Rig Veda 4.24.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 24, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.24
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Karuna (compassion)
तमिन्नरो वि ह्वयन्ते समीके रिरिक्वांसस्तन्वः कृण्वत त्राम् । मिथो यत्त्यागमुभयासो अग्मन्नरस्तोकस्य तनयस्य सातौ ॥
tám ín naró ví hvayante samīké ririkvā́ṃsas tanvàḥ kṛṇvata trā́m | mithó yát tyā́gam ubhā́yāso ágmān narás tokásya tánayasya sātáu ||
まさにその彼を、人々は遭遇の場で呼び招く。強き奮闘者たちは、その身を守護の盾として整える。互いに向き合い、両陣が「投げ捨て」（危機の賭けと放擲）へと至ったとき、人々は幼子と子孫の獲得――魂の系譜の継続の勝利のために（彼を呼ぶ）。
Word by Word
- तम्
- him / that onePronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्
- indeed / justIndeclinableनिपातः (एन्क्लिटिक-प्रयोगः)Root इन् (निपात/एन्क्लिटिक)
- नरः
- menNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot नर (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, forth (intensifier with verb)Indeclinableउपसर्गःRoot वि (उपसर्ग)
- ह्वयन्ते
- they call / invokeVerbलट्, आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्Root √ह्वे (ह्वयति/आह्वयति)
- समीके
- in the encounter / in the contestNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot समीक (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सम्+ईक’ ‘meeting/encounter’)
- रिरिक्वांसः
- the unblemished / uninjured (ones)Adjective (participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (विशेषणम् ‘नरः’)Root रिरिक्वांस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √रिच्/√रिक् ‘to leave, to be empty; to be free from’ → ‘uninjured/undefiled/without flaw’ as epithet)
- तन्वः
- of (their) body / of the personNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (वेदिक-रूपम्: तन्वः = तन्वाः)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root तनू (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृण्वत
- you make / you doVerbलट्, परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः बहुवचनम् (वेदिक-रूपम्: कृण्वत = कुरुत)Root √कृ (करोति)
- त्राम्
- protection / deliveranceNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot त्रा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘protection, saving’)
- मिथः
- mutually / with one anotherIndeclinableअव्ययम्Root मिथस् (अव्यय)
- यत्
- when / thatIndeclinable (relative particle)सम्बन्धक-निपातः (‘when/that’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / or conjunctional ‘yat’
- त्यागम्
- abandonment / giving upNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot त्याग (प्रातिपदिक; from √त्यज् ‘to leave, abandon’)
- उभयासः
- both (parties)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (वेदिक-प्रयोगः)Role कर्तृRoot उभय (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्मन्
- they went / they cameVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्Root √गम् (गच्छति)
- नरः
- menNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot नर (प्रातिपदिक)
- तोकस्य
- of the child / offspringNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root तोक (प्रातिपदिक)
- तनयस्य
- of the son / progenyNounपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
- सातौ
- in the winning / in the gaining (of victory)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot साति (प्रातिपदिक; ‘winning, gaining, victory’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): तम् इन् नरः वि ह्वयन्ते समीके | रिरिक्वांसः तन्वः कृण्वत त्राम् | मिथः यत् त्यागम् उभयासः अग्मन् नरः तोकस्य तनयस्य सातौ || 1) तमिन्नरोः = तम् + इन् + नरः (न्-आगमः/अनुस्वार-समासः; संहितायां ‘तमिन्नरो’)
- 2) समीके (सप्तमी) ‘समीक’ इति युद्ध/समागम-स्थाने
- 3) कृण्वत = कुरुत (वेदिक-लट् मध्यम-बहु)
- 4) अग्मन् = √गम् लुङ् (अorist) 3pl. 5) तन्वः = तनू-षष्ठी एकवचनस्य वेदिक-रूपम्
- 6) ‘मिथो यत्’ = मिथः + यत् (निपात-सम्बन्धः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Men call him in the encounter; strong strivers make their bodies a protection. When both sides come face to face to the casting-away (crisis), men invoke him for winning child and offspring.
Inner meaning
In the inner conflict (samīka), the seeker calls Indra at the moment of confrontation with opposing forces. The ririkvāṃsas—those who strive and grow strong—make their embodied nature (tanū) a conscious protection, i.e., they discipline life and body to hold the force of illumination. ‘Tyāga’ is the decisive moment of surrender/letting-go: both sides reach the brink where the old must be cast away. Then the prayer is for toká and tanáya—not merely physical progeny, but continuity of the soul’s line: the birth of new inner formations, right thoughts, and enduring spiritual offspring (works, realizations) that carry the evolution forward.
Universal truth
At the crisis-point where we must relinquish old patterns, a higher light is most needed. Discipline of the embodied nature plus surrender enables a new birth in consciousness and a lasting continuity of growth.
Themes
Indra in battle, Protection, Progeny as spiritual continuity
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama (hymn-level tradition; verse sometimes listed as unknown)
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.19, RV 4.21, RV 4.22
Family tradition
Vāmadeva’s poetry often treats ‘battle’ as a field of inner transformation where the human instruments must be made fit vessels.
Significance
The verse encodes a practical psychology: discipline (tanū as trā) + surrender (tyāga) at crisis → new birth (toka/tanaya) in the spiritual line.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- helper in samīka (encounter), protector of the strivers (implicit)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner sacrifice), Maruts (ardent forces)
Cosmic role
Champion in conflicts; giver of victory and continuity.
Inner power
Courageous illumination that supports the embodied being at the turning point of surrender.
