Rig Veda 1.116.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 116, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.116
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
अनारम्भणे तदवीरयेथामनास्थाने अग्रभणे समुद्रे । यदश्विना ऊहथुर्भुज्युमस्तं शतारित्रां नावमातस्थिवांसम् ॥
anārambhaṇé tád avīrayethām anāsthā́ne agrabhaṇé samudré | yád aśvinā ūháthur bhujyúm ástaṃ śatā́ritrāṃ nā́vam ātasthivā́ṃsam ||
ആശ്രയമില്ലാത്ത സ്ഥലത്ത് നിങ്ങൾ ആ വീര്യം പ്രകടമാക്കി; കാലുറപ്പിക്കാനിടമില്ലാത്ത, പിടിക്കാനാശ്രയമില്ലാത്ത സമുദ്രത്തിൽ—ഹേ അശ്വിന്മാരേ, നിങ്ങൾ ഭുജ്യുവിനെ അവന്റെ ഗൃഹത്തിലേക്ക് കൊണ്ടുപോകുമ്പോൾ, അവൻ ശത-ആരിത്രമുള്ള നൗകയിൽ നിലകൊണ്ടിരുന്നു. അതുകൊണ്ട് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ആശ്രയമില്ലാത്ത നിമിഷങ്ങളിൽ, മനസ്സിന് പിടിത്തമില്ലാതാകുമ്പോൾ, അതേ ശക്തി വെളിപ്പെടുത്തണമേ: അനേകം ഉപകരണങ്ങളുള്ള, ക്രമബദ്ധ ഇച്ഛാശക്തിയുടെ നൗക ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് നല്കണമേ.
Word by Word
- अनारम्भणे
- in a non-supporting (place), in a situation without a holdNoun/Adjective (locative use)नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे (प्रयोगे), सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot अनारम्भण (प्रातिपदिक; a- + आरम्भण) अथवा अन्-आरम्भण
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (यद्-तद् सम्बन्धे ‘that’ as object) / (सन्दर्भसूचक)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अवीरयेथाम्
- you two showed heroism / acted bravelyVerbलुङ्/लिट्-प्रायः वैदिक-आख्यात (परस्मैपद), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तरि; ‘you two’)Root वीरय् (Denom. from वीर) / √वीर (विक्रमणे/वीरभावे) (वैदिक)
- अनास्थाने
- in a place without a standing/supportNoun/Adjective (locative use)नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot अनास्थान (प्रातिपदिक; a- + आस्थान)
- अग्रभणे
- in a situation without grasping/without a holdNoun/Adjective (locative use)नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot अग्रभण (प्रातिपदिक; a- + ग्रहण/ग्रभण)
- समुद्रे
- in the oceanNounपुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- when/that whichRelative pronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (यद्-तद् सम्बन्धे) / (सन्दर्भसूचक)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अश्विना
- O Aśvins (you two)Noun (dual deity name)पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा द्विवचन (वैदिक रूप: अश्विना = अश्विनौ)Role कर्ताRoot अश्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊहथुः
- you two conveyed / broughtVerbलिट् (परस्मैपद), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तरि)Root √ऊह् (ऊहने/विचारे ‘to convey, to bring, to carry/contrive’ वैदिक)
- भुज्युम्
- BhujyuNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot भुज्यु (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
- अस्तम्
- homeward; to safetyIndeclinable (directional adverb) / Noun used adverbiallyअव्ययRole अधिकारण (गत्यर्थे देश/दिशा)Root अस्त (अव्यय/नाम; ‘home, setting’)
- शतारित्राम्
- hundred-oaredAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया एकवचन (नावम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root शत-आरित्र (प्रातिपदिक; शत ‘hundred’ + आरित्र ‘oar’)
- नावम्
- boat, shipNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot नौ/नाव् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आतस्थिवांसम्
- who had mounted / who was standing upon (it)Participleपुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया एकवचन (भुज्युम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root आ-√स्था (to stand, to mount) + तस्थिवांस् (कृदन्त; लिट्-परिप्रयोग)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (वैदिक-सन्धि-विग्रह): अनारम्भणे | तत् | अवीरयेथाम् | अनास्थाने | अग्रभणे | समुद्रे | यत् | अश्विना | ऊहथुः | भुज्युम् | अस्तम् | शतारित्राम् | नावम् | आतस्थिवांसम् । मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) तदवीरयेथाम् = तत् + अवीरयेथाम् (द्/त् + अ-)
- (2) यदश्विना = यत् + अश्विना
- (3) ऊहथुर्भुज्युम् = ऊहथुः + भुज्युम् (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ः + भ् → र्भ्)
- (4) भुज्युमस्तम् = भुज्युम् + अस्तम् (म् + अ-)
- (5) शतारित्रां नावम् = शतारित्राम् + नावम् (म् + न्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
In a supportless place and in a footholdless, grasp-less ocean, the Aśvins displayed heroism when they bore Bhujyu home, standing on a ship with a hundred oars.
