Rig Veda 8.52.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 52, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.52
- Devata
- Indra with Vishnu and Mitra invoked as supporting cosmic powers
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
य उक्था केवला दधे यः सोमं धृषितापिबत् । यस्मै विष्णुस्त्रीणि पदा विचक्रम उप मित्रस्य धर्मभिः ॥
yá ukthā́ kévalā dadhé yáḥ sómaṃ dhṛṣitā́ píbát | yásmai víṣṇus trī́ṇi padā́ vi-cakramé úpa mitrásya dhárma-bhiḥ ||
Dia yang menegakkan ucapan-ucapan suci yang murni, yang meminum Soma dengan keberanian yang menggetarkan—baginya Viṣṇu melangkah tiga tapak, menurut dharma Mitra; menegakkan keluasan yang tertata bagi kemenangan.
Word by Word
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उक्था
- hymns / recitationsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot उक्थ (प्रातिपदिक; √वच्/वच्-सम्बद्ध ‘स्तुति/उक्थ’)
- केवला
- only, exclusiveAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम् (उक्था इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot केवल (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधे
- has placed/establishedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √धा (धारणे/स्थापने)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमम्
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- धृषिता
- boldly, with daringAdjective (past/passive participial stem used adverbially)(अव्ययीभावेन) ‘धृषिता’ = धृष्टतया/साहसेनRole KaraṇaRoot धृषित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √धृष् ‘धर्षणे/साहसे’)
- अपिबत्
- drankVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √पा (पाने)
- यस्मै
- to whomPronounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विष्णुः
- ViṣṇuNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्रीणि
- threeNumeralनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- पदा
- steps/stridesNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot पद (प्रातिपदिक)
- विचक्रमे
- strode forth / traversedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root वि + √क्रम् (गत्यर्थे)
- उप
- near, towardsIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (क्रिया-विशेषणम्)Root उप (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- मित्रस्य
- of MitraNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Adhikaraṇa (सम्बन्ध/अधिष्ठान-निर्देशः)Root मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- धर्मभिः
- with ordinances/lawsNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यः | उक्था | केवला | दधे | यः | सोमम् | धृषिता | अपिबत् | यस्मै | विष्णुः | त्रीणि | पदा | विचक्रमे | उप | मित्रस्य | धर्मभिः || 1) ‘धृषितापिबत्’ इति संहितायां धृषिता + अपिबत् (आ + अ → आ) । 2) ‘विष्णुस्त्रीणि’ इति विष्णुः + त्रीणि (विसर्गः + त् → स्) । 3) ‘मित्रस्य धर्मभिः’ मध्ये विशेष-सन्धिः न
- पदसीमा पर।
The meaning
Outer meaning
He who establishes the pure hymns and drinks Soma with bold force— for him Viṣṇu strides the three steps in accordance with Mitra’s laws (dharma), making the wide order for victory.
Inner meaning
The seeker who sets the inner Word (uktha) in its purified right form and dares to receive the ecstasy of Soma (divine Ananda) becomes fit for the Vishnu-power of vastness to act. Viṣṇu’s “three steps” are the progressive expansions of consciousness (from limited mentality to wideness, then to the luminous supramental range), and Mitra’s dharmas are the harmonizing laws of right relation and truth that keep the expansion ordered (ṛta), not chaotic.
Universal truth
When speech is purified and delight is courageously assimilated, consciousness naturally widens in lawful stages; true victory is the establishment of a stable, harmonious wideness rather than a momentary conquest.
Themes
Vishnu three strides, Soma-drinking, law and harmony (Mitra), expansion of consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.52.4, Rig Veda 8.52.5, Rig Veda 8.52.6, Rig Veda 8.52.7
Family tradition
Mandala 8 is predominantly Kāṇva; this verse stands within an Indra-hymn where Viṣṇu and Mitra support Indra’s victory-work.
Significance
The anonymity emphasizes the impersonal Vedic transmission: the mantra speaks as a universal yogic law—purified Word + received Bliss → ordered expansion (Viṣṇu) under harmony (Mitra).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (primary), with Viṣṇu and Mitra as supporting powers
- Epithets
- (implicit) Śatakratu (hundred-powered) context of the hymn, Mitra—lord of harmony and right relation, Viṣṇu—trivikrama (three-strider)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Varuṇa (as complementary to Mitra), Sūrya (Āditya principle)
Cosmic role
Indra leads the victory of light; Viṣṇu provides the cosmic wideness in which that victory can be secured; Mitra ensures the victory is aligned with law, concord, and right measure.
Inner power
Indra: illumined mind-force that breaks resistance; Viṣṇu: expansive consciousness that makes room for higher truth; Mitra: harmonizing intelligence that keeps movements truthful and integrated.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma praise within Soma-yajña context (general)
य उ॒क्था केव॑ला द॒धे यः सोमं॑ धृषि॒तापि॑बत् । यस्मै॒ विष्णु॒स्त्रीणि॑ प॒दा वि॑चक्र॒म उप॑ मि॒त्रस्य॒ धर्म॑भिः ॥
यः । उ॒क्था । केव॑ला । द॒धे । यः । सोम॑म् । धृ॒षि॒ता । अपि॑बत् । यस्मै॑ । विष्णुः॑ । त्रीणि॑ । प॒दा । वि॒ऽच॒क्र॒मे । उप॑ । मि॒त्रस्य॑ । धर्म॑ऽभिः ॥
yaḥ | ukthā | kevalā | dadhe | yaḥ | somam | dhṛṣitā | apibat | yasmai | viṣṇuḥ | trīṇi | padā | vi-cakrame | upa | mitrasya | dharma-bhiḥ
48
4 pādas × 12 syllables (probable)
Long, forward-driving cadence with room for expansive clauses; suited to ‘wideness’ imagery.
