Rig Veda 8.102.1: Mandala 8, Sukta 102, Mantra 1
Sukta 8.102
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
त्वमग्ने बृहद्वयो दधासि देव दाशुषे । कविर्गृहपतिर्युवा ॥
tvám agne bṛhád váyo dádhāsi deva dāśúṣe | kavír gṛhápatiḥ yúvā ||
ഹേ അഗ്നേ, ഹേ ദേവാ, ദാനശീലനിൽ നീ വിശാലമായ ജീവശക്തി (ബൃഹദ്വയഃ) സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നു; നീ കവി, ഗൃഹപതി, യുവാവു.
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुं; संबोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहत्
- greatAdjectiveनपुं; द्वितीया; एकवचन (कर्मणि विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot बृहत् (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; < √बृह् ‘to grow, be great’)
- वयः
- vital strength / vigorNounनपुं; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधासि
- you bestow / you placeVerbलट् (वर्तमान); परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचनRoot √धा (दधाति) ‘to place, bestow’
- देव
- O godNounपुं; संबोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- दाशुषे
- to the worshipper / giver (patron)Participle (nominalized) / Nounपुं; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दाशुष् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; परिपूर्ण/परिपक्व-परस्मैपद-परस्मैपदीय-परफेक्ट/आओरिस्टिक आधार से ‘दाश्वांस्’ परम्परा; अर्थ: ‘दाता/यजमानः’)
- कविः
- seer / wise poetNounपुं; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण त्वम्-सम्बन्धि)Root कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृहपतिः
- lord of the houseNounपुं; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण त्वम्-सम्बन्धि)Root गृहपति (प्रातिपदिक; गृह + पति)
- युवा
- youngAdjectiveपुं; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण त्वम्-सम्बन्धि)Root युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वम् | अग्ने | बृहत् | वयः | दधासि | देव | दाशुषे | कविः | गृहपतिः | युवा ।
- ‘कविर्गृहपतिर्युवा’ इति संहितायां: कविः + गृहपतिः → कविर्गृहपतिः (विसर्गस्य रेफादेशः), गृहपतिः + युवा → गृहपतिर्युवा (विसर्गस्य रेफादेशः)। ‘बृहद्वयः’ इति संहितायां: बृहत् + वयः → बृहद्वयः (त् + व → द्-व्; व्यञ्जनसन्धिः)। वैदिकस्वरचिह्नाः (॑, ॒) पाठभेद/उदात्तादि सूचयन्ति
- पदच्छेदे रूपाणि स्वररहितानि दत्तानि।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The verse praises Agni: he grants the worshipper a “vast vitality,” and is described as the inspired seer (kavi) and the youthful lord of the house (gṛhapati).
Inner meaning
Agni is the divine Will and conscious Flame in the human being. When the seeker offers (dāśuṣe) their energies, Agni establishes in them bṛhat vayaḥ—an expansive life-force and wideness of being (a larger prāṇa and consciousness capable of the yoga). As kavi, Agni is the inner knower who discerns the right movement of the sacrifice; as gṛhapati, he governs the “inner house” (the embodied nature) and keeps the psychic fire youthful (yuvā), ever-renewing aspiration rather than fatigued habit.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires an awakened inner will that both knows (seerhood) and governs (lordship). When aspiration and self-giving are sincere, the inner fire widens life into a larger, more luminous vitality that can carry higher forces.
Themes
Agni-kindling, Inner-discipline, Vast-vitality, Seer-fire
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.102.2, Rig Veda 8.102.3, Rig Veda 8.102.4, Rig Veda 8.102.5
Significance
The seer-voice here is characteristically ‘Agni-centered’: it emphasizes Agni as inner guide and house-lord, aligning with the psychological reading where the rishi’s primary realization is the governance of the inner life by the awakened flame.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- deva, kavi, gṛhapati, yuvā
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Uṣas, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine powers; carrier of offerings; awakener of the sacrifice; establishes order (ṛta) in the movements of life.
Inner power
Aspiration and will that widens the being, purifies the vital, and installs luminous governance in the ‘house’ of the body-mind.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / Agni invocation at the opening of a soma-yajña or general iṣṭi (as Hotṛ principle).
