Rig Veda 1.116.22: Mandala 1, Sukta 116, Mantra 22
Sukta 1.116
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Āucathya
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
शरस्य चिदार्चत्कस्यावतादा नीचादुच्चा चक्रथुः पातवे वाः । शयवे चिन्नासत्या शचीभिर्जसुरये स्तर्यं पिप्यथुर्गाम् ॥
śarásya cid ārcátkasyā́vatād ā́ nīcā́d uccā́ cakrathuḥ pátave vā́ḥ | śayáve cin nāsatyā śácībhiḥ jásuraye staryáṁ pipyathur gā́m ||
ແມ່ນແຕ່ສຳລັບຊາຣະ, ຈາກບ່ອນຕ່ຳ ທ່ານໄດ້ຍົກນໍ້າຂຶ້ນສູ່ທາງເທິງເພື່ອດື່ມ, ວ່ານາສັຕຍະ. ແລະ ສຳລັບຊະຍາ, ທ່ານໄດ້ເຮັດໃຫ້ໂຄນໄຖ່ທີ່ບໍ່ມີລູກບວມເຕັມດ້ວຍນໍ້ານົມສຳລັບຊາສູຣະ ດ້ວຍພະລັງທີ່ມີປະສິດທິຜົນຂອງທ່ານ, ປ່ຽນຄວາມຂາດໃຈໃຫ້ເປັນສິ່ງບຳລຸງ.
Word by Word
- शरस्य
- of the reed/arrow (Śara)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root शर (प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- even, indeedIndeclinableनिपात; अर्थे ‘अपि/एव’Root चित् (अव्यय/निपात) अथवा चिद्
- आर्चत्
- praised, sangVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRole Kartā (with implied subject) / क्रियाRoot अर्च् (पूजायाम्/स्तुतौ)
- कस्य
- of whom?Pronounपुं/नपुं; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अवताद
- of the protector/saviourNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन (समास/व्युत्पत्त्यनुसार ‘अवतार/अवता’ = रक्षक)Role सम्बन्धRoot अव + ता/तृ (तरणे/रक्षणे) → अवतार/अवता (रक्षक) (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदा
- thenIndeclinableकाल/प्रसङ्ग-निपातRoot अद (अव्यय; ‘तदा/अथ’)
- नीचात्
- from belowAdjective (used adverbially) / Nounपुं/नपुं; पञ्चमी एकवचन (अव्ययीभाव-प्रायः)Role ApādānaRoot नीच (प्रातिपदिक)
- उच्चा
- on high, upwardAdjective (used adverbially)अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (उच्चैः अर्थे); प्रायः तृतीया/अव्यय-रूपRole Adhikaraṇa (manner/position)Root उच्च (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयRoot च (अव्यय)
- चक्रथुः
- you two have made/doneVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); परस्मैपद; 2 पुरुष; द्विवचनRole Kartā (युवाम् = अश्विनौ) / क्रियाRoot कृ (करणे)
- पातवे
- for drinkingVerbal noun (purpose)चतुर्थी एकवचन (उद्देश्ये)Role Sampradāna (purpose/for drinking)Root पा (पाने) → पातु (कृदन्त) / पातृ?; here infinitive-like dative of verbal noun
- वाः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन (enclitic) — ‘of you/for you’; here with पातवे = ‘for you (to drink)’Role Sampradāna/सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम) → वः (वेदिक रूप)
- शयवे
- to Śayu (a man)Noun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot शयु/शय (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableनिपात; ‘अपि/एव’Root चित् (अव्यय/निपात)
- नासत्या
- O Nāsatyas (Aśvins)Noun (dual deity epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot नासत्य (प्रातिपदिक; अश्विनोः नाम)
- शचीभिः
- with powers/skillsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot शची (प्रातिपदिक)
- जसुरये
- to JasuriNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot जसुरि/जसुर (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
- स्तर्यम्
- barren/unyieldingAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (गाम् विशेषण)Role Karma (as qualifier of object)Root स्तर्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘बाँझ/दुग्धहीन’ अथवा ‘स्तर-सम्बद्ध’)
- पिप्यथुः
