movement.
Seeing obstruction as a formation (not ‘self’) is satya that enables release.
Creation as widening: the vast emerges when the congested mass is broken.
Aurobindonian: widening (bṛhat) is a key sign of higher consciousness; resistance is subconscient mass.
Fort = rigid habit-structure; swelling = accumulated inertia; vast = open consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The overthrow of the demon’s stronghold: Indra breaks the fixed seat of obstruction (viṣṭapa) and clears the 'vast'. This is a variant of the fortress-breaking myth that complements the water-release complex.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- bṛhat from √bṛh 'grow' aligns with IE growth/expansion roots (broad semantic family). The heroic 'manly might' (pauṃsya) fits the IE heroic diction where virility encodes potency and victory in battle-myth.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi identifies Indra’s deed as a model for inner transformation: Indra’s pauṃsya is invoked to plough up and break the hardened formations in the seeker so that the bṛhat (wide consciousness) can manifest.
Widening practice: feel the ‘vast’ above and around; let Indra-force break the inner congestion.
Anāhata (expansion) with Ājñā (illumination)
Slow inhale imagining wideness; chant on exhale as a ‘downward strike’ removing heaviness.
From compressed to expansive; calm strength
Name the ‘Arbuda’ (one heavy pattern). Chant, then sit and sense space opening in chest and head; avoid mental arguing—let the mantra do the work.
Keep four-pada Triṣṭubh gait; emphasize the fall after the main udātta to convey ‘casting down’ (exact svara needs source).
Give weight to ‘ny arbudasya’ and ‘varṣmāṇam’; brighten on ‘bṛhataḥ’; conclude firmly on ‘pauṃsyam’.
ny: nasal + y glide; avoid inserting vowel, arbudasya: clear rb cluster, viṣṭapam: retroflex ṣ; short a, bṛhataḥ: vocalic ṛ; final ḥ audible
Grounded, forceful, then opening and spacious
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