Rig Veda 8.70.8: Mandala 8, Sukta 70, Mantra 8
Sukta 8.70
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
तं वो महो महाय्यमिन्द्रं दानाय सक्षणिम् । यो गाधेषु य आरणेषु हव्यो वाजेष्वस्ति हव्यः ॥
táṃ vo mahó mahā́yyam índraṃ dānā́ya sakṣáṇim | yó gādhéṣu yá ā́raṇeṣu hávyo vā́jeṣv ásti hávyaḥ ||
മഹത്തായതും മഹിമയ്ക്ക് യോഗ്യനുമായ ആ ഇന്ദ്രനെ ഞങ്ങൾ ദാനത്തിനായി—സാധനശക്തനായവനായി—ആഹ്വാനം ചെയ്യുന്നു. കടക്കാവുന്ന ആഴങ്ങളിൽയും ദൂരപ്രദേശങ്ങളിലും ഹവ്യനായവൻ; ബലത്തിന്റെ സമൃദ്ധികളിലും അവൻ തന്നേ ഹവ്യ—ആഹ്വാനം—ആയിരിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- तम्
- him / that onePronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी बहुवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महो
- of the greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (वेदिक रूप: महो = महतः)Role ViśeṣaṇaRoot महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- महाय्यम्
- great, worthy of greatnessAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role ViśeṣaṇaRoot महाय्य (प्रातिपदिक; महत्-आय्य/य्य-प्रत्ययान्त)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दानाय
- for giving / for a giftNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot दान (प्रातिपदिक; √दा ‘देने’)
- सक्षणिम्
- able, powerful, competentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role ViśeṣaṇaRoot सक्षणि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सहाय/समर्थ’)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- गाधेषु
- in the depths / in deep placesNounपुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot गाध (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आरणेषु
- in the far-lying places / in the wildernessNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot आरण (प्रातिपदिक)
- हव्यः
- to be invoked; worthy of oblationAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot हव्य (प्रातिपदिक; √हू ‘आह्वाने/यज्ञे’)
- वाजेषु
- in contests / in prizes (vāja-s)Nounपुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot वाज (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्ति
- isVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KriyāRoot √अस् (भ्वादि) ‘भवति/अस्ति’
- हव्यः
- invocable; worthy of offeringAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot हव्य (प्रातिपदिक; √हू ‘आह्वाने/यज्ञे’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (संहितायाः): तं | वः | महो | महाय्यम् | इन्द्रम् | दानाय | सक्षणिम् | यः | गाधेषु | यः | आरणेषु | हव्यः | वाजेषु | अस्ति | हव्यः । विशेषम्: ‘महो’ इति वेदिक-रूपं ‘महतः’ (षष्ठी एकवचन) ।
- ‘वाजेष्वस्ति’ = वाजेषु + अस्ति (उ + अ → व्-अवग्रह-लोप/संहितासन्धिः) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The worshippers call Indra, great and worthy, for giving; he is capable of accomplishment. He is to be invoked in the fordable depths and in far places; he is the invocation in the gains/plenitudes of strength.
Inner meaning
Indra is invoked as the great power of illumined mind for the ‘giving’ (dāna: descent of force, insight, victory). He is effective everywhere: in the depths that can be crossed (gādha: profound states of being) and in the far reaches (āraṇa: remote or subtle planes). In all ‘vāja’—moments of force, achievement, and plenitude—Indra is himself the call and the response: the awakened intelligence becomes the very mantra of progress.
Universal truth
The higher intelligence is not confined to peak experiences; it must be invoked in depths and distances—through difficulty and unfamiliar inner territory—until it becomes the constant power active in all achievements.
Themes
invocation (havya), boon-giving, victorious force, Indra as universal helper
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.70.7, Rig Veda 8.70.9
Family tradition
Book 8 Indra hymns often universalize Indra’s action across inner terrains (depths and distances), consistent with a yogic reading.
Significance
The seer stresses omnipresence of the illumined Mind in every stratum of the being—depth, height, and breadth—making invocation continuous.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- maho (great), mahāyya (worthy of greatness), sakṣaṇi (accomplisher), havya (invocable)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (word/illumination), Agni (aspiration), Soma (bliss-force)
Cosmic role
Brings victorious force (vāja), opens passages (fords) through difficulty, and reaches remote realms to establish the gods’ order.
Inner power
Competent, executive illumination—insight that translates into effective transformation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation in Soma rites; also suitable as a general ‘sarvatra-āvāhana’ (invoking the deity in all conditions).
