Rig Veda 5.66.3: Mandala 5, Sukta 66, Mantra 3
Sukta 5.66
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
ता वामेषे रथानामुर्वीं गव्यूतिमेषाम् । रातहव्यस्य सुष्टुतिं दधृक्स्तोमैर्मनामहे ॥
tā́ vām éṣe rathā́nām urvī́ṃ gavyū́tim eṣām | rā́tahavyasya suṣṭutíṃ dadhṛ́k stomáir manāmahe ||
ഹേ ആ രണ്ടുപേരേ, രഥങ്ങളുടെ ഈ വേഗങ്ങളും അവയുടെ കിരണങ്ങളുടെ വിശാല ഗവ്യൂതി (മേച്ചൽഭൂമി/വ്യാപ്തി) നിങ്ങളുടേതാണ്. ഹവ്യം നൽകുന്നവൻ (രാതഹവ്യ) നുവേണ്ടി ഞങ്ങൾ സുഷ്ടുതി—നല്ല സ്തുതി—രചിക്കുന്നു; സ്തോമങ്ങൾ (ഹിമ്നങ്ങൾ) കൊണ്ട് അതിനെ മനസ്സിൽ ദൃഢമായി ധരിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- ताः
- those (f.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाम्
- of you two / to you twoPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (एन्क्लिटिक रूप)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- एषे
- these twoPronoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot एष (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रथानाम्
- of chariotsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole Sambandha (Genitive)Root रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- उर्वीम्
- broad, wide (track/space)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot उर्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
- गव्यूतिम्
- cattle-track; pasture-wayNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot गव्यूति (प्रातिपदिक)
- एषाम्
- of thesePronounषष्ठी, बहुवचनRole Sambandha (Genitive)Root एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रातहव्यस्य
- of the one whose oblation is given (liberal giver)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole Sambandha (Genitive)Root रातहव्य (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष: रात-हव्य)
- सुष्टुतिम्
- good praise; well-uttered hymnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सु-ष्टुति (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधृक्
- bearing; upholdingParticiple (agent noun)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot √धृ (धातु) → दधृक् (कृदन्त; ‘धारणशील/धारयन्’)
- स्तोमैः
- with praises (stomas)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- मनामहे
- we think of / we honorVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRole KriyāRoot √मन् (आत्मनेपद) / √मन्- ‘to think, to honor’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): ताः वाम् एषे रथानाम् उर्वीम् गव्यूतिम् एषाम् । रातहव्यस्य सुष्टुतिम् दधृक् स्तोमैः मनामहे ॥ मुख्य संधि-विच्छेद: (1) ता + वाम् → ताः वाम् (विसर्गः) । (2) रथा॑नाम् + उर्वीम् → रथानाम् उर्वीम् (अनुस्वार/नासिक्य-संधि नहीं; केवल पदसीमा) । (3) गव्यू॑तिमेषाम् → गव्यूतिम् एषाम् (म् + ए = पदविभाग) । (4) द॒धृक्स्तोमै॑र्मनामहे → दधृक् स्तोमैः मनामहे (क् + स् संयोग; स्तोमैः + मनामहे में विसर्ग-लोप/पदसीमा के अनुसार पृथक्करण)।
- पदच्छेद में सामान्यतः शब्द-रूप अपरिवर्तित रखे गए हैं।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet addresses Mitra–Varuṇa: the rushing movements of the chariots and their wide “cow-track/pasture” belong to you. For the giver who offers oblation, we form a well-made praise, holding it firmly with hymns in the mind.
Inner meaning
The “chariots” are the dynamic movements of the soul’s progress (yoga-journey) governed by the harmonizing Truth-powers of Mitra (concord, right relation) and Varuṇa (vastness, purity, law). The “wide gavyūti” is the broad field where rays of knowledge (go) move freely—an opened inner space of illumination. The sādhaka, as rātahavya (“one who gives/sets the offering”), offers aspiration, will, and works into the inner sacrifice; the mantra is “held firmly” (dadhṛk) in manas as a stable formation of right thought and reverent intention.
Universal truth
When consciousness aligns with truth and right harmony, the forces of progress move safely and swiftly, and knowledge expands into a wide inner pasture; praise becomes a steady mental formation that can carry aspiration beyond confusion into ordered growth.
Themes
divine movement, rays/illumination imagery, crafting praise, mind as ritual field
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.66.1-7 (Mitra–Varuṇa hymn context), RV 5.62-65 (Āditya-centered sequences in Book 5), RV 5.60 (Atri-related praise)
Family tradition
Atri’s lineage is noted for hymns to the Ādityas (Mitra–Varuṇa) emphasizing ṛta, purity, wide law, and the luminous intelligence that orders life.
Significance
Atri represents the seer of vastness and right order: the vision that reconciles harmony (Mitra) with the infinite law and purification (Varuṇa), enabling an inner sovereignty founded on truth.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- Ādityā, kāvya (seer-like, wise), pūtadakṣasā (of purified discernment, echoed in 5.66.4)
- Related deities
- Aryaman, Bhaga, Savitar, Indra (as illuminator working with ṛta)
Cosmic role
Guardians of ṛta: they uphold cosmic order, moral law, and the vast encompassing truth that stabilizes worlds and societies.
Inner power
Mitra: power of right relation, harmony, mutuality; Varuṇa: power of vast purity, inward law, conscience, and release from falsehood—together they establish clear seeing and safe progress.
