Rig Veda 4.10.7: Mandala 4, Sukta 10, Mantra 7
Sukta 4.10
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
कृतं चिद्धि ष्मा सनेमि द्वेषोऽग्न इनोषि मर्तात् । इत्था यजमानादृतावः ॥
kṛtáṃ cíd dhi ṣmā́ sáne mi dveṣó’gna inóṣi mártāt | itthā́ yajamānād ṛtāvaḥ ||
ಓ ಅಗ್ನೇ, ವೈರವನ್ನಾಗಿ ರೂಪುಗೊಂಡ ದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನೂ ನಾವು ಜಯಿಸಬಲ್ಲೆವು; ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ನೀನು ಮರಣಶೀಲನಿಂದ ದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನು ಓಡಿಸುತ್ತೀ. ಹೀಗೆ, ಋತದ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುವ ಯಜಮಾನನನ್ನು ನೀನು ಕಾಪಾಡುತ್ತೀ.
Word by Word
- कृतं
- done, accomplished (deed/act)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- indeed, evenIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic)Root चित् (अव्यय/निपात)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (causal/confirmatory)Root हि (अव्यय)
- ष्मा
- surely, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/asseverative)Root ष्मा (अव्यय; वैदिक निपात)
- सनेमि
- I win / I shall gainVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KartāRoot सन्/सना (धातु ‘to win, gain’) → सनेमि
- द्वेषः
- hatred, hostile one/hostilityNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot द्विष् (धातु) → द्वेष (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इनोषि
- you drive away / you impelVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KartāRoot इन्/इन (धातु; वैदिक ‘to drive/impel, set in motion’) → इनोषि
- मर्तात्
- from the mortalNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot मर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्था
- thus, in this mannerIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot इत्था (अव्यय)
- यजमानात्
- from the sacrificerNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot यजमान (प्रातिपदिक; यज् धातु से ‘sacrificing’)
- ऋतावः
- truth-possessing / in accord with ṛta (order)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot ऋतावन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: कृतं | चित् | हि | ष्मा | सनेमि | द्वेषः | अग्ने | इनोषि | मर्तात् || इत्था | यजमानात् | ऋतावः || 1) चिद्धि = चित् + हि (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + ह → द्ध)
- 2) द्वेषोऽग्न = द्वेषः + अग्ने (विसर्ग-सन्धि: अः + अ → ओऽ; सम्बोधन ‘अग्ने’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Even hostility that is already established we can win through; for you, Agni, drive hatred away from the mortal. Thus you protect the sacrificer who is ṛtāvan (aligned with truth-order).
Inner meaning
Even when adverse formations (dveṣaḥ)—habitual resistances, inner antagonisms—seem ‘already made’ (kṛtam), they can be overcome by the psychic fire. Agni expels the vibration of hatred from the mortal nature and safeguards the aspirant (yajamāna) who lives by ṛta: sincerity, right rhythm, and truth in action.
Universal truth
No resistance is final. When one stands in truth and keeps the inner fire burning, even hardened patterns of negativity can be dislodged and transformed.
Themes
Protection, Victory over hostility, Rita-guidance
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.2, RV 4.4, RV 4.10
Family tradition
Vāmadeva’s hymns often frame Agni as protector and purifier of the aspirant, removing hostile forces that obstruct illumination.
Significance
This is a practical sādhanā-verse: it declares the transformability of even ‘made’ negativity when supported by Agni and ṛta.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- protector of the yajamāna, ṛtāvan’s ally (implied), repeller of dveṣa
- Related deities
- Indra (slayer of Vṛtra/resistance), Varuṇa (ṛta), Mitra (harmony)
Cosmic role
Guardian power that maintains ṛta by burning away disorder and hostility.
Inner power
Force of purification and courage that confronts and dissolves fixed adverse formations in the mind/vital.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective Agni invocations within yajña; verses used to ward off hostility and restore harmony among participants
कृ॒तं चि॒द्धि ष्मा॒ सने॑मि॒ द्वेषोऽग्न॑ इ॒नोषि॒ मर्ता॑त् । इ॒त्था यज॑मानादृतावः ॥
कृ॒तम् । चि॒त् । हि । स्म॒ । सने॑मि । द्वेषः॑ । अग्ने॑ । इ॒नोषि॑ । मर्ता॑त् । इ॒त्था । यज॑मानात् । ऋ॒त॒ऽवः॒ ॥
kṛtam | cit | hi | sma | sanemi | dveṣaḥ | agne | inoṣi | martāt | itthā | yajamānāt | ṛta-vaḥ
44
4 × ~11; strong verbal movement, exhortative tone.
