Rig Veda 8.54.8: Mandala 8, Sukta 54, Mantra 8
Sukta 8.54
- Rishi
- Praskaṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Not securely determinable from excerpt alone
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
वयं त इन्द्र स्तोमेभिर्विधेम त्वमस्माकं शतक्रतो । महि स्थूरं शशयं राधो अह्रयं प्रस्कण्वाय नि तोशय ॥
vayáṃ ta indra stómebhir vidhema tvám asmā́kaṃ śatakrato | máhi sthūráṃ śaśayáṃ rā́dho ahráyaṃ práskaṇvāya ní tośaya ||
हे इंद्र, हम तुम्हारी स्तुति में गाना गाते हैं। तुम हमारे हो और तुम्हारी शक्ति बहुत बड़ी है। प्रस्कण्व के लिए इतना धन और सुख दे दो जो कभी कम न हो। यह उसके पास पक्का रहे।
Word by Word
- वयम्
- wePronounप्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- to youPronounचतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन (ते = तुभ्यम्)Role सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद्/तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; here 2nd person enclitic)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper) संबोधनसंबोधन, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्गRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्तोमेभिः
- with hymns/praisesNounतृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुल्लिङ्गRole करणRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- विधेम
- may we serve/offer; may we do (for you)Verbलोट् (विधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ्-सम्भाव्य; RV usage), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot धा (धातु; उपसर्ग वि-) → वि-धा
- त्वम्
- youPronounप्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्माकम्
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शतक्रतो
- O hundred-powered oneNoun/Adjective (epithet) संबोधनसंबोधन, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्गRole सम्बोधनRoot शतक्रतु (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि ‘having a hundred powers/rites’)
- महि
- greatly; greatly (indeed)Indeclinableअव्ययRole विशेषण (क्रिया-विशेषण)Root महि (अव्यय; also related to मह्/महान् semantic field)
- स्थूरम्
- strong, stout, abundantAdjectiveद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (राधः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेष्य-रूपेण राधः)Root स्थूर (प्रातिपदिक)
- शशयम्
- swift, impetuousAdjectiveद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (राधः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेष्य-रूपेण राधः)Root शशय (प्रातिपदिक; ‘swift/impetuous’, Vedic)
- राधः
- bounty, gift, wealthNounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्गRole कर्मRoot राधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अह्रयम्
- unfailing, unerringAdjectiveद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (राधः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेष्य-रूपेण राधः)Root अह्रय (प्रातिपदिक; ‘unfailing/undelaying’, Vedic)
- प्रस्कण्वाय
- to PraskanvaNoun (proper)चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्गRole सम्प्रदानRoot प्र-स्कण्व (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषि-नाम)
- नि
- down; fully (as preverb)Indeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRole क्रिया-विशेषक (उपसर्ग)Root नि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- तोषय
- gladden/satisfy (you)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot तुष् (धातु) → तोषय (णिच् causative stem)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): व॒यं | ते | इन्द्र | स्तोमेभिः | विधेम | त्वम् | अस्माकम् | शतक्रतो | महि | स्थूरम् | शशयम् | राधः | अह्रयम् | प्रस्कण्वाय | नि | तोषय । Key sandhi: (1) स्तोमेभिर्विधेम = स्तोमेभिः + विधेम (visarga before v → r). (2) त्वम॒स्माकं = त्वम् + अस्माकम् (final m + initial a, no change in writing beyond padaccheda). (3) नि तोषय is preverb + imperative
- in saṃhitā written as नि तो॑शय with accent. Accents are retained from saṃhitā orthography
- padaccheda does not alter lexical accent classes
The meaning
Outer meaning
The singers serve Indra with hymns. Indra, ‘hundred-powered’ (śatakratu), is asked to establish in Praskaṇva a great, solid, undiminishing abundance (rādhas) as a secure possession.
Inner meaning
Stoma (hymn) is the formed thought-sound that builds a bridge to the illumined Mind. By this service, the seeker claims a living relationship: ‘you are ours’—not possession but intimate alliance. Śatakratu is Indra as manifold-effective will: a power that can act in many ways in the complex human field. The request is for rādhas that is mahi, sthūra, śaśaya, ahraya—vast, stable, well-founded, not wasting away: enduring realization rather than passing uplift. ‘Ni tośaya’ asks Indra to make the abundance settle and rest—integrated into the nature of Praskaṇva (the embodied aspirant).
Universal truth
Spiritual gains must be stabilized and embodied. Illumination becomes a lasting possession only when it is made to ‘rest’ in the character and life, not merely experienced as a transient peak.
Themes
stotra, divine-ownership-bond, enduring-abundance, seer-benefit
The seer
- Rishi
- Praskaṇva (within Kāṇva lineage)
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.54 (hymn context), Other Kāṇva Indra hymns in RV 8 (family collection)
Family tradition
Kāṇva seers often name themselves in verses when sealing a siddhi—requesting that the divine gift become established in the embodied life.
Significance
Praskaṇva’s mention signals the mantra as a ‘settling’ prayer: not only to win illumination but to fix it as a durable inner wealth.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- śatakratu (hundred-powered)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (stabilizing word/intuition), Agni (will that carries offerings)
Cosmic role
Giver of victorious riches; stabilizer of gains after the battle with obstruction.
