Rig Veda 8.71.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 71, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.71
- Devata
- Agni as Ūrjo Napāt
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
स नो विश्वेभिर्देवेभिरूर्जो नपाद्भद्रशोचे । रयिं देहि विश्ववारम् ॥
sá no víśvebhir devébhir ū́rjo napād bhadráśoce | rayím dehi viśvávāram ||
तुम सारे देवता लोगों के साथ आओ। तुम्हारी ज्वाला अच्छी है। हुमें वो सब दो जो हमारे लिए अच्छा हो, जो हुमें खुश रखे।
Word by Word
- सः
- he (that one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (स-आदेशः) सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक) — अत्र चतुर्थ्यर्थेRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक
- विश्वेभिः
- with allAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot विश्व- प्रातिपदिक
- देवेभिः
- with the godsNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot देव- प्रातिपदिक
- ऊर्जः
- of strength / of nourishmentNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root ऊर्ज्/ऊर्जा- प्रातिपदिक
- नपात्
- the offspring/son (epithet: ‘Son of Nourishment/Strength’)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (apposition to सः)Root नपात्- प्रातिपदिक
- भद्रशोचे
- O you of auspicious flame / bright with благ radianceAdjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role SambodhanaRoot भद्र- + शोचि- (कर्मधारय-समास; शोचि ‘flame, radiance’)
- रयिम्
- wealthNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot रयि- प्रातिपदिक
- देहि
- giveVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √दा (दाने) धातु
- विश्ववारम्
- all-excellent / desirable to allAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (रयिम् विशेषणम्)Role Karma (qualifier)Root विश्व- + वार- (बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय; ‘all-choicest / all-excellent’)
Sandhi Notes
- स नो॒ → सः + नः (विसर्ग-लोपः एन्क्लिटिक-प्रोनाउनपूर्वे)
- विश्वे॑भिर्दे॒वेभि॒र् → विश्वेभिः + देवेभिः (विसर्गः ‘र्’ इति; पदान्त-ः + द-)
- ऊर्जो॑ नपा॒द् → ऊर्जः + नपात् (ः + न → ओ; पदान्त-ः सन्धिः)
- नपा॒द्भद्र॑शोचे → नपात् + भद्रशोचे (त् + भ → द्भ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With all the gods, O Ūrjo Napāt, O auspicious-flamed one, give us rayi—wealth/plenitude of all desirable forms.
Inner meaning
Agni as Ūrjo Napāt (offspring of nourishing power) is the flame born from the secret fullness (ūrj) of the divine Shakti. ‘With all the gods’ indicates that when the will is rightly kindled, all divine powers (illumination, harmony, strength, delight) cooperate. The requested rayi is not mere material wealth but plenitude of consciousness—many-sided well-being, capacities, and realizations that support the inner yajña.
Universal truth
True prosperity is an integrated plenitude: when the central will aligns with the deeper source of nourishment, all higher powers collaborate and life becomes many-gifted.
Themes
boon-request, collective-divinities, plenitude, Agni-as-nourisher
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.71.1, Rig Veda 8.71.2, Rig Veda 8.71.4, Rig Veda 8.71.5
Significance
The seer frames a key Vedic synthesis: Agni as the central power that can gather ‘all the gods’—a psychological integration where disparate faculties become harmonized around the flame of aspiration.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni as Ūrjo Napāt
- Epithets
- Ūrjo Napāt, Bhadraśoci, Jātavedas (contextual epithet in surrounding verses, as noted)
- Related deities
- Viśve Devāḥ, Soma, Indra, Aditi
Cosmic role
Emanation of sustaining cosmic energy; carrier of offerings who summons the totality of divine powers.
Inner power
Nourishing spiritual force that increases capacity, steadies growth, and brings auspicious purification.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni invocation for prosperity/strength; associated with offerings seeking rayi
स नो॒ विश्वे॑भिर्दे॒वेभि॒रूर्जो॑ नपा॒द्भद्र॑शोचे । र॒यिं दे॑हि वि॒श्ववा॑रम् ॥
सः । नः॒ । विश्वे॑भिः । दे॒वेभिः॑ । ऊर्जः॑ । नपा॑त् । भद्र॑ऽशोचे । र॒यिम् । दे॒हि॒ । वि॒श्वऽवा॑रम् ॥
saḥ | naḥ | viśvebhiḥ | devebhiḥ | ūrjaḥ | napāt | bhadra-śoce | rayim | dehi | viśva-vāram
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Approx. 4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Expansive and invocatory; a ‘gathering’ rhythm that feels inclusive.
