Rig Veda 5.32.2: Mandala 5, Sukta 32, Mantra 2
Sukta 5.32
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
त्वमुत्साँ ऋतुभिर्बद्बधानाँ अरंह ऊधः पर्वतस्य वज्रिन् । अहिं चिदुग्र प्रयुतं शयानं जघन्वाँ इन्द्र तविषीमधत्थाः ॥
tvám utsā́m̐ ṛtúbhir badbadhānā́m̐ áraṃha ū́dhaḥ párvatasya vajrin | áhīm̐ cid ugra práyutaṃ śáyānaṃ jaghánvān índra táviṣīm adhatthāḥ ||
ພຣະອົງໄດ້ປົດປ່ອຍບໍລິເວນນໍ້າທີ່ຖືກຜູກມັດດ້ວຍກົດເກນດອງ; ພຣະອົງໄດ້ປົດປ່ອຍຫົວນົມຂອງພູເຂົາ, ຜູ້ຖືວັນຈັກ. ແລະ ແມ່ນແຕ່ງູຜູ້ຮ້າຍການ, ຜູ້ນອນຢູ່ໃນກໍາລັງຂອງຕົນ, ຫຼັງຈາກສັງຫາລັງ, ອິນທະເຈົ້າ, ພຣະອົງໄດ້ສ້າງກໍາລັງຊະນະໃນພວກເຮົາ.
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- thou (you)Pronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उत्सान्
- springs; fountainsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot उत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋतुभिः
- with seasons (right times)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot ऋतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- बद्बधानान्
- binding; fastening (them)Participleपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; (वर्तमान) कर्मणि/कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘बन्धमानान्/बध्नानान्’ = binding/being boundRole कर्म (उत्सान् इति विशेषणरूपेण) / कर्मविशेषणRoot बन्ध् (धातु) → बद्बध् (परिपूर्ण/पुनरुक्त-आभ्यासिक परस्मैपद-रूप), वर्तमान कृदन्त
- अरंहः
- harm; injury; damageNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (वैदिक), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (पाठानुसारः)Role कर्म (उद्धः इत्यस्य विशेषण/सम्बन्ध) अथवा कर्मपदRoot अरंहस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘हानि/अघ/दोष’ अथवा ‘अरंह’ = hurt, harm)
- ऊधः
- udder; swelling mass (of water)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ऊधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पर्वतस्य
- of the mountainNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी) / अधिकरण-सम्बन्धRoot पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
- वज्रिन्
- O wielder of the thunderboltNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वज्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक) < वज्र
- अहिम्
- the serpent (Ahi/Vṛtra)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अहि (प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableअव्ययRoot चित् (अव्यय)
- उग्र
- O mighty one; fierceAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्) अथवा प्रथमा एकवचन (पदच्छेदे)Role सम्बोधन/कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रयुतम्
- stretched out; extendedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अहिम् इति विशेषणम्) अथवा नपुंसक द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म-विशेषणRoot प्रयुत (प्रातिपदिक; ‘युत’ < युज्/यु)
- शयानम्
- lying (reclining)Participleपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अहिम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्म-विशेषणRoot शी (धातु) → शयान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- जघन्वान्
- having slainParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (त्वम् इति कर्तरि विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot हन् (धातु) → जघन्वस्/जघन्वान् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट कृदन्त; ‘having slain’)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- तविषीम्
- strength; mightNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तविषी (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधत्थाः
- thou didst place/put; didst applyVerbपरस्मैपद, (वैदिक) लिट्/लुङ्-सम्भाव्य; मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot धा (धातु) उपसर्गः अधि-; लिट्/लुङ्-प्रयोगे वैदिक रूपम्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्य): त्वम् | उत्सान् | ऋतुभिः | बद्बधानान् | अरंहः | ऊधः | पर्वतस्य | वज्रिन् | अहिम् | चित् | उग्र | प्रयुतम् | शयानम् | जघन्वान् | इन्द्र | तविषीम् | अधत्थाः । 1) चिदुग्र → चित् + उग्र (त् + उ → दु/दु-आदेशः, वैदिक संधि)
- 2) जघन्वाँ इन्द्र → जघन्वान् + इन्द्र (न् + इ → न्वाँ इति संहितापाठ-रूप)
- 3) तविषीमधत्थाः → तविषीम् + अधत्थाः (म् + अ → म-अनुस्वार/संहितासन्धि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
You unbound the well-springs held fast by the seasons’ law; you released the swelling udder of the mountain, O vajra-bearer. Even the Serpent, fierce and lying stretched out in its massed might—having slain it, you established your victorious force.
