Rig Veda 4.41.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 41, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.41
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shringara (love) and Shanta (peace)
इन्द्रा ह रत्नं वरुणा धेष्ठेत्था नृभ्यः शशमानेभ्यस्ता । यदी सखाया सख्याय सोमैः सुतेभिः सुप्रयसा मादयैते ॥
índrā ha rátnaṃ váruṇā dhéṣṭhe ítthā nṛ́-bhyaḥ śaśamānébhyas tā́ | yadī́ sákhāyā sakhyā́ya sómaiḥ sutébhiḥ su-prayásā mā́dayaite ||
ഇന്ദ്രനും വരുണനും തീർച്ചയായും ഇങ്ങനെ രത്നം (ധന-വർ) മനുഷ്യർക്കായി സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നു—ശ്രമിക്കുകയും പരിശ്രമിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നവർക്കായി. ആ രണ്ടു സഖാക്കൾ സഖ്യതയ്ക്കായി, സുപ്രയസ് (സുന്ദര യജ്ഞ-പ്രയാസം) സമൃദ്ധമായ സുത സോമങ്ങളാൽ ആനന്ദിച്ച് മദിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- इन्द्रा
- O Indra (addressed, with Varuṇa)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणा
- O Varuṇa (addressed, with Indra)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, द्विवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (हेतु/निश्चयार्थ)Root हि
- रत्नम्
- treasure, precious giftNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot रत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- धेष्ठे
- you two bestow / placeVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; वैदिक रूप ‘धेष्ठे’ = ‘धत्तः/धत्ते’ (you two place/bestow)Role क्रियाRoot धा (धातु) / धे (वैदिक रूप)
- इत्था
- thus, in this mannerIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot इत्था
- नृभ्यः
- to men, to heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- शशमानेभ्यः
- to the striving/zealous (worshipping) onesParticiple (adjectival)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (नृभ्यः इति विशेषण)Role सम्प्रदानRoot शम् (धातु) → शशमान (कृदन्त, परिपूर्ण/परिपक्व अर्थ: ‘शान्त/समर्पित’)
- अस्ताः
- you two areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; वैदिक ‘अस्ताः’ = ‘स्थः/अस्तः’ (you two are)Role क्रियाRoot अस् (धातु) → सन्त्/अस्त् (वैदिक रूप)
- यदि
- when, ifIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्तार्थक अव्ययRoot यदि
- सखायौ
- the two friendsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सख्याय
- for friendship, for companionshipNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन (दातृ/प्रयोजन)Role सम्प्रदानRoot सख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमैः
- with soma (draughts)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुतेभिः
- with the pressed (soma-juices)Participle used as adjective/nounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (सोमैः इति विशेषण)Role करणRoot सु (धातु) → सुत (कृदन्त ‘pressed’)
- सुप्रयसा
- with good refreshment/strengthAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (क्रियाविशेषणवत्: ‘सुप्रयसा’ = ‘goodly refreshment/strength’)Role करणRoot सुप्रयस् (प्रातिपदिक: सु- + प्रयस् ‘refreshment/strength’)
- मादयैते
- you two become exhilarated / rejoiceVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; आत्मनेपद (वैदिक): ‘you two rejoice/are exhilarated’Role क्रियाRoot मद् (धातु) → मादय (णिच् causative stem)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): इन्द्रा वरुणा हि रत्नम् धेष्ठे इत्था नृभ्यः शशमानेभ्यः अस्ताः । यदि सखायौ सख्याय सोमैः सुतेभिः सुप्रयसा मादयैते ॥ 1) ‘इन्द्रा … वरुणा’ = सम्बोधन-द्विवचन (इन्द्रावरुणा इति युग्मदेवता-सम्बोधन) का पद-विभाग। 2) ‘धेष्ठे’ वैदिक वर्तमान-द्विवचन रूप (धा/धे) ‘धत्तः’ अर्थे। 3) ‘अस्ताः’ वैदिक द्विवचन ‘अस्तः/स्थः’ (अस्) ‘you two are’। 4) ‘सोमैः सुतेभिः’ में ‘सुत’ (pressed) विशेषण ‘सोम’ के साथ तृतीया-बहुवचन।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra and Varuṇa set the treasure for men who strive; when the two friends, for friendship, rejoice in the pressed Soma, rich in beautiful offering-energy.
Inner meaning
The ‘treasure’ (ratna) is the gain of consciousness—light, strength, wideness, and joy—granted to those who labor in the inner work. Indra and Varuṇa, as divine friends, delight in Soma: the waves of bliss pressed out by aspiration and discipline. When the offering is ‘su-prayasa’ (well-prepared, beautifully energized), the gods become glad—meaning the higher powers are nourished by our purified delight and respond by establishing inner riches.
Universal truth
Spiritual wealth comes through steady effort and a joy that is purified and offered. When delight is consecrated, it becomes a channel for enduring inner riches.
Themes
Soma-ritual (inner delight), bestowal of treasure, divine companionship
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1, RV 4.26, RV 4.41
Family tradition
Aurobindo’s favored Vāmadeva passages often connect effort (tapas/prayas) with Soma-delight and the stabilization of inner riches (ratna).
Significance
Shows the reciprocity of the inner sacrifice: the seeker offers purified delight; the gods establish lasting inner treasure.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Varuṇa
- Epithets
- sakhāyā (the two friends), treasure-establishers
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Mitra
Cosmic role
They secure right enjoyment and right victory: Indra brings luminous force; Varuṇa ensures purity, wideness, and law—together making the treasure stable.
Inner power
Capacity to transform effort into delight and delight into attainment; they ‘fix’ the gain in consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-related praise: gods ‘rejoice’ in Soma; also general invocation for prosperity/treasure in a right way.
