Rig Veda 6.46.8: Mandala 6, Sukta 46, Mantra 8
Sukta 6.46
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यद्वा तृक्षौ मघवन्द्रुह्यावा जने यत्पूरौ कच्च वृष्ण्यम् । अस्मभ्यं तद्रिरीहि सं नृषाह्येऽमित्रान्पृत्सु तुर्वणे ॥
yád vā tṛkṣáu maghavann druhyā́vā́ jané yát pūráu kác ca vṛ́ṣṇyam | asmábhyaṃ tád rirīhi sáṃ nṛṣā́hye 'mítrān pṛtsú turváṇe ||
അല്ലെങ്കിൽ, ഹേ മഘവൻ, തൃക്ഷിയിലും ദ്രുഹ്യുവിലും മനുഷ്യരിടയിൽ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പൂരുവിൽ, നീ സ്ഥാപിച്ച വൃഷണ്യ (കാളസമാനമായ വിജയപരാക്രമം) ഏതായാലും—അത് ഞങ്ങള്ക്കു ദാനമാക്കുക; നൃഷാഹ്യ (പുരുഷരെ ജയിക്കുന്ന) യുദ്ധത്തിൽ, പൃത്സു (സംഘർഷങ്ങളിൽ) തുർവണേ (വേഗധാവനയിൽ), ഞങ്ങൾ ശത്രുബലങ്ങളെ ജയിക്കേണ്ടതിന്.
Word by Word
- यद्
- if/when; that whichIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्तार्थक अव्यय (relative particle)Root यद् (यद्-प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्पार्थक निपातRoot वा (निपात)
- तृक्षौ
- O Tṛkṣi (name of a patron/king)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; लोक. एकवचन (vocative singular)Role सम्बोधनRoot तृक्षि (प्रातिपदिक; जन/वंश-नाम)
- मघवन्
- O Maghavan (bountiful one; Indra)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (vocative singular)Role सम्बोधनRoot मघवन् (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्र-विशेषण)
- द्रुह्यावा
- O Druhyāvan (name/epithet of a patron)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (vocative singular)Role सम्बोधनRoot द्रुह्यावन् (प्रातिपदिक; जन/वंश-नाम)
- जने
- among people; in the clanNounपुंलिङ्ग; लोक. एकवचन (locative singular)Role अधिकरणRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- whatever/that whichIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्तार्थक अव्यय (relative particle)Root यद् (यद्-प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
- पूरौ
- among the PūrusNounपुंलिङ्ग; लोक. एकवचन (locative singular; Vedic form)Role अधिकरणRoot पूरु (प्रातिपदिक; जन/वंश-नाम)
- कच्च
- and whether/and what (if anything)Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक/अनिश्चितार्थक निपातसमूह (kác ca)Root क (किम्-प्रातिपदिक) + च (निपात)
- वृष्ण्यम्
- manly might; heroic strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular)Role कर्मRoot वृष्ण्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वीर्य/बल’)
- अस्मभ्यम्
- to usPronounउभयलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी बहुवचन (dative plural)Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- तत्
- that (boon/aid)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (accusative singular)Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- रिरीहि
- grant; bestowVerbलोट् (imperative); मध्यम पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot √रि / √री (री-गत्यर्थ/प्रेरणार्थ; Vedic usage ‘to bestow/bring’)
- सम्
- together; whollyIndeclinableउपसर्ग (intensifier/collective)Root सम् (उपसर्ग)
- नृषाह्ये
- in man-conquering aid/powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (locative singular)Role अधिकरणRoot नृ-साह्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘men-conquering power/aid’)
- अमित्रान्
- enemiesNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन (accusative plural)Role कर्मRoot अमित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृत्सु
- in battlesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी बहुवचन (locative plural)Role अधिकरणRoot पृत्/पृत्स् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘battle’)
- तुर्वणे
- in the act of overpowering/assaultNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (locative singular)Role अधिकरणRoot तुर्वण (प्रातिपदिक; ‘overpowering/assailing’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: (1) मघवन्द्रुह्यावा → मघवन् द्रुह्यावा (final -न् before d-)
- (2) यत्पू॒रौ → यत् पूरौ (t + p)
- (3) कच्च → क च (kím/ka + ca, Vedic contraction)
- (4) अस्मभ्यं तद्रि॑रीहि → अस्मभ्यम् तत् रिरीहि (anusvāra before dental; tat + r-)
- (5) नृ॒षाह्ये॒ऽमित्रा॑न् → नृषाह्ये अमित्रान् (avagraha = initial a- after e)
- (6) अमित्रा॑न्पृ॒त्सु → अमित्रान् पृत्सु (n + p)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet asks Indra to grant to the worshippers the same bull-like victorious strength (vṛṣṇyam) that Indra once bestowed on famed human clans—Tṛkṣi, Druhyu, and Pūru—so that they may conquer hostile powers in battles and clashes.
Inner meaning
The ‘clans’ are inner lineages of force in the seeker: established formations of will and mentality that once received Indra’s luminous power. The prayer is to recover that same Indric might—an illumined, victorious energy of the awakened mind—so the sadhaka can overcome the ‘amitra’ (inner enemies: doubt, inertia, desire, obscurity) in the psychological battle where consciousness is contested.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress repeats a perennial pattern: the higher Light that once built strength in humanity can be re-invoked in the individual. The victory is not by personal ego-force but by a borrowed, descending power of illumination that turns conflict into transformation.
Themes
victory-in-battle, archetypal-precedent, hostile-forces-overcome
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.1, RV 6.28, RV 6.45, RV 6.46
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa-Bārhaspatya line: seers of the inner Fire (Agni) and the illumined Word (Bṛhaspati), strongly oriented to psychological conquest and right ordering (ṛta) through mantra.
