Rig Veda 2.35.1: Mandala 2, Sukta 35, Mantra 1
Sukta 2.35
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Apāṃ Napāt
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
उपेमसृक्षि वाजयुर्वचस्यां चनो दधीत नाद्यो गिरो मे । अपां नपादाशुहेमा कुवित्स सुपेशसस्करति जोषिषद्धि ॥
upém asṛkṣi vājayúrv acasyā́ṃ cánó dadhīta nā́dyo gíro me | apā́ṃ nápād āśuhémā kúvit sá supéśasas karati jóṣiṣad dhi ||
ជិតទៅគាត់ ពាក្យរបស់ខ្ញុំត្រូវបានលែងចេញ ស្វែងរកនូវភាពពេញលេញនៃកម្លាំង សូមឲ្យអ្នកដ៏សក្តិសិទ្ធីទទួលយកសំឡេងទាំងនេះរបស់ខ្ញុំ។ នៅកូននៃទឹកទាំងឡាយ ដែលរហ័សក្នុងពន្លឺមាសរបស់គាត់ តើគាត់នឹងមិនបង្កើតឲ្យយើងនូវរូបរាងដ៏ល្អឥតខ្ចោះនៃភាពរីករាយទេ ដោយយល់ព្រមចំពោះសេចក្ដីប្រាថ្នារបស់យើង?
Word by Word
- उप
- forth; up (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot उप
- इमम्
- this (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम्
- असृक्षि
- has sent forth; has let flowVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot सृज्
- वाजयुः
- the prize-seeker; the racer (epithet)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot वाजयु
- वचस्यम्
- worthy of speech/praise; to be hymnedAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot वचस्य
- चानः
- for us; to usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot अहम् (एन्क्लिटिक नः)
- दधीत
- may he place; may he bestowVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot धा
- नाद्यः
- sounding; resoundingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot नाद्य
- गिरः
- songs; hymnsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot गिर्
- मे
- myPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Root अहम्
- अपाम्
- of the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRoot अप्
- नपात्
- offspring; son (epithet: ‘Son of the Waters’)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot नपात्
- आशुहेमा
- swift-going; quickly movingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot आशुहेमन्
- कुवित्
- whether indeed? perhaps?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक निपातRoot कुवित्
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot तद्
- सुपेशसः
- of beautiful form; well-adornedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot सुपेशस्
- करति
- makes; fashionsVerbलट् (present), तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot कृ
- जोषिषद्
- take pleasure (in it); favor (it)Verbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (वैदिक रूप: जोषिषद्)Role KartāRoot जुष्
- हि
- indeed; forIndeclinableनिपातRoot हि
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-wise): उपे॑मसृक्षि → उप + इमम् + असृक्षि (उप + इमम् = उपेमम्; final -म् elides before vowel in saṃhitā)
- वाज॒युर्व॑च॒स्यां → वाजयुः + वचस्यम् (visarga before v- becomes r: -ुः + व- → -ुर् व-)
- चनो॑ → च + नः
- ना॒द्यो → नाद्यः (o is saṃhitā for -अः before voiced sound)
- अ॒पां नपा॑द् → अपाम् + नपात् (final -त् appears as -द् in saṃhitā before vowel/voiced)
- कु॒वित्स → कुवित् + सः
- जोषि॑ष॒द्धि → जोषिषद् + हि
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet releases his hymn near Apāṃ Napāt, asking the divine to accept his voices. He praises the deity as swift and golden-radiant, asking whether he will shape for the worshipper a beautiful, delightful form in response to aspiration.
Inner meaning
The seeker sends forth speech (vāc) as an act of inner offering, seeking vāja—plenitude of effective force. Apāṃ Napāt, the hidden Fire within the Waters (the luminous consciousness concealed in the life-mind), is invoked to receive the mantric vibration and to “fashion” (karati) within the being a perfected formation of delight and harmony—an inner body of light (supeśas) shaped by consent (joṣiṣat) of the divine Presence.
