Rig Veda 7.6.5: Mandala 7, Sukta 6, Mantra 5
Sukta 7.6
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
यो देह्यो अनमयद्वधस्नैर्यो अर्यपत्नीरुषसश्चकार । स निरुध्या नहुषो यह्वो अग्निर्विशश्चक्रे बलिहृतः सहोभिः ॥
yó dehyò anámayad vadhasnáir yó aryápatnīr uṣásaś cakā́ra | sá nirúdhyā náhuṣo yahvó agnír víśaś cakre balihṛ́taḥ sáhobhiḥ ||
ພຣະຜູ້ຊົງປິ່ນປົດຜູ້ຂັດສົນດ້ວຍພະລັງແຫ່ງການປາບປາມ, ພຣະຜູ້ຊົງຕັ້ງໃຫ້ອຸສາທີ່ເປັນຄູ່ຄອງຂອງອາຣະຍະ (ຄວາມປາຖະໜາອັນສູງສົ່ງ). ພຣະອັຄນີຜູ້ກ້າວໄກ ຊົງຢຸດຍັ້ງສິ່ງທີ່ຂັດຂວາງ ແລະ ຊົງຕັ້ງໃຫ່ປວງຊົນເປັນຜູ້ຖວາຍພາຫະນະ ດ້ວຍພະລັງຂອງພຣະອົງ.
Word by Word
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देह्यः
- the embodied one / the one in a bodyNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot देह्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘देहिन्/देह्य’ प्रकारः)
- अनमयत्
- bowed down / made (them) bendVerbलङ् (अद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot नम् (धातु) + अ (उपसर्गः) → अनमयति
- वधस्नैः
- with weapons / with slaying instrumentsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot वधस्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्यपत्नीर्
- the wives of the Arya (Aryan women)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot अर्यपत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
- उषसः
- the dawnsNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम् (वैदिकः रूपभेदः) अथवा प्रथमा बहुवचनम् सन्दर्भानुसारम्Role KarmaRoot उषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चकार
- made / fashioned / brought aboutVerbलिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्ण), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot कृ (धातु)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- निरुध्या
- having restrained / after confiningVerbal indeclinable (absolutive)अव्ययम् (पूर्वकाले कृत्यभावः)Role KaraṇaRoot रुध् (धातु) + नि (उपसर्गः) → निरुध्य (क्त्वा-भावे/ल्यप्)
- नहुषः
- Nahusha (a foe/figure named Nahusha)Proper Nounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot नहुष (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
- यह्वः
- mighty / impetuousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यह्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निः
- AgniNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- विशः
- the clans / settlements / peoplesNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot विश् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रे
- made / renderedVerbलिट्, आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot कृ (धातु)
- बलिहृतः
- tribute-bearers / bringers of offeringNoun (agent) / Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot बलिहृत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘बलिं हरति’)
- सहोभिः
- with powers / with mightsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot सहस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेदः): यः | देह्यः | अनमयत् | वधस्नैः | यः | अर्यपत्नीर् (= अर्यपत्नीर् < अर्यपत्नीः + र् (पदसन्धिः)) | उषसः | चकार | सः | निरुध्या | नहुषः | यह्वः | अग्निः | विशः | चक्रे | बलिहृतः | सहोभिः । मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) अर्यपत्नीरुṣसश्चकार → अर्यपत्नीर् + उषसः + चकार (र्-आगमः पदान्त-ईः + उ-आदि)
- (2) उषसः + चकार → उषसश्चकार (विसर्ग/स् + च)
- (3) अग्निर्विशः → अग्निः + विशः (विसर्गः → र्, र्-आदेशः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni healed the needy with his slaying powers; he made the Dawns the spouses of the Arya. Holding back the adverse, far-striding Agni made the peoples bringers of offering by his strengths.