Energetic and combative; cadence supports ‘driving away’ action.
Strengthens resolve; evokes a protective, clearing heat in the chest and belly.
- कृतं (kṛtam)
- Literal: made, fashioned, established. Symbolic: fixed formations: ingrained samskāras, hardened habits
- द्वेषः (dveṣaḥ)
- Literal: hatred, hostility. Symbolic: inner rejection-force; reactive antagonism that blocks growth
- इनोषि (inoṣi)
- Literal: you drive away, you repel. Symbolic: Agni’s purifying expulsion of obscuring vibrations
- मर्तात् (martāt)
- Literal: from the mortal. Symbolic: from the lower nature subject to ignorance and death
- यजमानात् (yajamānāt)
- Literal: from/for the sacrificer. Symbolic: the practitioner offering life-movements to the Divine
- ऋतावः (ṛtāvaḥ)
- Literal: truth-ordered, possessing ṛta. Symbolic: one who lives by inner rightness: sincerity, right discernment, right action
Protective invocation within yajña: removal of hostile forces (outer and inner) that obstruct the rite and the practitioner.
When obstacles/conflict arise; as part of appeasement and protection around the fire.
Recitation with offering to Agni for removal of enmity; establishing ṛta in the rite.
For conflict, resentment, or self-sabotage: recite while consciously releasing reactive patterns into the inner fire.
√san ‘to gain, obtain’ (sanemi) expresses conquest as inner acquisition of right state, not outer spoil. dveṣa from √dviṣ ‘to hate, be hostile’ indicates divisive force. inoṣi from √i/√in ‘to impel, drive’—Agni as the dynamic remover of negativity. ṛtāvan from ṛta ‘cosmic order’ + possessive -van: ‘one endowed with ṛta’, i.e., Truth-Order in action.
Rita as ethical-cosmic order, Transformation of formations (kṛta), Overcoming inner division (dveṣa)
The ṛtāvan is protected because truth-order is itself a protective alignment.
Truth lived (not merely known) becomes a shield against hostility.
Moral-psychological evolution: the mortal nature can be remade by fire.
Ethical-spiritual realism of the Veda: adverse forces are real movements in consciousness, conquerable by divine powers.
Fire as protective heat that sterilizes ‘poison’ (dveṣa) and restores right rhythm (ṛta).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The apotropaic mythologem: Agni as remover of hostile powers (dveṣa) from the mortal and protector of the yajamāna. In inner terms, the fire of aspiration expels entrenched aversion and restores right order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dviṣ ‘hate’ corresponds to PIE *dwey- ‘to fear/avoid, be hostile’ (semantic relatives appear across IE). √san ‘gain’ has Indo-Iranian productivity; ṛta is Indo-Iranian (Avestan aša) reflecting an inherited concept of cosmic order.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi relies on Agni not merely for gifts but for inner purification of relations and impulses. The sacrifice establishes a pact: the practitioner offers will and speech; Agni returns protection by driving out the divisive formations that block the path of ṛta.
Bring to mind a specific ‘made’ pattern (resentment, self-criticism); offer it into Agni with steady breath and refusal to feed it.
Maṇipūra (courage, purification)
Kapalabhati (gentle) or forceful exhale practice if appropriate; otherwise strong rhythmic breathing while repeating ‘inoṣi’.
From reactive vital to steady will aligned with truth-order.
Stand in ṛta: speak and act only from what feels straight and clean inside; let Agni burn the impulse to retaliate or reject.
Keep decisive udātta on action words (sanemi, inoṣi) and on ‘agne’; maintain steady pitch to convey firmness.
Avoid dragging: triṣṭubh here benefits from crisp consonants; mark the pause after ‘dveṣo’gni’.
kṛtaṃ: vocalic ṛ; nasal ‘ṃ’, dveṣo’gne: sandhi—retain clear ‘o’ then glide to ‘agne’, inoṣi: short i, retroflex ṣ, m: clear dental t, ṛtāvaḥ: vocalic ṛ; long ā
Firm, protective, not harsh; like a controlled blaze.
7
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
