Rig Veda 3.41.3: Mandala 3, Sukta 41, Mantra 3
Sukta 3.41
इमा ब्रह्म ब्रह्मवाहः क्रियन्त आ बर्हिः सीद । वीहि शूर पुरोळाशम् ॥
imā́ bráhma brahma-vāhaḥ kriyánte ā́ bárhiḥ sīda | vī́hi śū́ra puroḷā́śam ||
これらのブラフマン（brahman）の聖句は今、ブラフマンを担う者よ、打ち立てられている。広き聖座バルヒス（barhis）に坐せ。来たれ、勇士よ、供えられたプuroḷāśa（祭餅）を受けよ。
Soma sacrifice context: invitation to Indra to take seat on the barhis and receive the offering (pravargya/agniṣṭoma-family setting broadly; exact śrauta viniyoga depends on later ritual mapping)
ṛta (right ordering through correct formation of brahman/mantra), satyam-ṛtam-bṛhat (expansion through true utterance and right action)
Rightly formed brahma aligns speech with ṛta; then Indra can act without distortion.
Mantra is satya-bearing speech: what is seen inwardly is spoken as truth-force.
Word as creator: brahma ‘being made’ parallels the making of a new inner world.
Vedic Vāc doctrine; bridges toward Upaniṣadic emphasis on Word/Om as power.
Seat/grass = broadened awareness; offering = sublimated life-substance; speech = vibratory formation shaping consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the ‘invited descent’ of Indra: the god-power is summoned to the prepared seat (barhis) to receive the offering. In inner terms, the heroic force that breaks obstruction is called to take its station in the widened foundation of consciousness so the work (kriyā) of transformation can proceed.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key verbal roots are archaic and PIE-transparent: √kṛ ‘make/do’ (PIE *kwer-/*ker- ‘do, make’ in Indo-Iranian development), √vah ‘carry’ (PIE *weǵh- ‘to convey/carry’), √sad ‘sit’ (PIE *sed- ‘sit’), √i ‘go’ (PIE *h₁ei- ‘go’). The semantic field ties ‘right action’ (kṛ) to ‘carrying’ (vah) and ‘seating’ (sad), a common Indo-European poetic grammar of invitation and reception.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi offers brahman (formative utterance) as a power that ‘builds’ the divine presence, while Indra is asked to reciprocate by entering, sitting, and accepting the essence of the offering. This is a pact of mutuality: the human vessel prepares the field (barhis, puroḷāśa) through right speech and action; the god-power responds by installing itself and empowering the inner victory.
Craft a clear inner intention (brahma), then invite illumined mind to ‘sit’ in widened awareness; offer the ‘substance’ of effort to be transformed.
Viśuddha (mantra/word) and Sahasrāra (descent of higher presence)
Slow exhale chanting; brief silence after each pāda to feel ‘Indra seated’.
Reverent receptivity; settled luminous attention
Write or inwardly form one sentence of truth (brahma) about your current practice; chant, then rest in wideness (barhis). End by offering the day’s energies as puroḷāśa—let them be taken up by higher intelligence.
Triṣṭubh with clear accent peaks on vocatives (brahmavāhaḥ, śūra) and imperatives (sīda, vīhi).
Keep imperatives decisive: ‘sīda’ (sit) and ‘vīhi’ (come/partake) with clean articulation and slight lift.
brahma: final a short; avoid ‘brahmaa’ lengthening, brahmavāhaḥ: compound split brahma-vā-haḥ; vā long, kriyante: palatal y glide; do not harden into ‘krij’, puroḷāśam: retroflex ḷ; keep ‘ḷā’ long; avoid ‘purodāśam’ confusion
Grave, steady, enthroning tone; allow resonance after each pāda.
3
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