Rig Veda 8.92.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 92, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.92
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
पुरुहूतं पुरुष्टुतं गाथान्यं सनश्रुतम् । इन्द्र इति ब्रवीतन ॥
puru-hūtáṃ puru-stutáṃ gāthānyàṃ sánā-śrutam | índra íti bravītana ||
उसे इंद्र बोलो, बहुत लोग उसे पुकारते हैं, बहुत लोग उसकी तारीफ करते हैं। वो गानों के लायक है, पुराने ज़माने से सुना जाता है। इस नाम को ज़ोर से बोलो और ज़िंदा रखो।
Word by Word
- पुरुहूतम्
- much-invoked, often called uponविशेषणनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (ब्रवीत/ब्रवीतन के कथ्य-विषय का विशेषण)Root पुरु-हूत (प्रातिपदिक; √ह्वा ‘आह्वाने’ से कृत ‘हूत’)
- पुरुष्टुतम्
- much-praisedविशेषणनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (कथ्य-विषय का विशेषण)Root पुरु-स्तुत (प्रातिपदिक; √स्तु ‘स्तुतौ’ से कृत ‘स्तुत’)
- गाथान्यम्
- worthy of songs/laid in songsविशेषणनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (कथ्य-विषय का विशेषण)Root गाथा-न्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘गाथा’ + ‘न्य’)
- सनश्रुतम्
- famed from of old, long-renownedविशेषणनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (कथ्य-विषय का विशेषण)Root सन-श्रुत (प्रातिपदिक; √श्रु ‘श्रवणे’ से कृत ‘श्रुत’)
- इन्द्रः
- Indraसंज्ञा (नाम)पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (ब्रवीतन का कर्ता)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- इति
- thus, ‘so’ (quotative)अव्ययअव्यय (उद्धरण/वाक्य-समाप्ति सूचक)Role (वाक्य-चिह्न/उद्धरण-चिह्न)Root इति (निपात)
- ब्रवीतन
- you two should say / proclaimक्रियालोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचनRole क्रिया (आह्वान/आदेश)Root √ब्रू (वचने)
Sandhi Notes
- मन्त्रपाठ में प्रमुख संधि-समास: पुरुहूतम् (=पुरु+हूतम्), पुरुष्टुतम् (=पुरु+स्तुतम्; ‘रु+स्’ संयोग), गाथान्यम् (=गाथा+न्यं), सनश्रुतम् (=सन+श्रुतम्). ‘इन्द्र इति’ में पदविभाग स्पष्ट है
- ‘ब्रवीतन’ लोट् मध्यम-द्विवचन (दो जनों को संबोधन) है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Name him as Indra: the much-invoked, much-praised, fit for songs, heard of from ancient times.
Inner meaning
The mantra teaches the power of true naming: to say “Indra” is to invoke the illumined Mind as a living presence. Repeated call (puruhūta) and praise (puruṣṭuta) are not flattery but concentration—fixing consciousness on the higher faculty until it awakens and answers. The ‘anciently heard’ (sanaśruta) indicates a perennial inner experience accessible whenever aspiration becomes sincere.
Universal truth
What we repeatedly invoke with clarity and devotion becomes active in us; sacred speech is a technology of consciousness that makes higher powers present.
Themes
Invocation, Name-power, Communal chant
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.92.1, Rig Veda 8.92.3, Rig Veda 8.92.4, Rig Veda 8.92.5
Family tradition
Maṇḍala VIII praise-poetry tradition; often communal and performance-oriented, suitable for repeated invocation.
Significance
Emphasizes mantra as living speech: the rishi’s insight is that the deity is approached most directly through the right vibration and steady calling.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Puruhūta, Puruṣṭuta, Sanaśruta
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (speech), Agni (will that carries the offering), Soma (delight that supports invocation)
Cosmic role
Receiver of invocation; awakener of the luminous mind in response to human call.