- you two filled/satisfied, made to swellVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); परस्मैपद; 2 पुरुष; द्विवचनRole Kartā (अश्विनौ) / क्रियाRoot प्यै/पि (प्रीणने/पूरणे) → पिप्य (intensive/perfect stem)
- गाम्
- the cowNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (resolved): शरस्य | चित् | आर्चत् | कस्य | अवताद् | अदा | नीचात् | उच्चा | च | चक्रथुः | पातवे | वाः । शयवे | चित् | नासत्या | शचीभिः | जसुरये | स्तर्यम् | पिप्यथुः | गाम् ॥ प्रमुख सन्धि: (1) चिदार्चत् = चित् + आर्चत् (त् + आ → द्/द्-आभास; संहितायां ‘चिद्’ लेखन)
- (2) कस्यावताद = कस्य + अवताद् (स्वर-संहितायां अवग्रह-लोप)
- (3) नीचादुच्चा = नीचात् + उच्चा (त् + उ → द् उ; ‘नीचादुच्चा’)
- (4) चक्रथुः पातवे वाः: वाः = वः (वेदिक रूप; enclitic)
- (5) चिन्नासत्या = चित् + नासत्या (त् + न → न्न; ‘चिन्न’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Even for Śara you raised the waters from a low place upward for drinking, O Nāsatyas. And for Śayá, by your effective powers, you made the barren cow swell with milk for Jásura.
Inner meaning
The Aśvins lift the life-waters (vāḥ) from the lower levels (nīcāt)—subconscient dryness and fatigue—upward into the conscious being for nourishment. They also make the ‘barren cow’ (staryam gām) fruitful: the mind’s rays of knowledge and the heart’s capacity for sweetness become abundant again, feeding the aspirant (Jásura) with sustaining inner milk (clarity, joy, strength).
Universal truth
When consciousness is depleted, higher aid can reverse the flow: what was trapped below rises as usable energy, and what seemed sterile becomes creative and nourishing.
Themes
restoration, nourishment, upliftment, fertility symbolism
The seer
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Āucathya
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.164, Rig Veda 1.140, Rig Veda 1.158
Family tradition
Seer-poet of profound symbolic speech; emphasizes transitions—low to high, hidden to revealed.
Significance
His vision often turns physical images (waters, cows) into operations of consciousness: raising energies, restoring fertility of insight, and sustaining the seeker.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau (Nāsatyā)
- Epithets
- Nāsatyā, Aśvinā, śacībhir (workers by effective powers)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Sarasvatī (waters/flow motif), Indra (uplift of waters motif)
Cosmic role
Restorers of balance and vitality; they bring what is needed at the threshold moments (dawn, crisis, transition).
Inner power
Upward conversion of lower energies; healing of sterility in thought and feeling; making the being capable of receiving and ‘drinking’ higher force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin praise in Soma rites; also suitable for dawn recitation for vitality and clarity.
श॒रस्य॑ चिदार्च॒त्कस्या॑व॒तादा नी॒चादु॒च्चा च॑क्रथु॒: पात॑वे॒ वाः । श॒यवे॑ चिन्नासत्या॒ शची॑भि॒र्जसु॑रये स्त॒र्यं॑ पिप्यथु॒र्गाम् ॥
श॒रस्य॑ । चि॒त् । आ॒र्च॒त्ऽकस्य॑ । अ॒व॒तात् । आ । नी॒चात् । उ॒च्चा । च॒क्र॒थुः॒ । पात॑वे । वाः । श॒यवे॑ । चि॒त् । ना॒स॒त्या॒ । शची॑भिः । जसु॑रये । स्त॒र्य॑म् । पि॒प्य॒थुः॒ । गाम् ॥
śarasya | cit | ārcat-kasya | avatāt | ā | nīcāt | uccā | cakrathuḥ | pātave | vāḥ | śayave | cit | nāsatyā | śacībhiḥ | jasuraye | staryam | pipyathuḥ | gām
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Balanced lift-and-release; mirrors the upward movement of waters and swelling of milk.
