Rig Veda 4.4.11: Mandala 4, Sukta 4, Mantra 11
Sukta 4.4
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
महो रुजामि बन्धुता वचोभिस्तन्मा पितुर्गोतमादन्वियाय । त्वं नो अस्य वचसश्चिकिद्धि होतर्यविष्ठ सुक्रतो दमूनाः ॥
mahó rujāmi bandhutā́ vacóbhis tán mā pitúr gotamā́d ánv iyāya | tváṃ no asyá vácasaś cikiddhi hótar yaviṣṭha sukrato damūnāḥ ||
われは言葉によって大いなる縁（きずな）を切り開く。これは父ゴータマ（Gotama）より我に随い来たるもの。われらのこの言（ことば）をよく心に留めよ、ホータル（Hotar）よ、最も若き者、清き意志の者、家の主（damūnāḥ）よ。
Word by Word
- महो
- greatly; a great (deed/force)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (क्रियाविशेषणवत्: ‘बहु/महद्’)Role Karma (अन्तर्निहितम्: ‘महद् [कार्यं/बलम्]’)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- रुजामि
- I break; I shatterVerbलट् वर्तमानकालः, परस्मैपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (अहम्)Root रुज् (धातु) ‘भङ्गे/हिंसायाम्’
- बन्धुता
- with kinship; by (the power of) relationshipNoun (abstract)स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम् (instrumental)Role KaraṇaRoot बन्धुता (प्रातिपदिक) < बन्धु
- वचोभिः
- with words; with utterancesNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role Karma (यत् ‘तत्’ = उक्तं कर्म/कार्यं)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मा
- mePronounद्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot अहम् (सर्वनाम) — enclitic form
- पितुः
- of (my/our) fatherNounपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- गोतमात्
- from GotamaProper Nounपुंलिङ्गे पञ्चमी एकवचनम्Role ApādānaRoot गोतम (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषिनाम)
- अन्वियाय
- I have followed; I went afterVerbलिट् (परिप्रास/परोक्शभूत-प्रायः), परस्मैपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (अहम्)Root इ (धातु) ‘गत्यर्थः’ with अनु-
- त्वम्
- youPronounप्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचनम् (अत्र: षष्ठी ‘our’)Role SambandhaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम) — enclitic form
- अस्य
- of thisPronounपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role SambandhaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वचसः
- of the word/utteranceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role SambandhaRoot वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चिकिद्धि
- perceive; take notice; understandVerbलोट् आज्ञार्थः, परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role Kriyā (आज्ञा)Root चित् (धातु) ‘अवबोधने’ (वेदिक: किद्-आगम/विकल्प)
- होत॒र्
- O Hotar (invoking priest)Noun (agent)पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम्Role SambodhanaRoot होतृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- यविष्ठ
- O youngest (most youthful)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम्Role SambodhanaRoot यविष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; superlative, ‘युवा’/‘यव’ base in Vedic epithet)
- सुक्रतो
- O of good resolve/wisdomAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम्Role SambodhanaRoot सु-क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- दमूनाः
- O dweller in the house; O domestic (Agni)Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम् (वेदिक रूप)Role SambodhanaRoot दमूनस्/दमूना (प्रातिपदिक; epithet, ‘house-dwelling/at home’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: महो | रुजामि | बन्धुता | वचोभिः | तत् | मा | पितुः | गोतमात् | अन्वियाय | त्वम् | नः | अस्य | वचसः | चिकिद्धि | होतः | यविष्ठ | सुक्रतो | दमूनाः । Sandhi: (1) वचोभिः + तत् → वचोभिस्तत् (स् + त्)
- (2) तत् + मा → तन्मा (त् + म् → न्म्)
- (3) गोतमात् + अन्वियाय → गोतमादन्वियाय (त् + अ → द्; अ + अन्व् → अन्व्)
- (4) होतः + यविष्ठ → होत॒र्यविष्ठ (र् + य्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The seer declares that with his words he breaks open a “great kinship/bond”; this utterance has come to him in succession from his father Gotama. He asks Agni as Hotṛ—youngest, clear-willed, lord of the home—to heed and understand their speech.
Inner meaning
The “great kinship” is the hidden continuity between the human soul and the divine Powers, obscured by habitual consciousness. By mantra (vacobhiḥ) the rishi breaks the seal and re-enters the ancestral stream of realized knowledge (the Gotama-line as a symbol of transmitted inner seeing). Agni as Hotṛ is the inward priest—the flame of will and discernment—who must recognize (cikiddhi) the true vibration of the word and carry it upward, establishing the soul again in its native divine relationship.
Universal truth
Right speech arising from an authentic lineage of realization can reopen the lost sense of belonging to the Truth. The awakened will (Agni) must “recognize” the inner word and make it effective, so that human aspiration reconnects with its divine origin.
Themes
Rishi lineage and authority, Agni as Hotṛ, Power of the Word
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1, RV 4.2, RV 4.3, RV 4.4, RV 4.5
Family tradition
The Gautama line is associated with luminous insight and the disciplined transmission of mantra-knowledge; here the rishi explicitly invokes paternal succession as a seal of authenticity.
Significance
Vāmadeva’s voice often moves from invocation to inner realization: Agni is not merely ritual fire but the conscious Force that recognizes the true word and re-establishes the soul’s bond with the vast Truth.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Hotṛ, Yaviṣṭha, Sukratu, Damūnāḥ
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Mitra-Varuṇa
Cosmic role
Mediator between worlds; carrier of offerings; awakener of the Gods in man; establisher of ṛta through right action.
