Rig Veda 8.41.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 41, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.41
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
स क्षपः परि षस्वजे न्युस्रो मायया दधे स विश्वं परि दर्शतः । तस्य वेनीरनु व्रतमुषस्तिस्रो अवर्धयन्नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥
sa kṣapaḥ pari sasvaje ni usraḥ māyayā dadhe sa viśvaṃ pari darśataḥ | tasya venīr anu vratam uṣas tisro avardhayan nabhantām anyake same ||
वो रातों को चारों तरफ से अपने पास लेता है। वो अपनी शक्ति से सुबह की रोशनी को नीचे ला देता है। वो सारी दुनिया को देख रहा है। उसके नियम के हिसाब से तीन सुभें बड़ी हो रही हैं, जैसे पानी की धारें। रोशनियाँ चमकती रहें हर जगह।
Word by Word
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्षपः
- nightsNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role कर्मRoot क्षप् (स्त्री) ‘रात्रि’
- परि
- aroundIndeclinable (preverb)Root परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- षस्वजे
- embracedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √स्वज् (स्वजँ/स्वञ्ज्) ‘आलिङ्गने’
- न्युस्रः
- streaming down / flowingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (सः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्) / विधेयRoot न्युस्र (प्रातिपदिक; विशेषण)
- मायया
- by (his) magic/powerNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः तृतीया एकवचनम्Role करणRoot माया (स्त्री)
- दधे
- has placed/has setVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √धा (धाञ्) ‘धारणे/स्थापने’
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वम्
- the whole (all)Adjective (substantive use)नपुंसकलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot विश्व (विशेषण/सर्वनामवत्)
- परि
- aroundIndeclinable (preverb)Root परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- दर्शतः
- visible, to-be-seen, manifestAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम् (कर्मणि/विधेय-विशेषणम्) अथवा नपुंसकलिङ्गः प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (पाठभेदानुसार)Role कर्म-विशेषणम्Root दर्शत (विशेषण) < √दृश् ‘दर्शने’
- तस्य
- of himPronounपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गः षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्धRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वेनीः
- braids/locks (rays as braids)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot वेनी (स्त्री) ‘वेणी/कुचबन्ध/केशरचना’
- अनु
- following, alongIndeclinable (preverb)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- व्रतम्
- the ordinance/lawNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot व्रत (नपुंसक) ‘व्रत/नियम/आज्ञा’
- उषः
- DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम् (सम्बोधन/प्रथमा-रूपेण)Role कर्तृRoot उषस् (स्त्री) ‘उषा’
- तिस्रः
- threeNumeralस्त्रीलिङ्गः प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ-विशेषणम्Root त्रि (संख्या) स्त्रीलिङ्ग-रूपम्
- अवर्धयन्
- they increasedVerbलङ् (इम्परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √वृध् (वृधँ) ‘वर्धने’
- अभन्ताम्
- let them shineVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), तृतीयपुरुषः बहुवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √भा/√भन् (भानँ/भनँ) ‘दीप्तौ/प्रकाशे’ (वेदिक) अथवा √भा ‘शोभने’
- अन्यके
- elsewhere / in another (place)Adjective (substantive use)पुंलिङ्गः सप्तमी एकवचनम् (वेदिक-रूप; ‘अन्यस्मिन्’ अर्थे)Role अधिकरणRoot अन्यक (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अन्य/भिन्न’)
- समे
- in the level place / on the plainNoun/Adjective (locative)नपुंसकलिङ्गः सप्तमी एकवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot सम (नपुंसक/पुं) ‘सम/समतल’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-विच्छेद): स क्षपः परि षस्वजे (परि+सस्वजे → परि षस्वजे; वेदिके ‘स’→‘ष’ परसवर्ण/प्रगृह्य-प्रभावः) । न्यु१स्रो = नि + उस्रः (उपसर्ग ‘नि’ + ‘उस्र’ → ‘न्युस्र’ यणादेशः) । मायया दधे (सन्धि नास्ति) । स विश्वं परि दर्शतः (परि + दर्शतः पृथक्) । तस्य वेनीः अनु व्रतम् । उषस् तिस्रः (उषस्तिस्रः → उषः तिस्रः; विसर्ग-सन्धिः/पदविभागः) । अवर्धयन् अभन्ताम् अन्यके समे (अन्यके = वेदिक-सप्तमी; समे सप्तमी) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Varuṇa, by his power, encompasses the nights, sets the Dawn beneath/within them, and surveys all existence. Under his law the three Dawns grow and shine; a refrain prays that the lights may shine in a renewed sameness/harmony.
