Rig Veda 1.124.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 124, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.124
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अमिनती दैव्यानि व्रतानि प्रमिनती मनुष्या युगानि । ईयुषीणामुपमा शश्वतीनामायतीनां प्रथमोषा व्यद्यौत् ॥
áminatī daivyā́ni vratā́ni praminatī́ manuṣyā́ yugā́ni | īyúṣīṇām upamā́ śáśvatīnām āyatīnā́ṁ prathamóṣā́ vyàdyaut ||
ती दैवी व्रतांचे उल्लंघन करीत नाही; तरीही मनुष्यांच्या जडत्वाच्या युगांना भेदून टाकते. जे पूर्वी गेले आणि जे पुन्हा परत येतात—त्यांची नित्य उपमा व माप बनून, प्रथम उषा उजळली; आत्म्याच्या गतीला नव्याने जागवित.
Word by Word
- अमिनती
- not injuring; not violatingVerbवर्तमाने, कर्तरि, स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (वर्तमान कृदन्त-प्रयोगः: शतृ/शानच्-समकक्षं ‘-ती’), ‘(सा उषाः) अमिनती’Role KartāRoot मन् (मिनाति) / √मि (हिंसाने/क्षये)
- दैव्यानि
- divineAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot दैव्य (देव-सम्बन्धिन्) < देव
- व्रतानि
- ordinances; sacred lawsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot व्रत
- प्रमिनती
- violating; transgressingVerbवर्तमाने, कर्तरि, स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (वर्तमान कृदन्त-प्रयोगः ‘-ती’), ‘प्र-’ उपसर्गेण ‘उल्लङ्घयन्ती/क्षिण्वन्ती’Role KartāRoot मन् (मिनाति) / √मि (हिंसाने/क्षये) + प्र
- मनुष्याः
- mortals; humansNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot मनुष्य
- युगानि
- ages; generations; yokes (i.e., periods)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot युग
- ईयुषीणाम्
- of those that have gone/come (i.e., of the bygone ones)Noun (participial stem used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम् (ईयुषी- ‘गता/आगता’ स्त्री-रूपस्य)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot ईयुष् (√इ ‘गत्यर्थः’ से भूतकृदन्त/परफेक्ट-भाग)
- उपमा
- the likeness; the counterpartNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot उपमा
- शश्वतीनाम्
- of the ever-recurring; perpetualAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम् (विशेषणम्)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot शश्वत्
- आयतीनाम्
- of those that are coming; futureAdjective/Participle (used adjectivally)स्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम् (विशेषणम्)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot आयती (आ + √या ‘गमन’ → ‘आयती’ ‘आगच्छन्ती/आगामिनी’)
- प्रथमा
- the firstAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot प्रथम
- उषाः
- Dawn (Uṣas)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot उषस्
- व्यद्यौत्
- shone forth; flashed outVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KriyāRoot √द्युत् (दीप्तौ) + वि
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धि-विग्रहः): अमिनती | दैव्यानि | व्रतानि | प्रमिनती | मनुष्याः | युगानि | ईयुषीणाम् | उपमा | शश्वतीनाम् | आयतीनाम् | प्रथमा | उषाः | व्यद्यौत् । मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) ईयुषीणाम् + उपमा → ईयुषीणामुपमा (अनुस्वार/मकार-सन्धिः)
- (2) शश्वतीनाम् + आयतीनाम् → शश्वतीनामायतीनाम् (अ + आ → आ)
- (3) प्रथमा + उषाः → प्रथमोṣा/प्रथमोषा (अ + उ → ओ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Dawn does not violate divine laws, yet she breaks up human ages. She is the enduring pattern of those who have gone and those who return; the first Dawn shines out.
Inner meaning
Uṣas is the faithful power of Truth’s law (daivyāni vratāni): illumination never contradicts the deeper order. Yet she ‘breaks’ (pra-minatī) the human yugas—periods of inertia, dull repetition, tamasic habit. Dawn is both archetype and renewer: she is the measure (upamā) of past realizations and future returns, meaning the soul’s recurrent opportunities for awakening. The ‘first Dawn’ is the decisive opening in consciousness that re-initiates the journey whenever it has lapsed.
Universal truth
Authentic illumination is lawful to truth, but it disrupts stagnation; it renews life by breaking the tyranny of habit while preserving the deeper order of growth.
Themes
Ṛta-keeping, Renewal, Breaking inertia, Perennial return of dawn
The seer
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- RV 1.124.1–4 (sequence)
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa poetry often contrasts divine law (ṛta/vrata) with human limitation, emphasizing liberation by light.
Significance
Kutsa articulates a key psychological law: the higher light is simultaneously conservative of truth and revolutionary against inertia.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- prathamā (the first, initiating), śaśvatī (enduring, implied), vrata-pā (keeper of law, by sense)
- Related deities
- Ṛta (law), Savitṛ (impulsion, implied in forward movement), Agni (renewal through kindling)
Cosmic role
Maintains the divine order in cyclic time while renewing manifestation each day.
Inner power
Lawful illumination that breaks tamas without breaking truth—transformative yet harmonious.