Universal truth
When aspiration becomes articulate and sincere, the indwelling divine flame within the flux of life responds by shaping consciousness into a more luminous and delightful order; true transformation is a collaboration between human call and divine consent.
Themes
Cosmic fire in waters, Invocation and acceptance of speech, Manifestation of luminous form
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhārgava (traditional attribution through the Bhr̥gu line)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.1 (Agni as the priest of the inner sacrifice), RV 2.3 (Agni as purifier and leader), RV 2.35 (Apāṃ Napāt cycle)
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 2 is largely the Gṛtsamada cycle; hymns emphasize right aspiration, the inner fire, and the divine powers that build the soul’s victory.
Significance
Gṛtsamada’s voice characteristically turns ritual vocabulary into a psychology of offering: speech, will, and aspiration become the inner yajña, and the gods are powers of consciousness answering that call.
The deity
- Devata
- Apāṃ Napāt
- Epithets
- apāṃ napāt (Child of the Waters), āśuhemā (swift-golden), śuci (pure) (implied in the hymn context), dīdivāṃs (shining) (hymn context)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Varuṇa (as cosmic order in the waters), Uṣas (illumination that reveals the hidden fire)
Cosmic role
A luminous, formative power dwelling in the Waters—guardian of the secret fire and a creator-fashioner who brings order and beauty out of the undifferentiated flow.
Inner power
The hidden psychic fire/consciousness within life-energy that, when invoked, shapes experience into delight and truth-forms; the transformer of the vital into a vessel of light.
In ritual
Where it is used
Apāṃ Napāt/Āpas-related invocations within Soma and Agni-centered śrauta contexts; also usable in water-rites (ācamana, purification) as a contemplative praise.
उपे॑मसृक्षि वाज॒युर्व॑च॒स्यां चनो॑ दधीत ना॒द्यो गिरो॑ मे । अ॒पां नपा॑दाशु॒हेमा॑ कु॒वित्स सु॒पेश॑सस्करति॒ जोषि॑ष॒द्धि ॥
उप॑ । ई॒म् । अ॒सृ॒क्षि॒ । वा॒ज॒ऽयुः । व॒च॒स्याम् । चनः॑ । द॒धी॒त॒ । ना॒द्यः । गिरः॑ । मे॒ । अ॒पाम् । नपा॑त् । आ॒शु॒ऽहेमा॑ । कु॒वित् । सः । सु॒ऽपेश॑सः । क॒र॒ति॒ । जोषि॑षत् । हि ॥
upa | īm | asṛkṣi | vāja-yuḥ | vacasyām | canaḥ | dadhīta | nādyaḥ | giraḥ | me | apām | napāt | āśu-hemā | kuvit | saḥ | su-peśasaḥ | karati | joṣiṣat | hi
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Forward-driving, heroic cadence with space for emphasis on invocatory phrases and epithets.
Builds an ascending pressure of aspiration; supports a clear call-and-response feeling between human word and divine consent.
- उप (upa)
- Literal: near, towards. Symbolic: movement of consciousness toward the indwelling Divine; approach in surrender
- वाचस्याम् (vācasyām)
- Literal: in speech/utterance. Symbolic: mantric expression of aspiration; formative power of word
- वाजयुः (vājayuḥ)
- Literal: seeking vāja (prize/strength). Symbolic: hunger for plenitude of force, victorious energy, effective spiritual power
- गिरः (giraḥ)
- Literal: songs, voices. Symbolic: multiple movements of the soul offering themselves as sound-thought
- अपां नपात् (apāṃ napāt)
- Literal: Child of the Waters. Symbolic: secret Fire/Light in the waters of life; divine consciousness hidden in the subconscient and vital
- आशुहेमा (āśuhemā)
- Literal: swift-golden. Symbolic: rapid descent of illumination; quick transmuting radiance
- सुपेशसः (supeśasaḥ)
- Literal: of beautiful form/appearance. Symbolic: perfected inner formation—body of light, harmonious character-structure
- जोषिषत् (joṣiṣat)
- Literal: may he consent/approve. Symbolic: divine assent that seals the sādhanā; grace responding to aspiration
Apāṃ Napāt is associated with waters and hidden fire; invoked in water-related rites and in Soma ritual contexts emphasizing purification and the emergence of inner flame.
