Rig Veda 10.146.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 146, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.146
- Devata
- Araṇyānī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Bhayankara
वृषारवाय वदते यदुपावति चिच्चिकः । आघाटिभिरिव धावयन्नरण्यानिर्महीयते ॥
vṛṣā-ravā́ya vádāte yád upā́vati ciccikáḥ | āghāṭíbhir iva dhāváyann araṇyānír mahī́yate ||
സമീപിച്ചു വരുന്ന വൃഷാരവ (ബുൾ-റോറർ) നോക്കി ചിച്ചിക (ചിങ്ങുരു) വിളിക്കുമ്പോൾ, കിടുകിടുക്കുന്ന അടികളുടെപോലെ ശബ്ദം ഉയർത്തി എല്ലാം ഓടിച്ചലിപ്പിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ ആക്കുമ്പോൾ—അപ്പോൾ അരണ്യാണി മഹത്തായിത്തീരുന്നു; വനത്തിന്റെ ജീവസ്പന്ദനത്താൽ അവൾ കൂടുതൽ മഹിമപ്പെടുന്നു.
Word by Word
- वृषारवाय
- to/for the bull-roarer (a loud-voiced one)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot वृषारव (प्रातिपदिक)
- वदते
- speaks, callsVerbलट्; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √वद् (वदति)
- यत्
- whenIndeclinableसम्बन्ध-अव्यय (यदा/यत् = when/that which)Role सम्बन्धRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उप
- near, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग (निकटता/अभिमुखता)Role उपसर्गRoot उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- आवति
- moves, goes (approaches)Verbलट्; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √अव् (अवति)
- चित्
- even, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (अपि/एव-भाव)Role निपातRoot चित् (अव्यय)
- चिकः
- the bird ‘ciká’ (a small bird)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot चिक (प्रातिपदिक; पक्षि-नाम)
- आघाटिभिः
- with beatings/strikings (clappings, thumpings)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनRole करणRoot आघाटि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, as ifIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRole उपमानRoot इव (अव्यय)
- धावयन्
- causing to run / driving (running about)Verbवर्तमाने कृदन्तः; शतृ-प्रत्यय; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root √धाव् (धावति) → धावयति (णिच्)
- अरण्यानिः
- Araṇyānī (goddess of the forest)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अरण्यानि (प्रातिपदिक; अरण्य-सम्बद्ध)
- महीयते
- is magnified, is praised / becomes greatVerbलट्; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √मह् (महीयते)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: वृषारवाय | वदते | यत् | उप | आवति | चित् | चिकः | आघाटिभिः | इव | धावयन् | अरण्यानिः | महीयते । Sandhi: (1) यदुपावति → यत् + उप + आवति (त् + उ → दु; लेखनरूपेण ‘यदु-’)
- (2) चिच्चिकः → चित् + चिकः (त् + च → च्च)
- (3) धावयन्नरण्यानिः → धावयन् + अरण्यानिः (न् + अ → न्न)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A small forest creature (ciccika) cries out as the “bull-roarer” sound approaches; the forest seems to set things rushing and clattering, and Araṇyānī (Lady of the Forest) is magnified by this stirring life.
Inner meaning
When the seeker nears the inner Forest—vast, unploughed subconscious and subliminal nature—subtle impulses and instinct-voices rise (ciccika). The approaching “vṛṣa-rava” (bull-like roar) suggests a powerful descent of life-force or a greater vibration from the inner worlds. This contact sets the inner movements “running” (dhāvayan): old formations are shaken loose, latent energies awaken, and the goddess Araṇyānī—symbol of the wide, living inner Nature beyond social mind—becomes great in consciousness.
Universal truth
In solitude, the deeper strata of being become audible. As a stronger truth-force approaches, the hidden life in us stirs; what seemed empty becomes a living field. Growth often begins as unsettling movement—an awakening of what was dormant.
Themes
nature-praise, sound-symbolism, widening consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.146.1-6
Significance
The anonymity suits the hymn’s subject: the impersonal, wide inner wilderness. The seer’s stance is that of a solitary witness of the subliminal world, reporting its signs as symbols for inner awakening.
The deity
- Devata
- Araṇyānī
- Epithets
- Araṇyānī (Forest-Queen), Mṛgāṇāṃ mātā (Mother of wild beings—explicit in 10.146.6)
- Related deities
- Uṣas (illumination that can arise in solitude), Sarasvatī (inspirational flow in inner spaces), Rudra (wild, untamed force—by resonance, not identity)
Cosmic role
Power of the wilderness: the living, self-organizing realm beyond cultivated order; guardian of liminal spaces where hidden life moves.
Inner power
Expands consciousness into solitude, heightens subtle hearing/seeing, and releases inner movements needed for transformation without coercion.
In ritual
Where it is used
Evocation of the forest-presence through its sounds; supports attunement practices (listening as inner opening).
