Rig Veda 4.48.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 48, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.48
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
अनु कृष्णे वसुधिती येमाते विश्वपेशसा । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
ánu kṛṣṇé vasu-dhitī yēmā́te víśva-peśasā | vāyavā candréṇa ráthena yā́hi sutásya pītáye ||
കൃഷ്ണ (അന്ധകാരമയ) പഥത്തെ അനുഗമിച്ച്, വസുധിതീ—സമൃദ്ധിയുടെ രണ്ടു നിധികൾ—വിശ്വപേശസ് (സർവ്വരൂപ)മായി വ്യാപിക്കുന്നു; ഹേ വായു, ദീപ്തമായ രഥവുമായി സുതസോമത്തിന്റെ പാനത്തിനായി വരിക.
Word by Word
- अनु
- after, along, in accordanceIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषणार्थेRoot अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- कृष्णे
- in/at the two dark (ones)Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्गे सप्तमी-द्विवचनम् (कृष्णा- ‘कृष्णे’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- वसुधिती
- the two ‘Vasudhitis’ (richly-bestowing ones)Noun (dual name/epithet)स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा-द्विवचनम्Role KartāRoot वसु-धिति (प्रातिपदिक; वसु + धिति)
- येमाते
- they two restrain/guide themselves; they two hold (together)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमा-पुरुषः, द्विवचनम्Role KartāRoot यम् (धातु) / यमाते (आत्मनेपदी रूप)
- विश्वपेशसा
- with all adornment/with every form of beautyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम् (इन्द्रिय/साधनभावे) अथवा विशेषणरूपेणRole KaraṇaRoot विश्व-पेशस् (प्रातिपदिक; कर्मधारय/बहुव्रीहि)
- वायवा
- O Vāyus (O Vāyu, you two)Noun (vocative)पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन-द्विवचनम् (वायू इति; वैदिके ‘वायवा’)Role SampradānaRoot वायु (प्रातिपदिक)
- चन्द्रेण
- with the shining/brightAdjectiveपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- रथेन
- with the chariotNounपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- याहि
- come, goVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root या (धातु)
- सुतस्य
- of the pressed SomaNounपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-एकवचनम्Root सुत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √सु ‘to press’ → सुत ‘pressed (Soma)’)
- पीतये
- for drinkingNoun (action noun)स्त्रीलिङ्गे चतुर्थी-एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot पीति (प्रातिपदिक; √पा ‘to drink’ → पीति ‘drinking’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अनु | कृष्णे | वसुधिती | येमाते | विश्वपेशसा | वायवा | चन्द्रेण | रथेन | याहि | सुतस्य | पीतये । 1) ‘वायवा’ वैदिक-सम्बोधन-द्विवचनम् (वायू) । 2) ‘पीतये’ चतुर्थी-एकवचनम् (अर्थे: ‘पानाय’) । 3) ‘सुतस्य’ षष्ठी-एकवचनम्—‘सुत’ (pressed Soma) इति √सु-निष्पन्नः कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकः ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Following the dark ones, the two treasuries of wealth extend with all their forms; O Vāyu, come with your shining chariot to drink the pressed Soma.
Inner meaning
The verse points to a paradox of sādhanā: even behind/after the ‘kṛṣṇa’ (dark formations) there are ‘vasudhitī’—two repositories of riches—waiting to be recovered, once the movement is taken up rightly. ‘Viśvapeśasā’ suggests the plenitudes manifest in many forms when released. Vāyu is invoked to move through and beyond the darkness, carrying consciousness to Soma; the life-force, made luminous, can retrieve hidden wealth from subconscient obscurity.
Universal truth
Obscurity often conceals potential; with luminous movement and right aspiration, hidden capacities are recovered and diversified into many forms of growth.
Themes
Darkness-to-light transition, Plenitude, Soma-ritual, Regulated expansion of powers
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.26, RV 4.27, RV 4.48.2
Family tradition
Vāmadeva’s hymns often speak of hidden ‘wealth’ and ‘cows’ recovered from darkness. This verse aligns with that motif: riches concealed in the dark are brought out by right divine movement.
Significance
The seer indicates that darkness is not merely to be avoided; it can be traversed and transformed, yielding stored riches—an important integral-yogic insight.
The deity
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Epithets
- candreṇa rathena (shining chariot)
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Agni, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Mover through mid-world (antarikṣa), disperser of stagnation; carrier enabling the transition from obscurity to luminous experience.
Inner power
Prāṇa that can enter subconscient zones and still remain luminous, bringing up hidden wealth into conscious formation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma yajña—Vāyu invitation (refrain) with imagery of hidden wealth
अनु॑ कृ॒ष्णे वसु॑धिती ये॒माते॑ वि॒श्वपे॑शसा । वाय॒वा च॒न्द्रेण॒ रथे॑न या॒हि सु॒तस्य॑ पी॒तये॑ ॥
अनु॑ । कृ॒ष्णे । वसु॑धिती॒ इति॒ वसु॑ऽधिती । ये॒माते॒ इति॑ । वि॒श्वऽपे॑शसा । वायो॒ इति॑ । आ । च॒न्द्रेणे॑ । रथे॑न । या॒हि । सु॒तस्य॑ । पी॒तये॑ ॥
anu | kṛṣṇe | vasudhitī itivasu-dhitī | yemāteiti | viśva-peśasā | vāyo iti | ā | candreṇe | rathena | yāhi | sutasya | pītaye
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Mysterious opening (darkness/treasuries) followed by the familiar inviting refrain—suggesting passage from obscure to luminous.