Inner meaning
Agni’s ‘slaying-powers’ (vadhasnaiḥ) are not cruelty but the force that cuts diseased formations in the being, thereby healing the ‘needy’ (dehyaḥ: afflicted/weak). He establishes Uṣas (Dawns) as ‘aryapatnīḥ’: illumination wedded to the Arya—noble aspiration and inner culture—so that awakening becomes the companion of the higher life. ‘Holding back’ (nirudhyā) indicates restraint of adverse currents (nahuṣaḥ here as obstructive/hostile movement), and ‘far-striding’ (yahvaḥ) is the wide-ranging will that reorganizes the whole community of powers (viśaḥ) into balihṛtaḥ—bearers of offering, i.e., energies that naturally consecrate their works to the Divine.
Universal truth
True healing is a purification: removing what harms the soul and binding life to illumination. When the inner will restrains adverse tendencies, the whole personality becomes capable of joyful self-offering.
Themes
Healing and purification, Dawn-illumination, Community aligned to sacrifice
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 7.5 (Agni as protector), Rig Veda 7.6.6 (Vaiśvānara seat between worlds)
Family tradition
The Vasiṣṭha vision integrates Uṣas (illumination) with Agni (will): awakening must be supported by purification and disciplined force.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha presents a therapeutic spirituality: Agni heals by removing inner enemies and by marrying life to dawn-illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- yahva (far-striding), vaiśvānara (contextual stream), healer (anamayitṛ—by function), restrainer (nirodhā—by action)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Indra, Soma
Cosmic role
Purifier and protector; establishes dawn-illumination in the human world and converts communities into sacrificers.
Inner power
Transformative healing through cutting away falsehood; disciplined strength that restrains adverse forces and turns all parts into offering.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni invocations for protection and well-being; general usage within soma rites and domestic fire praise for health and prosperity.
यो दे॒ह्यो॒३॒॑ अन॑मयद्वध॒स्नैर्यो अ॒र्यप॑त्नीरु॒षस॑श्च॒कार॑ । स नि॒रुध्या॒ नहु॑षो य॒ह्वो अ॒ग्निर्विश॑श्चक्रे बलि॒हृत॒: सहो॑भिः ॥
यः । दे॒ह्यः॑ । अन॑मयत् । व॒ध॒ऽस्नैः । यः । अ॒र्यऽप॑त्नीः । उ॒षसः॑ । च॒कार॑ । सः । नि॒ऽरुध्य॑ । नहु॑षः । य॒ह्वः । अ॒ग्निः । विशः॑ । च॒क्रे॒ । ब॒लि॒ऽहृतः॑ । सहः॑ऽभिः ॥
yaḥ | dehyaḥ | anamayat | vadha-snaiḥ | yaḥ | arya-patnīḥ | uṣasaḥ | cakāra | saḥ | ni-rudhya | nahuṣaḥ | yahvaḥ | agniḥ | viśaḥ | cakre | bali-hṛtaḥ | sahaḥ-bhiḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Heroic but restorative: sharp decisive beats (vadhasnaiḥ) followed by expansive strides (yahvaḥ).
Energizes purification while leaving a sense of healing and integration.
- देह्यः (dehyaḥ)
- Literal: needy/afflicted. Symbolic: weakened parts of the being; vulnerable vital/physical nature
- अनमयत् (anamayat)
- Literal: made free from sickness; healed. Symbolic: restored harmony by removing false formations
- वधस्नैः (vadhasnaiḥ)
- Literal: with slaying/weapons of killing. Symbolic: cutting power of tapas; decisive elimination of inner poison
- अर्यपत्नीः (aryapatnīḥ)
- Literal: having the Arya as husband/spouse. Symbolic: illumination wedded to noble aspiration; dawn as companion of the higher life
- उषसः (uṣasaḥ)
- Literal: dawns. Symbolic: successive illuminations; awakenings in consciousness
- निरुध्य (nirudhyā)
- Literal: holding back, restraining. Symbolic: discipline; containment of adverse currents
- नहुṣः (nahuṣaḥ)
- Literal: Nahusha (name) / hostile one (contextual). Symbolic: adverse, pressing movement; obstructive force to be checked
- यह्वः (yahvaḥ)
- Literal: far-striding, mighty-moving. Symbolic: wide-ranging will that pervades and organizes the nature
- विशः (viśaḥ)
- Literal: peoples, clans. Symbolic: the many powers and parts of the being
- बलिहृतः (balihṛtaḥ)
- Literal: bearers of tribute/offering. Symbolic: energies converted into self-giving works
- सहोभिः (sahobhiḥ)
- Literal: with strengths. Symbolic: spiritual force and endurance
Agni praised as healer and social-order establisher; suitable for rites seeking restoration (ārogya) and right relation of viś (community) to deva through offering.
