Rig Veda 1.48.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 48, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.48
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
उषो ये ते प्र यामेषु युञ्जते मनो दानाय सूरयः । अत्राह तत्कण्व एषां कण्वतमो नाम गृणाति नृणाम् ॥
uṣo yé té prá yā́meṣu yuñjáte máno dānā́ya sū́rayaḥ | atrā́ha tát kaṇvá eṣā́ṃ kaṇvá-tamo nā́ma gṛṇāti nṛṇā́m ||
Wahai Fajar, para resi yang dalam perjalanan maju-Mu mengikatkan fikiran mereka kepada pemberian—di sini sesungguhnya Kaṇva, yang paling Kaṇva antara mereka, melagukan nama orang-orang ini; kerana jiwa bertambah oleh persembahan dalam cahaya.
Word by Word
- उषः
- O DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन/प्रेष्य (Vocative-like address to Uṣas)Root उषस्- (प्रातिपदिक) < √वस्/उष् (प्रभाते दीप्तौ) (निघण्टु-परम्परा)
- ये
- who (those who)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (relative subject)Root यद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of you/your’)Root त्वद्- (सर्वनाम)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- यामेषु
- in the journeys/advances (courses)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (locative: in the courses/advances)Root याम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- युञ्जते
- they yoke / harnessVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √युज् (योजने)
- मनः
- mind, intentionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (object of ‘yoke’)Root मनस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- दानाय
- for giving, for generosityNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (for the purpose of giving)Root दान- (प्रातिपदिक) < √दा (दाने)
- सूरयः
- patrons, bountiful menNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (main subject)Root सूरि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अत्र
- hereIndeclinableदेशवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरण (here)Root अत्र (अव्यय)
- अह
- indeed, surelyIndeclinableउद्गार/निपात (emphatic particle)Root अह (निपात)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (that [deed/thing])Root तद्- (सर्वनाम)
- कण्वः
- KaṇvaProper Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (speaker/poet)Root कण्व- (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषिनाम)
- एषाम्
- of these (men)Pronounषष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (of these/of them)Root एतद्- (सर्वनाम)
- कण्वतमः
- the most Kaṇva-like / best of the KaṇvasAdjective (superlative, used as epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ-विशेषण (epithet of Kaṇva)Root कण्वतम- (प्रातिपदिक; superlative of कण्व-)
- नाम
- nameNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (object of ‘praises/utters’)Root नामन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृणाति
- praises, singsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √गॄ (स्तुतौ) / √गृ (गिरौ) (Vedic: ‘to sing/praise’)
- नृणाम्
- of men, of heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: of men)Root नृ- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolution): उषः | ये | ते | प्र | यामेषु | युञ्जते | मनः | दानाय | सूरयः | अत्र | अह | तत् | कण्वः | एषाम् | कण्वतमः | नाम | गृणाति | नृणाम् । प्रमुख संधि: (1) उषो॒ ये → उषः + ये (विसर्ग-लोप/ओ-आदेश in saṃhitā)
- (2) ते॒ प्र → ते + प्र (enclitic + particle)
- (3) अत्राह → अत्र + अह (निपात-संधि)
- (4) तत्कण्व → तत् + कण्वः (तद् + क- : त् remains, visarga not present)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Dawn, the seers who in your forward journeys yoke their mind toward giving—here Kaṇva, the most Kaṇva among them, chants the name of these men.
Inner meaning
Uṣas’ ‘forward courses’ are progressive stages of illumination. The true seers yoke (yuñjate) the mind not to desire but to dāna—offering, generosity, self-giving in the light. This is a key psychological law: illumination grows when the mind becomes an instrument of giving (attention, truth, service), not grasping. Kaṇva’s self-reference (‘kaṇvatamaḥ’) signals the archetype of the inner poet: the faculty that names (nāma gṛṇāti) the awakened powers—i.e., recognizes, articulates, and stabilizes them through mantra.
Universal truth
Awakening matures through generosity: when the mind is yoked to offering, illumination becomes stable and transmissible through truthful naming and expression.
Themes
inner-discipline, mind-yoking, self-offering, seer-lineage
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.48.1, RV 1.48.2, RV 1.48.3
Family tradition
Self-referential seer-poetry: the rishi identifies the inner function of the mantra-maker—naming and stabilizing the experiences brought by Uṣas.
Significance
Kaṇva exemplifies the disciplined seer who harnesses mind to offering; his ‘naming’ is the cognitive seal that integrates illumination into life.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- uṣo, devī
- Related deities
- Agni (inner sacrifice), Sarasvatī (speech/flow of truth), Indra (illumined mind)
Cosmic role
Leader of progressive dawns; awakener of seers; initiator of right action through light.
Inner power
She trains the mind to move forward—toward generosity, clarity, and right articulation of truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Dawn recitation emphasizing dāna (giving) as part of right living aligned with the light.
