Rig Veda 2.4.9: Mandala 2, Sukta 4, Mantra 9
Sukta 2.4
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
त्वया यथा गृत्समदासो अग्ने गुहा वन्वन्त उपराँ अभि ष्युः । सुवीरासो अभिमातिषाहः स्मत्सूरिभ्यो गृणते तद्वयो धाः ॥
tváyā yáthā gṛtsamádāso agne gúhā vanvánta úparāṃ abhí ṣyúḥ | suvī́rāso abhimātiṣā́haḥ smát sūríbhyō gṛṇaté tád váyo dhāḥ ||
汝によって、アグニよ、グリツァマダたちが隠れた処を求めつつ、上なる境を越えて昇りゆくがごとく、我らもまた勇力に富み、敵の圧迫に打ち勝つ者となれ。讃える先見者（sūri）らのために、汝より生命の充溢と成長とを確立せよ。
Word by Word
- त्वया
- by you / with youPronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं; तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- as, just asIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थ अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot यथा (अव्यय)
- गृत्समदासः
- the Gṛtsamada-s (seers/men of Gṛtsamada)Nounपुं; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot गृत्समद (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषि-नाम)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुं; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- गुहा
- in concealment, secretlyIndeclinableअव्यय (स्थानवाचक)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot गुहा (अव्यय/निपात; ‘गुह्’ से)
- वन्वन्त
- they strive / seekVerbलट्; परस्मैपद; प्रथमा बहुवचन (वेदिक रूप: -न्त)Role KartāRoot वन्व् (धातु; ‘to strive/seek’)
- उपरान्
- the higher ones / those aboveAdjective (used substantively)पुं; द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot उपर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभि
- towards, againstIndeclinableउपसर्ग/पूर्वपदRole AdhikaraṇaRoot अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ष्युः
- may they be / might they becomeVerbविधिलिङ् (आशीर्लिङ्/वेदिक); परस्मैपद; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अस् (धातु)
- सुवीरासः
- having good heroes, well-mannedAdjectiveपुं; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सु-वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभिमातिषाहः
- overcoming hostile assaultsAdjectiveपुं; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अभि-माति-षह (प्रातिपदिक; ‘foe-oppression’ + √सह ‘to overcome’)
- स्मत्
- from usPronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं; पञ्चमी एकवचन (वेदिक रूप)Role ApādānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सूरिभ्यः
- to the patrons/chiefsNounपुं; चतुर्थी/पञ्चमी बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot सूरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृणते
- to the one who praises (sings)Verbलट्; आत्मनेपद; चतुर्थी एकवचन (वेदिक: दत्तिवत् ‘to the praising one’ = शतृ/कृदन्त-समर्थ प्रयोग)Role SampradānaRoot गृ (धातु; ‘to sing/praise’)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुं; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयः
- vital strength / vigorNounनपुं; द्वितीया एकवचन (वेदिक रूप: वयः)Role KarmaRoot वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- धाः
- bestow! / place!Verbलोट्; परस्मैपद; मध्यम पुरुष एकवचनRole KarmaRoot धा (धातु; ‘to place, bestow’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (समाधान): त्वया | यथा | गृत्समदासः | अग्ने | गुहा | वन्वन्त | उपरान् | अभि | ष्युः | सुवीरासः | अभिमातिषाहः | स्मत् | सूरिभ्यः | गृणते | तत् | वयः | धाः । मुख्य सन्धि: (1) गृत्समदासो अग्ने → गृत्समदासः + अग्ने (विसर्ग-सन्धि: o/ः + अ-)
- (2) उपराँ अभि → उपरान् + अभि (नकार/अनुस्वार-परिवर्तन; पदपाठे -न्)
- (3) तद्वयो → तत् + वयः (द्/त् + व- संयोग; पदपाठे ‘तत् वयः’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With Agni’s help, as the Gṛtsamadas striving in hidden places rise beyond the upper bounds, so may we become rich in heroic strength, conquerors of hostile pressures; for the praising seers, establish that vital growth and plenitude.