Inner meaning
The ‘seasons’ law (ṛtubhiḥ) is the rhythm of evolutionary time: certain openings come when consciousness is ripe. Indra, however, can unbind what is held by that lawful rhythm when the moment of inner maturity arrives—releasing the mountain’s ‘udder’: the concealed abundance of nourishment, insight, and delight stored in the subconscient. The Serpent (ahi) is the coiled resistance—massive inert power that lies across our pathways. When Indra’s illumination slays this resistance, his taviṣī (victorious force) is established within us as a stable capacity, not a passing experience.
Universal truth
True progress respects rhythm and ripeness, yet decisive illumination can precipitate release when readiness is complete; the goal is not a momentary breakthrough but the installation of a lasting force of victory in the being.
Themes
Vṛtra/Ahi-slaying, waters-released, Indra’s victory, inner ascent and unsealing of inspiration
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.32.1, RV 5.32.3
Family tradition
Atri’s Maṇḍala 5 current: hymns of Indra’s victory and the release of hidden plenitudes
Significance
Atri frames the myth as inner yoga: the slaying of the serpent is the conquest of inertia; the released ‘udder’ is transformed subconscious support for the spiritual life.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vajrin, ugra, vṛtrahan (thematic)
- Related deities
- Agni (tapas/pressing), Soma (delight), Bṛhaspati (word-force that opens)
Cosmic role
Regulator and liberator: works within ṛta yet breaks the knot of obstruction to restore flow and fertility.
Inner power
Thunderbolt of insight plus victorious installation of strength (taviṣī) in the practitioner.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma sequences celebrating Vṛtra/ahi conquest and release of waters
त्वमुत्साँ॑ ऋ॒तुभि॑र्बद्बधा॒नाँ अरं॑ह॒ ऊध॒: पर्व॑तस्य वज्रिन् । अहिं॑ चिदुग्र॒ प्रयु॑तं॒ शया॑नं जघ॒न्वाँ इ॑न्द्र॒ तवि॑षीमधत्थाः ॥
त्वम् । उत्सा॑न् । ऋ॒तुऽभिः॑ । ब॒द्ब॒धा॒नान् । अरं॑हः । ऊधः॑ । पर्व॑तस्य । व॒ज्रि॒न् । अहि॑म् । चि॒त् । उ॒ग्र॒ । प्रऽयु॑तम् । शया॑नम् । ज॒घ॒न्वान् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । तवि॑षीम् । अ॒ध॒त्थाः॒ ॥
tvam | utsān | ṛtu-bhiḥ | badbadhānān | araṃhaḥ | ūdhaḥ | parvatasya | vajri n | ahim | cit | ugra | pra-yutam | śayānam | jaghanvān | indra | taviṣīm | adhatthāḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Balanced power: first half opens and releases; second half intensifies into the slaying and establishment
Moves from patient ripeness to sudden decisive victory; leaves a residue of strength and steadiness.
- ṛtubhiḥ
- Literal: by seasons, by the right times. Symbolic: rhythms of development; lawful stages of inner ripening under ṛta
- utsān
- Literal: springs. Symbolic: multiple sources of inspiration/energy in the being
- ūdhaḥ parvatasya
- Literal: udder of the mountain. Symbolic: hidden nourishment/abundance concealed in inert formations; subconscious reserves transmuted into support
- vajrin
- Literal: wielder of the thunderbolt. Symbolic: power of discriminating strike that breaks obstruction
- ahiṃ
- Literal: serpent. Symbolic: Vṛtra-like resistance: coiled inertia, compulsive habit, subconscient obstruction
- taviṣīm
- Literal: impetuous strength, victorious force. Symbolic: installed capacity of luminous mastery—strength that persists in action
Indra-stotra employed in Soma rites (e.g., offerings to Indra in Soma-yajña sequences such as Agniṣṭoma); recitation supports the ‘victory’ and ‘release of waters/light’ motif in the sacrificial ascent.