In ritual
Where it is used
Morning Uṣas recitation; used as praise in dawn settings
अमि॑नती॒ दैव्या॑नि व्र॒तानि॑ प्रमिन॒ती म॑नु॒ष्या॑ यु॒गानि॑ । ई॒युषी॑णामुप॒मा शश्व॑तीनामायती॒नां प्र॑थ॒मोषा व्य॑द्यौत् ॥
अमि॑नती । दैव्या॑नि । व्र॒तानि॑ । प्र॒ऽमि॒न॒ती । म॒नु॒ष्या॑ । यु॒गानि॑ । ई॒युषी॑णाम् । उ॒प॒ऽमा । शश्व॑तीनाम् । आ॒ऽय॒ती॒नाम् । प्र॒थ॒मा । उ॒षाः । वि । अ॒द्यौ॒त् ॥
aminatī | daivyāni | vratāni | pra-minatī | manuṣyā | yugāni | īyuṣīṇām | upa-mā | śaśvatīnām | āyatīnām | prathamā | uṣāḥ | vi | adyaut
44
4 × ~11
Firm, slightly hammering in the middle clauses—suited to the paradox ‘does not violate / does break’.
Gives resolve to break inertia while staying aligned to a higher law; stabilizes disciplined aspiration.
- दैव्यानि व्रतानि (daivyāni vratāni)
- Literal: divine laws/vows. Symbolic: truth-principles governing inner development; invariants of consciousness
- अमिनती (aminatī)
- Literal: not violating, not injuring. Symbolic: illumination is harmonizing; it does not distort truth
- प्रमिनती (praminatī)
- Literal: breaking up, shattering. Symbolic: dissolving inertia, rigid patterns, tamasic time-cycles
- मनुष्याः युगानि (manuṣyā yugāni)
- Literal: human ages/epochs. Symbolic: psychological periods of dullness, routine, and limitation
- उपमा (upamā)
- Literal: measure, pattern, comparison. Symbolic: archetypal standard of awakening; the template of progress
- ईयुषीणाम् (īyuṣīṇām)
- Literal: of those who have gone. Symbolic: past movements of the soul; previous attainments
- आयतीनाम् (āyatīnām)
- Literal: of those who come/return. Symbolic: renewed attempts, future returns of aspiration
- प्रथमा उषाः (prathamā uṣāḥ)
- Literal: the first Dawn. Symbolic: the initiating illumination that restarts the path
Dawn invocation to maintain Ṛta (vrata) while dispelling tamasic repetition; suitable for prātaḥ recitations
When restarting a practice after lapse; at beginnings (new month, new project) as inner ‘first dawn’.
Recite at first light; then consciously renounce one inert habit (a ‘human yuga’) and reaffirm one divine law (vrata).
A mantra for habit-change with integrity: break the pattern, not the truth.
áminatī / praminatī from √mī ‘to diminish, measure’ with negation a- and prefix pra-: Dawn preserves the higher ‘measure’ (vrata) while ‘diminishing/breaking’ the lower repetitive measures (human yugāni). upamā ‘measure, likeness’ from upa- + √mā ‘to measure’ → Dawn as archetypal standard of renewal.
Ṛta (divine vrata), renewal vs. repetition (breaking ‘human yugas’), cyclic time as spiritual opportunity
Strongly implied: Uṣas keeps divine vratāni; renewal occurs within Ṛta.
Truth is preserved even as stagnation is shattered.
Cyclic recurrence with evolutionary renewal—returning dawn as soul’s repeated opportunity.
Yoga of transformation: change without disorder; revolution within truth.
dawn
Breaking of inner night (tamas) and resetting of psychological time into a new beginning.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The unfailing return of Dawn as cosmic law: she is the guardian of divine ordinances (vrata) and the breaker of merely human cycles—mythically, the ever-young goddess who returns without violating Ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The dawn archetype again reflects PIE *h₂éwsōs. The ‘measure’ semantics in √mā/√mī resonates with Indo-European poetics of cosmic order as ‘measured’ (cf. Greek métron), supporting Ṛta as a regulated pattern.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer relies on Dawn’s fidelity to higher law to transform human temporality: she keeps the divine measure while undoing limiting human measures—an explicit request for inner time to be reset toward the true rhythm.
Hold the paradox: ‘I will not violate the truth of my nature, yet I will break the inertia that imprisons it.’
mūlādhāra (tamas/habit) transforming upward toward maṇipūra (will)
Kapalabhati-light (if suitable) for 30–60 strokes, then quiet nasal breathing while chanting once slowly.
From tamasic fog to steady, courageous clarity.
Identify one ‘yuga’ (repeating loop) in your day; chant; visualize dawn-light cracking a dark shell; commit to one small lawful change aligned with your deepest value (vrata).
Maintain clear tonal contrasts; emphasize the negation/affirmation pair: ‘aminatī’ (steady) vs ‘praminatī’ (decisive).
Slight caesura after ‘vratāni’; then stronger drive through ‘praminatī manuṣyā yugāni’.
aminatī/praminatī: keep ‘tī’ long; do not blur the prefix pra-, daivyāni: ‘ai’ diphthong clear, yugāni: hard ‘g’, vy adyaut: separate ‘vy’ + ‘adyaut’; keep ‘dy’ conjunct crisp
Steady and firm; a touch more force in the ‘breaking inertia’ phrase, then soften at ‘prathamā uṣāḥ’.
3
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