Inner meaning
The ‘hidden places’ (guhā) are the subconscient and the inward caverns of the being where aspiration must labor. By Agni’s force, the seekers ‘rise beyond the upper limits’—surpassing ordinary mental ceilings and customary vital formations. The prayer asks for suvīra (noble/strong powers) and abhimātiṣāh (victory over hostile mental-vital attacks: doubts, depressions, inertia, adverse formations). vayas here is not merely physical vigor but the growth-force of the soul-nature when fed by the inner fire. The mantra frames a repeatable law: what the seer-lineage achieved inwardly can be re-achieved by us through the same Agni.
Universal truth
Real growth requires entering the hidden layers of oneself and persisting there until a breakthrough occurs. The same inner principle (conscious will) that enabled the pioneers can enable any sincere practitioner to surpass self-imposed limits and overcome inner hostility.
Themes
lineage precedent (Gṛtsamadas), inner ascent, overcoming obstruction, vital growth (vayas)
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada (Bhārgava)
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu / Bhārgava
- Other hymns
- RV 2.4.1-10, RV 2.5.1-8
Family tradition
A seer-family whose hymns often record inner victories and ascents achieved through Agni’s guidance; the ‘Gṛtsamadas’ here become an archetype of a collective yoga.
Significance
The verse explicitly turns the rishi’s own precedent into a method: strive inwardly (guhā), kindle the fire, surpass limits, and win strength against inner hostility.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Sahāyā (helper), Pāvaka (purifier), Kavi (seer), Netṛ (leader)
- Related deities
- Indra (slayer of Vṛtra-like resistances), Soma (delight sustaining the ascent), Bṛhaspati (breaker of the cave)
Cosmic role
Power that opens the hidden and leads the ascent beyond boundaries; protector of the sacrificer against hostile forces.
Inner power
Psychic fire that persists in the caves of the being, burns resistance, and converts struggle into growth (vayaḥ).
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni praise within Soma-yajña cycles; protective invocation for victory and growth
त्वया॒ यथा॑ गृत्सम॒दासो॑ अग्ने॒ गुहा॑ व॒न्वन्त॒ उप॑राँ अ॒भि ष्युः । सु॒वीरा॑सो अभिमाति॒षाह॒: स्मत्सू॒रिभ्यो॑ गृण॒ते तद्वयो॑ धाः ॥
त्वया॑ । यथा॑ । गृ॒त्स॒ऽम॒दासः॑ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । गुहा॑ । व॒न्वन्तः॑ । उप॑रान् । अ॒भि । स्युरिति॒ स्युः । सु॒ऽवीरा॑सः । अ॒भि॒मा॒ति॒ऽसहः॑ । स्मत् । सू॒रिऽभ्यः॑ । गृ॒ण॒ते । तत् । वयः॑ । धाः॒ ॥
tvayā | yathā | gṛtsa-madāsaḥ | agne | guhā | vanvantaḥ | uparān | abhi | syuritisyuḥ | su-vīrāsaḥ | abhimāti-sahaḥ | smat | sūri-bhyaḥ | gṛṇate | tat | vayaḥ | dhāḥ
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4 × ~11 syllables
Striving and ascending movement; strong caesuras support the ‘breakthrough’ feeling.
Energizes perseverance; evokes the sensation of pushing through inner resistance into a higher spaciousness.
- गुहा (guhā)
- Literal: cave, hidden place. Symbolic: subconscient/inconscient layers; inner secrecy where knots and treasures are stored
- वन्वन्तः (vanvantaḥ)
- Literal: striving, laboring. Symbolic: persistent tapas of aspiration and practice
- उपरान् अभि स्युः (uparān abhi syuḥ)
- Literal: rise beyond the upper limits. Symbolic: breakthrough beyond habitual mind-ceilings into higher consciousness
- सुवीरासः (suvīrāsaḥ)
- Literal: having good heroes. Symbolic: rich in strong and harmonious powers of will, mind, and life-force
- अभिमातिषाहः (abhimātiṣāhaḥ)
- Literal: conquerors of hostile attacks. Symbolic: victory over adverse suggestions, doubts, inner enemies, and resistant formations
- सूरेभ्यः (sūribhyaḥ)
- Literal: to the seers/nobles. Symbolic: to those who carry the light of discernment; the illumined parts of us
- वयः (vayaḥ)
- Literal: vigor, life, growth. Symbolic: the soul’s growth-force; vital plenitude aligned to the truth
Agni’s empowering role for the hotṛ lineage; used as a strengthening formula for the sacrificer/chanters before ascent to higher 'stations' of the rite (Soma-yajña context).