Inner power
The flame of conscious will and discernment that recognizes true speech, purifies motive, and leads the ascent of the being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / evening-morning fire tending; also general Agni-stotra usage
म॒हो रु॑जामि ब॒न्धुता॒ वचो॑भि॒स्तन्मा॑ पि॒तुर्गोत॑मा॒दन्वि॑याय । त्वं नो॑ अ॒स्य वच॑सश्चिकिद्धि॒ होत॑र्यविष्ठ सुक्रतो॒ दमू॑नाः ॥
म॒हः । रु॒जा॒मि॒ । ब॒न्धुता॑ । वचः॑ऽभिः । तत् । मा॒ । पि॒तुः । गोत॑मात् । अनु॑ । इ॒या॒य॒ । त्वम् । नः॒ । अ॒स्य । वच॑सः । चि॒कि॒द्धि॒ । होतः॑ । य॒वि॒ष्ठ॒ । सु॒क्र॒तो॒ इति॑ सुऽक्रतो । दमू॑नाः ॥
mahaḥ | rujāmi | bandhutā | vacaḥ-bhiḥ | tat | mā | pituḥ | gotamāt | anu | iyāya | tvam | naḥ | asya | vacasaḥ | cikiddhi | hotaḥ | yaviṣṭha | sukrato itisu-krato | damūnāḥ
Triṣṭubh (probable; traditional for much of RV 4.4)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (with Vedic metrical licenses possible)
Forward-driving, declarative, suited to proclamation and command
Builds a sense of breakthrough and authority—appropriate to ‘breaking open’ the bond and calling Agni to recognize the word.
- महो (mahaḥ)
- Literal: great; vast. Symbolic: the vastness of consciousness; the wide Truth-plane to be recovered
- रुजामि (rujāmi)
- Literal: I break open; I split. Symbolic: opening the sealed inner passages; breaking the knot of ignorance
- बन्धुता (bandhutā)
- Literal: kinship; bond. Symbolic: the secret affinity of the soul with the divine; unity with the Truth
- वचोभिः (vacobhiḥ)
- Literal: with words. Symbolic: mantric speech as force; thought-word that effects inner change
- पितुः गोतमात् (pituḥ gotamāt)
- Literal: from (my) father Gotama. Symbolic: lineage of illumination; inherited inner discipline and vision
- होतृ (hotṛ)
- Literal: invoking priest. Symbolic: Agni as the inner mediator who offers and uplifts consciousness
- यविष्ठ (yaviṣṭha)
- Literal: youngest. Symbolic: ever-new flame; fresh will in each moment of sadhana
- सुक्रतु (sukratu)
- Literal: of good/clear will or right intelligence. Symbolic: luminous discernment guiding aspiration
- दमूनाः (damūnāḥ)
- Literal: lord of the house. Symbolic: indwelling divine presence governing the inner home (heart-consciousness)
Self-positioning of the poet within a seer-lineage; Agni as Hotṛ invoked to validate and energize the utterance
At kindling and invocation of Agni as Hotṛ before offerings and recitations
Kindling, inviting Agni, reciting the stoma for acceptance and right conveyance
Use as an opening mantra before meditation or japa to ‘authorize’ speech: recollect lineage (teachers/inner tradition) and ask the inner Agni to recognize and uplift one’s aspiration.
√ruj ‘break, shatter, open’ (rujāmi) suggests opening sealed relations. bandhu ‘bond/kin’ becomes a spiritual lineage-connection. gotama is a clan name; here marks inherited mantra-power. cikiddhi from √cit/√cid ‘perceive, notice’ (imperative) asks Agni for attentive reception.
Lineage of brahman (inherited mantra-power), Speech as opening (ruj) of bonds
Agni as Hotṛ establishes ṛta by making speech and will aligned and effective.
The ‘kinship’ is with Satya—truth-nature—recovered by right word and right will.
Vāc as a force that opens concealed realms; revelation as ‘breaking the seal’.
Proto-Vedāntic / yogic psychology as read by Sri Aurobindo: ascent by will, word, and illumination.
dawn or twilight (typical for kindling/invocation contexts)
Fire = awakened will; hearth = heart-center; vastness = higher consciousness; spoken word = vibration shaping inner reality.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The opening of the ‘bond’ (bandhutā) by inspired speech: the seer claims continuity of a visionary lineage and calls Agni, the Hotṛ within, to recognize and empower the utterance.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- damūnāḥ ‘house-lord’ belongs to the IE sacral-household complex; the ‘fire in the house’ as priest is an Indo-European inheritance. The verb √ruj ‘break’ fits the IE pattern of truth/word ‘opening’ what is closed (semantic parallel across IE poetics).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asserts inherited authority (from Gotama) but still depends on Agni’s inner priesthood to ‘take heed’—validating the mantra as effective action in consciousness.
Offer the day’s speech and intention into the inner fire; ask for discernment to recognize truth in one’s own words.
Anāhata (heart-hearth) and Viśuddha (speech-purification)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 6–12 rounds, then chant once per breath cycle (inhale prepare, exhale chant).
Collected, luminous, ‘authorized’ speech arising from inner silence and will.
Before speaking or creating, pause at the heart, kindle a felt flame of sincerity, then recite; let Agni ‘cikiddhi’—correct and clarify the impulse behind words.
Vedic svara required from a Śākhā tradition; generally preserve udatta/anudatta/svarita as marked in a proper pada/saṃhitā accent edition (not fully inferable from plain text here).
Lean on the udātta syllables as the melodic ‘lift’; keep anudātta low and svarita as a controlled fall-rise; avoid flattening the cadence at pāda ends.
Keep retroflex ḍ in cikiddhi crisp with tongue curled back., (damūnāḥ): lengthen ‘ū’ and nasalize lightly on ‘nāḥ’., (yaviṣṭha): articulate ṣṭh cluster clearly (ṣ + ṭh).
Bright, steady, invoking; slight emphasis on verbs (rujāmi, cikiddhi).
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