Rig Veda 4.8.6: Mandala 4, Sukta 8, Mantra 6
Sukta 4.8
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
ते राया ते सुवीर्यैः ससवांसो वि शृण्विरे । ये अग्ना दधिरे दुवः ॥
te rāyā́ te su-vī́ryaiḥ sasavā́ṃso ví śṛṇvire | ye agnā́ dadhiré dúvaḥ ||
ನಿನ್ನ ರಾಯ (ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿ) ಮತ್ತು ನಿನ್ನ ಸುವೀರ್ಯ (ಉತ್ತಮ ವೀರ್ಯ)ದಿಂದ ಅವರು ಶ್ರವಣದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶಾಲರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಗ್ರಹಣಶಕ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಸ್ತಾರಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ—ಅಗ್ನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ದುವಃ (ಪ್ರಭಾವಿ ಅರ್ಪಣೆ) ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಿ, ಯೋಗ್ಯ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆದವರು.
Word by Word
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रायाः
- of wealth / of bountyNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (वैदिकः: -आः = -आयाः)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot राय्/रायि- (प्रातिपदिक: ‘wealth, gift’)
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुवीर्याय
- for good heroism / for excellent manly powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot सु- + वीर्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ससवांसः
- having impelled / having brought forthParticiple (Perfect active)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot √सू (प्रसवने ‘to impel, set in motion, beget’) → कृत्: ससवांस् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट-भागवत्)
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyIndeclinableउपसर्गःRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- शृण्विरे
- they are heard / they listenVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role KriyāRoot √श्रु (श्रवणे ‘to hear’)
- ये
- who (those who)Relative pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ना
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम् (वैदिकः)Role SambodhanaRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधिरे
- they have placed / they have establishedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role KriyāRoot √धा (धारणे ‘to place, set’)
- दुवः
- worship / serviceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (वैदिकः)Role KarmaRoot दुवस्- (प्रातिपदिक: ‘worship, service, reverence’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेदः): ते | रायाः | ते | सुवीर्याय | ससवांसः | वि | शृण्विरे | ये | अग्ना | दधिरे | दुवः । 1) ‘सुवीर्यैः’ इति संहितापाठ-रूपं पदपाठे ‘सुवीर्याय’ (चतुर्थी एकवचन) इति
- वैदिके -एः/-ऐः प्रत्यय-भेदः दृश्यते। 2) ‘रा॒या’ इत्यत्र पदपाठे ‘रायाः’ (षष्ठी) — वैदिक-दीर्घ/स्वर-परिवर्तनम्। 3) ‘अग्ना’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन (अग्ने इत्यस्य वैदिक-रूपम्)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
By your riches and your noble hero-powers they become wide in hearing/receptivity—those who have won increase and who have placed their effective offering in Agni.
Inner meaning
When Agni is established as the inner fire, his ‘rāyā’ (plenitude) and ‘su-vīrya’ (noble strength) widen the seeker’s capacity to hear—vi śṛṇvire: an opening of inner audition, intuition, and receptivity to higher guidance. Those who have ‘won’ (sasavāṃsaḥ) the right growth through perseverance and who have set their ‘duvaḥ’ (effective homage/service) in Agni become broad and responsive instruments.
Universal truth
True strength and abundance expand receptivity; disciplined offering matures the being until it can ‘hear’ the subtler truth and act from it.
Themes
inner sacrifice, increase of soul-force, receptivity to truth, Agni as installer of works
The seer
Significance
Even when rishi attribution is uncertain, the verse continues the Vāmadeva-Agni psychology: growth of inner receptivity through consecrated strength and plenitude.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Vīryavān (possessor of strength—implied), Rāyaspati (lord of plenitude—implied), Śrotṛ/Śravaṇīya (giver of hearing—functional epithet)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspiration/hearing), Indra (heroic illumination), Bṛhaspati (word and inner hearing)
Cosmic role
Giver of wealth and heroic force; opener of the channels of hearing/intuition; stabilizer of worship into effective power.
Inner power
Strength that purifies and enlarges; capacity to make the mind receptive to higher inspiration (śruti in the deeper sense).
In ritual
Where it is used
General Agni praise associated with gaining strength and prosperity; could accompany offerings seeking ‘rāya’ and ‘vīrya’
ते रा॒या ते सु॒वीर्यै॑: सस॒वांसो॒ वि शृ॑ण्विरे । ये अ॒ग्ना द॑धि॒रे दुव॑: ॥
ते । रा॒या । ते । सु॒ऽवीर्यैः॑ । स॒स॒ऽवांसः॑ । वि । शृ॒ण्वि॒रे॒ । ये । अ॒ग्ना । द॒धि॒रे । दुवः॑ ॥
te | rāyā | te | su-vīryaiḥ | sasa-vāṃsaḥ | vi | śṛṇvire | ye | agnā | dadhire | duvaḥ
Gāyatrī (probable by hymn context; not fully verified)
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3×8 (probable)
Expansive within a compact frame; ‘vi śṛṇvire’ gives a spreading feel.