In ritual
Where it is used
Battle/victory and protection invocations within Indra hymns; generalized use in conflict situations
तमिन्नरो॒ वि ह्व॑यन्ते समी॒के रि॑रि॒क्वांस॑स्त॒न्व॑: कृण्वत॒ त्राम् । मि॒थो यत्त्या॒गमु॒भया॑सो॒ अग्म॒न्नर॑स्तो॒कस्य॒ तन॑यस्य सा॒तौ ॥
तम् । इत् । नरः॑ । वि । ह्व॒य॒न्ते॒ । स॒म्ऽई॒के । रि॒रि॒क्वांसः॑ । त॒न्वः॑ । कृ॒ण्व॒त॒ । त्राम् । मि॒थः । यत् । त्या॒गम् । उ॒भ्या॑सः । अग्म॑न् । नरः॑ । तो॒कस्य॑ । तन॑यस्य । सा॒तौ ॥
tam | it | naraḥ | vi | hvayante | sam-īke | ririkvaaṃsaḥ | tanvaḥ | kṛṇvata | trām | mithaḥ | yat | tyāgam | ubhyāsaḥ | agman | naraḥ | tokasya | tanayasya | sātau
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4 × ~11
Taut and crisis-driven; mid-verse pivots mirror the ‘face-to-face’ encounter.
Helps meet fear and uncertainty; steadies the nerves and gathers force for surrender and breakthrough.
- समीके (samīke)
- Literal: in the encounter/battle. Symbolic: inner confrontation with resistance and division
- रिरिक्वांसः (ririkvāṃsaḥ)
- Literal: strong/ardent strivers. Symbolic: yogic aspirants intensifying force through practice
- तन्वः (tanvaḥ)
- Literal: bodies. Symbolic: embodied nature (life-body-mind complex) made a vessel
- त्राम् (trām)
- Literal: protection. Symbolic: psychic safeguard; stability to hold higher force
- त्यागम् (tyāgam)
- Literal: casting away, relinquishment. Symbolic: surrender of ego-hold; decisive renunciation at a turning point
- तोके/तनये (toke/tanaye)
- Literal: child/offspring. Symbolic: new births of consciousness; continuity of the soul’s lineage
Indra invoked in contests/encounters; also in rites seeking protection and continuity (toka/tanaya blessings) alongside Soma praise
At moments of contest, danger, or decisive undertaking; in Soma context as well, but the verse is broadly applicable.
Invocation for protection and successful ‘winning’ (sātu) of what must be born/secured.
Use during personal crises: illness recovery, major decisions, endings/beginnings—chant to support surrender and new inner birth.
√hū ‘call’ expresses invocation in crisis. trā- from √trā ‘protect’ → inner armor of consciousness. tyāga from √tyaj ‘leave, abandon’ implies a turning point: letting go of ego-hold or risking all in the battle. toka/tanaya denote progeny; psychologically, continuity of the ‘line’ of growth—new formations of consciousness. √san ‘gain’ (sāti) frames offspring as an attainment of fulfilled becoming.
surrender/letting-go (tyāga) as a turning point, protection of the embodied being (tanū-trā), continuity/lineage as inner growth (toka/tanaya)
The ‘winning’ is the restoration of right continuity—life aligned to the soul’s evolutionary line.
True protection is not avoidance of crisis but the strength to pass through it into a new birth.
Birth imagery as spiritual creation: emergence of new consciousness-forms.
Vedic evolutionary symbolism (birth as manifestation of higher states)
Encounter = inner conflict; protection = disciplined embodiment; birth = manifestation of new realization and capacity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as the invoked protector in the decisive encounter, granting victory and continuity (toka/tanaya). The mythic action is the crisis-battle where human forces, at the point of abandonment (tyāga), call the god to secure the future line of life/light.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √gam ‘go/come’ is PIE *gʷem- (Latin venīre via different route; but IE *gʷem- is classic: Greek baínō is different). √trā ‘protect’ relates to PIE *treh₂- ‘protect’ (cognate proposals include Latin trux? uncertain; Indo-Iranian evidence is clearer). The inherited battle-invocation formula uses locatives like samīké and abstract sāti ‘winning’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi speaks for the collective ‘men’ (naraḥ) in conflict: they build inner protection (tanūḥ trām) and invoke Indra at the moment of greatest risk. Indra’s reciprocity is the granting of sāti—attainment of continuity (toka/tanaya), i.e., the successful transmission of the gained light-force into the future being.
At the ‘face-to-face’ moment with fear/resistance, call Indra; practice conscious relaxation and surrender (tyāga) while holding a protective steadiness in the body.
maṇipūra (courage/will) and mūlādhāra (stability)
Box breathing 4-4-4-4 for 3 rounds, then chant once slowly; repeat 7 times.
From threat-reactivity to centered bravery; readiness for inner rebirth.
Identify what must be ‘cast away’ (habit, belief, attachment). Chant 7 times; after each, release the exhale fully and feel the body as a calm shield around a small flame of new intention.
RV accentuation; give clear stress to ‘tám’ and ‘ví hvayante’; keep flow through compound clusters.
Do not rush ‘ririkvāṃsas’; let ‘tyāgam’ be pronounced with gravity; end ‘sātau’ firmly.
: ‘hvay-an-te’ (hva cluster), : ‘ri-rik-vāṃ-saḥ’ nasalized āṃ, : ‘mi-tho’ dental th, : ‘sā-tau’ long ā
Grounded, protective, slightly lower pitch to steady the system.
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