Inner meaning
The all-comprehending Truth-Consciousness (Varuṇa) embraces the obscurities (nights) without being limited by them, and by māyā (formative knowledge-power) brings forth the illuminative faculty (Uṣas as the ‘dawn-cow’, the rays of knowledge) from below—out of the subconscient. The ‘three Dawns’ are repeated gradations of awakening (physical–vital–mental, or waking–dream–deep transformed), which increase as braided currents (venīḥ) when the seeker aligns with the divine law (vrata). The refrain becomes a psychological aspiration: may the inner lights keep shining in a new, higher equilibrium of consciousness.
Universal truth
True order is not imposed by force but by a consciousness that can hold darkness and still evoke light. When life is aligned with an inner law of truth, illumination arrives in progressive waves and stabilizes as harmony.
Themes
Cosmic order, All-seeing deity, Dawn symbolism, Measured formation
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.41.1, Rig Veda 8.41.2, Rig Veda 8.41.8, Rig Veda 8.41.9, Rig Veda 8.41.10
Family tradition
Likely Kaṇva/Angirasa-associated style of Varuṇa hymns emphasizing cosmic order; attribution uncertain.
Significance
The anonymous seer speaks from an experience of Varuṇa as vast, regulating consciousness: a yogic vision where darkness is held and transformed into illumination under an inner law.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- All-seeing (pari-darśata), Law-holder (vrata-vān), World-embracer, Māyāvat (possessor of formative power)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Aryaman, Adityas, Uṣas, Sūrya
Cosmic role
Guardian of ṛta (cosmic order), binder of worlds and cycles (night–dawn), upholder of truth and right measure.
Inner power
Vastness and integrality of consciousness that perceives all movements, corrects distortion, and releases hidden light from the subconscient.
In ritual
Where it is used
Varuṇa-related stotras/śastras for order, purification, and restoration of ṛta (general śrauta usage rather than a single fixed rite)
स क्षप॒: परि॑ षस्वजे॒ न्यु१॒॑स्रो मा॒यया॑ दधे॒ स विश्वं॒ परि॑ दर्श॒तः । तस्य॒ वेनी॒रनु॑ व्र॒तमु॒षस्ति॒स्रो अ॑वर्धय॒न्नभ॑न्तामन्य॒के स॑मे ॥
सः । क्षपः॑ । परि॑ । स॒स्व॒जे॒ । नि । उ॒स्रः । मा॒यया॑ । दधे॑ । सः । विश्व॑म् । परि॑ । द॒र्श॒तः । तस्य॑ । वेनीः॑ । अनु॑ । व्र॒तम् । उ॒षः । ति॒स्रः । अ॒व॒र्ध॒य॒न् । नभ॑न्ताम् । अ॒न्य॒के । स॒मे॒ ॥
saḥ | kṣapaḥ | pari | sasvaje | ni | usraḥ | māyayā | dadhe | saḥ | viśvam | pari | darśataḥ | tasya | venīḥ | anu | vratam | uṣaḥ | tisraḥ | avardhayan | nabhantām | anyake | same
Triṣṭubh (probable for RV 8.41; many verses in this hymn-family are triṣṭubh)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Steady, law-like cadence with forward drive; suited to proclamations of cosmic order.
Induces a broad, spacious attention; supports contemplation of vastness and the gradual emergence of inner light.
