Rig Veda 3.48.4: Mandala 3, Sukta 48, Mantra 4
Sukta 3.48
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
उग्रस्तुराषाळभिभूत्योजा यथावशं तन्वं चक्र एषः । त्वष्टारमिन्द्रो जनुषाभिभूयामुष्या सोममपिबच्चमूषु ॥
ugrás turāṣā́ḷ abhibhū́tyojā yathāvaśáṃ tanvàṃ cakra eṣáḥ | tváṣṭāram índro januṣā́bhibhū́yā́muṣyā́ sómam apibac camū́ṣu ||
彼は猛く、敵を圧する力に満ち、意のままに己が身を形づくりたり。このインドラは生まれながらに工匠神トヴァシュトリ（Tvaṣṭṛ）を制し、鉢（ちゃむー）の中にてそのソーマを飲みたり。
Word by Word
- उग्रः
- fierce, formidableAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Root उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- तुराषाट्
- overpowering/prevailing in battleAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Root तुराषाट् (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-स्वरूप विशेषण)
- अभिभूति-ओजाः
- whose strength is (for) overpoweringAdjective (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Root अभिभूति (प्रातिपदिक) + ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- as, according toIndeclinableअव्ययRole सम्बन्ध/प्रकार (उपमान/रीतिः)Root यथा
- अवशम्
- at will, as he wishedAdverbial (acc. used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)Role क्रियाविशेषण (रीतिः)Root अवश (प्रातिपदिक)
- तन्वम्
- body, selfNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (चक्रे इत्यस्य)Root तनू (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRole समुच्चयRoot च
- चक्रे
- he made, he fashionedVerbलिट् (परस्मैपद-रूपार्थे आत्मनेपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot कृ (धातु)
- एषः
- this one (he)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (चक्रे इत्यस्य)Root एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वष्टारम्
- Tvaṣṭar (the divine artisan)Noun (proper/deity)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (अभिभूय इत्यस्य)Root त्वष्टृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNoun (proper/deity)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अभिभूय/अपिबत् इत्यस्य)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनुषा
- by birth, by natureNoun (instrumental)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करण (उपायः: ‘by birth/nature’)Root जनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभिभूय
- having overpoweredGerund (absolutive)क्त्वान्त (ल्यप्) अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगःRole पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया (इन्द्रस्य)Root अभि-भू (धातु)
- अमुष्य
- of that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी: ‘of that (one)’)Root अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमम्
- Soma (the pressed drink)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (अपिबत् इत्यस्य)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपिबत्
- he drankVerbलङ् (अद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot पा (धातु)
- चमूषु
- in the cups/bowlsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (स्थानम्)Root चमू (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: उग्रः | तुराषाट् | अभिभूत्योजाः | यथा | अवशम् | तन्वम् | च | चक्रे | एषः || त्वष्टारम् | इन्द्रः | जनुषा | अभिभूय | अमुष्य | सोमम् | अपिबत् | चमूषु || संधि-विशेषाः: (1) उग्रस् + तुराषाट् → उग्रस्तुराषाट् (विसर्ग-लोपः/सन्धिः)
- (2) अभिभूति + ओजाः → अभिभूत्योजाः (इकारस्य यणादेशः: इ + ओ → यो)
- (3) यथा + अवशम् → यथावशम् (अ + अ → आ)
- (4) सोमम् + अपिबत् → सोममपिबत् (अकार-सन्धिः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, fierce and overpowering, forms his body at will; mastering Tvaṣṭṛ by birth, he drinks Soma from the bowls.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind-Power (Indra) is born with an inherent sovereignty over the formative artisan-force (Tvaṣṭṛ) that shapes our psycho-physical nature. Indra can “assume a body at will” — i.e., consciously organize the instruments (mind-life-body) for the inner yajña. He then drinks Soma: the divine Ananda/immortal delight is taken into the prepared vessels of consciousness (camū), increasing luminous strength and mastery over the formed nature.
Universal truth
Spiritual growth requires a conscious power of intelligence to reshape the personality and then receive bliss as sustaining nectar; delight is not an accident but a consequence of awakened mastery over formation.
Themes
Indra’s sovereignty, Tvaṣṭṛ episode, Soma-drinking, self-fashioning
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Gāthina (Kauśika lineage in later tradition)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.33, RV 3.53, RV 3.62 (Gāyatrī), RV 3.48, RV 3.49
Family tradition
Royal-turned-seer; embodies the passage from kṣatriya dynamism to brahmarṣi illumination—apt for Indra’s victorious inner battle and self-fashioning.
Significance
Viśvāmitra’s vision often stresses the conquest of limiting formations and the birth of a larger divine power in the human instrument—here, Indra’s mastery over Tvaṣṭṛ mirrors the yogic mastery over nature’s shaping habits.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- ugra, turāṣāṭ (overpowering victor), abhibhūtyojāḥ (mighty in conquest), somapā (Soma-drinker)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Tvaṣṭṛ
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstructions, establisher of luminous order; leader who releases the hidden powers and widens the worlds.
