Atharva Veda 20.121.1: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 121, Mantra 1

Sukta 121

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अ॒भि त्वा॑ शूर नोनु॒मोऽदु॑ग्धा इव धे॒नवः॑ । ईशा॑नम॒स्य जग॑तः स्व॒र्दृश॒मीशा॑नमिन्द्र त॒स्थुषः॑

Recitation with translationAtharva Veda 20.121.1

IAST Transliteration

abhí tvā śūra nonumo ’dúgdhā iva dhenávaḥ | ī́śānam asyá jágataḥ svàr-dṛ́śam ī́śānam indra tasthúṣaḥ

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Toward thee, O hero, we press, as unmilked kine: thee, the sovereign of this moving world, the heaven-seeing, the sovereign, Indra, of what standeth fast.

Translation

Kepadamu, wahai wira, kami mendesak dan memohon, seperti lembu-lembu betina yang belum diperah. Kepada-Mu, penguasa dunia yang bergerak ini, yang melihat langit (svardṛś), penguasa—wahai Indra—atas apa yang tegak dan tetap.

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Word by Word

• अभि: towards, unto
• अभि: Adhikaraṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)

• त्वा: you (acc.)
• त्वा: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• शूर: O hero
• शूर: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: शूर (प्रातिपदिक)

• नोनुमः: we urge on / we praise repeatedly
• नोनुमः: Kartā
• Type: Verb
• Root: नु (धातु; पुनःपुनः-प्रेरणे/स्तुतौ) + उपसर्ग निस्/नु-प्रयोगः; reduplicated perfect-like present in Vedic

• अदुग्धाः: unmilked
• अदुग्धाः: Kartā
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुह् (धातु) → दुग्ध (कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त) with privative अ-

• इव: like, as
• इव: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)

• धेनवः: cows
• धेनवः: Kartā
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)

• ईशानम्: the lord, the ruler
• ईशानम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: ईशान (प्रातिपदिक; ‘ruling, lord’)

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha (genitive)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• जगतः: of the world (moving creation)
• जगतः: Sambandha (genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)

• स्वर्दृशम्: heaven-seeing; having sight of heaven/light
• स्वर्दृशम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective (bahuvrīhi/tatpuruṣa sense: ‘heaven-seeing’)
• Root: स्वर् (प्रातिपदिक ‘heaven/light’) + दृश् (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त ‘seeing’) → समास: स्वर्दृश

• ईशानम्: the lord
• ईशानम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective (substantive)
• Root: ईशान (प्रातिपदिक)

• इन्द्र: O Indra
• इन्द्र: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun (vocative)
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• तस्थुषः: of the standing (the stationary beings)
• तस्थुषः: Sambandha (genitive)
• Type: Noun/Participle (substantivized)
• Root: स्था (धातु) → तस्थुष् (कृदन्त/परस्मैपदी-परफेक्ट participial stem in Vedic)

Attribution

Rishi: RV-derived (likely Kaṇva tradition in this cluster)

Devata: Indra

Chandas: Triṣṭubh

Mantra Rasa

Primary: vira

Secondary: adbhuta