In ritual
Where it is used
Mitra–Varuṇa offerings within Soma and non-Soma contexts; recited as stotra/śastra-style praise in Āditya invocations (general)
ता वा॒मेषे॒ रथा॑नामु॒र्वीं गव्यू॑तिमेषाम् । रा॒तह॑व्यस्य सुष्टु॒तिं द॒धृक्स्तोमै॑र्मनामहे ॥
ता । वा॒म् । एषे॑ । रथा॑नाम् । उ॒र्वीम् । गव्यू॑तिम् । ए॒षा॒म् । रा॒तऽह॑व्यस्य । सु॒ऽस्तु॒तिम् । द॒धृक् । स्तोमैः॑ । म॒ना॒म॒हे॒ ॥
tā | vām | eṣe | rathānām | urvīm | gavyūtim | eṣām | rāta-havyasya | su-stutim | dadhṛk | stomaiḥ | manāmahe
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
firm, forward-driving cadence suited to governance, order, and decisive inner formation
strengthens resolve and mental steadiness; supports ‘holding’ the mantra in mind while invoking wide clarity
- रथ (ratha)
- Literal: chariot. Symbolic: dynamic movement of consciousness; vehicle of progress in the inner journey
- एषे (eṣe)
- Literal: rushes, impels, moves swiftly. Symbolic: the surge of energies when the Truth-powers take the lead
- गव्यूति (gavyūti)
- Literal: cow-path, pasture, grazing ground. Symbolic: field of luminous knowledge; wide track of the rays (go = light) in the mind
- गो (go)
- Literal: cow. Symbolic: rays of light, illuminations, knowledges
- रातहव्य (rātahavya)
- Literal: giver of the oblation / one whose oblation is given. Symbolic: the aspirant who offers will, works, and inner substance to the Divine
- सुष्टुति (suṣṭuti)
- Literal: good praise. Symbolic: rightly-formed mantra-thought that builds a stable inner alignment
- दधृक् (dadhṛk)
- Literal: holding firmly. Symbolic: fixing the mind in steady remembrance and intention (dhāraṇā-like)
Stotra-formation verse: emphasizes correct mental holding (dadhṛk…manāmahe) of praise; applicable wherever stoma is ‘fixed’ for Ādityas in soma sequence.
Āditya-focused segments; dawn/daytime invocations for order, protection, and right action (generalized)
praise (stuti) accompanying offering and intention-setting for rightness
Use as a pre-meditation ‘alignment verse’: set intention for truthful speech, clean motive, and harmonious relations before work or difficult conversations.
ratha ‘chariot’ as carrier of force; psychologically: organized movement of divine energies. gavyūti: go ‘ray/illumination’ + vyūti ‘spreading, extension’ from √vī/√vyu ‘to separate, spread’ → ‘wide track of rays/knowledge’. √dhṛ supports the idea of holding the praise steadily—stability of mantra in consciousness.
mantra held in mind (manas + dhṛ), rays of knowledge (go), vastness (urvī)
Mitra–Varuṇa are primary upholders of ṛta; the ‘wide gavyūti’ images the expansion of ṛta in the mental field.
Truth is held in manas through well-formed stoma (hymn-thought), preventing dispersion into false movement.
Order as the condition for manifestation: when the law is established, the ‘chariots’ (forces) can move and the rays can spread.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral-Vedic (Aurobindonian): inner sacrifice, ascent of consciousness through truth and harmony.
morning to midday (Āditya sphere; not explicit)
A widening inner sky where illuminations can ‘graze’ freely; disciplined movement of energies under truth-guidance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythic image is the gods’ chariots moving through a ‘wide gavyūti’—a pasture/track of rays—signifying the descent and circulation of luminous powers. The human response is to ‘hold’ and ‘shape’ the stoma in mind, making consciousness itself the stable seat of the hymn.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √man ‘think’ is PIE *men- (Latin mens, English mind). √dhṛ ‘hold’ is PIE *dher- (Greek θρόνος via different pathways; more securely in Sanskrit dhar-, Avestan dar-). The cognitive-ritual vocabulary shows inherited Indo-European poetics of ‘thought as formation’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes divine energies already in motion and responds by stabilizing praise—an act of conscious participation. The offering is not only material (havya) but the well-held stuti, which becomes a bridge for the gods’ luminous tracks to enter human awareness.
Establishing inner harmony and truthful order before action; widening the field of knowledge (go) in the mind.
ājñā (clarity, right seeing) and anāhata (Mitra: harmony/relationship)
nāḍī-śodhana (gentle alternate-nostril) 6–12 rounds, then silent repetition
quiet, wide, law-abiding awareness; steady aspiration
On each recitation, feel the ‘chariot-movement’ becoming orderly; then rest in a widened inner pasture where insights can arise without strain; conclude by ‘holding’ one clear intention in manas.
Indicative only: follow pada text with Vedic accents (udātta/svarita/anudātta) as in the Śākala tradition; verify with a svara-marked edition for exact pitch movements.
Keep udātta as the raised pitch; svarita as the falling glide; avoid flattening compounds like gavyūtim and rātahavyasya—maintain clear syllabic separation.
vā́m: lengthen ā; keep v soft (not English ‘w’)., gavyū́tim: hard g; yū with long ū; don’t reduce ‘vyū’., suṣṭutím: retroflex ṣ; cluster ṣṭ clearly., dadhṛ́k: pronounce ṛ as vocalic r (ri-like), not ‘ruk’., stómair: maintain diphthong ai, not ‘e’., manāmahe: long ā in nā; final he lightly aspirated.
clear, steady, slightly resonant; emphasize firmness on dadhṛk
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