Rig Veda 5.52.4: Mandala 5, Sukta 52, Mantra 4
Sukta 5.52
मरुत्सु वो दधीमहि स्तोमं यज्ञं च धृष्णुया । विश्वे ये मानुषा युगा पान्ति मर्त्यं रिषः ॥
marútsu vo dadhīmahi stómaṃ yajñáṃ ca dhṛ́ṣṇu-yā́ | víśve ye mā́nuṣā yugā́ pā́nti mártyaṃ ríṣaḥ ||
മരുത്തുക്കളുടെ ഇടയിൽ ഞങ്ങൾ നിങ്ങള്ക്കായി സ്തോമവും യജ്ഞവും ധൃഷ്ണു (ധൈര്യവീര്യ)ബലത്തോടെ സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നു—മാനുഷയുഗങ്ങളൊക്കെയിലും മർത്ത്യനെ റിഷഃ (ഹാനി)യിൽ നിന്ന് കാക്കുന്ന അവർ എല്ലാവരും.
Protective Marut-stuti in Soma context; supports the sacrificer’s ‘rakṣā’ (guarding) during offerings
rakṣā (guarding of the sacrifice/being), R̥ta as integrity against riṣ (injury), yajña as inner consecration
Protection across ages suggests right order sustaining evolution when practice is aligned.
Stoma (true word) as the vehicle of protection.
Human evolution (mānuṣā yugā) supported by divine powers through sacrificial transformation.
Evolutionary/integral reading: the gods as powers aiding humanity’s progressive unfolding.
Breath-energy organized into a protective host that carries the offering of life and speech through time.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Maruts as perennial guardians across ‘human ages’—a mythic framing of the storm-host not merely as weather but as a continuous protective power sustaining the sacrifice and the seeker’s journey through time.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The protect-verb √pā corresponds to an inherited semantic field of guarding/pastoral protection (cf. Latin pāstor ‘shepherd’ from *pā- ‘to feed/protect’). The yuga ‘yoke/age’ continues the Indo-European ‘yoke’ metaphor for ordered joining and cyclical time (cf. Latin iugum).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Reciprocity is explicit: the rishi ‘establishes’ hymn and yajña within the Maruts (offering speech and order), and the Maruts repay by guarding the mortal from disruptive forces (riṣ), preserving the inner rite.
Establish the inner yajña: offer thought, breath, and impulse into a disciplined host of energies.
Maṇipūra (offering-force) and Anāhata (protection/faith)
Long exhale chanting; after chanting, 12 slow breaths feeling a ‘protective wind’ around the body.
Collected devotion with confident strength.
Chant once, then inwardly ‘place’ (dadhīmahi) your day’s actions into the offering: name three actions and offer them; ask the Marut-force to guard you from haste, harsh speech, and dispersion (riṣaḥ).
Triṣṭubh: keep udatta emphasis on ‘marutsu’, ‘stomam’, ‘yajñam’, ‘pānti’; resolve softly on pāda endings to convey protection.
Slightly stress ‘dadhīmahi’ (establishing act) and ‘pānti martyaṃ riṣaḥ’ (protective assurance).
marutsu: ‘ts’ cluster; keep short ‘u’, dadhīmahi: aspirate ‘dh’; long ‘ī’, stomam: clear ‘st’ cluster, yajñam: ‘jñ’ conjunct (ny-like, not ‘gy’); nasalization light, riṣaḥ: retroflex ‘ṣ’; visarga audible but soft
Steady, protective, communal; not overly forceful.
1
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