Inner power
Illumined mind-force that reorganizes the personality and receives Ananda as strength; the decisive intelligence that can reshape the ‘body’ of practice.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma offerings in Soma-yajña context (general Indra stotra usage)
उ॒ग्रस्तु॑रा॒षाळ॒भिभू॑त्योजा यथाव॒शं त॒न्वं॑ चक्र ए॒षः । त्वष्टा॑र॒मिन्द्रो॑ ज॒नुषा॑भि॒भूया॒मुष्या॒ सोम॑मपिबच्च॒मूषु॑ ॥
उ॒ग्रः । तु॒रा॒षाट् । अ॒भिभू॑तिऽओजाः । य॒था॒ऽव॒शम् । त॒न्व॑म् । च॒क्रे॒ । ए॒षः । त्वष्टा॑रम् । इन्द्रः॑ । ज॒नुषा॑ । अ॒भि॒ऽभूय॑ । आ॒ऽमुष्य॑ । सोम॑म् । अ॒पि॒ब॒त् । च॒मूषु॑ ॥
ugraḥ | turāṣāṭ | abhibhūti-ojāḥ | yathāvaśam | tanvam | cakre | eṣaḥ | tvaṣṭāram | indraḥ | januṣā | abhi-bhūya | āmuṣya | somam | apibat | camūṣu
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables each (Triṣṭubh cadence with strong mid-line lift)
Martial, forward-driving, suited to breakthrough and conquest imagery.
Builds a sense of inner command and plastic power; supports visualization of reshaping the instrument and drawing in bliss.
- ugráḥ
- Literal: fierce, formidable. Symbolic: forceful intensity needed to break inner resistance
- abhibhūti-ojāḥ
- Literal: power of overpowering. Symbolic: victorious spiritual energy that exceeds egoic limits
- yathāvaśam
- Literal: according to will. Symbolic: plasticity of nature under the soul-led mind
- tanūm cakre
- Literal: made/formed the body. Symbolic: conscious re-formation of the instruments of sādhanā
- Tvaṣṭṛ
- Literal: the shaper, artisan. Symbolic: formative power shaping mind-life-body patterns
- januṣā abhibhūya
- Literal: overpowering by birth. Symbolic: innate supremacy of awakened illumination over mechanical formation
- Soma
- Literal: soma-juice. Symbolic: divine bliss, nectar of consciousness
- camūṣu
- Literal: in bowls. Symbolic: receptacles of awareness—mind and life made fit to hold Ananda
Soma rite mythic reinforcement; also used to affirm Indra’s sovereignty over formation and his right to Soma.
During Soma pressing/offerings and Indra invocations for victory and strength.
Recitation/chant with offering of Soma; mentally ‘pouring’ strength into the inner sacrifice.
Use as a mantra of inner re-formation: before meditation, affirm the will to reshape habits and then receive calm joy (Soma) into awareness.
tvaṣṭṛ from √tvaṣ/√tvakṣ ‘to fashion, make’ → formative power. abhibhū from abhi + √bhū ‘to overpower, prevail’. tanū ‘body’ indicates the instrument of action; ‘shaping the body at will’ implies sovereign formation of the psycho-physical vessel.
self-formation of the instrument (tanū), mastery over the formative principle (Tvaṣṭṛ), ojas as victorious essence-power
Indra’s mastery establishes r̥ta by overcoming the formative limitation that binds consciousness.
True will (yathāvaśam) aligns formation with the soul’s intention rather than mechanical nature.
Conscious formation of the instrument precedes the descent of Ananda (Soma) into embodied life.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo: gods as powers of consciousness).
Nature’s crafting force shapes the ‘body’; illumined mind-force can remould it, then receive nectar-like bliss into prepared vessels of awareness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra overmasters Tvaṣṭṛ and shapes his body at will, then drinks Soma: mythically, the warrior-god exceeds the artisan-god; psychologically, the victorious consciousness-force gains mastery over the formative energies of nature and refashions the instrument to receive delight.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The opposition of ‘warrior mastery’ and ‘artisan formation’ is a recurrent IE functional polarity. √bhū ‘be/become’ and √kṛ ‘make’ are archaic IE staples used here in a tight causative-mythic syntax (prevail → shape → drink).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi contemplates Indra as the power that can refashion the human vessel ‘at will’—a promise that the seeker’s nature is not fixed. The Soma in the bowls becomes the delight that seals and energizes this transformation.
Invoke the illumined will to reshape the instrument; then receive a quiet, strengthening delight into the heart-mind.
maṇipūra (will/force) leading to ājñā (illumined mind)
4-4-6 breathing: inhale (gather force), hold (shape intention), exhale (release resistance); then a few natural breaths ‘drinking Soma’ as sweetness in the chest/head.
Dynamic concentration moving into luminous ease.
Begin with a clear sankalpa (yathāvaśam). Feel Indra as decisive clarity above the forehead; feel Tvaṣṭṛ as the shaping currents in body-mind. On ‘Soma’, allow a cool sweetness to descend into the ‘bowls’ (attention, breath, nerves).
Vedic accenting with udatta peaks on key force-words (e.g., ugrás, índraḥ, sómam), with anudatta supports and svarita falls per śākhā tradition.
Keep the Triṣṭubh lift: emphasize the 4th–5th syllable region in each pāda; avoid flattening compound accents (abhibhūty-ojāḥ).
Differentiate ṭ/ḍ from t/d: ‘turāṣāṭ’ with retroflex ṭ, ‘tvaṣṭāram’: cluster ṣṭ pronounced clearly (tvaṣ-ṭā-ram), ‘camūṣu’: long ū; ṣ is retroflex sibilant, Maintain nasalization where implied; do not over-English ‘Indra’—keep short i (in-dra)
Firm, resonant, slightly forceful on the first half; soften on ‘somam apibat’ to taste the sweetness.
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