उषो॒ ये ते॒ प्र यामे॑षु यु॒ञ्जते॒ मनो॑ दा॒नाय॑ सू॒रय॑: । अत्राह॒ तत्कण्व॑ एषां॒ कण्व॑तमो॒ नाम॑ गृणाति नृ॒णाम् ॥
उषः॑ । ये । ते॒ । प्र । यामे॑षु । यु॒ञ्जते॑ । मनः॑ । दा॒नाय॑ । सू॒रयः॑ । अत्र॑ । अह॑ । तत् । कण्वः॑ । ए॒षा॒म् । कण्व॑ऽतमः । नाम॑ । गृ॒णा॒ति॒ । नृ॒णाम् ॥
uṣaḥ | ye | te | pra | yāmeṣu | yuñjate | manaḥ | dānāya | sūrayaḥ | atra | aha | tat | kaṇvaḥ | eṣām | kaṇva-tamaḥ | nāma | gṛṇāti | nṛṇām
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3 × 8
Disciplined and directive; suited to ‘yoking’ imagery.
Creates inner alignment; supports intention-setting and ethical resolve (giving in the light).
- pra yāma
- Literal: forward journeys/courses. Symbolic: progressive movements of illumination; stages of awakening
- yuñjate
- Literal: they yoke, harness. Symbolic: discipline that binds mind to a higher purpose
- manas
- Literal: mind. Symbolic: instrument of attention that can be aligned to truth
- dāna
- Literal: giving. Symbolic: offering of self, energy, knowledge; releasing grasping
- sūrayaḥ
- Literal: seers. Symbolic: inner illumined faculties; those who live by intuition
- kaṇvatamaḥ
- Literal: the most Kaṇva. Symbolic: the purest poet-seer faculty—most faithful to the mantra-vision
- nāma gṛṇāti
- Literal: chants the name. Symbolic: right naming/recognition that fixes realizations in consciousness
Morning hymn with poet’s self-identification; aligns the act of praise with the discipline of giving
Morning; also before acts of charity/teaching/mentoring.
Recite, then perform a small concrete act of giving (food, help, truthful encouragement) as an outer seal of the inner yoke.
A mantra to shift from self-focus to offering: use before work to dedicate the mind’s power to service and truth.
√yuj 'yoke' (discipline: yoking mind). dāná 'giving' from √dā 'to give' (offering as inner law). sū́ri 'seer' linked with illumination. kaṇva-tamá superlative formation (-tama). √gṛ 'sing, praise' (gṛṇāti) as a performative act establishing identity (nāma) in the light of Uṣas.
yoking of mind (yuj) as yoga-like discipline, dāna (offering) as growth principle, nāma as essence/identity in manifestation
‘Pra yāma’ expresses ṛta as progressive right movement; giving maintains the harmony of the sacrifice.
nāma-grahaṇa (right naming) is satya in cognition—recognizing what truly moves in the being.
The day (and the self) is created by repeated forward movements; the seer participates by disciplined offering.
Karmayogic-Vedic synthesis (Aurobindo): offering as the condition for stable illumination and integral action.
Dawn
Dawn = awakening; yoking = discipline; forward course = evolutionary progress of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Dawn as the condition for right human action: in her forward courses, seers yoke the mind to giving. Innerly, the awakening light makes possible the disciplined orientation of mind toward self-offering, which in turn stabilizes the soul’s true name/identity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The root √yuj (yoke) belongs to the broader IE 'yoke/join' family (cf. Latin iugum, English yoke). The poetic self-naming and lineage assertion are typical of early IE praise-poetry where the singer anchors authority through tradition.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Kaṇva positions himself as the voice that articulates the human response to Dawn: yoking mind to dāna. Uṣas is the enabling power; the rishi’s praise is the conscious act that aligns human will with that illumination.
Yoke the mind to offering; let illumination guide action and speech.
Anāhata (giving) and Viśuddha (truthful naming)
Inhale: ‘yuñjate manaḥ’ (gather/align); Exhale: ‘dānāya’ (offer). Repeat 12 cycles after chanting.
Sattvic resolve; dedicated attention.
After chanting, choose one ‘gift’ of the day (time, attention, truth, help). Offer it consciously; then observe how dawn-clarity increases.
Vedic svara; keep ‘pra yāmeṣu’ forward-leaning; articulate ‘yuñjate’ with clear nasal ‘ñj’.
Emphasize the ethical pivot ‘dānāya’; keep the final pāda steady to ‘seal’ the naming.
pra yāmeṣu: long ā; ṣ clear, yuñjate: ‘ñj’ conjunct; dental t, dānāya: long ā, sūrayaḥ: long ū; final visarga light, kaṇvatamo: retroflex ṇ; short a’s distinct, gṛṇāti: retroflex ṇ; long ā
Steady, centered, slightly solemn; clear diction.
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