Rig Veda 5.47.5: Mandala 5, Sukta 47, Mantra 5
Sukta 5.47
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Cosmic duality and waters/rivers as symbolic carriers
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इदं वपुर्निवचनं जनासश्चरन्ति यन्नद्यस्तस्थुरापः । द्वे यदीं बिभृतो मातुरन्ये इहेह जाते यम्या सबन्धू ॥
idáṃ vápur ni-vácanaṃ janā́saś cáranti yán nádyas tasthúr ā́paḥ | dvé yád īṃ bibhṛtó mātúr anyé ihéha jāté yamyā́ sàbandhū ||
ഈ രൂപം—ഈ ഗൂഢ നിവചനം—ഇതിനുള്ളിൽ ജനങ്ങൾ സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്നു; അവിടെ നദികൾ ജലമായി നിലകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. രണ്ട് പേർ അതിനെ മാതാവിൽ നിന്ന് ധരിച്ചു കൊണ്ടുവരുമ്പോൾ, മറ്റുള്ളവർ ഇവിടെ ഇവിടെ ജനിക്കുന്നു—യമ്യ, ഇരട്ടബന്ധുക്കൾ. ഒരേയൊരു തത്ത്വം ഗതിയിൽ വിഭജിതമായി തോന്നുന്നു; എങ്കിലും ഉദ്ഭവത്തിന്റെ ആന്തരബന്ധുത്വം അതിനെ ബന്ധിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वपुः
- form, appearanceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- निवचनम्
- designation, appellationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot नि-वचन (प्रातिपदिक; वच् ‘to speak’)
- जनासः
- peopleNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- चरन्ति
- they move, proceedVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot चर्
- यत्
- which, thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्ध/यत्-सम्बन्ध)Role KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नद्यः
- riversNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्थुः
- they have stood, stood stillVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot स्था
- आपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot आप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्वे
- twoNumeralस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- यदा
- whenIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot यदा (अव्यय; यद्-सम्बन्ध)
- ईम्
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपात (एन्क्लिटिक, ‘indeed/just/then’)Root ईम् (अव्यय/एन्क्लिटिक)
- बिभ्रतः
- the two bear, carryVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot भृ
- मातुः
- of the motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole SambandhaRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्ये
- othersPronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableदेशवाचक-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot इह (अव्यय)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableदेशवाचक-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot इह (अव्यय)
- जाते
- (the) two bornParticipleभूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (सन्दर्भानुसार ‘the two born’)Role KartāRoot जन्
- यम्या
- twin(-born), pairedAdjective/Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (यम्यौ/यम्ये इत्यर्थे वैदिक-रूप)Role KartāRoot यम्य (प्रातिपदिक; यम ‘to pair/twin’)
- सबन्धू
- two kindred, relativesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (वैदिक रूप; ‘two kinsmen/relatives’)Role KartāRoot स-बन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): वपु॑र्नि॒वच॑नम् → वपुः + निवचनम् (विसर्ग-लोपः)
- जनास॒श्चर॑न्ति → जनासः + चरन्ति (विसर्गः + च → श्च)
- यन्न॒द्य॑स्त॒स्थुराप॑: → यत् + नद्यः + तस्थुः + आपः (त् + न → न्न; विसर्ग-लोपः)
- द्वे यदीं॑ → द्वे + यदा + ईम् (यदीम् = यदा + ईम्)
- बिभृ॒तो → बिभ्रतः (वैदिक संहितायां -तः/-तो रूपभेद)
- मा॒तुर॒न्ये → मातुः + अन्ये (विसर्ग-लोपः)
- इ॒हेह॑ → इह + इह
- जा॒ते → जाते (द्विवचन-सम्बन्धे ‘the two born’)
- य॒म्या॒३॒॑ सब॑न्धू → यम्या + सबन्धू (द्विवचन-प्रथमा)
The meaning
Outer meaning
This form and profound declaration is what people move within; the rivers have stood as waters. When two bear it from the Mother, the others are born here and here as twin-related kin.
