Rig Veda 8.71.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 71, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.71
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Bhayankara and Vira (heroism)
उरुष्या णो मा परा दा अघायते जातवेदः । दुराध्ये मर्ताय ॥
uruṣyā́ ṇo mā́ parā́ dā aghāyate jātavedaḥ | durā́dhye mártāya ||
ジャータヴェーダス（Jātavedas）よ、広くわれらを護りたまえ。害を欲する者に、また歪みたる思惟に住む迷える死すべき者に、われらを委ねたまうな。
Word by Word
- उरुष्य
- protect! / keep safe!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम? नहीं; उत्तमपुरुष? नहीं — 2nd person singular (मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन), परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root उरुष्य (धातु, उरु- ‘विस्तृत/रक्षा’ से; वैदिक)
- नः
- of us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? वैदिक प्रयोग: षष्ठी बहुवचन (enclitic) ‘our/of us’Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थ) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेध-निपात (prohibitive particle)Role (निषेध)Root मा (निषेध)
- परा
- away, forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषणRole (क्रियाविशेषण)Root परा (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- दाः
- give / hand overVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root दा (धातु) ‘देने’
- अघायते
- to the one who plots harm / the malicious oneVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole अधिकरण (यस्य प्रति) / कर्म-सम्बन्ध (to the one who…)Root अघाय (नामधातु/धातु) ‘अघं चिन्तयति/हानिं इच्छति’
- जातवेदः
- O Jātavedas (Agni), knower of all birthsNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot जातवेदस् (प्रातिपदिक; अग्नि-विशेषण)
- दुराध्ये
- in/into the hard-to-overcome (peril)Adjective/Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग? वैदिक: सप्तमी एकवचन (स्थाने/विषये) ‘in/for the hard-to-approach (danger)’Role अधिकरणRoot दुराध्य (प्रातिपदिक; दुर्- + आध्य/आधि-)
- मर्ताय
- to a mortalNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot मर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: उरुष्याऽ णो मा परा दा अघायते जातवेदः । दुराध्ये॒३॒॑ मर्ताय ॥ पद-विच्छेद (sandhi resolution): उरुष्य | नः | मा | परा | दाः | अघायते | जातवेदः | दुराध्ये | मर्ताय । टिप्पणी: ‘उरुष्याऽ’ = उरुष्य (लोट्) + पदान्त स्वर/प्रगृह्य-प्रभाव
- ‘दा’ संहिता में, पदपाठ में ‘दाः’ (लोट् 2sg) अपेक्षित। ‘णो’ = नः (enclitic) वैदिक उच्चारण-रूप।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Jātavedas is asked to protect widely and not hand the worshippers over to one who intends harm, nor to a mortal of perverse, ill-guided thought.
Inner meaning
Agni-Jātavedas, knower of all births/inner movements, is invoked as the wide protector (uruṣyā) to prevent the consciousness from being delivered to hostile forces—outer negativity and, more crucially, the inner ‘twisted thinking’ (durādhya) that misleads the will and turns aspiration into error.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires both aspiration and protection: not feeding hostile impulses, not surrendering to distorted thought-patterns; the inner Fire guards by illuminating motives and correcting the will.
Themes
wide-protection, anti-evil, mental-purification, Jātavedas
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.71.6, Rig Veda 8.71.8, Rig Veda 8.71.9, Rig Veda 8.71.10
Significance
The verse reads like a protective ‘inner discipline’ instruction: the seer-voice is the vigilant part of the aspirant requesting guardianship against both external hostility and internal distortion.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (Jātavedas)
- Epithets
- Jātavedas, Wide protector (uruṣya, invoked)
- Related deities
- Indra (slayer of Vṛtra), Varuṇa (guardian of ṛta), Mitra
Cosmic role
Witness and knower in all births; bearer of offerings; guardian of the rite from hostile powers.
Inner power
Discriminating flame that exposes harmful intentions and straightens thought; protective clarity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective invocation to Agni during rites—warding off adversaries and ritual faults
उ॒रु॒ष्या णो॒ मा परा॑ दा अघाय॒ते जा॑तवेदः । दु॒रा॒ध्ये॒३॒॑ मर्ता॑य ॥
उ॒रु॒ष्य । नः॒ । मा । परा॑ । दाः॒ । अ॒घ॒ऽय॒ते । ज॒त॒ऽवे॒दः॒ । दुः॒ऽआ॒ध्ये॑ । मर्ता॑य ॥
uruṣya | ṇaḥ | mā | parā | dāḥ | agha-yate | jata-vedaḥ | duḥ-ādhye | martāya
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4 × ~8 syllables (approx.)