इन्द्रा॑ ह॒ रत्नं॒ वरु॑णा॒ धेष्ठे॒त्था नृभ्य॑: शशमा॒नेभ्य॒स्ता । यदी॒ सखा॑या स॒ख्याय॒ सोमै॑: सु॒तेभि॑: सुप्र॒यसा॑ मा॒दयै॑ते ॥
इन्द्रा॑ । ह॒ । रत्न॑म् । वरु॑णा । धेष्ठा॑ । इ॒त्था । नृऽभ्यः॑ । श॒श॒मा॒नेभ्यः॑ । ता । यदि॑ । सखा॑या । स॒ख्याय॑ । सोमैः॑ । सु॒तेभिः॑ । सु॒ऽप्र॒यसा॑ । मा॒दयै॑ते॒ इति॑ ॥
indrā | ha | ratnam | varuṇā | dheṣṭhā | itthā | nṛ-bhyaḥ | śaśamānebhyaḥ | tā | yadi | sakhāyā | sakhyāya | somaiḥ | sutebhiḥ | su-prayasā | mādayaiteiti
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Assured, rewarding cadence; less martial than 4.41.2—more celebratory.
Invokes confidence and gladness; supports perseverance with a sense of promised inner reward.
- रत्न (ratna)
- Literal: treasure, jewel. Symbolic: spiritual riches—illumination, wideness, right power, fulfilled joy
- धेष्ठा (dheṣṭhā)
- Literal: they place/establish. Symbolic: the gods fix the gain in the being—stabilize attainment
- शशमान (śaśamāna)
- Literal: striving, laboring. Symbolic: persistent tapas; the doer of inner effort
- सखा/सख्याय (sakhā/sakhyāya)
- Literal: friend/for friendship. Symbolic: intimate yoga-relationship with divine powers
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: pressed soma-juice. Symbolic: divine bliss/delight extracted from experience by aspiration
- सुतेभिः (sutebhiḥ)
- Literal: with the pressed (soma). Symbolic: delight made available by inner pressing—concentration and offering
- सुप्रयसा (suprayasā)
- Literal: with good/beautiful prayas (offering-energy). Symbolic: well-formed energy of consecration—harmonious effort and sincerity
- मादयैते (mādayaite)
- Literal: they rejoice, are exhilarated. Symbolic: the higher powers become active and responsive when nourished by offered delight
Soma pressing (Abhiṣava): offering Soma to Indra-Varuṇa to secure ‘ratna’ (boon/fulfilment) for the sacrificer who performs sustained effort.
During Soma pressing/offerings or hymnic sequences emphasizing divine joy and bestowal of riches.
Offering of Soma with stoma; intention that effort be made beautiful (su-prayasa).
Use after practice as an offering of the gained peace/joy; or to encourage steady effort with a joyful heart.
ratná- ‘treasure’ (root sense ‘precious, shining’) often denotes spiritual riches: powers, light, plenitude. śaśamāná- (from √śam/√śram in Vedic usage ‘to labour, exert oneself’) marks the disciplined aspirant. soma- from √su ‘to press’ (su-tá ‘pressed’): psychologically the expressed essence of delight/inspiration extracted from experience. māday- from √mad ‘to be glad/intoxicated’: divine delight that increases power and wideness in the being.
exchange between human effort (tapas-like toil) and divine gift (ratna), sakhya (yogic friendship with the divine)
The treasure is given ‘itthā’—in the right way—to those aligned with striving in order; Varuṇa’s presence implies right measure.
True gain is stabilized (dheṣṭhā) when delight is sincere and offered.
Soma as the creative delight that feeds the gods and expands attainment.
Integral-psychological Vedism: delight as a power of realization, not mere sensation.
Delight pressed from experience becomes a luminous ‘jewel’ fixed in the heart-mind as stable attainment.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘pressed Soma’ gladdening the gods is the mythic mechanism of empowerment: through Soma (delight/inspiration) the divine friends become active and ‘place the treasure’ for the striving human.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mad ‘rejoice, be intoxicated’ continues PIE *med- ‘to be in a state of exhilaration’ (cf. English ‘mad’ in older sense, and various IE semantic relatives). √su ‘press’ is reflected in the technical ritual lexicon of extraction/pressing, a common IE poetic motif of ‘expressed essence’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi articulates a law: sustained human exertion (śaśamāna) and well-prepared offering (su-prayas) create the condition for divine delight (māda), which in turn manifests as ratna—inner riches and fulfilment—bestowed upon the seeker.
Offer your felt joy/peace as Soma to the higher powers; ask that the ‘ratna’ (stable gain) be established in you.
Anāhata (joyful offering) with Sahasrāra (receiving higher treasure).
Slow coherent breathing (e.g., 5–6 breaths/min) while feeling gratitude as the ‘pressed Soma’.
Quiet gladness; devotional intimacy.
After effort, pause and ‘press’ the essence—recognize a subtle joy; offer it upward; let the response be a settling of strength and wideness as your inner treasure.
Maintain clear udatta on ‘ratnaṃ’ and ‘somaiḥ’; let the cadence soften on ‘mādayaite’.
Do not punch the line like a battle verse; keep it flowing and ‘juicy’ to match Soma imagery.
dheṣṭhetthā: conjunct clusters—practice slowly; keep retroflex ṣ clear, śaśamānebhyas: maintain ś and retroflex ṣ distinctly, somaiḥ: diphthong ai; light aspiration on ḥ at the end if reciting with visarga
Smooth, warm, slightly melodic; sustain vowels to evoke Soma-flow.
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