During recitations seeking protection and increase; adaptable to any rite requiring ‘overcoming’
Invocation of Agni as helper for ascent and victory over hostile forces; blessing for the praising priests
Chant during periods of inner conflict, doubt, or fatigue; use as a ‘breakthrough’ mantra before meditation or demanding creative work.
gúhā ‘in hiding’ from √guh ‘to hide’; in RV often the cave where light/cows are concealed—psychologically the subconscient. vanvantaḥ from √van ‘to strive, desire, win’. abhimāti ‘assault, hostile pressure’ (abhi- + √mā ‘measure/mete out’ > ‘attack/assail’ by extension in RV usage); abhimātiṣāh from √sah ‘to conquer, prevail’. váyas ‘vital vigor/growth’ (cf. √vī/√vay semantic field of vitality); dhāḥ from √dhā, causative sense ‘to establish’.
Tapas (striving/pressure implied by vanvantaḥ), ascent to higher worlds (uparān), victory over hostile forces (abhimāti)
The ascent ‘beyond limits’ is an ṛta-movement: the right evolution from hidden to manifest light.
True vayas is growth aligned with the soul’s truth, not mere expansion of desire.
Cave-to-sky motif: emergence of light/power from hidden depths into higher planes.
Yoga of ascent and transformation (Aurobindo): subconscious purification + supramental/overmental opening as ‘beyond upper bounds’.
Cave = subconscient; ascent = rising consciousness; fire = will that breaks through and protects.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The 'hidden place' (guhā) and the movement beyond the upper limits evokes the cave-and-release pattern: aspiration enters the concealed subconscient and rises into higher consciousness. The antagonists are abhimāti—assailing powers—overcome by Agni’s aid.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- praise-poetry as efficacy: gṛṇate (to sing) belongs to an IE-wide sacral speech tradition (cf. PIE *gʷerH- ‘praise, call’ proposed for related semantic clusters). √dhā ‘to place’ is a robust IE root (PIE *dʰeh₁-; cf. Greek τίθημι, Latin faciō is different but *dʰeh₁- appears in Latin condere, etc. via derivations), showing inherited formulaic 'establishing' of boons.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi appeals to a remembered accomplishment of his own seer-lineage as a template; Agni is asked to reproduce that inner ascent and to 'found' (dhāḥ) vitality and heroic capacities in the present singers—reciprocity through continuity of inspired practice.
Enter the ‘guhā’ calmly, kindle aspiration, and feel an upward pressure beyond the mind’s habitual ceiling; cultivate victory over adverse formations.
Muladhara/Swadhisthana (subconscient/vital cave) purified by Manipura (Agni) rising toward Ajna (upper limit surpassed).
Ujjayi (gentle) for 3–5 minutes; then chant, imagining the breath as a flame moving upward through the spine.
Upward striving with protected calm—effort without agitation.
On ‘guhā vanvantaḥ’ place awareness in the lower abdomen/pelvis and invoke purification; on ‘uparān abhi syuḥ’ feel a clear upward opening above the head; rest after chanting, watching hostile thoughts lose force in the fire.
Follow Saṃhitā accents; maintain clear udātta on marked syllables (tvayā́, yáthā, agné, guhā́, suvī́rāsaḥ).
Let the first half be slightly ‘striving’ in tone; give a firm, victorious emphasis to अभिमातिषाहः (abhimātiṣāhaḥ).
(tvayā): clear ‘tv’ conjunct, (guhā): soft ‘g’, long ā, (uparām̐): nasalization indicated by anusvāra/, : keep long ī in -ṣāhaḥ, (gṛṇate): retroflex ṛ, light ‘ṇ’
Bright, upward-leaning, with controlled intensity; avoid strain.
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