When seeking removal of affliction and establishment of auspicious dawn/renewal; also protective recitation against hostile influences.
Āhuti with ghee; prayer for health, restraint of adversity, and successful offering.
Chant for inner healing: cutting addictive patterns, restoring vitality, and aligning daily life with ‘dawn’ practices (early rising, clarity).
an-amaya (a- ‘not’ + amaya ‘illness’ from √am/√may ‘to hurt/afflict’ in later usage; Vedic sense ‘distress’); vadhasna (from vadh ‘slaying’ √vadh ‘to strike/kill’ + -sna instrument/means); uṣas (dawn, from √vas/√uṣ ‘to shine/burn’); arya (noble, from √ar ‘to fit, orderly’ → the right/noble); bali-hṛt (bali ‘offering/tribute’ + √hṛ ‘to carry’). nahuṣa is a proper name; in Vedic often an ancestral/royal figure; here likely evokes a human domain brought under Agni’s regulating force.
Healing as harmonization (anāmaya), Arya as right-ordered aspiration, Restraint of obstruction (ni-rudh)
Healing is restoration of ṛta in the body-life-mind system.
Dawns as truth-revelations that must become the spouse of Arya-nature.
Successive dawns of consciousness; conversion of multiplicity (viś) into unified offering.
Integral yoga reading: purification + illumination + consecrated works.
dawn (uṣas)
Dawn = illumination; Fire = transformative will; healing = harmonizing prāṇa and mind by removing toxins of ignorance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the healer-warrior who both strikes down obstruction (vadh-) and establishes the dawns/illuminations for the Arya-nature. The mythic action is restorative conquest: slaying what harms, freeing the dawn-force, and converting the human collectivity into willing offerers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vadh ‘strike/kill’ has Indo-European parallels in violent-action roots; √hṛ ‘carry’ corresponds to a broad IE ‘carry/take’ semantic field (cf. Latin ferō is different root, but the functional archaic ‘carry’ verb class is comparable). uṣas is Indo-Iranian (Vedic uṣás-, Avestan ušah-), tied to PIE dawn goddess complex (cf. Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurōra via PIE *h₂ews-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Agni as both inner physician and inner warrior: the divine force that makes aspiration wedded to illumination, and makes the many parts of the being (viś) capable of consistent offering (bali-hṛt), i.e., sustained self-giving to the higher powers.
Offer afflictive patterns into Agni; then invoke Uṣas as repeated inner dawns stabilizing a noble orientation (ārya).
maṇipūra (purifying force) + sahasrāra/ājñā (dawn-illumination) as experiential light; practically, maṇipūra→ājñā ascent.
Gentle bhastrikā (if suitable) for energizing, followed by long exhale and stillness to receive ‘dawn’ clarity.
From disturbed/afflicted prāṇa to clarified, illumined, consecrated action.
First, feel the ‘needy’ part without judgment; on vadhasnaiḥ imagine cutting cords of compulsion; on uṣasaś cakāra receive a soft light in the forehead; conclude by dedicating one concrete action today as bali (offering).
Triṣṭubh; keep the lift on ‘yo’ openings and the decisive stress near ‘anamayat’ and ‘nirudhyā’; observe svarita transitions after udātta per recitational tradition.
Let ‘uṣásaś’ be bright and rising; keep ‘yahvó agnír’ expansive; end each pāda with a clean cadence.
dehyo: pronounce ‘dehyaḥ’ with clear hya conjunct, anamayat: short a’s; avoid over-nasalization, vadhasnaiḥ: dh aspirate; ai diphthong clear, aryapatnīr: retroflex ṇ; long īr, uṣasaḥ: retroflex ṣ; short aḥ, nirudhyā: dhy conjunct; long ā, balihṛtaḥ: vocalic ṛ; keep t crisp
Warm, purifying, confident; less aggressive than 7.6.3.
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