वृ॒षा॒र॒वाय॒ वद॑ते॒ यदु॒पाव॑ति चिच्चि॒कः । आ॒घा॒टिभि॑रिव धा॒वय॑न्नरण्या॒निर्म॑हीयते ॥
वृ॒षा॒ऽर॒वाय॑ । वद॑ते । यत् । उ॒प॒ऽअव॑ति । चि॒च्चि॒कः । आ॒घा॒टिभिः॑ऽइव । धा॒वय॑न् । अ॒र॒ण्या॒निः । म॒ही॒य॒ते॒ ॥
vṛṣāravāya | vadate | yat | upa-avati | ciccikaḥ | āghāṭibhiḥ-iva | dhāvayan | araṇyāniḥ | mahīyate
Anuṣṭubh (probable, hymn style suggests śloka-like cadence)
32
4 pādas × ~8 syllables
Quick, auditory, imitative; consonant clusters evoke clatter and rush
Creates a sense of alert listening; the mind becomes receptive to subtle inner sounds and movements.
- अरण्यानिः (araṇyāniḥ)
- Literal: Lady of the forest/wilderness. Symbolic: Vast inner Nature; the subliminal realm where hidden life and intuitions move freely
- वृषारव (vṛṣārava)
- Literal: bull-roar; roaring like a bull. Symbolic: A strong descending vibration of prāṇa/force; a powerful inner call that shakes inertia
- चिच्चिकः (ciccikaḥ)
- Literal: a small creature/bird/insect (onomatopoetic). Symbolic: Minor impulses, instinct-voices, subtle perceptions that become noticeable in inner silence
- धा॒वयन् (dhāvayan)
- Literal: causing to run/rush. Symbolic: Activation and mobilization of inner energies; movements breaking static patterns
- आघाटिभिः (āghāṭibhiḥ)
- Literal: with clattering blows/strikes. Symbolic: Percussive impacts of awakening—friction of transformation, breaking crusts of habit
Evocation of the forest-presence through its sounds; supports attunement practices (listening as inner opening).
Use as a ‘solitude mantra’ before silent meditation or nature-walk practice: to welcome inner stirrings without fear and to recognize the living Presence in apparent emptiness.
√vad ‘speak’ (PIE *wed- ‘speak’). √dhāv ‘run’ (motion semantics). √mah ‘be great’ (PIE *meĝh₂- ‘great’). The verse juxtaposes micro-voice (ciccika) and macro-roar (vṛṣā-rava), encoding a scalable cosmos where small perceptions answer the vast vibration.
microcosm responding to macrocosm, expansion (mah) as spiritual growth
The forest’s seeming randomness is another mode of ṛta—an organic order perceived through subtle awareness.
Truth is approached by listening to what is normally unheard in the inner wilderness.
Awakening of latent life (unmanifest to manifest) through an approaching higher vibration.
Proto-yogic / Aurobindonian psychological reading of Vedic symbols (subliminal nature and awakening force).
The ‘soundscape’ of the subconscious becoming articulate as consciousness enters inner solitude; the rush is prāṇic mobilization under a stronger descending influence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of the ‘voice of the vast’ (bull-roar) awakening the small life-forms: the forest as a living deity whose greatness is felt as vibration that sets inner movements free.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mah (mahīyate) continues PIE *meĝh₂- ‘great’, a central IE poetic adjective family. √vad reflects PIE *wed- ‘speak’, enabling the trope ‘nature speaks’—a shared Indo-European poetic strategy.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer witnesses the devata indirectly through signs (sound, stirring). The relationship is phenomenological: Araṇyānī is known by her effects—widening and enlivening the field—mirroring how inner wideness is recognized by its liberated movements.
Listening meditation (nāda-like): attend to subtle sounds and inner movements without naming them.
Ajna (inner perception)
Nadi-shodhana (gentle) followed by open awareness; then natural breath with ‘listening’ attention.
Pratyāhāra moving into dhyāna; entry into the subliminal field
Sit as a witness in inner ‘forest.’ When thoughts rush, treat them as stirred leaves—observe until a deeper rhythm (ṛta) reveals itself.
Not fully specified here; chant with standard Rigvedic accenting: preserve udatta peaks and svarita falls on marked syllables per Śākala tradition.
Keep clear separation at caesura ‘|’; emphasize the auditory words (vṛṣāravāya, ciccikaḥ, dhāvayan) with crisp consonants.
vṛṣāravāya: retroflex ṛ and ṣ; long ā in -rā-, ciccikaḥ: double ‘c’ (cic-ci-), light ‘kh’ at end, āghāṭibhir: long ā; aspirated gh; retroflex ṭ, araṇyāniḥ: retroflex ṇ; long ā
Bright, attentive, slightly nasal resonance to enhance ‘listening’ quality
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