तं वो॑ म॒हो म॒हाय्य॒मिन्द्रं॑ दा॒नाय॑ स॒क्षणि॑म् । यो गा॒धेषु॒ य आर॑णेषु॒ हव्यो॒ वाजे॒ष्वस्ति॒ हव्य॑: ॥
तम् । वः॒ । म॒हः । म॒हाय्य॑म् । इन्द्र॑म् । दा॒नाय॑ । स॒क्षणि॑म् । यः । गा॒धेषु॑ । यः । आ॒ऽअर॑णेषु । हव्यः॑ । वाजे॑षु । अस्ति॑ । हव्यः॑ ॥
tam | vaḥ | mahaḥ | mahāyyam | indram | dānāya | sakṣaṇim | yaḥ | gādheṣu | yaḥ | āaraṇeṣu | havyaḥ | vājeṣu | asti | havyaḥ
Likely Triṣṭubh (invocatory and declarative cadence typical of Indra stanzas)
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Balanced and declarative, with a ‘calling’ lift in the first half and a settling certainty in the second.
Gives steadiness and breadth; supports the feeling that help is available in every inner condition.
- महो महाय्यम् (maho mahāyyam)
- Literal: great; worthy of greatness. Symbolic: vast consciousness that can bear and enlarge the being
- दानाय (dānāya)
- Literal: for giving. Symbolic: for descent of spiritual gifts—light, strength, right joy
- सक्षणिम् (sakṣaṇim)
- Literal: able, competent. Symbolic: power that can accomplish realization, not mere inspiration
- गा॒धेषु (gādheṣu)
- Literal: in the depths/fords. Symbolic: in profound inner levels that must be crossed consciously
- आरणेषु (āraṇeṣu)
- Literal: in far places. Symbolic: in remote, subtle, or uncharted states of consciousness
- हव्यः (havyaḥ)
- Literal: to be invoked. Symbolic: ever-callable power; the divine response to aspiration
- वाजेषु (vājeṣu)
- Literal: in prizes/strengths. Symbolic: in plenitudes of force and victorious attainments
Indra-stotra for invoking the giver in Soma rites; emphasizes Indra’s availability in all ‘fields’ (gādha/āraṇa/vāja).
When seeking effective giving (dāna) and strength (vāja), especially in transitions—crossings, challenges, new undertakings.
Call-and-offer: verbal invocation with inner offering of effort; mentally place Indra in ‘depths and distances’.
Use when facing emotional depth or unfamiliar life territory: chant to invite clarity both in the ‘deep’ (shadow) and the ‘far’.
vājá- from a strength/plenitude semantic field (often ‘victorious force, abundance of energy’); havya- from √hū ‘to call/invoke’ → ‘that which is to be invoked/offered’. gādha- relates to ‘fordable depth/firm footing’ (passage through waters/difficulty).
universality of the divine power (Indra present in near and far), dāna as descent of force/grace, vāja as concentrated victorious energy
Indra as the power that makes the crossing of depths possible within right order.
Truth is ‘effective’ (sakṣaṇi): it accomplishes, not merely describes.
Extension of divine action into all zones—integral conquest of the being.
Integral yoga hermeneutic: spiritual realization must reach subconscious depths and supraconscious distances alike.
Fordable depth = workable subconscious/emotional profundity; far reaches = subtle mind and future potential; vāja = achieved potency.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as the universally invocable giver—present in crossings (gādha), in remoteness (āraṇa), and in the victorious plenitudes (vāja). Mythically, he is the power that carries the sacrificer across inner waters and extends action into the far reaches.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- havya < √hū ‘call’ corresponds to PIE *ḱlew- ‘hear’ only indirectly in function (invocation/hearing), but formally √hū is Indo-Iranian. vāja’s semantic of ‘strength/prize’ matches common IE poetic economy where ‘prize’ = ‘power gained’. The paired relative clauses (yo… ya…) are a typical Vedic syntactic parallelism.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi positions Indra as ‘sakṣaṇi’—the effective accomplisher—and invites communal reliance (vaḥ). The exchange is: invocation (havya) and magnification (mahāyya) met by dāna—descent of empowering force in all conditions.
Invoke Indra in three zones: (1) surface mind, (2) deep emotional/subconscious layers, (3) far subtle/intuitive horizon; feel one illumined power pervading all.
mūlādhāra (depths) to ājñā (far intuitive reach) integration
Three-part breath awareness: lower belly (depth), heart (middle), brow (far reach); chant once per zone.
All-terrain invocation—stable trust that illumination can act anywhere.
When stuck, ask: ‘Where am I—depth or distance?’ Then call Indra precisely there; wait for a practical directive (sakṣaṇi response).
Keep invocatory lifts on indram, dānāya, havyaḥ; maintain even cadence across the repeated yo… ya… structure.
Mark the parallelism: ‘yo gādheṣu… yo āraṇeṣu…’ with identical melodic contour; resolve firmly on ‘havyáḥ’.
mahāyyam: articulate double ‘yy’ gently but distinctly., sakṣaṇim: keep ‘kṣ’ crisp., gādheṣu: long ā; dental dh, not retroflex ḍh., āraṇeṣu: retroflex ṇ maintained.
Clear, spacious, reverent; broaden vowels on ‘maho/mahā’.
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