Rig Veda Sukta 4
Mandala 1Sukta 410 Mantras

Sukta 4

Sukta 1.4

Rishi

Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra

Devata

Agni (invoked as the integral, well-formed power of the sacrifice and inner will)

Chandas

Gāyatrī

Himne Gāyatrī ini memanggil daya ilahi yang membuat kurban menjadi manjur—Agni sebagai kekuatan persembahan yang terbentuk sempurna dan tak terputus, daya dari pemberian dan aspirasi batin—yang diseru hari demi hari demi perlindungan dan pertumbuhan. Himne ini juga berpaling kepada Indra sebagai Kedamaian yang meneguhkan dan penolong perkasa bagi pemeras Soma, memohon nama baik, kelimpahan, dan jalan aman melampaui rintangan. Bersama-sama, himne ini membingkai ritus Weda awal sebagai tindakan lahir-dan-batin: menyalakan kehendak (Agni) dan menerima perlindungan yang menang (Indra).

Recitation with translationRig Veda 1.4

Mantras

Mantra 1

सुरूपकृत्नुमूतये सुदुघामिव गोदुहे । जुहूमसि द्यविद्यवि ॥

Demi pemeliharaan dan perlindungan kami, kami menyeru Agni—Daya yang sempurna wujudnya dan tak terputus—sebagaimana orang memanggil sapi yang kaya susu untuk memerah Cahaya; hari demi hari.

Mantra 2

उप नः सवना गहि सोमस्य सोमपाः पिब । गोदा इद्रेवतो मदः ॥

Mendekatlah kepada pemerasan kami; datanglah. Wahai peminum Soma, minumlah Soma. Sebab ekstasi yang menganugerahkan Sinar-sinar (kawanan yang tercerahkan) sungguh adalah kegirangan kelimpahan yang makmur.

Mantra 3

अथा ते अन्तमानां विद्याम सुमतीनाम् । मा नो अति ख्य आ गहि ॥

Maka semoga kami mengenal ilham-ilhammu yang paling batin, yang penuh kemurahan; janganlah melampaui kami dalam penglihatanmu—datanglah kemari kepada kami.

Mantra 4

परेहि विग्रमस्तृतमिन्द्रं पृच्छा विपश्चितम् । यस्ते सखिभ्य आ वरम् ॥

Melangkahlah melampaui dan majulah; carilah Indra—yang langkah-kekuasaannya tak tergoyahkan, sang vipáścit (yang bercahaya pengetahuannya). Dialah yang menganugerahkan kepada para sahabatmu karunia terbaik—pembukaan kelimpahan bagi kemajuan jiwa.

Mantra 5

उत ब्रुवन्तु नो निदो निरन्यतश्चिदारत । दधाना इन्द्र इद्दुवः ॥

Dan semoga suara-suara penghalang yang berkata melawan kami diusir jauh, bahkan dari segala penjuru; sementara kami menempatkan persembahan pelayanan kami sepenuhnya pada Indra—agar Kekuatan-Nya tegak menyertai kami.

Mantra 6

उत नः सुभगाँ अरिर्वोचेयुर्दस्म कृष्टयः । स्यामेदिन्द्रस्य शर्मणि ॥

Dan semoga bangsa-bangsa menyebut kami pembawa keberuntungan yang bercahaya, wahai Sang Pekerja-Keajaiban; semoga kami sungguh berdiam dalam kedamaian pelindung Indra.

Mantra 7

एमाशुमाशवे भर यज्ञश्रियं नृमादनम् । पतयन्मन्दयत्सखम् ॥

Bawalah ke mari bagi Yang Mahacepat ini kegembiraan yang cepat—kemilau yajña yang menggembirakan insan; (bawalah) daya yang melayang tinggi, yang bersukacita bersama sahabatnya, agar persembahan batin menjadi bercahaya dan menang.

Mantra 8

अस्य पीत्वा शतक्रतो घनो वृत्राणामभवः । प्रावो वाजेषु वाजिनम् ॥

Dengan meminum ini (kegembiraan Soma), wahai Śatakratu, engkau menjadi penghantam para penghalang; dan engkau menampilkan sang pemilik kelimpahan di medan-medan vāja—intensitas kuasa yang menang.

Mantra 9

तं त्वा वाजेषु वाजिनं वाजयामः शतक्रतो । धनानामिन्द्र सातये ॥

Engkau, wahai Indra yang seratus daya-tindak, pembawa kelimpahan dalam segala upaya kami—kami hendak menjadikanmu menang, agar kekayaan (harta batin keberadaan) dapat diraih.