Encourages courage to face inner obscurity while maintaining a bright forward aspiration.
- कृष्णे (kṛṣṇe)
- Literal: dark ones/darkness. Symbolic: Subconscient obscurity, tamasic formations, the coverer’s field
- अनु (anu)
- Literal: after, following. Symbolic: Entering the subconscient trail; pursuing the hidden cause to transform it
- वसुधिती (vasudhitī)
- Literal: two treasuries/receptacles of wealth. Symbolic: Dual inner riches—light and force, or knowledge and delight—stored in depths
- ये॒माते (yemāte)
- Literal: they extend/spread out. Symbolic: Recovered powers expand in consciousness once released
- विश्वपेशसा (viśvapeśasā)
- Literal: with all forms/variegated shapes. Symbolic: Plenitudes expressing in diverse capacities, insights, harmonies
- चन्द्रेण रथेन (candreṇa rathena)
- Literal: with shining chariot. Symbolic: Luminous prāṇa moving through darkness without being stained
- सुतस्य पीतये (sutasya pītaye)
- Literal: to drink pressed Soma. Symbolic: To receive distilled bliss after transformation of obscurity
Soma-yajña refrain continues; verse adds contrast of darkness and the emergence/extension of riches in manifold forms.
In the Vāyu hymn sequence; as part of Soma offering chants.
Invocation to Vāyu to come and drink Soma; mythic/poetic framing of wealth emerging from darkness.
Useful for shadow-work meditation: invoke luminous breath to move through difficult emotions/subconscient habits and recover hidden strengths.
kṛṣṇa ‘dark’ from √kṛṣ ‘to be dark/black’ (semantic: obscuration). vasu ‘good, wealth’ (PIE *wesu- ‘good’), dhitī from √dhā ‘to place/hold’ → ‘holder/treasury’; dual indicates paired capacities. viśva ‘all’ (PIE *wiḱ- ‘clan/all’ in later developments) + peśas ‘form/ornament’ from √piś ‘to adorn, shape’. yemāte: from √yam ‘to hold, regulate, extend by measure’—key for the psychological reading: controlled expansion.
Transformation of obscurity into plenitude (vasu), Measure/regulation (√yam) as r̥ta-discipline, Manifestation in forms (peśas)
The emergence of ‘vasu’ from ‘kṛṣṇa’ suggests ṛta’s action: order reasserts itself by unveiling what is concealed.
Truth is not destroyed by darkness; it is veiled—recovered by right movement.
Creation proceeds by unveiling: hidden plenitudes expand into manifold forms (viśvapeśasā).
Integral transformation: subconscient is not rejected but penetrated and converted, releasing stored powers.
Pre-dawn/late night moving toward dawn (symbolically)
Breath-light moves through tamas; hidden capacities rise and diversify into conscious life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of plenitudes emerging in many forms even when following upon darkness. Innerly, after confronting obscurity (kṛṣṇa), the being’s ‘treasuries’ (vasu-dhitī) expand in a regulated way, preparing a luminous vehicle for Soma reception.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vasu ‘good/wealth’ reflects PIE *wesu- (cf. Greek εὖ ‘well’). The form/ornament lexeme peśas resonates with inherited craft-and-form vocabulary where shaping is a sacred act of manifestation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi indicates an experiential sequence: through and after darkness, capacities of plenitude are shaped and extended; Vāyu is invoked to arrive as the dynamic purifier and carrier so that Soma can be assimilated as delight and form-giving power.
Luminous breath through darkness: keep awareness bright while allowing hidden material to surface and be integrated.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (subconscient/vital store) lifted toward Anāhata (harmonization).
Slow coherent breathing; on inhale feel ‘candra’ light entering, on exhale feel dark knots loosening; avoid force—steadiness is key.
Quietly brave, receptive to revelation.
If heavy moods arise, repeat the refrain mentally; imagine two inner treasuries opening (peace and strength), spreading into many forms of helpful capacities.
Begin with a slightly hushed tone on ‘kṛṣṇe’ imagery, then brighten into the refrain; keep udātta lifts clear on ‘vāyav’ and ‘yāhi’.
Let the first pāda evoke depth; then maintain the familiar refrain cadence as a steady beacon of light.
anu: short a-nu, light, kṛṣṇe: vocalic ṛ, retroflex ṣṇ cluster, vasudhitī: clear su, dental dh, long ī, viśvapeśasā: palatal ś, keep ‘peś’ crisp, candreṇa rathena: aspirate th, pītaye: long ī
Deep, resonant at start; gradually more luminous and open.
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