Rig Veda 8.43.13: Mandala 8, Sukta 43, Mantra 13
Sukta 8.43
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
उत त्वा भृगुवच्छुचे मनुष्वदग्न आहुत । अङ्गिरस्वद्धवामहे ॥
utá tvā bhṛgúvac chúce manuṣvád agna ā́huta | aṅgirasvád dhavāmahe ||
ഇനിയും ഞങ്ങൾ നിന്നെ വിളിക്കുന്നു, ഹേ ശുചി ദീപ്തനായ അഗ്നേ—ഭൃഗുക്കളെപ്പോലെ, മനുവിനെപ്പോലെ, അങ്കിരസുകളെപ്പോലെ ആഹുതനായവനേ; പ്രാചീന ആകാംക്ഷയുടെ ജ്വാല ഞങ്ങളിലേയ്ക്ക് യഥാവിധി ജാഗ്രതയാകട്ടെ.
Word by Word
- उत
- and, alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/उपपद-निपात (अव्यय)Root उत (निपात)
- त्वा
- you (as object)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचन (अक्), पुं/नपुं (सामान्य-प्रयोग)Role KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- भृगुवत्
- like the BhṛgusAdverbial (comparative manner) / Adjectiveअव्ययवत् प्रयोग: ‘भृगु-वत्’ = भृगु-इव (तुल्य-प्रकारेण)Root भृगु (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
- शुचे
- O pure/bright oneNoun (vocative epithet)संबोधन एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root शुचि (प्रातिपदिक) / शुच् (धातु ‘to shine, be pure’ से विशेषण)
- मनुष्वत्
- like Manu / in the manner of ManuAdverbial (manner) / Adjectiveअव्ययवत् प्रयोग: ‘मनु-वत्’ = मनुष्या इव/मनु-रीत्याRoot मनु (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounसंबोधन एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- आहुत
- O invoked/offered-to (one)Participle (past passive) used as vocative epithetक्त-प्रत्ययान्त; संबोधन एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (अग्नेः विशेषणम्): ‘आहुतः’ (पदपाठे प्रायः आहुत)Root आ-हु (धातु) → आहुत (कृदन्त, क्त)
- अङ्गिरस्वत्
- like the AṅgirasesAdverbial (manner) / Adjectiveअव्ययवत् प्रयोग: ‘अङ्गिरस्-वत्’ = अङ्गिरसां इव/तद्वत्Root अङ्गिरस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
- हवामहे
- we invoke/call uponVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot ह्वे/ह्वा (धातु ‘to call, invoke’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: भृगु॒वच्छु॑चे → भृगुवत् + शुचे (त् + श् → च्छ्)
- मनु॒ष्वद॑ग्न → मनुष्वत् + अग्ने (त् + अ → द्, Vedic sandhi)
- अ॒ङ्गि॒र॒स्वद्ध॑वामहे → अङ्गिरस्वत् + हवामहे (त् + ह → द्ध्, Vedic sandhi)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We invoke bright Agni as the Bhṛgus invoked him, as Manu invoked him, and as the Aṅgirasas invoked him.
Inner meaning
The aspirant calls the inner Flame in continuity with the ancient lineages of inner discovery: Bhṛgu (the discoverers of fire/ardor), Manu (the law-giver of right human formation), and the Aṅgirasas (the seers who break the cave and bring out the rays). Psychologically, it is an invocation to awaken in oneself the primeval aspiration and the right human order that can recover hidden knowledge.
Universal truth
To kindle spiritual fire effectively, align with tested inner traditions: aspiration (Bhṛgu), right human law and formation (Manu), and illumined effort that releases concealed light (Aṅgirasas).
Themes
Agni-invocation, Seer-lineage, Kindling of inner fire, Purification, Knowledge-light (implicit Aṅgiras motif)
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.43.1-24
Significance
The rishi-voice situates personal practice inside a transpersonal continuum: the ‘ancestors’ are inner powers and perfected modes of aspiration, suggesting that mantra awakens a collective Vedic memory in consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Śuci (bright/pure), Āhuta (the invoked)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspired flow), Indra (illumined mind), Bṛhaspati (word/soul-force that breaks the cave)
Cosmic role
First-born of the sacrifice; purifier; messenger; awakener of the seer-vision.
Inner power
Psychic flame that purifies and intensifies aspiration; awakens the ancestral capacities of illumination.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni invocation at offerings; remembrance of pravara/ancestral seer-lineage in spirit (though not literal pravara here)
उ॒त त्वा॑ भृगु॒वच्छु॑चे मनु॒ष्वद॑ग्न आहुत । अ॒ङ्गि॒र॒स्वद्ध॑वामहे ॥
उ॒त । त्वा॒ । भृ॒गु॒ऽवत् । शु॒चे॒ । म॒नु॒ष्वत् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । आ॒ऽहु॒त॒ । अ॒ङ्गि॒र॒स्वत् । ह॒वा॒म॒हे॒ ॥
uta | tvā | bhṛgu-vat | śuce | manuṣvat | agne | āhuta | aṅgirasvat | havāmahe
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4 × ~8 syllables
Enumerative and lineage-evoking; each comparison adds a step of intensity.
