Rig Veda 8.34.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 34, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.34
आ नो याहि महेमते सहस्रोते शतामघ । दिवो अमुष्य शासतो दिवं यय दिवावसो ॥
ā́ no yāhi mahematé sáhasrote śatā́magha | divó amúṣya śā́sato dívaṃ yáya divāvaso ||
हमारे पास आओ, तुम्हारा दिल बहुत बड़ा है। तुम हज़ार मदद करने वाले हो और सौ शक्तियों के मालिक हो। उस आसमान की हुकूमत से आओ और इस उजाले वाले आसमान में आ जाओ। बचाने वाली शक्ति हम में लाओ।
Soma pressing hymnal usage: invitation to Indra as principal Soma-drinker and giver of magha (bounty/force)
Bṛhat/vastness (mahat as inner wideness), Ṛta as governing command (śās-), Divine aid as many-formed energies (ūti)
Helps are said to descend by the higher ‘command’—ṛta’s governance.
True wideness is aligned with satya, not mere expansion of ego.
Enlargement of the mental heaven to receive higher forces.
Aurobindonian: wideness as prerequisite for descent and transformation.
day implied
Numbers symbolize plenitude of energies; heaven symbolizes wide luminous consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as the ‘many-helping’ giver (sahasraūti, śatāmagha) who is summoned to arrive and release plenitudes. Mythically it is the arrival of the bounteous champion; psychologically it is the calling of a concentrated power that can deploy innumerable aids to break limitation and establish wideness (mahat) in the seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mah- (great) reflects PIE *meg̑h₂-; div-/dyu reflects PIE *dyew-; √yā reflects PIE *h₁ey-. The numeric epithets ‘thousand/hundred’ are a shared Indo-European poetic device for intensification rather than arithmetic, marking superabundance of divine capacity.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi approaches Indra not as a mere donor of outer riches but as the source of many-sided inner helps (ūti) and empowering gifts (magha). The reciprocity is alignment with the higher command (śāsataḥ): the human call seeks to make the divine force present and operative, so the ‘great-mindedness’ becomes a lived state rather than an aspiration.
Widen the mind; invite multiple forms of help; release the demand for one fixed outcome.
anāhata (wideness and generosity) leading to ājñā (guidance)
Inhale imagining expansion in the chest; exhale chanting the refrain, feeling descent into the whole system.
Expansive, supported, victorious calm.
Practice ‘widening’ for 2 minutes (sense space around the body), then chant; after chanting, note 3 practical ‘helps’ (insights/actions) that arise.
Emphasize udātta on marked syllables (e.g., नो॑, सह॑स्रोते); keep epithets crisp and evenly paced.
Treat the first hemistich as a rising ladder of epithets; allow a slight pause before the refrain for ‘descent’.
ā no yāhi: lengthen ā, keep ‘yā’ clear, mahemate: aspirate ‘h’ lightly; do not split e-ma, sahasra-ūte: keep ‘sahasra’ flowing; long ū, śata-magha: retroflex ṣ? here ś (palatal) in śata; ‘gh’ voiced aspirate
Expansive, confident, resonant in chest and brow.
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