Rig Veda 8.77.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 77, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.77
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
शतब्रध्न इषुस्तव सहस्रपर्ण एक इत् । यमिन्द्र चकृषे युजम् ॥
śatá-bradhna íṣuḥ táva sahásra-parṇa éka íd | yám índra cakṛṣé yújam ||
इंद्र, तुम्हारा एक तीर है जो सौ गाँठों से बना है। उसके हज़ार पंख हैं और वो एक ही काफी है। उस तीर से तुमने अपना काम जीत लिया है।
Word by Word
- शतब्रध्नः
- hundred-tawny/with a hundred tawny (steeds/rays)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (कर्तृ/सम्बोधन-सम्बन्धः) — ‘इषुः’ का विशेषणRoot शत- + ब्रध्न (प्रातिपदिक ‘ब्रध्न’ = धूसर/भूरा, ‘dun, tawny’)
- इषुः
- arrow; missileNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (स्तुत्य/वर्ण्य विषय) अथवा सम्बोधनार्थे नामRoot इषु (प्रातिपदिक)
- तव
- of you; yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी) — ‘तव’ = ‘thy/your’Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रपर्णः
- thousand-feathered; having a thousand vanesAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण — ‘इषुः’ का विशेषणRoot सहस्र- + पर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- एकः
- one; singleNumeral/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण — ‘इषुः’ का विशेषणRoot एक (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeed; just; evenIndeclinableअव्यय (निपात), अर्थे ‘एव/ही’Role निपात (बल/निश्चय-प्रदर्शन)Root इत् (निपात; emphatic particle)
- यम्
- whom/whichPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म — ‘युजम्’ के साथ समन्वय: ‘which yoke/companion’Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper) / Vocativeपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- चकृषे
- you have made; you fashionedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (कर्तृ = ‘त्वम्/इन्द्रः’)Root कृ (धातु)
- युजम्
- a yoke-fellow; companionNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म — ‘made (him) a yoke-fellow/companion’Root युज् (प्रातिपदिक ‘युज’ = योक/सहचर; ‘yoke-fellow, mate’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): शतब्रध्नः | इषुः | तव | सहस्रपर्णः | एकः | इत् | यम् | इन्द्र | चकृषे | युजम् || 1) ‘एक इत्’ = ‘एकः’ + ‘इत्’ (निपात), विसर्ग-लोप/पदसंयोग से संहिता में ‘एक इत्’। 2) ‘यमिन्द्र’ = ‘यम्’ + ‘इन्द्र’ (अकारान्त/व्यञ्जनान्त संधि; म् + इ → मि-), संहिता में ‘यमि॑न्द्र’।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Yours is the hundred-knotted arrow, thousand-feathered, one and sufficient—by which, O Indra, you have made your yoked instrument.
Inner meaning
Indra’s weapon is not mere violence but a concentrated, perfectly engineered force of illumination. ‘Hundred-knotted’ suggests many joints of power—multiple capacities bound into one decisive aim; ‘thousand-feathered’ suggests vast swiftness and far-reaching rays. Though one (ekaḥ), it suffices: a single pointed will of truth can accomplish what scattered efforts cannot. With it Indra fashions the yujam—the yoked instrument: the disciplined harnessing of energies (mind, life, senses) into a victorious movement.
Universal truth
One clear, integrated intention—supported by many capacities—can transform the whole system. Victory comes from yoked energies directed by illumined intelligence.
Themes
directed will, weapon symbolism, harnessing energies
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.77.3, RV 8.77.4, RV 8.77.5, RV 8.77.6
Family tradition
Kāṇva hymns frequently celebrate Indra’s ‘weapon’ as a symbol of concentrated power; here it becomes an image of yogic one-pointedness and harnessing.
Significance
The seer teaches the secret of effective sādhanā: unify many powers into one arrow of aspiration and make the whole being ‘yoked’ to the aim.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Lord of the arrow (iṣu-pati, implied), Yoker of powers (yuj-maker, implied)
- Related deities
- Maruts (forces to be yoked), Agni (leader of sacrifice), Bṛhaspati (right word that directs)
Cosmic role
Giver of victorious instrumentality; directs forces toward the goal and strikes the obstruction.
Inner power
One-pointed illumined will that harnesses and directs the life-force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation for victory and effective instrumentality in the sacrifice; suitable in martial/protective sequences within Soma rites.