Opens the sense of support from multiple higher powers; evokes fullness and gratitude.
- विश्वेभिर्देवैः (viśvebhir devaiḥ)
- Literal: with all the gods. Symbolic: Integrated action of multiple divine faculties in the being
- ऊर्जः नपात् (ūrjaḥ napāt)
- Literal: offspring of nourishment/strength. Symbolic: Flame born of the soul’s sustaining power; divine energy-source behind growth
- भद्रशोचे (bhadraśoce)
- Literal: of auspicious flame. Symbolic: Purifying light that brings well-being; beneficent heat
- रयिम् (rayim)
- Literal: wealth, treasure. Symbolic: Plenitude of consciousness: force, knowledge, harmony, right conditions
- विश्ववारम् (viśvavāram)
- Literal: all-desirable, bearing all boons. Symbolic: Many-sided fulfilment supporting the integral life
Invocatory request for rayi in a collective offering setting; Agni invoked together with the Viśve Devāḥ as harmonizing powers in the rite.
At the start of offerings requesting abundance and well-being; communal rites
Calling Agni with the Viśve Devāḥ to bestow rayi
Use for ‘integral prosperity’ intention-setting (clarity + strength + harmony + joy), especially before collaborative work or community practice.
(ūrj-) ‘sap, vigor, nourishment’ relates to strengthening and sustaining; napāt ‘offspring’ is an archaic epithet used for deities (e.g., Apām Napāt, Ūrjo Napāt), marking a concentrated manifestation of a source-power. śoci (śóciṣ-) from √śuc ‘to shine, be bright, be pure’. rayi from √rā/rai ‘to bestow, to grant; wealth’ broadened here to inner plenitude. vāra ‘choice, desirable thing’ (√vṛ ‘to choose’).
integration of powers (Viśve Devāḥ as totality of divine functions), R̥ta-supported abundance (rayi as ordered plenitude)
Rayi is the fruit of ṛta—rightly ordered cooperation of divine forces in life.
Plenitude is rooted in the true source (ūrj) rather than grasping desire.
Abundance as a manifestation of the hidden nourishing energy when invoked by the flame.
Vedic integralism (many powers unified); anticipates Upanishadic fullness (pūrṇatā) in spirit.
Nourishing power = inner sustenance/ojas; auspicious flame = purifying joy; ‘all gods’ = full-spectrum awakened faculties.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘son/offspring’ epiphany: Agni as Ūrjo Napāt, a concentrated birth of nourishing power, comes with the total host of gods to bestow rayi. Mythically, the fire born from the source of strength becomes the mediator of divine gifts; psychologically, a purified inner flame gathers dispersed faculties and produces integrated abundance.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- napāt ‘offspring’ corresponds to Indo-Iranian *napāt- (cf. Avestan napāt) and is part of an inherited kinship/lineage lexicon used mythopoetically. √śuc ‘shine’ has wide IE parallels in brightness/purity semantics. The -vām/-vant possessive and compound-building (viśva-vāra) reflect inherited poetic morphology.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer asks not isolated gain but ‘viśva-vāra’ rayi—an all-form wealth—through Agni acting in concert with all divine powers. The implied exchange: the human offers ordered aspiration and rite; Agni returns integrated force, nourishment, and fulfilled capacities.
Feel a nourishing flame rising from the heart/solar plexus; invite collaboration of all higher faculties.
Anahata (heart-flame of harmony) and Manipura (nourishing will)
Gentle coherent breathing (5–6 breaths/min) while repeating ‘ūrjo napād… rayiṃ dehi’
Widened, supported, integrative.
After centering, invoke ‘all the gods’ as qualities (clarity, courage, peace, joy). Ask for rayi as capacities for the path, not for egoic gain; end by offering gratitude.
Svara marks not provided; chant with uplift on ‘ūrjo napāt’ and a giving cadence on ‘rayiṃ dehi’.
Keep compounds clean: viśvebhir devebhiḥ; bhadraśoce as one flowing unit; lengthen ī in rayīm (rayiṃ).
viśvebhir: ‘śv’ cluster clear, devebhiḥ: aspirate ‘bh’, ūrjaḥ: long ū; final ḥ light, napāt: retroflex ṭ, bhadraśoce: ‘śo’ long-ish o; palatal ś, viśvavāram: long ā in vā
Bright, expansive, devotional.
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