Rig Veda 6.35.2: Mandala 6, Sukta 35, Mantra 2
Sukta 6.35
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
कर्हि स्वित्तदिन्द्र यन्नृभिर्नॄन्वीरैर्वीरान्नीळयासे जयाजीन् । त्रिधातु गा अधि जयासि गोष्विन्द्र द्युम्नं स्वर्वद्धेह्यस्मे ॥
karhi svit tad indra yan nṛbhir nṝn vīrair vīrān nīḷayāse jaya ājīn | tri-dhātu gā adhi jayāsi goṣv indra dyumnaṃ svaḥ-vad dhehy asme ||
Kapan sesungguhnya itu, wahai Indra, ketika bersama manusia Engkau menempatkan para pahlawan di antara para pahlawan, menaklukkan pertempuran-pertempuran? Memenangi sapi-sapi yang bertumpu tiga-lapis (cahaya-cahaya) di tengah kawanan, wahai Indra, tanamkan dalam diri kami kemilau yang penuh svàr.
Word by Word
- कर्हि
- when?Indeclinableकाल/प्रश्नार्थक अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot कर्हि (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- स्वित्
- pray?/indeed?/I wonderIndeclinableनिपात (प्रश्न/संशय/उत्सुकता-प्रयोग)Root स्वित् (निपात)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- which/that (which)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्धसूचक)Role KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नृभिः
- with menNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- नॄन्
- menNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वीरैः
- with heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- वीरान्
- heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- नीळयासे
- you set/settle/establishVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole KartāRoot नीळय् (धातु; ‘नीळयति’ = निहित/निवासयति/स्थापयति; RV-प्रयोग)
- जयाजीन्
- victorious in battleAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot जयाजि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘जय’+‘आजि’ = विजयोपेताः/युद्धजयीः, RV)
- त्रिधातु
- threefold/three-layeredAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग ‘गाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्; द्वितीया, बहुवचन (पदानुसारम्) / (RV-प्रयोगे अव्ययवत् विशेषण-प्रयोगः)Role KarmaRoot त्रिधातु (प्रातिपदिक)
- गाः
- cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधि
- over/uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (अधि = upon/over; ‘अधि + √जि’)Root अधि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- जयासि
- you win/conquerVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot जि (धातु)
- गोषु
- among the cows/at the cattleNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्यु॒म्नम्
- splendour/gloryNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot द्यु॒म्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वर्वत्
- heavenly, sun-brightAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (द्यु॒म्नम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot स्वर्वत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्वर्’ + वत्)
- धेहि
- place/giveVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot धा (धातु)
- अस्मे
- for us/to usPronounसप्तमी (वेदे दत्तिवत्/सम्प्रदानार्थे), बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संधि-विच्छेद (मुख्य): स्वित्तदिन्द्र → स्वित् + तत् + इन्द्र
- यन्नृभिर्नॄन् → यत् + नृभिः + नॄन्
- वीरैर्वीरान् → वीरैः + वीरान्
- वीरान्नीळयासे → वीरान् + नीळयासे
- गोष्विन्द्र → गोषु + इन्द्र
- स्वर्वद्धेह्यस्मे → स्वर्वत् + धेहि + अस्मे. (उदात्त/स्वरित चिह्न पाठानुसार; पद-विश्लेषणे रूपनिर्णयः संधि-विच्छेदोपरि कृतः।)
The meaning
Outer meaning
When is that, O Indra, when with men you set heroes among heroes, winning the battles? Winning the threefold-founded cows among the herds, O Indra, place in us a splendour full of svàr (heavenly light).
Inner meaning
Indra works through ‘men’ (nṛbhiḥ)—the active powers in us—and establishes ‘heroes among heroes’: stronger soul-forces (vīrāḥ) set within the field of energies to conquer inner battles (ājī). The ‘cows’ are rays of knowledge/light (go), and ‘threefold-founded’ (tridhātu) indicates a stable foundation across the triple nature—body, life, mind (or earth, mid-world, heaven). The prayer asks for dyumna svarvat: a splendour saturated with svàr, the solar light of illumined consciousness, to be placed within us.
Universal truth
Victory is inward organization: higher strength installed among our energies, knowledge won on a stable foundation, and a luminous splendour established in the self.
Themes
victory, recovery of light, establishing heroic powers, truth-splendour
The seer
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja (probable)
- Other hymns
- RV 6.35
Family tradition
Indra hymns here often interpret victory as the winning of light (go) and the installation of heroic forces (vīra) in the human field.
Significance
A practical psychology of conquest: establish inner heroes, win stable knowledge across the triple nature, and embody svàr as living splendour (dyumna) within.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- jayājīn (battle-winner), gopati (lord of the cows/lights, implied), dyumnin (splendid, implied)
- Related deities
- Maruts (heroic energies), Sūrya (svàr/solar light), Bṛhaspati (release of cows by word)
Cosmic role
Leader of victorious hosts; winner and guardian of the rays; giver of svàr-splendour.