- क्षपः (kṣapaḥ)
- Literal: nights. Symbolic: periods of obscurity, ignorance, subconscious cover
- उ॒स्रः / उषस् (usraḥ/uṣas)
- Literal: dawn; shining cow. Symbolic: illumination; rays of knowledge emerging from below
- माया (māyā)
- Literal: power of formation/measure. Symbolic: divine knowledge-power that shapes experience and brings hidden light into form
- व्रतम् (vratam)
- Literal: vow; law; ordained action. Symbolic: the inner rule of Truth (ṛta) to which the being must consent
- वेनीः (venīḥ)
- Literal: braids; braided streams. Symbolic: interlaced currents of light/knowledge; harmonized movements of awakening
- परि दर्शतः (pari darśataḥ)
- Literal: seeing all around. Symbolic: integral awareness; all-surveying consciousness
- तिस्रः उषसः (tisraḥ uṣasaḥ)
- Literal: three dawns. Symbolic: triple gradation of illumination (often read as three planes or three awakenings)
Used in Varuṇa worship emphasizing his cosmic surveillance and ordinance (vrata); dawn/night imagery supports inner purification and transition rites.
Invoked in rites seeking harmony, confession/rectification, and right ordering of forces; also suitable for dawn contemplations.
Recitation with offering/mental oblation—placing obscurity into the ‘night’ and calling forth Uṣas as inner light under Varuṇa’s law.
Use as a meditation-chant for transforming depression/mental fog into clarity by invoking vast witnessing and lawful alignment.
kṣap: ‘night’ (covering) from √kṣap ‘become dark’. usra/usrā: ‘dawn, ruddy, cow of light’ from √vas/√usr ‘shine’ (Vedic usra ‘bright’). māyā: from √mā ‘measure’ (PIE *meh1-), ‘measured formation’ rather than illusion. vrata: from √vṛ ‘choose/will’ or ‘enclose’, ‘fixed ordinance’. darśataḥ: from √dṛś ‘see’ (PIE *derk-).
māyā as formative measure, vrata (divine law), triple illumination (three dawns)
Varuṇa’s vrata is the operative form of ṛta; dawns increase when the being follows that law.
All-surrounding vision (pari-darśata) implies truth-seeing that tolerates no self-deception.
Emergence of light from darkness; ordered manifestation through māyā.
Proto-Vedāntic and Yogic symbolism (as developed by Sri Aurobindo/R.L. Kashyap): cosmic order as inner psychological law.
dawn emerging from night
Night = subconscious/ignorance; Dawn = awakening knowledge; braided streams = harmonized currents of illumination in the mind-life-body.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Varuṇa’s ordinance over night and dawn: he ‘embraces’ the nights and sets the dawn by māyā (measured power), causing the triple dawns to grow according to his vrata. Innerly, the law of truth holds the darkness in a containing order and brings graded illuminations.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- māyā from √mā ‘measure’ continues PIE *meh1- (Latin metior, Greek metron), indicating formation by measure. √dṛś ‘see’ relates to PIE *derk- (Greek derkomai), matching the all-seeing motif.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi contemplates Varuṇa’s vrata as the condition for illumination. The exchange is contemplative and aspirational: by aligning to the ordinance, the seeker receives increasing dawns—successive unveilings of consciousness.
Rest in vast witnessing (Varuṇa) and invite dawn-illumination to rise from below the surface mind.
Ājñā (witnessing clarity) with support from Mūlādhāra/Svādhiṣṭhāna (subconscient release)
Slow nāḍī-śodhana-like alternate awareness breathing; exhale ‘night’ (tension/falsehood), inhale ‘dawn’ (clarity).
From tamasic covering to wide, sattvic clarity; a poised, law-aligned attention.
Chant, then silently observe the ‘night zones’ without aversion; affirm alignment with vrata; visualize three successive brightenings spreading through body-life-mind.
Use Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā tradition; exact svara requires the pada + svara notation from a recitation source.
Keep udātta peaks clear on key words like kṣapáḥ, uṣráḥ/uṣás, māyáyā, vratám; avoid flattening the refrain cadence.
: pronounce kṣa as a conjunct (k + ṣa), not ‘kha’, /: retroflex ṣ in uṣas; keep short vowels distinct, : mā-yā with long ā, : ve-nīḥ with long ī and visarga light release
Broad, steady, ‘vast’ tone; slightly brighter on uṣas phrases.
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