Produces a sense of steady enlargement—good for contemplative invocation where expansion must remain ordered and lucid.
- उक्था (ukthā)
- Literal: hymns/solemn utterances. Symbolic: the formed inner Word—truth-speech that builds consciousness
- केवला (kevalā)
- Literal: pure, unmixed, entire. Symbolic: unalloyed aspiration; speech freed from ego-mixture
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice. Symbolic: divine Ananda/bliss that intoxicates the mind into higher light
- धृषिता (dhṛṣitā)
- Literal: with daring, boldness. Symbolic: courage to hold higher intensity without recoil
- विष्णुः (viṣṇuḥ)
- Literal: Vishnu. Symbolic: the all-pervading power of wideness; progressive expansion
- त्रीणि पदा (trīṇi padā)
- Literal: three steps. Symbolic: three graded widenings/planes of consciousness
- मित्रस्य धर्मभिः (mitrasya dharmabhiḥ)
- Literal: by Mitra’s laws. Symbolic: harmonizing truth-laws that organize expansion into right order (ṛta)
Soma praise linking Indra’s drinking with Vishnu’s three strides; used to invoke expansive support and lawful harmony in the rite.
During Indra-stotras/śastras in Soma pressing sequences; also in recitation cycles for Indra’s aid.
Recitation/chanting to invoke Indra’s victory-power, supported by Viṣṇu’s strides and Mitra’s order.
Use before meditation to ‘set the inner word’ (right intention) and invoke orderly expansion—especially when experiences become intense or ungrounded.
ukthá from √vac/√uk? (Vedic uktha: recited praise) functioning as ‘effective speech-act’. kévala ‘whole, unmixed’ (later ‘only’): here ‘pure/integral’. dhṛṣitā from √dhṛṣ ‘be bold, dare’: courageous energy. ví-cakrame from √kram ‘to stride’ (PIE *krem- ‘step’): Vishnu’s three strides as cosmic expansion. mitrá from √mi ‘to bind, unite’ (semantic: contract/friendship): dharma-bhis = supports/laws of harmonious order.
Vāc as effective power (uktha), courage-force (dhṛṣ) in the ascent, Vishnu’s three steps as expansion through planes, Mitra’s dharma as harmonious law (ṛta in relational form)
Mitra’s dharmas indicate ṛta as harmonizing law governing expansion.
Purified uktha implies truth-speech; expansion must align with satya to be stable.
Worlds are ‘measured’/opened by Viṣṇu’s steps—creation as progressive manifestation of wideness.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral Yoga reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent by Word, Delight, and Wideness under Truth-Law.
Nectar = Ananda-current; strides = expansions of awareness; solar law = clarity and right measure preventing dispersion.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Vishnu’s three strides performed ‘for him’ who establishes pure utterance and drinks Soma with daring: the myth of cosmic measurement becomes an inner ascent—speech made integral, delight assimilated, and consciousness expanded through three stations under Mitra’s harmonizing law.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √kram ‘step/stride’ relates to PIE *krem- / *k̑rem- ‘to step’ (cognate patterns seen in step/stride verbs across IE). mitra- has Indo-Iranian cognacy (Av. Miθra), reflecting a shared IE/Indo-Iranian concept of covenant/harmony as cosmic-social order.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi presents the human prerequisites—integral speech (kevalā ukthā) and courageous reception of Soma—upon which the gods respond: Vishnu expands the field (three strides) and Mitra’s dharmas stabilize it, enabling Indra’s victorious force to operate in the seeker.
Purify intention and inner speech; then receive Ananda; allow consciousness to widen in three deliberate stages (body-vital-mind; or mind-higher mind-illumined mind).
Anāhata to Ājñā axis (widening + illumined order)
4-4-6-2 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale-hold) to cultivate steadiness before ‘expansion’ contemplation.
Widened, lucid, harmonized (not trance-heavy).
Begin with quiet repetition; feel the mantra ‘set’ the inner word; invite a calm delight; then imagine three widenings—within, around, above—each stabilized by a sense of truth and right measure.
Use standard Rigvedic accenting: preserve udātta on marked syllables; avoid flattening—keep svarita as a gentle fall after udātta (exact śākhā svara requires pada-text accent marks).
Lean slightly on words like ukthā, somaṃ, viṣṇus, trīṇi, padā, mitrasya, dharmabhiḥ; keep enclitics light (yaḥ, yasmai, upa).
Keep retroflex ṛ in dhṛṣitā (dhṛ-), not ‘dhris’., (vicakrama): articulate ca-kra distinctly; light aspiration absent., (mitrasya): dental t, clear ‘tra’ cluster., (dharmabhiḥ): bh is voiced aspirate; final ḥ as soft visarga.
Clear, steady, slightly elevated (for wideness), not forceful.
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