Rig Veda 8.73.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 73, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.73
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Aśvins
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
उप स्तृणीतमत्रये हिमेन घर्ममश्विना । अन्ति षद्भूतु वामवः ॥
úpa stṛṇītam átraye hiména gharmám aśvinā | ánti ṣád bhūtu vām ávaḥ ||
हे अश्विनौ! अत्रीसाठी, शीतलतेसह घर्म (उष्ण पेय/तपोरस) पसरवा. तुमचे अवः (सहाय्य/अनुग्रह) आमच्या निकट येऊन आमच्यात स्थिर होवो.
Word by Word
- उप
- near, towards; (as preverb) up/nearIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root उप (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- स्तृणीतम्
- (you two) spread/strewn (it)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपदRole Kartā (अश्विनौ) / क्रियाRoot स्तृ (स्तृणोति) + उपसर्ग उप
- अत्रये
- for AtriNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान), एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot अत्रि (ऋषिनाम)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपात (हेतौ/निश्चये)Root हि (निपात)
- हिमेन
- with snow/with coldNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot हिम
- घर्मम्
- the hot drink (gharma), warm offeringNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचनRole KarmaRoot घर्म
- अश्विना
- O Aśvins (you two)Noun (dual deity name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा, द्विवचन (Vedic: vocative = nominative-form common)Role Kartā (सम्बोधन) / संबोधितRoot अश्विन् (द्विवचन-देवता)
- अन्ति
- near, in the presenceIndeclinableअव्यय (देश/समीपार्थ)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अन्ति (अव्यय)
- सत्
- being; existentParticipleवर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (of भूतु) / विधेयRoot सद् (अस् ‘to be’) → सत् (वर्तमानकृदन्त)
- भूतु
- let it be; may it becomeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot भू
- वाम्
- of you two; yourPronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन (enclitic)Role (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)Root युष्मद्
- अवः
- help, aid, protectionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (of भूतु) / विषयRoot अवस्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): उप | स्तृणीतम् | अत्रये | हि | हिमेन | घर्मम् | अश्विना | अन्ति | सत् | भूतु | वाम् | अवः । 1) स्तृणीतम् = उप + स्तृणीतम् (उपसर्ग-योग; बाह्यसन्धि नहीं, केवल उपसर्ग-संयोग)
- 2) षद्भूतु → सत् भूतु: त् + भ् → द्भ् (व्यञ्जनसन्धि), तथा सत् का रूप पाठ में षद्- (Vedic orthography/phonetic assimilation) के रूप में। 3) वा॒मव॑: → वाम् अवः: म् + अ → मव (अनुस्वार/व्यञ्जनसन्धि; पदान्त म् के बाद स्वर आरम्भ होने पर संयोग)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Aśvins are asked to spread (prepare) for Atri the warm ghr̥ma (hot offering/heat) together with coolness, and to make their help present and settled near at hand.
Inner meaning
The twin divine healers are invoked to harmonize tapas (inner heat of aspiration) with śānti/prasāda (cool clarity). For the seer-consciousness (Atri) they “spread out” a balanced field where fervor does not become agitation, and calm does not become inertia—so their restoring force becomes established within the being.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress needs a right blending of intensity and calm: the fire of will must be tempered by a luminous coolness so that help from higher powers can become stable in the inner nature.
Themes
Atri, Healing, Balance of forces, Ritual symbolism (gharma)
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.40 (Atri and the recovery of the sun/illumination), RV 8.73 (Atri’s appeal to the Aśvins)
Family tradition
Ātreya seers; hymns often carry a tone of healing, rescue, and the establishment of light after obscuration.
Significance
Atri symbolizes the concentrated seer-will that can endure inner heat and call down restoring forces; in Aurobindonian reading, Atri’s experience points to the recovery and stabilization of illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvins
- Epithets
- Nā́satyā (truth-protecting), Dasrā (wondrous/skillful), Yāmahūtamā (most invoked on the journey), Nediṣṭha (nearest)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Sūrya, Indra, Agni, Soma
Cosmic role
Twin gods of transition and restoration—ushers of dawn-movements, physicians of the gods, swift rescuers who bridge night to day and disorder to harmony.
Inner power
Rapid descending help that heals splits between mind-vital-body; brings right measure, rhythm, and integrality (yoga of balance).
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvina śastra / morning invocations; also thematically aligned with Pravargya imagery (gharma) though this verse is in a Rigvedic Aśvin hymn context.
उप॑ स्तृणीत॒मत्र॑ये हि॒मेन॑ घ॒र्मम॑श्विना । अन्ति॒ षद्भू॑तु वा॒मव॑: ॥
उप॑ । स्तृ॒णी॒त॒म् । अत्र॑ये । हि॒मेन॑ । घ॒र्मम् । अ॒श्वि॒ना॒ । अन्ति॑ । सत् । भू॒तु॒ । वा॒म् । अवः॑ ॥
upa | stṛṇītam | atraye | himena | gharmam | aśvinā | anti | sat | bhūtu | vām | avaḥ
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3 pādas of ~8 syllables each
Quick, bright, and forward-moving; suited to urgent invocation and swift response.