During hymnic praise (stotra/śastra portions) or when invoking purifying, life-giving waters; adaptable for dawn/evening recitation.
Offering of speech (stuti) and libation symbolism—calling the deity to accept the hymn and shape boons.
Before meditation: recite as an ‘approach’ mantra to awaken the hidden flame in the life-stream; use with a small water vessel as a reminder of consciousness within life.
apāṃ napāt ‘Child of the Waters’: Vedic fire/light concealed in waters; psychologically, the luminous will/conscious-force emerging from the subconscient flow. √sṛj ‘emit’ frames mantra as a ‘release’ of speech. vāja from √vaj/√vāj semantic field ‘strength, impetus, plenitude’ (not merely food/prize). āśu ‘swift’ + hema ‘gold’ indicates rapid manifestation of light. √juṣ ‘enjoy/accept’ expresses the deity’s consenting response to aspiration.
Emergence of Agni-like consciousness from the subconscient, Consent of the divine (joṣiṣat) to human aspiration, Vāja as plenitude of force
Apāṃ Napāt is invoked as the power that brings right form (supeśas) out of the flow—ordering life by inner law.
True speech (giraḥ) offered in sincerity becomes a channel for Satya to take form in the being.
Formation of luminous delight-forms from the waters (undifferentiated life/subconscient) through the secret fire.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-psychological reading (Aurobindo): gods as powers of consciousness and transformation.
dawn (suggested by ‘golden radiance’ and awakening motif)
Waters = life-movement and subconscient currents; golden radiance = illumination; hidden fire = psychic will shaping experience into delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Apāṃ Napāt as the golden, swift radiance hidden in waters: the myth of concealed fire/light emerging from the watery depths. Inwardly, it is the awakening of a luminous will from the flowing subconscient when the mantra is ‘released’ towards it.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- napāt ‘offspring’ is cognate with Avestan napāt and continues PIE *nepōt- ‘grandson/nephew’ (cf. Latin nepōs). √sṛj ‘release’ aligns with Indo-Iranian patterns of emission/flow. √juṣ ‘enjoy/accept’ reflects an inherited sacral reciprocity: the god ‘takes pleasure’ in the offering.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi sends forth speech as an approaching force (upém asṛkṣi) and asks for the deity’s reception (dadhīta) and consent (joṣiṣat). The devatā is not passive: he ‘fashions’ (karati) a beautiful form—an inner formation of consciousness in response to right utterance.
Awaken the ‘hidden flame’ within the flow of thoughts and emotions; offer speech inwardly and wait for the divine ‘consent’ that reshapes the being.
anahata (heart: mantra ‘from the heart’ motif across the hymn)
gentle nāḍī-śodhana for 6–8 cycles, then recite on long exhalations to ‘release’ the word near the deity.
quiet aspiration with luminous expectancy; watching for a subtle warmth/clarity arising from within the vital waters.
1) Sit, feel the breath as a river. 2) On each recitation, place the sound in the heart. 3) After 3/9 repetitions, pause in silence and sense a golden point of warmth behind the breath; let it ‘shape’ the mood into calm delight.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita per Rigvedic accent; key lifts likely on invocatory epithets (apāṃ napāt, āśuhemā).
Keep udātta as a clear rise; avoid flattening compound epithets; let the question particle ‘kuvit’ carry a slight interrogative lift without breaking meter.
Maintain retroflex in ‘napāt’ (ṭ), Lengthen long vowels: ‘gīro’ (ī), ‘he-mā’ (ā), ‘gh’ aspirates if encountered in related verses; keep breathy voiced consonants clear, Do not insert a vowel between consonant clusters: ‘supeśasas’ (su-pe-śa-sas)
clear, warm, slightly luminous tone; steady breath support on each pāda.
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