श॒तब्र॑ध्न॒ इषु॒स्तव॑ स॒हस्र॑पर्ण॒ एक॒ इत् । यमि॑न्द्र चकृ॒षे युज॑म् ॥
श॒तऽब्र॑ध्नः । इषुः॑ । तव॑ । स॒हस्र॑ऽपर्णः । एकः॑ । इत् । यम् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । च॒कृ॒षे । युज॑म् ॥
śata-bradhnaḥ | iṣuḥ | tava | sahasra-parṇaḥ | ekaḥ | it | yam | indra | cakṛṣe | yujam
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (approximate)
Crisp, enumerative (hundred/thousand/one) creating a sense of precision and sufficiency.
Builds confidence in one-pointed practice; sharpens attention and energizes disciplined action.
- śata-bradhnaḥ
- Literal: hundred-knotted. Symbolic: many-fold powers and joints of force integrated into one weapon
- iṣuḥ
- Literal: arrow. Symbolic: focused intention; directed will of illumination
- sahasra-parṇaḥ
- Literal: thousand-feathered. Symbolic: swift, far-reaching rays; multitudinous supports to one movement
- ekaḥ it
- Literal: one indeed. Symbolic: one-pointedness; singular decisive act
- yujam
- Literal: yoked, harnessed; a team/instrument. Symbolic: disciplined integration of faculties; harnessing prāṇa/mind for victory
- cakṛṣe
- Literal: you have made/formed. Symbolic: conscious shaping of the inner instrument through illumination
Martial praise within Indra hymns; supports invocation for focused, well-yoked force in the sacrificer.
When calling for Indra’s decisive strike and the proper ‘yoking’ of powers for success of the rite.
Praise describing Indra’s weapon to invoke its corresponding power in the sacrificer.
A mantra for focus and discipline: before work, study, or meditation, to harness scattered energies into one directed effort.
: ‘arrow’ (directed intention). √yuj ‘yoke’ (PIE *yeug-; cf. Latin iugum, English yoke) encodes the idea of disciplined harnessing of force. -/- are Vedic hyperbolic numerals indicating plenitude, not arithmetic; they signify total capacity and manifold energies coordinated into one weapon.
unity harnessing multiplicity (eka with sahasra), disciplined instrumentality (yuj)
Yoking (yuj) is the inner form of ṛta: energies aligned to a true aim rather than dispersed.
The ‘one sufficient’ arrow is satya’s efficacy—truth-force acts decisively.
From multiplicity (hundred/thousand) to unity (one) to ordered action (yoked instrument).
Integral/psychological: transformation by one-pointed aspiration integrating many parts of nature.
weapon/arrow imagery (storm-god’s force as lightning-like directed power)
Arrow = directed will; feathers = radiating supports/energies; yoke = disciplined prāṇic-mental integration; chariot = embodied life-journey.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The divine weapon motif: Indra’s single arrow, though one, contains a plenitude of joints and feathers—many powers unified. Innerly, it is the concentrated will that harnesses countless supporting energies into one decisive act.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yuj ‘yoke’ is a classic PIE inheritance (*yeug-), central to Indo-European chariot culture and its poetic metaphors for discipline and control. The ‘weapon as will’ metaphor aligns with broader IE heroic diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi praises the god’s capacity to coordinate multiplicity into unity, implicitly seeking the same inner yoking: scattered energies in the human become a single arrow of intention under Indra’s guidance.
Form a single arrow of aspiration: one clear intention (truth, purity, courage) and let all energies support it.
ājñā (focus) and maṇipūra (directed will)
Bhrāmarī or steady nāḍī-śodhana to unify currents; then a brief held pause after inhale to ‘aim’ the arrow (without strain).
One-pointed, luminous readiness
Before chanting, choose one sankalpa. Chant 21 times, visualizing a single radiant arrow formed from many rays. After chanting, sit 3 minutes and feel the whole system ‘yoked’ to that aim.
Not fully derivable from provided text; chant with crisp articulations and a slight upward lift on enumerations (śata-, sahasra-, eka-) to mark increasing-to-unity emphasis.
Stress śatabradhnaḥ, iṣuḥ, sahasraparṇaḥ, ekaḥ, indra, yujam.
śata: palatal ś, bradhnaḥ: cluster bradh—keep voiced dh; final ḥ audible but light, iṣuḥ: retroflex ṣ; short uḥ, sahasra: clear h, parṇaḥ: retroflex ṇ; final ḥ, yujam: soft j; short a
Bright, precise, forward resonance; finish with a firm closure on yujam.
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