Inner meaning
This is the core yogic situation: the seeker enters states where mind has no support (anārambhaṇa), no stable standpoint (anāsthāna), no grasping concept or method (agrabhaṇa). In that ‘ocean’ of the subconscient, the Aśvins create effective means: the ‘hundred-oared ship’ is an organised will with many instruments—multiple capacities, practices, and inner faculties coordinated by a higher guidance. ‘Bore him home’ indicates restoration to the psychic centre, the safe habitation of the soul, after wandering in formlessness.
Universal truth
When all inner supports fail, true help is not mere consolation but a new effective means—an ordered, many-instrumented will—carrying us back to the soul’s home.
Themes
Supportless ordeal, Aśvin heroism, Crossing and arrival
The seer
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- RV 1.116.3–1.116.4 (context), RV 1.117–1.120
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa seers repeatedly describe the breaking of supports and the recovery of light by divine aid; Kutsa gives a precise phenomenology of ‘groundlessness’ and the divine response.
Significance
A practical mantra for crisis-states in yoga: when the mind cannot ‘hold’, invoke the twin powers to provide a workable vessel—integrated will and guidance.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Epithets
- Nāsatyā (true, unfailing), Dasrā (marvellous doers), Suvīrā (givers of good heroism)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner leader of sacrifice), Varuṇa (ocean/law)
Cosmic role
Saviours in the supportless ocean; providers of means (upāya) and safe return.
Inner power
They establish an effective, many-faceted discipline (hundred oars) and carry the being back to psychic stability.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin praise; protective invocation for perilous passages (journey/sea metaphors)
अ॒ना॒र॒म्भ॒णे तद॑वीरयेथामनास्था॒ने अ॑ग्रभ॒णे स॑मु॒द्रे । यद॑श्विना ऊ॒हथु॑र्भु॒ज्युमस्तं॑ श॒तारि॑त्रां॒ नाव॑मातस्थि॒वांस॑म् ॥
अ॒ना॒र॒म्भ॒णे । तत् । अ॒वी॒र॒ये॒था॒म् । अ॒ना॒स्था॒ने । अ॒ग्र॒भ॒णे । स॒मु॒द्रे । यत् । अ॒श्वि॒ना॒ । ऊ॒हथुः॑ । भु॒ज्युम् । अस्त॑म् । श॒तऽअ॑रित्रान् । नाव॑म् । आ॒त॒स्थि॒वांस॑म् ॥
anārambhaṇe | tat | avīrayethām | anāsthāne | agrabhaṇe | samudre | yat | aśvinā | ūhathuḥ | bhujyum | astam | śata-aritrān | nāvam | ātasthivāṃsam
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4 × ~11
Grave, emphatic; strong negations (anā-) create a stark opening that resolves into a constructive image (ship).
Moves the listener from groundlessness to inner stability; the rhythm feels like rowing—repeated effort guided by a higher hand.