Mantra 10

यो रायोऽवनिर्महान्त्सुपारः सुन्वतः सखा । तस्मा इन्द्राय गायत ॥

Nyanyikanlah bagi Indra—Dia yang menjadi penolong agung dan pelindung bagi kelimpahan (rāyaḥ), penyeberang yang pasti, sahabat bagi sang pemeras Soma (sunvat). Kepada Indra itu nyanyikanlah.

Inside Sukta 4

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    A daily invocation of Agni as the perfectly-formed, unbroken power sought for fostering protection and increase.

  2. Development

    Agni’s role as the effective force of sacrifice expands into the wider aim: prosperity, good fortune, and social recognition, with divine support made concrete as protection.

  3. Climax

    The prayer for abiding in Indra’s śarman (protecting peace) and for Indra’s active help as the great guardian of plenitudes.

  4. Where it settles

    A closing exhortation to sing to Indra, the helper and ‘ferryman across,’ affirming divine friendship with the consecrated effort of the Soma-presser.

The deity: Agni

  • In the VedaAgni is the perfectly-formed (surūpa), unbroken (akṛtnu) power of the offering, invoked repeatedly as the priestly fire that carries oblations and awakens the sacrifice. Indra appears as the wonder-worker (dasma), protector, and companion of the Soma-presser, granting shelter (śarman) and plenitude (rāyaḥ).
  • Cosmic functionAgni mediates between human and divine realms, translating offerings into divine reception and maintaining ṛta through the rite; Indra upholds victory, protection, and the widening of life-force and abundance.
  • Inner significanceAgni signifies the integrated will, aspiration, and clarity that makes spiritual effort coherent and ‘well-formed’; Indra signifies the courageous, overcoming power that establishes inner security and opens the way across difficulties.

The seer

  • Madhucchandas VaiśvāmitraVaiśvāmitra (Kauśika/Viśvāmitra line) · One of the earliest seers of Mandala 1, credited with foundational hymns that establish the Vedic act of invocation; closely associated with the Vaiśvāmitra tradition and the shaping of early Vedic liturgy.

Famous verses

juhūmasi dyavi-dyavi
Verse 1.4.1Defines Agni as surūpa-akṛtnu—an integral, well-shaped and unbroken power—invoked daily for protection, using the vivid image of a richly-yielding cow for the ‘milking’ of light and increase.Read verse 1.4.1 →
indrasya śarmaṇi
Verse 1.4.6Expresses the social and spiritual fruit of the rite: luminous good fortune and the aspiration to dwell in Indra’s sheltering peace (śarman), a key Vedic ideal of protected well-being.Read verse 1.4.6 →
supāraḥ sunvataḥ sakhā
Verse 1.4.10Summarizes Indra’s function as protector of plenitudes and the ‘safe-crosser’ (supāraḥ), emphasizing companionship with the Soma-presser—divine support for sustained disciplined effort.Read verse 1.4.10 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Well-formed, integral power (surūpa)
  • Unbroken/consistent force (akṛtnu)
  • Daily-invoked priestly fire (dyavi-dyavi)
  • Giver of fostering protection (ūtaye)
  • Indra as shelter/peace (śarman)
  • Indra as helper of plenitudes and the ‘ferryman across’ (supāraḥ)

Also by this seer

  • RV 1.1–1.11 (traditional Anukramaṇī attribution, including early Agni and Indra hymns)
  • Early Mandala 1 Gāyatrī-style stotras used in Soma and fire rites

The rite, step by step

  • Prepare the altar/vedi and establish ritual purity and intention.
  • Kindle or rekindle Agni; invoke him as the well-formed, unbroken power of the sacrifice (invocation repeated day by day).
  • Offer oblations into the fire while reciting the Gāyatrī verses as a steady stotra.
  • Turn the praise toward Indra, aligning the rite with Soma-pressing and asking for śarman (protecting peace) and rāyas (plenitudes).
  • Conclude with a directive to sing to Indra as the great helper and safe ‘crosser-over,’ sealing the rite in confidence and protection.

Offerings

  • Ghṛta (clarified butter) into Agni
  • Samidh (fuel sticks) for kindling
  • Soma (or Soma-substitute) offered/praised in Indra’s context
  • Optional: grains/cakes (puroḍāśa) according to the rite

Frequently Asked Questions

It asks for protection and increase by invoking Agni as the steady, well-formed power that makes the sacrifice work, and it seeks Indra’s sheltering peace and help for success and safe progress.

The hymn praises Agni as an integrated, consistent force—both the ritual fire and the inner will—that does not fail in carrying the offering and sustaining the effort day after day.

Early Mandala 1 hymns often move fluidly between closely linked divine powers in the ritual. Here, Agni establishes the rite, and Indra is praised as the protector and helper who grants peace (śarman) and abundance to the Soma-presser.

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