When invoking Indra’s power for overcoming resistance and establishing strength in the sacrificer
Recitation during offerings to Indra; mythic remembrance to empower the rite
Use during periods of stagnation: align with a rhythm (daily practice), then invoke a decisive ‘strike’ of clarity to dissolve inertia and stabilize a new habit of strength.
Key terms: utsa- ‘spring’ (from √ud/√vas? traditional: ‘well-spring’, semantic field of ‘upwelling’); ṛtu- ‘season, fixed time’ from √ṛ ‘to go, fit, rise in right way’ → measured order; badbadhānān (intensive/reduplicated from √bandh ‘to bind’) ‘being tightly bound’; ūdhaḥ ‘udder’ (nourishing fullness, yielding milk/streams); vajrin ‘bearing vajra’ (vajra from √vaj/√vṛj, semantic of ‘mighty, forceful, striking implement’); ahi ‘serpent’ (obstructor; cf. Vṛtra complex); pra-yuta ‘stretched forth/extended’ (pra + yuta, from √yuj/√yu ‘to yoke, join’ → ‘joined in mass’); śayāna from √śī ‘to lie’; jaghanvān from √han ‘to strike, slay’; adhatthāḥ from √dhā ‘to place, establish’ (2nd sg. perfect/aoristic sense in RV usage).
Ṛta (cosmic order as measured action), victory of Light over obstruction, manifestation of force (taviṣī) as right-established power
ṛtubhiḥ indicates openings governed by cosmic rhythm; Indra’s act restores the right flow when the rhythm is fulfilled.
Victory is ‘established’ (adhatthāḥ) as truth-force embodied, not merely known.
Hidden plenitudes within ‘mountain’ matter are released by divine force—evolution from concealment to expression.
Integral Yoga / evolutionary Vedānta: subconscious (mountain/serpent) is not rejected but opened and transformed into support.
explicit seasons (ṛtu)
Seasonal ripening = stages of practice; udder = nourishing subconscious energies; serpent = inertia/compulsion; vajra = incisive insight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The dragon/serpent-slayer myth (Indra vs. Ahi/Vṛtra) coupled with the ‘release of the waters’ from confinement in the mountain. In the inner reading, the ‘waters/springs’ are streams of inspiration, delight, and knowledge held under constraint by cyclic law and inertia; Indra’s strike breaks the subconscient knot and restores free flow in right order (ṛta).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The central verb jaghanvān (√han ‘to strike/kill’) aligns with PIE *gʷhen- ‘to strike, slay’ (cf. Avestan jan-, Greek phénō in older analyses, English ‘ban’ is not cognate; more secure: Sanskrit han-, Avestan jan-). The ‘binding’ badbadhānān (√bandh) reflects a widespread IE notion of ‘binding/constraint’ (cf. English bind). Ṛta/ṛtu from √ṛ (‘to move in a fitting way’) resonates with the IE poetic theme of ‘right order’ as a path/track.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer addresses Indra not as an external warrior alone but as the power that establishes effective force (taviṣī) in the human vessel after defeating inner obstruction (ahi). The reciprocity is implicit: the hymn offers recognition and invocation; Indra, in return, ‘sets’ the victorious energy and reopens the sealed sources—making the sacrificer’s consciousness capable of right-flowing inspiration under ṛta.
Ripen then strike: feel the rhythm of practice (ṛtu), then apply one-pointed insight (vajra) to the core resistance (ahi).
maṇipūra (installed strength) and ājñā (vajra insight)
Box breathing 4–4–4–4 to build contained force; then one long exhale imagining the serpent loosening and dissolving
Collected potency; fearless clarity
Name the ‘serpent’ habit precisely. Build steady practice for a cycle (a personal ‘season’). When readiness is felt, take one decisive action (cut the knot). Seal it by resting in the felt strength at the navel and affirming stability (taviṣī adhatthāḥ).
Maintain clear accent on vajrin and ahiṃ; keep ṛtubhiḥ crisp with syllabic ṛ
Do not blur consonant clusters: badbadhānān, prayutam; let the second hemistich intensify
Syllabic ṛ in ṛtubhiḥ (not ‘ritubhi’), Aspirate in ugra and jaghanvān, Keep dental t in taviṣīm; avoid retroflexing
Strong, steady, slightly grave
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.