Significance
Bharadvāja’s Indra hymns repeatedly seek not merely outer victory but the release of light, strength, and right action—Indra as the awakener of the luminous mind in the human instrument.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Maghavan (Bounteous), Girvaṇas (Delighted in hymns), Vṛtrahan (Slayer of the Coverer), Purandara (Breaker of strongholds)
- Related deities
- Agni, Bṛhaspati, Soma, Maruts, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Lord of the luminous Mind who breaks obstructions and releases the streams of light, power, and wideness for the worlds.
Inner power
Illumination-force: decisive clarity, courage, and victorious mental energy that smites obscurity and establishes right movement.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotras in Soma-yajña contexts (general)
यद्वा॑ तृ॒क्षौ म॑घवन्द्रु॒ह्यावा जने॒ यत्पू॒रौ कच्च॒ वृष्ण्य॑म् । अ॒स्मभ्यं॒ तद्रि॑रीहि॒ सं नृ॒षाह्ये॒ऽमित्रा॑न्पृ॒त्सु तु॒र्वणे॑ ॥
यत् । वा॒ । तृ॒क्षौ । म॒घ॒ऽव॒न् । द्रु॒ह्यौ । आ । जने॑ । यत् । पू॒रौ । कत् । च॒ । वृष्ण्य॑म् । अ॒स्मभ्य॑म् । तत् । रि॒री॒हि॒ । सम् । नृ॒ऽसह्ये॑ । अ॒मित्रा॑न् । पृ॒त्ऽसु । तु॒र्वणे॑ ॥
yat | vā | tṛkṣau | magha-van | druhyau | ā | jane | yat | pūrau | kat | ca | vṛṣṇyam | asmabhyam | tat | rirīhi | sam | nṛ-sahye | amitrān | pṛt-su | turvaṇe
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Strong, forward-driving cadence suited to invocation and combat imagery.
Builds resolve and uplift; the listener feels a ‘march’ of will, helpful for summoning courage and concentrated force.
- मघवन् (maghavan)
- Literal: bountiful, giver of gifts (Indra). Symbolic: the Divine Mind that lavishly bestows energies of realization
- वृष्ण्यम् (vṛṣṇyam)
- Literal: bull-like strength, virile might. Symbolic: irresistible luminous force of victorious consciousness
- अमित्र (amitra)
- Literal: non-friend, enemy. Symbolic: hostile formations in nature: ignorance, desire, fear, depression
- पृत्सु (pṛtsu)
- Literal: in battles, conflicts. Symbolic: inner struggle between light and the coverer in mind-life-body
- नृषाह्य (nṛṣāhya)
- Literal: man-conquering. Symbolic: power that masters the human lower nature and its impulses
Battle/victory prayer in Soma context; also a general request for Indra’s transmitted heroic force (vṛṣṇya) from ancestral exemplars.
During Indra praises in Soma pressing or offering sequences; also as a prayer for victory/protection.
Recitation/chant with offering and intention for overcoming adversities.
Used as a mantra of inner strength before challenging work, conflict-resolution, or for breaking habits of discouragement and inertia.
vṛṣṇya ‘virile/bull-like’ from vṛṣan ‘bull’ (strength, fertilizing power). maghavan from magha ‘gift, bounty, plenitude’. nṛ-sāhya: nṛ ‘man’ + √sah ‘overcome’, ‘man-overpowering’. pṛt ‘fight’ root √pṛt/pṛd ‘to contend’ (battle lexicon).
transmission of divine power through lineages (archetypal precedent), inner battle as pṛt (clash of forces), victory over hostility (amitra)
Victory is the restoration of ṛta against the anṛta forces (amitra) that distort movement.
Indra’s might is effective when aligned with truth-seeing, not ego-assertion.
Re-enactment of the archetypal battle: obstruction is broken so powers of light can act in the human field.
Proto-Vedantic / Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent and descent of consciousness through symbolic combat.
Bull-like force = concentrated prāṇic-mental power under illumination; battle = inner tapasya where lower resistances are confronted.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The precedent of Indra empowering ancestral heroes/tribes; the mythic motif is the ‘gift of victory-force’ bestowed by Indra. Psychologically, earlier attainments of strength are invoked as archetypes to be reawakened in the present seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sah in nṛ-sāhya continues an Indo-European ‘overcome/endure’ semantic core; vṛṣan ‘bull’ as emblem of potency is widespread in IE poetics (bull/ox strength imagery), though lexical cognacy varies by branch.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra to reallocate a known divine endowment (vṛṣṇya) from exemplary recipients to ‘us’, implying that the hymn and sacrifice reopen the channel of that power for present inner and outer contests.
Invoke Indra as luminous decisiveness: ‘Let the higher mind’s strength act in me.’
maṇipūra (will/force)
Moderate ujjāyī or steady nāḍī-śodhana before chanting; feel power gathering in the navel and rising to the brow.
Dynamic concentration (tapas) with clear mental light.
Recall a past moment of clarity/victory; offer it upward; ask for the same Indric force to descend into present conflict; end with quiet witnessing so force does not become agitation.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā tradition; preserve udātta peaks on invocatory words (e.g., maghavan) and action-verbs.
Keep the main udātta on the accented syllables marked in the Saṃhitā text; avoid flattening—let svarita ‘fall’ be audible but controlled.
ṛ in tṛkṣau is a short vocalic ‘ri’, dh in druhyāv is aspirated (not ‘druyav’), ṣ in nṛṣāhye is retroflex; keep ṛ + ṣ distinct, pṛtsu: keep ṛ clear; do not insert extra vowel
Firm, bright, forward-projected; avoid shouting—aim for ‘steel clarity’.
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