Inner meaning
The mantra points to one Reality appearing as structured manifestation (vapuḥ) and as a deep law/utterance (nivacana). Human beings ‘move’ within this manifested order. The ‘rivers/waters’ are the streams of consciousness-force that both flow and ‘stand’ (tasthuḥ) as stable bases—dynamic stability. The ‘Mother’ is the primal matrix (Aditi/Prakṛti) of manifestation. ‘Two’ that bear it from the Mother can be read as a fundamental duality (e.g., Heaven–Earth; Knowledge–Power; Purusha–Prakṛti as later language), from which the rest of the powers are born as yamyāḥ—twin-linked, mutually corresponding faculties across planes. Diversity is not division but kinship: all movements share one origin and one secret law.
Universal truth
Life’s multiplicity is a family of powers born of a single source. When we perceive the underlying kinship, conflict softens into coordination and the many become a coherent whole.
Themes
cosmogony, duality, waters as manifestation, bandhu (correspondence/kinship)
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.47.1, RV 5.47.2, RV 5.47.3, RV 5.48.1
Family tradition
Atri hymns frequently use riddle-like cosmological language (numbers, waters, mother, twins) to point to inner principles of manifestation.
Significance
Atri’s sight unifies the many movements of life by revealing their common origin in the Mother and their governing Word/law (nivacana).
The deity
- Devata
- Āpaḥ (Waters) / Aditi (Mother) as the matrix of form (vapuḥ)
- Epithets
- mātā (Mother; implied), āpaḥ (waters), nadyaḥ (rivers), nivacana (secret word/law)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspired river), Dyaus–Pṛthivī (the archetypal pair), Mitra–Varuṇa (law/relationship)
Cosmic role
Waters carry the formative substance of worlds; the Mother brings forth the paired principles and their many kin-powers into ordered manifestation.
Inner power
Fluid consciousness that can hold form without rigidity—purifying, connecting, and harmonizing the divided parts back into kinship.
In ritual
Where it is used
Reflective stanza on manifestation and duality; supports ritual contemplation of unity-in-differentiation (one origin, many streams)
इ॒दं वपु॑र्नि॒वच॑नं जनास॒श्चर॑न्ति॒ यन्न॒द्य॑स्त॒स्थुराप॑: । द्वे यदीं॑ बिभृ॒तो मा॒तुर॒न्ये इ॒हेह॑ जा॒ते य॒म्या॒३॒॑ सब॑न्धू ॥
इ॒दम् । वपुः॑ । नि॒ऽवच॑नम् । जनासः॑ । चर॑न्ति । यत् । न॒द्यः॑ । त॒स्थुः । आपः॑ । द्वे इति॑ । यत् । ई॒म् । बि॒भृ॒तः । मा॒तुः । अ॒न्ये । इ॒हऽइ॑ह । जा॒ते इति॑ । य॒म्या॑ । सब॑न्धू॒ इति॒ सऽब॑न्धू ॥
idam | vapuḥ | ni-vacanam | janāsaḥ | caranti | yat | nadyaḥ | tasthuḥ | āpaḥ | dve iti | yat | īm | bibhṛtaḥ | mātuḥ | anye | iha-iha | jāte iti | yamyā | sabandhūitisa-bandhū
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Riddle-bearing, balanced; supports contemplation of paradox (rivers ‘standing’).
Induces reflective clarity—lets the mind hold unity-and-duality without strain.
- वपुः (vapuḥ)
- Literal: form, body, appearance. Symbolic: the manifested configuration of consciousness; the ‘formed’ reality we inhabit
- निवचनम् (nivacanam)
- Literal: deep utterance/definition, declaration. Symbolic: the hidden law/Word (vāc) that determines form; inner meaning behind appearance
- जनासः (janāsaḥ)
- Literal: peoples. Symbolic: the active parts of the being (mental/vital/physical personalities) moving within the formed order
- नद्यः (nadyaḥ)
- Literal: rivers. Symbolic: streams of consciousness-energy (inspiration, prāṇa-currents) that carry formation
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: the conscious fluidity—life-force and subtle mind-stuff; carriers of purification and formation
- मातुः (mātuḥ)
- Literal: from/of the Mother. Symbolic: Aditi/Prakṛti: the originating matrix of manifestation
- द्वे (dve)
- Literal: two. Symbolic: primary polarity that supports manifestation (paired principles that ‘bear’ the world)
- यम्या (yamyā)
- Literal: twin, paired. Symbolic: corresponding powers across levels; inner kinships between faculties (thought–speech, will–act, light–joy, etc.)