Inner power
Illumined leadership that organizes the inner forces into courageous alignment and retrieves hidden knowledge.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra victory-invocation; also relevant to Soma rites emphasizing winning of ‘cows’ (lights)
कर्हि॑ स्वि॒त्तदि॑न्द्र॒ यन्नृभि॒र्नॄन्वी॒रैर्वी॒रान्नी॒ळया॑से॒ जया॒जीन् । त्रि॒धातु॒ गा अधि॑ जयासि॒ गोष्विन्द्र॑ द्यु॒म्नं स्व॑र्वद्धेह्य॒स्मे ॥
कर्हि॑ । स्वि॒त् । तत् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । यत् । नृऽभिः॑ । नॄन् । वी॒रैः । वी॒रान् । नी॒ळया॑से । जय॑ । आ॒जीन् । त्रि॒ऽधातु॑ । गाः । अधि॑ । ज॒या॒सि॒ । गोषु॑ । इन्द्र॑ । द्यु॒म्नम् । स्वः॒ऽवत् । धे॒हि॒ । अ॒स्मे इति॑ ॥
karhi | svit | tat | indra | yat | nṛ-bhiḥ | nṝn | vīraiḥ | vīrān | nīḷayāse | jaya | ājīn | tri-dhātu | gāḥ | adhi | jayāsi | goṣu | indra | dyumnam | svaḥ-vat | dhehi | asme iti
44
4×11 (approx.)
Martial yet luminous; a questioning onset moving toward a clear petition
Stimulates courage and clarity; ends by invoking a settled radiance in the listener’s mind.
- नृऽभिः (nṛbhiḥ)
- Literal: with men. Symbolic: active faculties/energies in the seeker; operative powers of the nature
- वी॒रैः… वी॒रान् (vīraiḥ… vīrān)
- Literal: heroes… heroes. Symbolic: courageous soul-forces; purified life-energies acting under light
- नी॒ळया॑से (nīḻayāse)
- Literal: you seat/establish. Symbolic: installation of higher powers as stable occupants in the nature
- आ॒जीन् (ājīn)
- Literal: battles/contests. Symbolic: inner conflicts against inertia, desire, fear, obscurity
- त्रि॒धातु॒ गाः (tridhātu gāḥ)
- Literal: threefold-founded cows. Symbolic: rays of knowledge secured across the triple being; stable illumination
- गोषु (goṣu)
- Literal: among the cows/herds. Symbolic: within the field of rays—levels/collections of knowledge; also the luminous planes
- द्यु॒म्नम् (dyumnam)
- Literal: splendour. Symbolic: radiant power in mind and life; energetic illumination
- स्वः॒ऽवत् (svar-vat)
- Literal: full of svàr. Symbolic: filled with solar consciousness; supramental/illumined mind light
Prayer for victory and the gaining of 'cows' (lights) and dyumna; used in contexts of seeking triumph and luminous prosperity through Indra in Soma rites.
Before/after competitive or challenging undertakings; in recitations for strength, victory, and illumination
Calling Indra to establish heroic forces and grant dyumna; symbolic ‘winning of cows’ through praise
Use for inner resilience: before difficult conversations/exams/creative work—invoke courage + clarity, not aggression.
: from nīḍa 'nest/seat' (< √nī 'to lead' + seat notion), hence 'to lodge/establish firmly'. : battle/contest, from √aj 'drive' (movement/impulse). : tri + dhātu; dhātu from √dhā 'set, establish'—threefold foundation (often read as three worlds or triple principle of order). : rays/lights; dyumna from √dyu 'shine' (PIE *dyew-).
triple order (tri-dhātu) as structured consciousness, go as illuminations recovered, dyumna as radiance of truth-force
Right victory is the establishment of svàr in the human field—order through illumination rather than force alone.
Winning ‘cows’ is gaining true knowledge, not mere opinion; svàr-filled dyumna indicates truth-lit consciousness.
Ascent and embodiment: svàr descends as dyumna into the human; knowledge is secured across the triple planes.
Integral yoga reading: transformation of the triple nature by descent/establishment of higher light.
dawn-to-sunrise transition (implied by svàr/solar fullness)
Sun = illumined consciousness; cows = rays of insight; battle = inner struggle for mastery; threefold foundation = body-life-mind integration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The winning of the cows (gāḥ) as recovered lights/knowledges, here 'threefold-founded' (tri-dhātu), through Indra’s victory in the contests. The hero-setting among heroes is the establishment of inner powers aligned to conquer obscurity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dyu-/svàr vocabulary belongs to PIE *dyew- (sky/light). √dhā 'place' is PIE *dʰeh₁-. The battle lexicon (āji) shares the IE tendency to derive contest terms from motion/drive roots.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra to organize the human instruments (nṛbhir) by seating heroes among heroes—an inner discipline and hierarchy of forces. The reciprocal gift sought is svàr-filled dyumna placed 'in us', i.e., an internalized luminous victory.
Install the ‘hero among heroes’: choose one highest intention (truth, courage, clarity) and seat it as leader in the mind; then call for rays of insight across body-life-mind.
ājñā (svàr-illumination) supported by maṇipūra (heroic will)
bhastrikā-light (very gentle, 10–15 breaths) to awaken energy, followed by calm breathing while repeating ‘dyumnaṃ svarvad dhehi asme’
Solarized mind: bright, courageous, organized
Visualize three levels (body, life, mind) receiving one coherent light. End by feeling a stable ‘splendour’ in the brow and heart, then act from that clarity.
Rigvedic three-tone; keep strong udātta on indra, vīra, jayāsi, gāḥ, dyumnam, svarvat.
First two pādas: energetic, martial articulation; last pāda: broaden and brighten on ‘dyumnaṃ svarvad’, then settle gently on ‘dhehy asme’.
nīḻayāse: retroflex ḻ (as in Vedic) if trained; otherwise a careful ‘ḍ’/‘l’ approximation without overdoing, tridhātu: clear aspirate th; do not pronounce as ‘tidhaatu’, svarvad: keep ‘sv’ cluster crisp; short a in svar
Bright, ringing, confident; avoid harshness—keep it ‘solar’
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