Creates an inner sensation of rising energy; helpful for overcoming heaviness and dryness.
- वाः (vāḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: life-energies; streams of feeling and prāṇa made conscious
- नीचात् (nīcāt)
- Literal: from below. Symbolic: subconscient; habitual inertia
- उच्चा (uccā)
- Literal: upward/high. Symbolic: elevation into clear awareness
- पातवे (pātave)
- Literal: for drinking. Symbolic: assimilation; making energy available to the psyche
- शचीभिः (śacībhiḥ)
- Literal: by powers/skills. Symbolic: effective divine workings; precise interventions
- गाम् (gām)
- Literal: cow. Symbolic: rays of knowledge; luminous capacities
- स्तर्यम् (staryam)
- Literal: barren/sterile. Symbolic: unproductive mind/heart; blocked inspiration
- पिप्यथुः (pipyathuḥ)
- Literal: you made swell. Symbolic: you increased abundance; restored flow
Healing/increase motif; apt in rites seeking restoration of flow (waters), nourishment (milk), and reversal of sterility/deficiency
Morning/dawn; times of fatigue, emotional depletion, or creative block.
Stuti requesting uplift of energies and restoration of nourishment.
Use before study/creative work: intention ‘raise the waters’ (energy) and ‘fill the cow’ (knowledge-flow).
√kṛ (cakrathuḥ) indicates accomplished transformation. Waters (vāḥ) from below raised upward: symbol of drawing up submerged energies into conscious availability. √pyā 'swell, fill' (pipyathuḥ) supports the sense of plenification. go- 'cow' is multivalent: outer cow, inner 'ray' and nourishing knowledge-force; 'barren cow' = blocked luminous/nourishing capacity made fruitful by Aśvin śacī (effective powers).
raising of submerged energies, transformation of lack into plenitude, śacī as effective divine skill
Restoring the right movement: what is below is brought into ordered, life-sustaining flow.
Nāsatyā: the true powers that make inner nourishment real, not imagined.
Reversal of deficiency: ascent of waters and fertility of the cow as microcosmic creation.
Integral symbolic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap): energies transmuted and made luminous.
Waters = prāṇic/emotional currents; raising waters = sublimation; cow/milk = knowledge and its nourishing delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Two classic Aśvin feats: raising waters from below for drinking and making a barren cow yield abundance. Both are restoration myths—returning flow and nourishment where there was deficiency.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √kṛ (do/make) reflects PIE *kwer-/*ker- complex in Indo-Iranian developments; √pyā 'swell' aligns with PIE *peh₂- 'protect/feed' semantic neighborhood though exact cognation is debated; the image-field of *gʷōu- 'cow' is securely PIE (Skt go-, Greek boûs, Latin bōs).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi foregrounds the Aśvins’ śacī—practical divine effectiveness—showing them as powers that concretely convert inner barrenness into nourishment. The hymn thus functions as a manual of confidence: what is 'low' or 'dry' in the seeker can be raised and filled.
Feel a stream rising from the navel to the heart and throat, becoming clear nourishment; invite the Aśvins’ ‘skill’ to heal sterility.
svadhisthana
ujjayi (gentle) for 5 minutes, then chant
From depleted/subconscient to refreshed, flowing awareness.
On ‘nīcād uccā’ visualize energy lifting; on ‘pipyathur gām’ feel the mind’s light-rays becoming abundant and sweet; end with silent assimilation for 1–2 minutes.
Follow pada accents: keep udātta clear on marked syllables; sustain even anudātta to support the ‘rising’ imagery.
Slightly emphasize directional words: nīcāt, uccā; keep ‘śacībhir’ crisp.
śarasya: śa-ra-sya (clear dental s), uccā: double c as ‘tch’ (uc-cā), śacībhir: long ī, gām: nasalized long ā with m closure
Cool, flowing tone; avoid harshness to mirror water imagery.
3
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