Rig Veda 8.5.8: Mandala 8, Sukta 5, Mantra 8
Sukta 8.5
- Rishi
- Kāṇva/pragātha tradition
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Requires syllable-count validation
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
येभिस्तिस्रः परावतो दिवो विश्वानि रोचना । त्रीँरक्तून्परिदीयथः ॥
yébhis tisráḥ parāváto divó víśvāni rocanā́ | trī́ṃr aktū́n paridī́yathaḥ ||
Dengan daya-daya yang olehnya kalian menempuh tiga wilayah jauh dan segala ruang bercahaya di langit, kalian mengitari tiga masa yang giat—mengelilingi dan menguasai irama-irama menjadi kita.
Word by Word
- येभिः
- by/with whomPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सामान्य-रूप), तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole करणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → य
- तिस्रः
- three (fem.)Numeral/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्म (गन्तव्य-रूपेण) / विशेष्य (रोचनाः)Root त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) → तिसृ
- परावतः
- the far regions / distant realmsNoun (directional) / Adjective used substantivelyस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्म (परिदीयथः—‘around/through’ as object of motion) / अधिकरण (मार्ग-भाव)Root परावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- दिवः
- of heaven / of the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौः)
- विश्वानि
- allAdjective used substantivelyनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्म (परिदीयथः—‘all [things/places]’) / विशेषणRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- रोचनाः
- shining realms / luminous spacesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्म (परिदीयथः—‘the shining realms/lights’) / अधिकरण (गमन-क्षेत्र)Root रोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्रीन्
- threeNumeral/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋक्तून्
- seasons / appointed timesNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot ऋक्तु (प्रातिपदिक; RV: ‘ऋतु/ऋक्तु’ seasonal divisions/appointed times)
- परि
- aroundIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषण (परिदीयथः—‘around, all around’)Root परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- दीयथः
- you two go/pace aroundVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: implied ‘you two’)Root √दी (दीङ्) ‘to go/flow; to move’ (with उपसर्ग परि → परिदी)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): येभिः | तिस्रः | परावतः | दिवः | विश्वानि | रोचनाः | त्रीन् | ऋक्तून् | परि | दीयथः । विशेष: ‘त्रीँर॒क्तून्प॑रि॒दीय॑थः’ = ‘त्रीन् ऋक्तून् परि दीयथः’ (न् + ऋ → नृ/न्र्-समास-ध्वनि; संहितायां ‘न्’ परे ‘ऋ’ इत्यत्र संयोग-प्रभावः). उदात्त/स्वरित चिह्न मूलपाठानुसार
- पदरूपे विश्लेषणार्थ सामान्यीकृत।
The meaning
Outer meaning
By the powers with which the Aśvins traverse the three far regions and all the luminous spaces of heaven, they move around the three times (days/nights).
Inner meaning
The Aśvins are invoked as masters of transition and rhythm: they can move through the triple ranges of consciousness (lower, middle, higher) and through all luminous levels of mind. They ‘circle’ the three times—past, present, future (or waking, dream, sleep)—bringing a harmonizing guidance that makes evolution continuous rather than broken.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires mastery of rhythms: the ability to carry light through all states and times of being, integrating the whole life-movement into a single forward journey.
Themes
cosmic traversal, triplicity, light vs night
The seer
- Rishi
- Kāṇva (Kāṇva-pragātha tradition; RV 8.5 hymn milieu)
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.5.7–11 (sequence), RV 8.2–8.4 (Kāṇva pragātha environment)
Family tradition
Kāṇvas frequently map cosmic movement onto inner states, stressing traversal of worlds and times as psychological integration.
Significance
The seer-voice teaches an inner cosmology: the gods’ cosmic journeys mirror the yogin’s passage through planes and states.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Epithets
- world-traversers, swift ones, lords of passages
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Sūrya, Varuṇa (ṛta), Soma
Cosmic role
They move between earth-atmosphere-heaven; they usher dawn and restore balance across cycles.
Inner power
Capacity to carry awareness through multiple states without losing the thread of aspiration; harmonizing transitions; healing discontinuities in sādhanā.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin invocation in morning Soma setting (general)
येभि॑स्ति॒स्रः प॑रा॒वतो॑ दि॒वो विश्वा॑नि रोच॒ना । त्रीँर॒क्तून्प॑रि॒दीय॑थः ॥
येभिः॑ । ति॒स्रः । प॒रा॒ऽवतः॑ । दि॒वः । विश्वा॑नि । रो॒च॒ना । त्रीन् । अ॒क्तून् । प॒रि॒ऽदीय॑थः ॥
yebhiḥ | tisraḥ | parāvataḥ | divaḥ | viśvāni | rocanā | trīn | aktūn | pari-dīyathaḥ
Pragātha (strophic; verse-level validation pending)
24
2 padas of ~12 syllables each
Sweeping, circling cadence; the syntax itself ‘travels’ across regions and times.
