Rig Veda 10.77.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 77, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.77
- Devata
- Maruts
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
श्रिये मर्यासो अञ्जीँरकृण्वत सुमारुतं न पूर्वीरति क्षपः । दिवस्पुत्रास एता न येतिर आदित्यासस्ते अक्रा न वावृधुः ॥
śríye maryā́so añjī́ṃr akṛṇvata su-mā́rutaṃ na pūrvī́r áti kṣápaḥ | divás-putrāsa etā́ na yetir ādityā́sās te akrā́ na vāvṛdhuḥ ||
ശ്രീക്കും വർദ്ധനയ്ക്കുമായി യുവ മർയ്യന്മാർ ദീപ്തമായ അഞ്ജീ (അലങ്കാരങ്ങൾ) നിർമ്മിച്ചു; സുമാരുത ശക്തികളുപോലെ അവർ മുൻപത്തെ രാത്രികളെ അതിക്രമിക്കുന്നു. ദിവസ്പുത്രർ—ഈ പഥത്തിൽ അവരുടെ ഗതി; ആദിത്യന്മാരുപോലെ, അക്രാ (അചഞ്ചല)യും അഖണ്ഡവുമായ അവർ ശക്തിയിൽ വളർന്നു.
Word by Word
- श्रिये
- for splendor/beauty (for prosperity)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot श्री (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
- मर्यासः
- young men, heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot मर्य (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
- अञ्जीन्
- ornaments/adornmentsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अञ्जि (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
- अकृण्वत
- they made, they fashionedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot कृ
- सुमारुतम्
- well-winded; having good Maruts (i.e., with favorable winds/Maruts)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (विशेष्य-सम्बन्धः: निहितम्)Role कर्म (विशेषणरूपेण)Root सु-मारुत (विशेषण/प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न
- पूर्वीः
- former, earlierAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्म (गत्यर्थे)Root पूर्व (विशेषण/प्रातिपदिक)
- अति
- beyond, overIndeclinableउपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषणRoot अति
- क्षपः
- nightsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचन (वैदिक रूप: क्षपः = क्षपाः)Role कर्म (अतिक्रम्य)Root क्षप्/क्षपा (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
- दिवः
- of heaven/skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot दिव्/द्यौ (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
- पुत्रासः
- sonsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot पुत्र (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
- एताः
- thesePronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सह-सम्बन्ध/विशेषण)Root एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न
- येतिः
- going, course, movementNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ/भावRoot येतिः (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक; √या/इ-गत्यर्थे से व्युत्पन्न)
- आदित्याः
- the ĀdityasNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot आदित्य (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अक्राः
- unwearying ones; tireless (lit. non-weak)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान/विशेषणभाव)Root अक्र (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न
- वावृधुः
- they have grown; they have become strongVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot वृध्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): श्रिये | मर्यासः | अञ्जीन् | अकृण्वत | सुमारुतम् | न | पूर्वीः | अति | क्षपः | दिवः | पुत्रासः | एताः | न | येतिः | आदित्याः | ते | अक्राः | न | वावृधुः । वैदिक विशेष: क्षपः इति द्वितीया-बहुवचनं (क्षपाः) वैदिक-रूपेण
- अञ्जीन् इति द्वितीया-बहुवचन (अञ्जि-शब्दः) नकार-आगम/दीर्घस्वर-प्रयोगः वैदिकपाठे
- वावृधुः इति √वृध्-धातोः लिट्-रूपम् (परफेक्ट) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The young heroes (Maruts) make shining adornments for beauty and growth; like well-impelled powers they pass beyond earlier nights. Sons of Heaven, they move on their path; like the Adityas, firm and unbroken, they have grown strong.
Inner meaning
The Maruts, as youthful life-forces, ‘adorn’ themselves—i.e., they arrange and purify their movements into luminous forms (disciplined energies). This brings śrī (beauty, harmony, increase). They go beyond former nights: they outstrip old darkness, habitual ignorance and fatigue. As ‘sons of Heaven’ they derive from higher consciousness, yet work in the mid-region of life. Compared to the Adityas (powers of law/truth), they become stable, unbroken forces—energies that no longer scatter but hold the right rhythm of ṛta.
Universal truth
True growth is not mere intensity but harmonized, beautified energy that surpasses old darkness and becomes steadfast in truth.
Themes
Maruts as youthful heroes, Progress from darkness to light, Self-fashioning/adornment of powers, Stability of cosmic law
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 10.77.1-4
Significance
A teaching-vision: the sādhaka’s energies must be ‘adorned’—made beautiful and lawful—so that their speed becomes a stable instrument of truth.
The deity
- Devata
- Maruts (compared to Adityas)
- Epithets
- divaḥ putrāsaḥ (sons of Heaven), maryāsaḥ (young heroes), akrāḥ (unbroken)
- Related deities
- Adityas (Mitra-Varuṇa etc.), Indra, Rudra
Cosmic role
They drive evolution through dynamic force; when aligned with Aditya-law they become builders of stable order.