Inner power
The answering Presence—illumination that comes when the mind is steadily turned upward through mantra.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-invocation within Soma liturgy; naming formula in stotra
पु॒रु॒हू॒तं पु॑रुष्टु॒तं गा॑था॒न्यं१॒॑ सन॑श्रुतम् । इन्द्र॒ इति॑ ब्रवीतन ॥
पु॒रु॒ऽहू॒तम् । पु॒रु॒ऽस्तु॒तम् । गा॒था॒न्य॑म् । सन॑ऽश्रुतम् । इन्द्रः॑ । इति॑ । ब्र॒वी॒त॒न॒ ॥
puru-hūtam | puru-stutam | gāthānyam | sana-śrutam | indraḥ | iti | bravītana
Likely Gāyatrī (common for brief naming/invocation verses)
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3×8 (probable)
Mantric, repetitive, name-centered; easy to loop.
Creates a focused groove of remembrance; the name ‘Indra’ becomes a pivot that gathers scattered attention.
- पुरुहूतम् (puruhūtam)
- Literal: much-invoked. Symbolic: the power that responds to persistent aspiration across many states of being
- पुरुष्टुतम् (puruṣṭutam)
- Literal: much-praised. Symbolic: stabilized remembrance and affirmation that strengthens the contact
- गाथान्यम् (gāthānyam)
- Literal: fit for song/recitation. Symbolic: that which can be carried by the soul’s utterance into experience
- सनश्रुतम् (sanaśrutam)
- Literal: heard from of old. Symbolic: timeless inner tradition—archetypal truth repeatedly rediscovered
- इन्द्रः इति (indra iti)
- Literal: ‘Indra’ thus. Symbolic: the seed-name (bīja-like) that calls the illumined intelligence into action
Refrain-like instruction to the singers/priests: utter the deity-name as a focused mantra; fits communal stotra performance.
At points of calling the deity to the offering; before/around Soma drinking verses
Collective utterance of epithets and the deity-name to establish presence
Japa-like repetition of “Indra iti” to cultivate decisive clarity and brave intelligence in daily life.
: ‘much, many’. √ ‘call, invoke’ (hūta). √ ‘praise’ (stuta). : ‘song, chant’ (poetic utterance). /: ‘of old, anciently’. √ ‘hear’ (śruta): ‘heard/celebrated’. The verse foregrounds naming as performative speech-act (bravītana).
nāma (name) as power-sign and invocation-key, tradition as ‘anciently heard’ (sanā-śruta) inner memory
Right naming aligns speech with ṛta; the invoked power then acts to restore order in thought and action.
The ‘anciently heard’ truth is satya that persists beyond time; speech becomes a channel of truth-force.
Creation through sound/utterance—calling forth the deity as a formative power in consciousness.
Vedic psychology of mantra (Aurobindo): speech as a means of manifestation of higher consciousness.
Song = aspiration shaped into rhythm; hearing = receptivity of the inner ear to higher guidance; ancient śruti = perennial intuitive knowledge.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Not a narrative myth but a ritual-mythologem: the potency of repeated invocation. Indra is constituted as ‘much-called’ and ‘much-praised’, i.e., a power made present through the collective voice.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ ‘hear’ is from PIE *ḱleu- ‘hear’ (cf. Greek klúō, Latin cluēre, English ‘loud’ via semantic shift). √ ‘praise’ relates to PIE *stew- ‘praise’ (cf. Greek stéō?; more clearly Latin stupeo is different, but Indo-Iranian retains a strong praise lexicon). The formulaic puru-X compounding is archaic poetic style.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi instructs the collective to establish contact by precise naming. The devatā is approached as a responsive power: the more the invocation is concentrated and repeated, the more the Indra-force becomes available for inner victory.
Name-invocation: let ‘Indra’ be felt as a descending clarity above the brow and behind the eyes.
ājñā
Simple japa on natural breath: inhale softly, exhale ‘indra iti’
Collected, receptive, quietly courageous
Repeat slowly until the name stops being a word and becomes a presence; then pause and listen inwardly (śruti) for a directive or widening.
Svara marks not provided; keep a steady tonal center, with a slight udatta lift on ‘índraḥ’ and a clear cadence on ‘bravītana’.
Stress epithets evenly: púru-hūtam púru-ṣṭutam… then land firmly on ‘índraḥ íti’.
puru-: roll lightly, avoid ‘pool’ sound; keep short ‘u’, ṣṭu in puruṣṭutam: retroflex cluster ‘ṣṭ’ cleanly, bravītana: long ī (vī) sustained, dental ‘t’
Clear, steady, slightly inward; let repetition feel like remembrance.
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