Rig Veda 2.32.6: Mandala 2, Sukta 32, Mantra 6
Sukta 2.32
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Sinīvālī
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace)
सिनीवालि पृथुष्टुके या देवानामसि स्वसा । जुषस्व हव्यमाहुतं प्रजां देवि दिदिड्ढि नः ॥
sinīvāli pṛ́thu-stuke yā́ devā́nām ási svásā | júṣasva havýam ā́hutam prajā́ṃ devi didiḍḍhi naḥ ||
ഓ സീനീവാലീ, വിശാല സ്തുതിക്കു യോഗ്യയായവളേ, ദേവന്മാരുടെ സ്വസാ (സഹോദരി)യേ; അഗ്നിയിൽ അർപ്പിച്ച ഹവ്യം സ്വീകരിക്ക. ഓ ദേവി, ഞങ്ങളിലേയ്ക്ക് പ്രജാശക്തി സ്ഥാപിക്ക—അതിനെ സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു ദൃഢമാക്കുക.
Word by Word
- सिनीवालि
- O Sinīvālī (goddess)Noun (proper)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address)Root सिनीवालि- (प्रातिपदिक; देवी-नाम)
- पृथुष्टुके
- O broad-praised / richly-lauded oneAdjective (epithet)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (epithet of the addressed deity)Root पृथु- + स्तुक- (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समासार्थ: ‘broad/abundant praise’)
- या
- whoPronoun (relative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (of असि)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवानाम्
- of the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-बहुवचनRole षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root देव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- असि
- you areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यम? → actually 2nd sg not; here: उत्तम?; correct: मध्यमपुरुष-एकवचन? (असि = 2nd person singular, present indicative)Role क्रिया (copula)Root अस् (धातु)
- स्वसा
- (their) sisterNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole प्रथमा-समानााधिकरण (predicate nominative with असि)Root स्वसृ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- जुषस्व
- take pleasure in / accept graciouslyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष-एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (imperative)Root जुष् (धातु)
- हव्यम्
- the oblation (what is to be offered)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म (object of जुषस्व)Root हव्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘to be invoked/offered’)
- आहुतम्
- offered / poured in (as an offering)Participle (past passive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (हव्यम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (qualifier of the object)Root आ-हू (धातु) → आहुत (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
- प्रजाम्
- offspring / progenyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म (object of दिदिड्ढि)Root प्रजा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवि
- O goddessNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address)Root देवी- (प्रातिपदिक)
- दिदिड्ढि
- grant / bestowVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष-एकवचन, परस्मैपद; वैदिक-रूप: दिदिड्ढि < *दिदिश्धि (धातोः पुनरुक्ति)Role क्रिया (imperative)Root दिश् (धातु) (Vedic: reduplicated imperative; sense ‘bestow/assign/direct’)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’ = ‘our/to us’ प्रसङ्गानुसार)Role सम्प्रदान (recipient; ‘to us’)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: सिनीवालि | पृथुष्टुके | या | देवानाम् | असि | स्वसा | जुषस्व | हव्यम् | आहुतम् | प्रजाम् | देवि | दिदिड्ढि | नः । 1) देवानामसि = देवानाम् + असि (म् + अ → म् अ; संहितायां ‘मसि’)
- 2) हव्यमाहुतम् = हव्यम् + आहुतम् (म् + आ → म् आ; संहितायां ‘माहुतम्’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Sinīvālī, widely praised and sister of the gods, is asked to accept the offering cast into the fire and to establish progeny for us.
Inner meaning
Sinīvālī is the goddess of the ‘widening’ and the right holding—she supports the gestation of the soul’s works. The ‘havyam āhutam’ is the inner offering into Agni (divine will). ‘Prajā’ is not only physical offspring but the birth of new inner formations: capacities, realizations, and works of truth. The prayer is for the goddess to ‘set and fix’ (didiḍḍhi) these births so they become stable manifestations, not passing experiences.
Universal truth
Spiritual growth must become embodied and established; the divine feminine power of formation receives our offering and secures lasting new births in life and character.
Themes
Fertility and creative power, Divine acceptance of offering, Stabilizing the life-force
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu (traditional stream association)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.1–2.43
Family tradition
A seer-collection attentive to the mechanics of inner yajña: offering, acceptance, and the securing of results in life.
Significance
The rishi’s emphasis on ‘establishing’ prajā reflects a yogic insistence: experiences must become realizations, realizations must become nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Sinīvālī
- Epithets
- पृथुष्टुके (pṛthuṣṭuke) widely praised, देवानाम् स्वसा (devānām svasā) sister of the gods
- Related deities
- Rākā, Sarasvatī, Agni (as receiving fire)
Cosmic role
A feminine lunar-associated power of formation, gestation, and successful bringing-to-birth; guardian of continuity and establishment.
Inner power
Holding and shaping force that carries the seed of aspiration through transformation into stable manifestation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Household and fertility/prosperity intentions; also as a supportive verse in fire-offering contexts.