त्वम॑ग्ने बृ॒हद्वयो॒ दधा॑सि देव दा॒शुषे॑ । क॒विर्गृ॒हप॑ति॒र्युवा॑ ॥
त्वम् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । बृ॒हत् । वयः॑ । दधा॑सि । दे॒व॒ । दा॒शुषे॑ । क॒विः । गृ॒हऽप॑तिः । युवा॑ ॥
tvam | agne | bṛhat | vayaḥ | dadhāsi | deva | dāśuṣe | kaviḥ | gṛha-patiḥ | yuvā
Invocatory and declarative; compact epithets create a ‘kindling’ cadence.
Supports a steady ignition of aspiration and a feeling of inner wideness; the epithets land like successive offerings into the flame.
- अग्नि (agni)
- Literal: fire. Symbolic: divine Will; psychic flame leading the inner sacrifice
- बृहत् (bṛhat)
- Literal: vast, wide. Symbolic: wideness of consciousness; greater being (bṛhat-bhāva)
- वयः (vayaḥ)
- Literal: vitality, life-force; also ‘strength’. Symbolic: expanded prāṇa and life-energy purified for yoga
- दा॒शुषे (dāśuṣe)
- Literal: to the giver/offerer. Symbolic: the seeker who offers ego and energies into the inner yajña
- कवि (kavi)
- Literal: seer-poet. Symbolic: inner illumination/discernment guiding right action
- गृहपति (gṛhapati)
- Literal: lord of the house. Symbolic: master of the embodied nature; guardian of the inner hearth
- युवा (yuvā)
- Literal: young. Symbolic: ever-fresh aspiration; renewal of force and delight
Agni-invocation at the opening/renewal of the sacrificial act; inwardly, kindling the will and establishing vast vitality in the practitioner.
At the beginning of offerings when Agni is established as gṛhapati and invoked to empower the sacrificer.
Kindling and praising Agni; offering ghee with the intention of strength and wideness (bṛhat vayaḥ).
Before meditation or work: light a lamp/candle; offer breath and intention; invoke ‘wideness and steady will’ for the day.
√dhā (dadhāsi) is foundational: to establish the right order in the being. gṛha-pati is a key Agni epithet: Agni as indwelling flame governing the 'house' (psycho-physical system). bṛhat + vayaḥ: expansion + vitality indicates growth into Satyam-Ritam-Bṛhat through energized wideness.
Bṛhat (Vast), inner householder (gṛhapati as indweller), establishment of right force (√dhā)
Agni as gṛhapati installs ṛta in the ‘house’—harmonizing thought, life-force, and action.
Seerhood (kavi) implies truth-discerning intelligence guiding will.
The Vast (bṛhat) as a growth of being through the fire of aspiration.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-Vedic psychology (Aurobindo-Kashyap style): ascent through will and widening consciousness.
Fire = will and aspiration; house/hearth = embodied nature; youth = renewability of force; vast vitality = widened prāṇa and consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the indwelling lord (gṛhapati) who establishes vast vitality in the sacrificer: the mythic action is the enthronement of the divine fire within the human 'house' to widen and energize the being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhā (place/establish) continues PIE *dʰeh₁- (cf. Greek títhēmi, English do via Germanic developments). Agni’s role as establisher mirrors a deep Indo-European sacral idiom of 'setting' order/power in place.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- A compact exchange: the human offers (dāśuṣe) and Agni reciprocates by installing expansive vitality and inner governance—Agni becomes both guide (kavi) and ruler (gṛhapati) of the practitioner’s formation.
Kindle the inner flame as ‘seer-will’: feel it in the heart/solar plexus guiding thought and action; invite wideness (bṛhat) into the breath.
Manipura (will/force) with support from Anahata (psychic warmth).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow diaphragmatic breathing; on inhale ‘bṛhat’, on exhale ‘agne’.
Awakened, steady, quietly heroic (calm force).
Offer one habitual impulse into the flame (dāśuṣe-bhāva). Ask for ‘vast vitality’—not excitement, but a wide, luminous energy that obeys the inner seer.
Not fully inferable from the provided text; chant in a simple sāma-like recitation with clear udātta lifts on key vocatives (agne, deva).
Give a gentle lift on ‘agne’ and ‘deva’; keep epithets ‘kaviḥ gṛhapatiḥ yuvā’ distinctly articulated as three offerings.
ṛ in bṛhat is a vocalic ‘r’ (bri-hat with rolled r-quality), vayaḥ: final ḥ is a light visarga; do not drop it, gṛha: gṛ is ‘gri’ with vocalic ṛ (not ‘griha’ with i)
Warm, steady, slightly resonant in the chest.
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