After repetition, produces a sense of widening around the head/ears and a calmer, more receptive attention.
- राया (rāyā)
- Literal: by wealth, plenitude. Symbolic: inner abundance: wideness, resources of consciousness
- सुवीर्यैः (su-vīryaiḥ)
- Literal: by noble hero-powers. Symbolic: courageous strength of the illumined will, not ego-force
- वि शृण्विरे (vi śṛṇvire)
- Literal: they hear widely. Symbolic: expanded receptivity—inner listening, intuitive hearing
- ससवांसः (sasavāṃsaḥ)
- Literal: having won/obtained. Symbolic: earned growth through sustained practice and right striving
- दुवः (duvaḥ)
- Literal: homage, service, effective worship. Symbolic: steady consecrated service/aspiration placed into the fire
- अग्ना दधिरे (agnā dadhire)
- Literal: have placed in Agni. Symbolic: have founded their practice in the inner fire as base
General Agni-invocation in the soma-sacrifice context: establishing the offering (dūvas) in Agni as Hotṛ; applicable broadly to daily agnihotra/śrauta fire-ritual sequences.
When invoking Agni for increase and empowerment; also as a concluding affirmation of results of right offering.
Offer ghee/samidh; recite for expansion of śravas (fame/hearing) and vīrya.
Mantra for developing receptivity: chant before study, listening practices, or intuitive decision-making; align strength with openness.
Key terms: rayi from √rā/√rai ‘to bestow, wealth, abundance’ → interpreted as inner plenitude. vīrya from vīra ‘hero’ (PIE *uihro-) → ‘heroic potency’, here refined as soul-force. śṛṇvire from √śru ‘to hear’ (PIE *ḱleu- ‘hear, fame’) → inner receptivity/obedience. dadhire from √dhā ‘to place’ (PIE *dʰeh₁-) → establishing the offering/attitude in Agni. dūvas linked to service/worship, the operative act of consecrated work.
Rita (right order through rightly placed offering), inner hearing/receptivity (śruti as lived audition)
Duvaḥ becomes effective when placed in Agni—rightly ordered offering yields widening and strength.
‘Wide hearing’ implies capacity to receive truth-inspiration beyond mental noise.
Expansion (widening) as a mark of evolution toward bṛhat; strength and abundance as supports for ascent.
Integral psychology: wideness and force are complementary; receptivity is a power, not passivity.
Fire = transformative energy; ‘hearing’ = subtle receptivity to intuition/mantric truth; wealth/heroism = inner resources and courageous force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the inner priest who receives and stabilizes the offering (dūvas) so that the seeker gains rayi (plenitude) and su-vīrya (heroic potency). The mythic action is not an external feat but the inward establishment of consecrated works, producing widened ‘hearing’—a hallmark of receptivity to the Truth-order (ṛta).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- śṛṇvire (√śru) aligns with PIE *ḱleu- ‘hear, be famed’ (cf. Gk. κλύω, Eng. listen via Germanic developments of ‘loud/fame’). dadhire (√dhā) reflects PIE *dʰeh₁- ‘put, place’ (cf. Gk. τίθημι, Lat. faciō is different but ‘do’ overlaps semantically; closer: Gk. θέσις). These roots support the semantic field of ‘placing’ inner intention and ‘hearing’ inner truth.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Reciprocity is expressed as: the human side ‘places’ dūvas in Agni (offering/works), and Agni responds by granting rayi and su-vīrya, resulting in an expanded capacity to ‘hear’—i.e., to receive guidance from the Truth-consciousness. The exchange is an inner dakṣiṇā: consecration of action for enlargement of being.
Widening śravaṇa: sit with attention at the ears/space around the head; kindle heart-fire; invite noble strength that does not harden but opens.
Viśuddha (listening/inner sound) with support from Anāhata (fire of aspiration)
Nadi-śodhana (gentle) to balance receptivity; then silent repetition on natural breath emphasizing ‘vi śṛṇvire’.
Strong calm; broadened field-awareness; intuitive receptivity.
Offer effort into Agni (duvaḥ), then pause to ‘hear widely’—train the mind to receive rather than force; let strength serve openness.
Notated svaras not provided; maintain Vedic accent discipline; keep ‘vi śṛṇvire’ clearly separated and not slurred.
Slight emphasis on ‘rāyā’ and ‘su-vīryaiḥ’; let ‘vi śṛṇvire’ be the spreading crest of the line.
śṛṇvire: vocalic ṛ is crisp; ‘ṇv’ conjunct articulated (śṛṇ-vi-re)., suvīryaiḥ: long ī; final ḥ lightly aspirated., duvaḥ: pronounce ‘vaḥ’ with visarga breath; do not drop it.
Firm yet open; resonant in the head-space to support the ‘hearing’ theme.
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