सिनी॑वालि॒ पृथु॑ष्टुके॒ या दे॒वाना॒मसि॒ स्वसा॑ । जु॒षस्व॑ ह॒व्यमाहु॑तं प्र॒जां दे॑वि दिदिड्ढि नः ॥
सिनी॑वालि । पृथु॑ऽस्तुके । या । दे॒वाना॑म् । असि॑ । स्वसा॑ । जु॒षस्व॑ । ह॒व्यम् । आऽहु॑तम् । प्र॒ऽजाम् । दे॒वि॒ । दि॒दि॒ड्ढि॒ । नः॒ ॥
sinīvāli | pṛthu-stuke | yā | devānām | asi | svasā | juṣasva | havyam | āhutam | pra-jām | devi | didiḍḍhi | naḥ
32
4 pādas × ~8 syllables
Compact, intimate, and directive—well-suited to a clear request and sealing intention.
Creates a contained, womb-like steadiness; supports resolve to make growth concrete.
- सिनीवालि (sinīvāli)
- Literal: Sinīvālī (name linked with binding/holding, lunar phase). Symbolic: Shakti of gestation, holding-power that supports new inner birth
- पृथुष्टुके (pṛthuṣṭuke)
- Literal: of wide praise. Symbolic: vast, widely effective power invoked by expansive mantra
- देवानाम् ... स्वसा (devānām ... svasā)
- Literal: sister of the gods. Symbolic: intimate companion-power of the higher faculties (devas) within us
- हव्यम् आहुतम् (havyam āhutam)
- Literal: offering poured/cast. Symbolic: consecrated energies given to Agni for transformation
- प्रजाम् (prajām)
- Literal: progeny, offspring. Symbolic: new births of consciousness and works (inner creation)
- दिदिड्ढि (didiḍḍhi)
- Literal: set, fix, establish. Symbolic: make the realization stable, organized, and enduring
Used in rites seeking prajā (progeny/creative increase), including domestic fertility prayers and offerings connected with feminine divinities.
In rites seeking progeny, continuity, and establishment of well-being; also when beginning a new project to ‘bring it to birth’.
Offer ghee into fire while reciting; conclude with silent intention for stable fruition.
Use for ‘birthing’ inner capacities (new habit, learning, healing): chant before daily practice to stabilize progress.
√juṣ ‘to enjoy/favor’ makes acceptance an act of conscious delight (not mechanical reception). prajā from pra-√jan ‘be born forth’ becomes inner creativity: births of right movements, not only physical children. didiḍḍhi is an emphatic imperative (intensive/iterative nuance), indicating ‘make it firmly established’—a stable fecundity in the being.
Creative manifestation (pra-jā), Divine delight in sacrifice (juṣ), Rita as right birth/production (ordered generation)
Establishment of prajā is ṛta’s movement from possibility to ordered actuality.
Prajā as satya-in-action: truth becoming embodied as living results.
Creation as birth: the divine feminine secures the passage from seed to formed life.
Yoga/Śakti-centric symbolism compatible with Aurobindo’s ‘birth of the divine in matter’.
Fire = transforming will; Moon = cyclic ripening; prajā = emergent forms of consciousness taking stable shape.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the ‘goddess of fecundity as sister of the gods’ who, when delighted by the offering, establishes prajā. It encodes a cosmology where creation is a cooperative family of powers, and birth is a divine act mediated by sacrifice.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- prajā continues √jan (PIE *ǵenh₁- ‘beget, produce’; cf. Greek génos, Latin gignere). svasā ‘sister’ relates to PIE *swésōr (cf. Latin soror, English sister). Such kinship terms reinforce archaic Indo-European divine-family poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers āhuti and asks not for a transient gain but for a firmly established generative capacity (didiḍḍhi). The devatā’s reciprocity is ‘juṣ’—conscious consenting delight—turning offering into sustained creative outcome.
Stabilize a new inner ‘birth’ (insight, habit, healing) by offering it into the inner fire and asking for establishment.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (creative/birthing energy) and Maṇipūra (transforming fire)
Gentle abdominal breathing; on exhale mentally repeat ‘prajāṃ… didiḍḍhi naḥ’.
Contained, nurturing steadiness.
Name one ‘seed’ you want to bring to term; offer it to Agni (resolve); then rest in a protective quiet, imagining Sinīvālī holding the process through time.
Anuṣṭubh is often chanted evenly; keep slight lift on vocatives (sinīvāli) and the imperative (juṣasva, didiḍḍhi).
Stress: sinīvāli | juṣasva | prajāṃ devi | didiḍḍhi naḥ.
sinīvāli: long ī and ā, pṛthuṣṭuke: vocalic ṛ; retroflex ṣṭ, juṣasva: ‘ṣ’ retroflex, didiḍḍhi: double ḍḍh—pronounce with firm retroflex stop + aspiration
soft but steady; nurturing tone; end with a gentle downward cadence.
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