Rig Veda 7.68.7: Mandala 7, Sukta 68, Mantra 7
Sukta 7.68
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Vira (heroism)
उत त्यं भुज्युमश्विना सखायो मध्ये जहुर्दुरेवासः समुद्रे । निरीं पर्षदरावा यो युवाकुः ॥
utá tyáṃ bhujyúm aśvinā sakhā́yo mádhye jahur durévāsaḥ samudré | nír ī́ṃ parṣad árāvā yó yuvā́kuḥ ||
またそのブジュユ（Bhujyu）をも――住まい悪しき仲間たちが大海のただ中に捨て去ったその者を――若き者の遠くまで届く呼び声が、彼を救いへと渡らせた。アシュヴィン（Aśvins）よ、かくしてあなたがたは呑みこむ水より霊（ātman）をも引き上げる。
Word by Word
- उत
- and; also; moreoverIndeclinableconj./particleRoot उत
- त्यम्
- that (him/that one)Pronoun (Adjectival)masc./neut. acc. sg. (enclitic/emphatic form of तं)Role KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- भुज्युम्
- Bhujyu (a man/hero)Noun (Proper name)masc. acc. sg.Role KarmaRoot भुज्यु (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
- अश्विना
- O AśvinsNoun (Dual deity name)masc. voc. du.Root अश्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सखायः
- companions; friendsNounmasc. nom. pl.Role KartāRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- मध्ये
- in the middleNounneut. loc. sg.Role AdhikaraṇaRoot मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- जहुः
- they abandoned; leftVerbperfect, 3rd person plural, parasmaipadaRoot हा (धातु)
- दुरेवासः
- ill-disposed; of evil waysAdjective (used substantively)masc. nom. pl.Role Kartā (apposition to सखायः)Root दुरेवस् (दुर्- + एवस् ‘dwelling/condition’) (प्रातिपदिक)
- समुद्रे
- in the seaNounmasc. loc. sg.Role AdhikaraṇaRoot समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- निः
- out; forthIndeclinable (preverb) / particleupasarga (with following verb)Root निः
- ईम्
- him (enclitic); indeedIndeclinable (enclitic pronoun/particle)enclitic object-marker (≈ ‘him’/‘indeed’ in RV usage)Role KarmaRoot ईम्
- पर्षत्
- may (he) carry across; (he) carried acrossVerbaorist (injunctive/precative-like RV usage), 3rd person singular, parasmaipadaRoot पॄ (धातु; ‘to carry across, save’)
- अरावा
- swift; vigorous (lit. ‘possessing speed/impetus’)Adjectivemasc. nom. sg.Role Kartā (of पर्षत्)Root अरावन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoRelative pronounmasc. nom. sg.Role Kartā (relative clause)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- युवाकुः
- the youthful one; youthfully active (epithet)Noun/Adjective (epithet)masc. nom. sg.Role Kartā (in apposition to यः / अरावा)Root युवाकु (प्रातिपदिक; epithet)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): उ॒त | त्यं | भु॒ज्युम् | अ॒श्वि॒ना | सखा॑यः | मध्ये॑ | जहुः | दुरे॑वासः | समु॒द्रे | निः | ईम् | पर्ष॒त् | अरा॑वा | यः | यु॒वाकु॑ः । Notable: (1) ‘उत त्यम्’ = particle + enclitic accusative ‘त्यम्’ (RV emphatic form). (2) ‘निः’ remains as upasarga
- before vowel ‘ईम्’ it is written ‘निः ईम्’ (no assimilation to ‘नीर्’ in padapāṭha). (3) Accent marks are retained from saṃhitā
- morphological analysis is independent of accent
The meaning
Outer meaning
Bhujyu, abandoned by ill-housed companions in mid-ocean, was borne out to safety by the far-ranging call of the youthful one; thus the Aśvins rescue from engulfing waters.
Inner meaning
Bhujyu is the soul or life-being cast into the vast subconscient (samudra), abandoned by unfit companions—disordered impulses, false friendships of desire and fear. The ‘far-ranging call’ (arāvā) of the youthful force (yuvākuḥ) symbolizes the clear aspirational cry or mantra-power that reaches across the depths. The Aśvins respond by drawing the being out of engulfment—saving consciousness from drowning in inertia, depression, or chaotic vital waves.
Universal truth
When the being is overwhelmed by inner oceans of unconsciousness or emotion, a sincere call can traverse the depths and bring swift rescuing forces; abandonment by lower supports becomes the occasion for divine intervention.
Themes
Bhujyu rescue, deliverance, false companions, crossing the waters
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha (Vasiṣṭha-gotra)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.116-1.120 (Bhujyu rescue motifs in Aśvin legends), RV 7.62 (deliverance/protection themes in Maṇḍala 7 context)
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha frequently uses rescue motifs as inner psychology: the ocean as subconscient, the call as aspiration, the gods as effective powers.
Significance
This is a classic Aśvin symbol: salvation from the ocean of inconscience by the power of the call and swift divine response—central to an inner-yogic reading.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Epithets
- sakhāyau (friends), rescuers (implied), youthful helpers (yuvā, implied)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (ocean/cosmic waters), Uṣas (dawn after peril), Indra (overcoming obstruction)
Cosmic role
Saviors in perilous crossings; they bridge the gulf between drowning and deliverance, night and dawn.