Creates a compact surge of aspiration; the repeated cadence supports calling the help ‘near’ and fixing it inwardly.
- upa stṛṇītam
- Literal: spread out, lay down (as a covering/seat). Symbolic: prepare an inner ground/field for descent; arrange the psychological conditions for grace
- atraye (Atri)
- Literal: for Atri. Symbolic: for the seer-mind that aspires and receives illumination
- himena
- Literal: with coolness, with snow/cold. Symbolic: cool clarity, pacifying wideness, soothing healing force that quiets rajasic disturbance
- gharmam
- Literal: warmth/heat; the ghr̥ma vessel/oblation in Pravargya. Symbolic: tapas, concentrated inner heat; fervor that ripens consciousness
- aśvinā
- Literal: O two Aśvins. Symbolic: twin powers of swift help—illumined vitality and illumined mind; harmonizers and healers
- anti
- Literal: near. Symbolic: immediate accessibility in the heart-consciousness
- sad bhūtu
- Literal: may it be seated/established. Symbolic: may the higher aid become stable, not momentary
- avaḥ
- Literal: help, protection, favor. Symbolic: saving grace; effective assistance that removes inner disorder
Connected with Aśvin help to Atri; may allude to the Pravargya/Gharma complex (heated offering), though RV usage is earlier—invokes balancing heat and coolness in the rite and in the being.
Dawn or early morning recitations; moments seeking healing, safe passage, or restoration.
Invocation and offering; ‘gharma’ suggests warming/pressing/setting the offering-vessel and calling the twins to partake.
Use as a balancing mantra when practice becomes too heated (over-effort) or too dull—invoking calm strength and swift inner aid.
स्तृणीतम् from √stṛ 'to spread, strew, lay out' (ritual preparation also). घर्म (gharmá-) 'heat, hot drink/oblation' from √ghṛ/ghar 'to heat' (cf. Germanic warm-related semantic parallels are typological, not direct). हिम (hima-) 'cold, frost' from √him 'to be cold'. The juxtaposition himena gharmam suggests a harmonizing of extremes—psychologically, tempering the inner heat of tapas with cooling clarity.
Tapas balanced by clarity, Healing through harmonization of opposites
The Aśvins restore ṛta by harmonizing opposing forces (heat/cool, effort/grace).
‘sad bhūtu’—a prayer that the help become true and settled as an abiding fact of consciousness.
Balance of heat and cooling as a creative condition for the dawning of higher light.
Vedantic-yogic (Aurobindo/Kashyap style psychological reading)
dawn/early morning (Aśvin time)
transitional season imagery (cool/heat interplay)
Tapas tempered by peace: the inner climate that allows higher forces to descend and remain.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Aśvins aiding Atri through a paradoxical remedy—heat laid out with cold—an archetype of divine physicians who restore by right proportion. The inner action is the tempering of ardor (gharma/tapas) with tranquil lucidity (hima).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √stṛ 'spread' corresponds to an old IE root *ster- 'spread/strew' (cf. Greek stornymi 'spread', Latin sternere). The concrete ritual verb becomes a psychological metaphor: arranging the conditions for divine force to settle.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Atri is both recipient and archetypal aspirant: the Aśvins serve by 'preparing' a remedial condition. The rishi’s invocation invites the divine physicians to operate directly on the inner energies.
Unite aspiration (inner heat) with calm lucidity; invite swift healing help to become stable in the heart and nerves.
Anāhata (heart) for ‘anti…avaḥ’ (near help) and Ājñā for cool clarity balancing tapas.
Nāḍī-śodhana or slow alternate breathing: inhale ‘gharmam’ (gather force), exhale ‘himena’ (cool and widen).
Quietly alert receptivity (prasanna-cit) with steady will.
If effort becomes strained, pause; invoke the Aśvins as harmonizers—let calm descend first, then reapply will with right measure.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita per Śākala tradition; key lift often felt on invocatory names (aśvinā) and request-words (avaḥ).
Keep ‘aśvinā’ clear and bright; let the refrain ‘anti ṣad bhūtu vām avaḥ’ be even and settling, with a gentle downward resolution on ‘avaḥ’.
stṛṇītam: vocalic ṛ (as in ‘kr̥’), not ‘ri’, himena: short i, clear aspiration on h, gharmam: voiced gh-; keep ‘rma’ conjunct tight, aśvinā: ś (palatal), not s, anti: dental n, light t, avaḥ: final ḥ audible, not dropped
Clear, warm, and steady; soften slightly on the refrain to ‘seat’ the help inwardly.
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