- सबन्धू (sabandhū)
- Literal: related, kin. Symbolic: all powers are secretly one family—integrable in yoga
Reflective stanza on manifestation and duality; supports ritual contemplation of unity-in-differentiation (one origin, many streams)
General recitation in contexts invoking waters/purification or cosmic order; may accompany ācamana-like symbolic acts in later practice though not a fixed Vedic procedure here.
Evocation of the Waters and the Mother-principle; affirmation of underlying kinship in multiplicity.
Use when feeling fragmented: chant to remember that inner parts are ‘twin-kin’ from one Mother; helpful before journaling/therapy/inner work to integrate subpersonalities.
ni-√vac ‘to state, designate’ (PIE *wekʷ- ‘speak’, cf. Latin vox). √sthā (PIE *steh₂-). sa-bandhu ‘with kinship’ from bandhu ‘bond/kin’ (√bandh ‘bind’, PIE *bʰendʰ-). yamyā relates to Yama ‘twin’ (PIE *yemos ‘twin’, cf. Avestan Yima; Latin geminus is different root but ‘twin’ motif is IE-wide).
manifest form (vapuḥ), unity and duality (yama/twin motif), bond/kinship (bandhu)
Ṛta appears as the ‘nivacana’—the defining Word/law that makes form intelligible and ordered.
Satya as the one truth behind many forms; recognition of sabandhū (kinship) is a movement toward satya.
Manifestation from the Mother through a primary duality, then proliferation into related powers; dynamic stability of waters.
Sāṃkhya-like polarity in seed form (without later technicalities); also Upaniṣadic unity behind names/forms.
Rivers/waters are flows of consciousness and prāṇa; the Mother is the originating nature that births and relates all faculties.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the emergence of differentiated streams (rivers/waters) from a single maternal origin, with a twin/paired principle (yamyā) indicating cosmic duality. Innerly, it teaches that the one consciousness takes forms (vapuḥ) and names (nivacana), appearing as many movements, yet remains bound by bandhu—hidden kinship and correspondence.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The twin motif yama/yamyā reflects PIE *yemos ‘twin’ (Avestan Yima). √vac (PIE *wekʷ-) and √bandh (PIE *bʰendʰ-) show inherited speech-and-bond vocabulary used to express metaphysical unity (designation and binding kinship).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi reads the world as a symbolic text: rivers standing as waters, beings moving within a declared form, and twin-bonded kinship. The devatā is the law of manifestation; the ṛṣi’s role is to articulate the hidden bandhu so the seeker can re-unify divided experience back to its maternal source.
Hold the sense of one underlying ‘Word/law’ shaping your life-form; reconcile inner pairs (mind/heart, will/feeling) as twin-kin from one Mother.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/flow) with ascent to Ājñā (inner law/clarity)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing with a gentle ‘wave’ awareness (inhale rising, exhale settling) for 5–10 minutes.
Flowing equanimity; non-dual intuition beginning to dawn.
Identify your primary inner polarity (e.g., control vs surrender). See both as ‘bearing’ the same aspiration. Let the waters of awareness hold both without judgment until a third thing appears: harmonious coordination.
Mixed udatta–anudatta–svarita; emphasize vapuḥ and āpaḥ with clear udātta lift per recensional accents.
Keep ‘nivacanaṃ’ cleanly segmented (ni-va-ca-naṃ); avoid swallowing consonant clusters (tasthur).
: ‘idaṃ’ with anusvāra as light nasal, : final visarga audible (vapuḥ), : sandhi—keep ‘nadyas tasthuḥ’ distinct; ‘sth’ aspirated, : longish ‘dve’ without inserting a vowel, : ‘yamyā’ with palatal ‘y’ and long ā
Liquid, flowing, inward; let the cadence feel like a river that can also become still.
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