Inner power
They act as rapid intervention in crisis: stabilizing prāṇa, restoring hope, and providing a ‘vehicle’ of safe passage through subconscient waters.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin praise in Soma ritual; also protective invocation in dangerous passages
उ॒त त्यं भु॒ज्युम॑श्विना॒ सखा॑यो॒ मध्ये॑ जहुर्दु॒रेवा॑सः समु॒द्रे । निरीं॑ पर्ष॒दरा॑वा॒ यो यु॒वाकु॑: ॥
उ॒त । त्यम् । भु॒ज्युम् । अ॒श्वि॒ना॒ । सखा॑यः । मध्ये॑ । जु॒हुः॒ । दुः॒ऽएवा॑सः । स॒मु॒द्रे । निः । ई॒म् । प॒र्ष॒त् । अरा॑वा । यः । यु॒वाकुः॑ ॥
uta | tyam | bhujyum | aśvinā | sakhāyaḥ | madhye | juhuḥ | duḥ-evāsaḥ | samudre | ni ḥ | īm | parṣat | arāvā | yaḥ | yuvākuḥ
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4 × ~11 syllables; strong narrative drive with a climactic ‘nir īm parṣat’.
Dramatic, wave-like surge followed by release; suitable for rescue narrative.
Elicits catharsis and relief; supports confidence during emotional turbulence.
- भुज्यु (bhujyu)
- Literal: Bhujyu (name). Symbolic: the embodied soul/life-being in peril; the seeker in overwhelm
- दुरेवासः (durevāsaḥ)
- Literal: ill-housed/ill-dwelling. Symbolic: disordered inner companions—impulses and habits that cannot shelter consciousness
- समुद्रे (samudre)
- Literal: in the ocean. Symbolic: subconscient vastness; emotional/inconscient flood
- मध्यम् (madhye)
- Literal: in the middle. Symbolic: caught between higher and lower; crisis point
- अरा॑वा (arāvā)
- Literal: far-ranging call/cry. Symbolic: mantric aspiration that reaches beyond immediate limits
- युवाकुः (yuvākuḥ)
- Literal: the youthful one/caller. Symbolic: fresh ascending will, young force of the soul’s urge toward light
- निः पर्षत् (niḥ parṣat)
- Literal: carried out/bore forth. Symbolic: deliverance—extraction of consciousness from engulfment
Invoked for rescue/protection and ‘ferrying across’ dangers; applicable in rites seeking safe passage, healing, and averting misfortune.
Invoked for rescue, safe passage, and protection—especially at transitions or when obstacles surge.
Narrative praise (itihāsa-like) to awaken the deity’s rescuing power; offerings accompany remembrance of their deeds.
A crisis mantra for anxiety/depression/overwhelm; chant when feeling ‘drowned’ by thoughts or emotions, to reestablish inner ground.
: sam-udra ‘gathered waters’ (ud- ‘water’/‘wave’). : from √pṛ/√par ‘to bring across, to ferry’ (cf. ‘pass’ notion in Indo-European semantic field, though direct cognacy is complex). : from √sakh ‘to accompany’ → ‘companion’; in inner reading, outer supports fail. : from ara- ‘far’ + -vā ‘going/sounding’ → ‘far-sounding/far-reaching’, suggestive of a mantra-call or saving impulse.
crossing beyond the subconscient (waters) into ordered consciousness (Ṛta), divine grace responding to the call (mantric reach)
Rescue from ocean symbolizes restoring ṛta within the vital-emotional field.
The ‘call’ aligns speech with truth-intent; satya in vāṇī becomes salvific.
Emergence from waters—rebirth motif; consciousness rising from the inconscient.
Psychological Vedism: waters = subconscient; rescue = ascent of consciousness aided by divine powers.
Night-to-dawn transition (implicit rescue leading to safety)
Engulfing emotions/inconscience; the aspirational call as a lifeline; rescue as stabilization and ascent.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The rescue of Bhujyu abandoned in mid-ocean. In inner terms, the being is left in the vast waters of the subconscient/ignorance; the Aśvins, responding to a far-reaching call, ferry it out—an archetype of salvation by swift divine powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The motion prefix níḥ ‘out’ + verb of crossing (parṣat) encodes an ‘egress’ pattern common in IE poetics: emergence from enclosing waters. ‘Ocean’ as a totalizing plural/waters mass parallels IE mythic seas as chaos/undifferentiated substrate.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi strengthens present trust by citing precedent: as the Twins once saved Bhujyu when human supports failed, so may they now respond to the sacrificer’s call and extract him from peril—outer and inner.
Use the mantra as a ‘lifeline’ during overwhelm: feel the call (arāvā) extending from heart through throat into vast space; receive the rescuing pull upward.
Viśuddha (call/mantra) and Anāhata (trust)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) for 9 rounds; then chant once; after chanting, exhale long imagining release from waters.
From engulfed/emotionally flooded to buoyant, rescued presence.
When in crisis, do not analyze—call. Chant audibly 3 times, then sit with one hand on the heart, one on the navel, feeling steadiness return. End with a brief aspiration: ‘Lead me safely across the waters.’
Three-tone Vedic chant; emphasize udātta on bhujyum, samudre, nir īm, parṣat, arāvā, yuvākuḥ.
Let the first half rise like a wave (narrative tension), and deliver ‘nir īm parṣat’ with a clear releasing fall.
bhujyum: keep bh aspirated; ‘jy’ cluster clear., durevāsaḥ: pronounce ‘duḥ-’ as dus-/dur- per sandhi; keep long ā., samudre: short a; dental d., arāvā: long ā; keep v soft., yuvākuḥ: long ā; final ḥ lightly aspirated.
Urgent but controlled; clear articulation to embody the ‘call’.
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