Inner power
Energetic purification and harmonization; capacity to outgrow depressive ‘nights’ and establish continuity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Marut praise within śrauta yajñas; supportive hymn for invoking their aid and steadiness
श्रि॒ये मर्या॑सो अ॒ञ्जीँर॑कृण्वत सु॒मारु॑तं॒ न पू॒र्वीरति॒ क्षप॑: । दि॒वस्पु॒त्रास॒ एता॒ न ये॑तिर आदि॒त्यास॒स्ते अ॒क्रा न वा॑वृधुः ॥
श्रि॒ये । मर्या॑सः । अ॒ञ्जीन् । अ॒कृ॒ण्व॒त॒ । सु॒ऽमारु॑तम् । न । पू॒र्वीः । अति॑ । क्षपः॑ । दि॒वः । पु॒त्रासः॑ । एताः॑ । न । ये॒ति॒रे॒ । आ॒दि॒त्यासः॑ । ते । अ॒क्राः । न । व॒वृ॒धुः॒ ॥
śriye | maryāsaḥ | añjīn | akṛṇvata | su-mārutam | na | pūrvīḥ | ati | kṣapaḥ | di vaḥ | putrāsaḥ | etāḥ | na | yetire | ādityāsaḥ | te | akrāḥ | na | vavṛdhuḥ
44
4 x ~11
Ascending, progressive; suggests passing beyond successive ‘nights’.
Encourages perseverance; gives a felt sense of ‘crossing over’ inertia into steady strength.
- श्रिये (śriye)
- Literal: for beauty/splendor, prosperity. Symbolic: harmonious increase; luminous order in life
- मर्यासः (maryāsaḥ)
- Literal: young men, heroes. Symbolic: fresh, forward energies in the being
- अञ्जीन् (añjīn)
- Literal: adornments, unguents. Symbolic: purified forms/arrangements of force; refined habits
- अति क्षपः (ati kṣapaḥ)
- Literal: beyond the nights. Symbolic: beyond periods of obscurity, inertia, subconscious darkness
- दिवः पुत्रासः (divaḥ putrāsaḥ)
- Literal: sons of Heaven. Symbolic: energies derived from higher mind/light
- आदित्याः (ādityāḥ)
- Literal: Adityas. Symbolic: truth-law powers; wideness and firm order
- अक्राः (akrāḥ)
- Literal: unbroken, not failing. Symbolic: undivided continuity of right force
Praise of Marut host for strengthening and for overpassing darkness; invoked to support right movement of the sacrifice and the seeker.
At invitation/praise sections, especially when seeking vigor and protection of the rite
Recitation as stuti to strengthen the Marut presence and stabilize the sacrifice’s movement
Use when building new habits: chant to ‘adorn’ energies—turn raw drive into beautiful, consistent discipline.
: from √śrī/śray ‘to lean on, resort; to prosper, be splendid’—radiant prosperity. : from √añj ‘to anoint, smear, adorn’—also ‘brightness’ through unction. : ‘night’ (dark interval), used psychologically as obscurity. āditya: from Aditi (unbinding infinity), deities of law/truth; akrā: likely from √kṛ/√kr (to do) with privative/strengthening sense ‘unbroken, not failing’ (traditional gloss ‘firm’).
Overpassing darkness (kṣap) toward light, Aditya-like firmness (law/truth powers), Śrī as inner splendour
Aditya-comparison highlights energies becoming lawful, truth-aligned movements.
Firmness (akrāḥ) indicates truth that does not fracture under pressure.
Evolution from darkness (kṣap) to luminous stability; beautification as a sign of higher order entering life.
Integral transformation: dynamic prāṇa (Maruts) must be yoked to truth-law (Adityas).
night-to-dawn transition implied
Night = inertia/ignorance; adornment = refined vibration; sons of Heaven = higher-origin impulses descending into life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The storm-host as ‘sons of Heaven’ who overpass the nights: mythically the Maruts’ night-traversing march; psychologically the energized powers that move beyond periods of obscurity, increasing the soul’s splendour (śrī) and firmness (Aditya-like law).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The heaven lineage divás-putra resonates with IE ‘sky-father’ ideology (*di̯ew-), while the night/darkness term kṣap participates in a broad IE opposition of night/day as ignorance/knowledge in poetic diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi affirms the Maruts’ self-formed splendour and their growth; this recognition is itself a strengthening link—calling the powers to reproduce in the sacrificer the same capacity to overpass ‘nights’ and to grow firm in truth.
Refine and ‘beautify’ prāṇa: feel energies becoming symmetrical, clean, and steady; then consciously move beyond old depressive cycles.
Maṇipūra (discipline/drive) harmonized by Anāhata (śrī as harmony)
Nāḍī-śodhana (alternate nostril) to create ‘akrā’ continuity; then quiet mantra repetition
Progressive clarity with stable vigor; less fluctuation.
Identify one ‘earlier night’ pattern (avoidance, doubt). During chanting, visualize it behind you; feel the breath polishing the inner currents into bright, ordered motion.
Maintain a rising contour through ‘ati kṣapaḥ’ to enact ‘passing beyond’; settle on final pāda with a firm cadence.
Keep long vowels sustained: śriye, pūrvīḥ; articulate retroflex ṭ/ṇ where present (brahmāṇam-type sounds elsewhere in hymn).
śriye: ś + r cluster, short i-e glide, añjīn: palatal ñ; long ī, akṛṇvata: ṛ syllabic, not ‘ri’, ati kṣapaḥ: kṣ cluster crisp; visarga light, vāvṛdhuḥ: vāvṛ- with long ā; final ḥ light
Clean, bright, with a steady ‘march’ feel.
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