- अनारम्भणे (anārambhaṇe)
- Literal: without support/without a prop. Symbolic: state where mind cannot rely on habitual structures; groundlessness
- अवीरयेथाम् (avīrayethām)
- Literal: you two made (it) heroic. Symbolic: divine courage-force entering the seeker; tapas that does not collapse
- अनास्थाने (anāsthāne)
- Literal: without a standing place. Symbolic: loss of fixed ego-positions; dissolution of mental footholds
- अग्रभणे (agrabhaṇe)
- Literal: without grasp/without seizing. Symbolic: no conceptual handle; surrender of controlling mind
- समुद्रे (samudre)
- Literal: in the ocean. Symbolic: subconscient depth; vast unformed becoming
- शतारित्राम् नावम् (śatāritrām nāvam)
- Literal: a ship with a hundred oars. Symbolic: ordered will with many faculties; manifold instruments of practice under guidance
- अस्तम् (astam)
- Literal: home/abode. Symbolic: psychic home; settled truth of the soul
Protective hymn for crises ‘without support’; invoked for deliverance when ordinary means fail.
When requesting protection in liminal or dangerous conditions; also in rites emphasising safe return/completion.
Recitation as praise and request; offering to invite the rescuing powers.
A mantra for mental breakdown-like states, grief, or major uncertainty; used to invoke a ‘vessel’ of practices (breath, attention, ethical order) to return to stability.
an-ārambhaṇa ‘without grasp/support’ (ā-√rambh ‘hold’) and a-grabhaṇa (a- + √grah ‘seize’) intensify the motif of no external aid—pure reliance on divine power. avīrayethām from vīrá ‘hero’ (PIE *wiHro- ‘man’) indicates making heroism operative. śatā́ritrā ‘hundred-oared’ is symbolic: manifold faculties/instruments of will, coordinated, enabling crossing. ástam ‘home’ indicates the settled goal-state (inner resting in truth).
grace in supportless states, coordinated will-instruments (symbol of many oars), arrival at inner home (astam)
The hundred-oared ship symbolises ṛta: order and right coordination arising within chaos.
Return to astam (home) is return to truth of being (satya) beyond mental grasping.
Order emerging in the formless; method arising from the higher consciousness.
Integral Yoga: crisis as a passage where ego-supports fall and a higher organisation must replace them.
Groundlessness in consciousness; the emergence of disciplined, many-instrumented will as the means of crossing.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Rescue in an utterly supportless ocean: the Aśvins’ heroism where no grasp or foothold exists. Inner sense: divine help manifests most decisively when the ego-mind has no hold; then a higher, many-instrumented will (hundred oars) carries the being to its true home.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The negated support/grasp compounds (an- + verbal noun) are a Vedic stylistic intensifier. nā́u ‘ship’ again shows Indo-European inheritance; √sthā in ātasthivāṃsam reflects PIE *steh₂.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi appeals to the Aśvins as masters of impossible transitions; by praising their ‘avīrayethām’ he seeks the same operative heroism within his own crisis. The hymn is thus a technology of reliance: speech creates the channel for supranormal aid.
Rest in groundlessness without grasping; invoke the Aśvins to establish an ordered, practical means of crossing (the ‘hundred oars’).
muladhara (support/ground) transitioning to manipura (effective will)
simple counted breathing with ‘oar strokes’: inhale 4, exhale 6, mentally ‘row’ on exhale
from destabilised, unheld mind to organised will under guidance
When you feel ‘no hold’, do not force solutions. Repeat the mantra slowly, and after each repetition choose one small ‘oar’: (1) breath, (2) posture, (3) truthful speech, (4) one right action—build many small coordinated instruments rather than one strained effort.
Let the opening negations (anā-) be clearly articulated with correct udatta placement; keep a measured cadence like rowing.
Slightly stress the repeated ‘anā-’ beginnings to mark the experiential groundlessness; then broaden on śatāritrāṃ nāvam (the resolving image).
anārambhaṇe: keep ṇ retroflex; break as a-nā-ram-bha-ṇe., anāsthāne: aspirated th; long ā., agrabhaṇe: clear ‘gra’ cluster; retroflex ṇe ending., śatāritrām: long ā; tr cluster clean; do not drop r., ātasthivāṃsam: keep long ā; nasalize vāṃ.
deep, reassuring, steady
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