Inner power
Power of effective illumination that can consolidate realization into steady character and capacity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra; could accompany dakṣiṇā/boon-request moments in Soma context (general)
व॒यं त॑ इन्द्र॒ स्तोमे॑भिर्विधेम॒ त्वम॒स्माकं॑ शतक्रतो । महि॑ स्थू॒रं श॑श॒यं राधो॒ अह्र॑यं॒ प्रस्क॑ण्वाय॒ नि तो॑शय ॥
व॒यम् । ते॒ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । स्तोमे॑भिः । वि॒धे॒म॒ । त्वम् । अ॒स्माक॑म् । श॒त॒क्र॒तो॒ इति॑ शतऽक्रतो । महि॑ । स्थू॒रम् । श॒श॒यम् । राधः॑ । अह्र॑यम् । प्रस्क॑ण्वाय । नि । तो॒श॒य॒ ॥
vayam | te | indra | stomebhiḥ | vidhema | tvam | asmākam | śatakrato itiśata-krato | mahi | sthūram | śaśayam | rādhaḥ | ahrayam | praskaṇvāya | ni | tośaya
Declarative devotion followed by weighty, grounding petition—mirrors ‘sthūra’ stability.
Creates a sense of firming and consolidation; good for ‘sealing’ meditation after uplift.
- स्तोम (stoma)
- Literal: hymn of praise. Symbolic: formed mantra-thought that builds inner contact
- विधेम (vidhema)
- Literal: we would serve/arrange. Symbolic: consecrated ordering of consciousness
- शतकृतु (śatakratu)
- Literal: of a hundred powers/intentions. Symbolic: manifold-effective divine will in the mind
- राधस् (rādhas)
- Literal: gift, abundance. Symbolic: inner riches: force, joy, wideness, realization
- स्थूर (sthūra)
- Literal: solid, massive. Symbolic: stable embodiment; not fragile or mental-only
- अह्रय (ahraya)
- Literal: not diminishing, not failing. Symbolic: enduring attainment beyond fluctuation
- नि तोशय (ni tośaya)
- Literal: make settle down, make rest. Symbolic: integration—realization seated in the being
- प्रस्कण्व (Praskaṇva)
- Literal: name of seer. Symbolic: the seeker-personality meant to embody the conquest
Praise-hymn (stoma) to Indra for establishing stable rādhas (abundance) for the seer/patron line; broadly compatible with Soma praise cycles.
After praise, at the moment of requesting the boon; also as a closing verse to stabilize the invoked force.
Recitation with offering and formal request for rādhas.
Use after meditation or insight to ‘seat’ the gain: chant once slowly, then sit in stillness for integration.
vidhema: vi-√dhā ‘to arrange, dispose’ → ritual ‘to serve by setting hymns/offerings in order’; śatakratu: krátu- ‘power of will/intelligence in action’ (not merely ‘deed’)—Indra as manifold executor; rādhas- ‘abundance’ (gift-power); ni-tośaya from √tuṣ ‘be satisfied’ → causative ‘make it settle into contented stability’; ahrayam: ‘un-seizable/undiminishing’ indicating enduring possession rather than transient gain.
kratu (effective will-intelligence), stability of attainment (ni- ‘down into foundation’)
R̥ta is not only victory but right consolidation—order established in the being.
Ahraya rādhas = satya-gain: what does not diminish with time.
From invocation to embodiment: the descent of the vast into form (sthūra).
Integral Vedism: realization must become part of nature (transformation), not remain a mental experience.
Treasure = inner riches of consciousness; settling = grounding of higher force into the physical-vital-mental instrument.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘establishment of the boon’ mythologem: Indra is asked not only to give but to ‘set down’ (ni-) and make the abundance repose (śaśaya / tośaya) as a stable realization—an inner conquest consolidated into enduring possession.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhā (vidhema) is a major PIE root *dʰeh₁- ‘to put, set’ with broad IE reflexes; its ritual semantics (‘to perform/serve’) preserve archaic ‘setting in order’. √tuṣ ‘be satisfied’ shows the causative strategy typical of early Indo-Iranian to express ‘make X abide in a state’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- A mutual belonging is declared (‘you are ours’): the r̥ṣi offers stoma as formative speech-power, and Indra responds by stabilizing rādhas. The relationship is thus not transactional wealth-seeking but a yogic reciprocity: hymnic order (vi-√dhā) evokes ordered descent of force and lasting fulfilment.
Stabilize illumination into lasting capacity; ‘seat’ the gained force in the body-mind.
Mūlādhāra (stability) supporting Ājñā (illumination)
Slow exhale on ‘ni tośaya’ imagining the gift settling downward into the base and throughout the limbs.
Integrated calm—quiet possession without grasping.
After a peak experience, repeat the verse 3 or 9 times slowly; then remain still, feeling the ‘sthūra rādhas’ as steady strength rather than excitement.
Requires śākala svara notation source; not safely reconstructible here.
Keep first pāda clear and devotional; give weight to adjectives (mahi, sthūraṃ, ahrayam); slow and deliberate on ‘ni tośaya’.
śatakrato: retroflex ṭ; keep ‘kr’ crisp, stomebhir: ‘bh’ aspirated, sthūraṃ: aspirate ‘th’ (not dental t), ahrayam: initial a-; ‘hr’ cluster light but clear, praskaṇvāya: retroflex ṇ; long āya
Deep, steady, grounding; slightly lowered pitch on the final command.
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