Induces a sense of wideness and continuity; helpful for stabilizing awareness across changing inner states.
- तिस्रः (tisraḥ)
- Literal: three. Symbolic: triple worlds/planes; triple states; triple time
- परावतः (parāvataḥ)
- Literal: far regions. Symbolic: remote or higher ranges of consciousness beyond the ordinary mind
- दिवः (divaḥ)
- Literal: of heaven. Symbolic: luminous mind, higher clarity
- रोचना (rocanā)
- Literal: luminous spaces. Symbolic: fields of illumination in consciousness
- अक्तून् (aktūn)
- Literal: nights/times. Symbolic: cycles of activity; phases of consciousness (including obscure intervals)
- परिदीयथः (paridīyathaḥ)
- Literal: you move around, circle, traverse. Symbolic: mastery through encompassing movement; governing rhythms rather than being bound by them
Praise of Aśvin mobility across cosmic regions; supports their eligibility to be invited to the rite as universal traversers.
At dawn/morning, emphasizing their traversing and timely arrival
Praise of their cosmic mobility; invitation to attend the offering across all regions
For people with irregular practice or mood cycles: chant to restore rhythm, consistency, and ‘thread’ across days and states.
rocanā from √ruc ‘shine’ (PIE *leuk- ‘light’: Latin lux, English light). parāvat ‘farness’ (para ‘beyond’). √dī ‘to fly’ appears in RV in motion/flight contexts; with pari- gives ‘encircle, range around’. aktu ‘night’ is an old temporal term; the ‘three nights’ can index triadic time-cycles (dawn/midday/evening or ritual triads), re-read inwardly as phases of obscurity the divine powers overpass.
cosmic triplicity (three regions / three times), mastery of time-rhythm as aspect of R̥ta
‘Circling the three times’ is r̥ta as periodicity and right recurrence; the Aśvins embody timely order.
Rocanā as truth-light: illumination is not a moment but a field to be entered and stabilized.
Worlds as gradations of light; evolution as traversal among planes and states.
Early integral psychology: multiple planes/states, governed by rhythmic law (ṛta).
dawn to day-cycle implied
Luminous spaces = clarified mind; three times = cyclic states (waking/dream/sleep or past/present/future) brought under conscious guidance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The divine Twins’ circling through the ‘three far regions’ and ‘three nights’ is the mythologem of cosmic traversal: the helpers who can pass through all domains of light and darkness, hence competent to lead the human being across obscurity into luminous order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- rocanā (√ruc) aligns with PIE *leuk- ‘light/shine’, a core Indo-European poetic lexeme. The triadic cosmology (three regions) is also an inherited Indo-European structuring device found across traditions, though the RV articulates it with distinct Vedic luminosity vocabulary.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi grounds the request by praising capacity: because the Aśvins range through all luminous heavens and through the nights, they can also range through the seeker’s inner obscurities—making them reliable guides for the rite and the journey of consciousness.
Stabilize awareness across states: ‘May the helping powers carry my consciousness through all cycles into steady light.’
Ajna (luminous spaces) with grounding in Muladhara (continuity through cycles)
Nadi-śodhana 6–12 rounds, then chant once per exhale to feel rhythmic order.
Wide, even, cyclically stable attention.
After chanting, review the last 24 hours as ‘three times’: where light was present, where covered; invite the Aśvin force to connect them into one forward curve.
Ṛgvedic accentuation (udātta/anudātta/svarita) should be learned from a pada/krama source; maintain the rise on key udāttas without over-singing.
Keep compounds clear: parā-vataḥ, viśvāni rocanā; give ‘trīn aktūn’ a firm, even stress to suggest the threefold cycle.
rocanā: ‘c’ as ‘ch’ (unaspirated palatal), long final ā, aktūn: clear ‘kt’ cluster; long ū nasalized with anusvāra in recitation context, paridīyathaḥ: keep ‘dh’ aspirated, not ‘d’
Even, spacious tone; avoid rushing—let the ‘circling’ be felt.
6
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