Builds a sense of ancestral support and cumulative invocation; the mind feels ‘joined’ to a greater stream of practice.
- भृगुवत् (bhṛguvat)
- Literal: like the Bhṛgus. Symbolic: intense ardor and the discovery/kindling of the inner fire
- मनुष्वत् (manuṣvat)
- Literal: like Manu / in the human way. Symbolic: right human formation, ethical order, disciplined mind-life
- अङ्गिरस्वत् (aṅgirasvat)
- Literal: like the Aṅgirasas. Symbolic: seer-force that breaks obstruction and releases rays of knowledge
- शुचे (śuce)
- Literal: O bright/pure one. Symbolic: purifying illumination; clarity in the will
- आहुत (āhuta)
- Literal: invoked/offered to. Symbolic: the inner call that makes the presence active and responsive
General Agni-invocation for kindling (agnyādhāna / daily agnihotra ethos); inwardly: establishment of the will-to-truth through repeated offering (āhuti) and remembrance of the seer-tradition.
At the start of hymnic praise when establishing Agni’s presence
Calling Agni with lineage-epithets while offering ghee/samid
Invoke Agni by recalling three supports: ardor (Bhṛgu), right discipline (Manu), and illumined effort (Aṅgiras); use as a prelude to study/meditation.
śucé < √śuc ‘to shine, be bright, be pure’ (voc. sg.); ā́huta < ā-√hu ‘to call, invoke; to offer into’ (ppp., voc./nom.); havāmahe < √hū ‘to call’ (1pl middle); manuṣvát ‘in human-wise’ (adv. -vat); bhṛguvát / aṅgirasvát analogical -vat ‘according to the manner of’. The triad Bhṛgu–Manu–Aṅgiras encodes transmission of the Fire: primordial discoverers → human lawgiver → inspired seer-clan.
Ṛta (right working/order through correct kindling and invocation), Tapas (inner heat/ardour sustained by offering), Transmission of sacred knowledge (paramparā of the Fire)
Manuṣvat indicates aligning the human instrument with ṛta—right law and measure.
Śuci (purity) is the condition for satya to be reflected without distortion.
Fire ‘rediscovered’ in humanity: the eternal flame re-manifests through successive awakenings in time.
Integral Vedic psychology: collective evolution of consciousness through seer-lineages.
Brightness = clarity; ancestral fire = latent spiritual capacity; invocation = activating dormant powers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the transmission and correct re-kindling of Agni through the archetypal lineages (Bhṛgus, Manu, Aṅgirasas). Outwardly it recalls priestly succession; inwardly it is the reawakening of the primeval Flame of aspiration/illumination in the human being by aligning with the ‘right method’ (ṛta) discovered by the seers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √hū ‘call, invoke’ (havāmahe; āhuta) corresponds to PIE *ḱeuH- / *ḱleuH- ‘call/hear’ in the wider Indo-European semantic field of invocation and audition (cf. the ritual centrality of ‘calling’ and ‘hearing’). √śuc ‘shine’ is part of the Indo-European brightness lexicon (PIE *ḱeu̯k- ‘shine’ is often compared in scholarship, though exact alignment is debated); the verse foregrounds luminosity as the sign of the divine Fire.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker positions himself as heir to the seer-tradition: Agni is approached not as a distant god but as a power that becomes present when invoked ‘as the seers invoked’. The reciprocity is: human offering/invocation (āhuti, havāmahe) → divine descent as clarifying flame (śuci) that establishes right action (Manu) and illumined discovery (Aṅgiras).
Call the inner flame through threefold remembrance: ardor, discipline, illumined breakthrough.
Manipura (will) with support from Anahata (psychic sincerity)
Three-part breath: inhale (bhṛguvat—ignite), hold gently (manuṣvat—steady law), exhale (aṅgirasvat—release obstruction)
Invocatory, energized, connected to a deeper memory-stream.
Before japa, silently affirm: ‘May the ancient aspiration awaken; may my human nature consent to right law; may hidden light be released.’ Then chant 3, 9, or 27 times.
Tri-svara with clear udātta rises on vocatives and seer-names where accented in the recensional tradition.
Keep the three comparisons distinct: bhṛgu-vat | manuṣ-vat | aṅgiras-vat—slight pause after each for clarity.
śuce: pronounce ‘śu’ (palatal) not ‘su’, manuṣvat: retroflex ‘ṣ’ crisp, aṅgirasvat: nasal ‘ṅ’ before ‘g’; avoid splitting aṅ-gi-ras awkwardly
Bright, slightly uplifted tone to match śuci (radiance).
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