Guarding, admonitory rhythm—short clauses with clear prohibitions (mā…).
Builds vigilance and psychic defense; the ‘mā’ prohibitions create a firm boundary in the listener.
- जातवेदः (jātavedaḥ)
- Literal: knower of births, all-knowing. Symbolic: Inner fire that knows all formations and can discern true from false movements
- उरुष्य (uruṣya)
- Literal: protect widely. Symbolic: Widening safeguard: expansive consciousness that resists narrowing fear/hostility
- मा परा दाः (mā parā dāḥ)
- Literal: do not give away/abandon. Symbolic: Do not let us fall from the true guidance into lower control
- अघायते (aghāyate)
- Literal: to one who intends harm. Symbolic: Hostile forces: jealousy, hatred, doubt, depression, vital attacks
- दुःआध्ये (duḥ-ādhye)
- Literal: badly-thinking, ill-counselled. Symbolic: Perverted mentality: self-deception, wrong reasoning, crooked intention
Apotropaic protection formula against hostile intent and inner misdirection; used as a guarding prayer in ritual transitions.
When establishing the fire/space; before offerings; in moments of perceived obstruction
Recitation with oblation to strengthen Agni’s protective presence
Use as a mantra for psychic protection: before sleep, travel, or difficult conversations; also to counter intrusive negative thought-loops.
uruṣy- built on urú ‘wide’ + protective verbal formation: ‘make wide (a shelter)’. aghá ‘evil, harm’ marks destructive intention. Jātavedas (jāta + veda) ‘knower of what is born’ implies Agni’s total cognition in manifestation. duḥ-ādhya: duḥ ‘bad/difficult’ + ādhya related to ‘thought/mental disposition’ (semantic: ‘ill-thinking, misdirected mind’).
evil intention (agha) as inner/outer adversary, right guidance of thought vs durādhya
Protection is preservation of ṛta against forces that distort thought and action (durādhya).
Jātavedas’ knowledge aligns the being with truth by revealing falsehood in motives.
Agni as the guardian of right formation—preventing devolutions into harmful patterns.
Integral yogic psychology: hostile forces and wrong thought as real obstacles to consciousness-evolution.
night (protective sense; not explicit but thematically apt)
Fire-circle = boundary of awareness; wide protection = widened consciousness; harmful one = attacking impulse; durādhya = crooked mental habit.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘wide shelter’ of the divine fire: Agni expands a protective space and prevents the sacrificer from being handed over to harm-intent or distorted mentality. Mythically, Agni wards off hostile beings; psychologically, he prevents surrender to adverse formations and crooked thought.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- urú ‘wide’ continues PIE *h₁er-u- ‘broad’ (cf. Greek eurús). The protective formation uruṣy- exploits inherited adjectival semantics (‘wide’) into a verb of sheltering—an archaic poetic strategy.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi entrusts safety of the inner journey to Agni’s omniscient flame (Jātavedas). The request is simultaneously outer (hostile agents) and inner (durādhya), showing Agni as guardian of consciousness, not merely ritual fire.
Detect and refuse the ‘crooked thought’ before it becomes speech/action; invoke Agni as inner guardian.
manipura
Exhale-lengthening with silent repetition of ‘mā parā dāḥ’ to establish boundary; then steady natural breath with ‘uruṣya’ felt as widening.
Protected wideness—calm alertness rather than anxiety.
When negativity arises, pause, feel the navel-fire, repeat the mantra 11 times, and consciously choose the straight thought (ṛju-dhī) over durādhya.
Emphasize prohibitive ‘mā’ with clear udatta lift where marked; keep ‘uruṣya’ flowing and expansive.
Do not rush ‘mā parā dāḥ’; give it a firm, clean stop. Keep ‘jātavedaḥ’ resonant on the long vowels.
uruṣya: retroflex ṣy cluster—‘ru-ṣya’, parā: long ā, aghāyate: gh aspirated, long ā, jātavedaḥ: long ā, dental d, visarga at end, duḥ-ādhye: pronounce duḥ with visarga before vowel, then long ādhye
Protective, steady, slightly grave; avoid fear—aim for vigilant calm.
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