Rig Veda 1.74.6: Mandala 1, Sukta 74, Mantra 6
Sukta 1.74
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
आ च वहासि ताँ इह देवाँ उप प्रशस्तये । हव्या सुश्चन्द्र वीतये ॥
ā́ ca vahāsi tā́m̐ iha devā́m̐ úpa práśastaye | havyā́ su-candra vītáye ||
Dan engkau membawa mereka ke sini—para dewa—mendekat demi pujian yang sempurna, wahai yang bercahaya indah, untuk penerimaan yang gembira akan persembahan.
Word by Word
- आ
- hither, towards (preverb ‘to/near’)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषण)Root आ (उपसर्ग) / ā (preverb)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक निपातRoot च (निपात) / ca
- वहासि
- you convey/bringVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √वह् (वहति) / vah ‘to carry, convey, bring’
- तान्
- those (them)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / tad
- इह
- hereIndeclinableदेशवाचक अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot इह (अव्यय) / iha
- देवान्
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक) / deva
- उप
- near, up toIndeclinableउपसर्ग/समीपार्थक अव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) / upa
- प्रशस्तये
- for praise (for the act of laudation)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot प्रशस्ति (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक) / praśasti ‘praise, laudation’
- हव्या
- oblations (offerings)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (वैदिक रूप; = हव्याः/हव्यानि ‘oblations’)Role KarmaRoot हव्य (नपुं. प्रातिपदिक) / havya ‘oblation, that which is to be offered’
- सुश्चन्द्र
- O bright/shining oneAdjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRoot सु- + चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) / suścandra ‘very bright, fair-shining’
- वीतये
- for the (ritual) enjoyment/feast (participation)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot वीति (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक) / vīti ‘enjoyment, feast; (ritual) reception/participation’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (वैदिक संधि-विच्छेद): आ | च | वहासि | तान् | इह | देवान् | उप | प्रशस्तये | हव्या | सु-श्चन्द्र | वीतये । 1) ‘सुश्चन्द्र’ = ‘सु’ + ‘चन्द्र’ (उपसर्ग/उपपद ‘सु-’ के कारण श्च- संयोग)
- 2) ‘तान्’ (तद्) + ‘इह’ में संधि नहीं (नासिक्य/अनुस्वार-परिवर्तन नहीं किया गया)
- 3) ‘हव्या’ वैदिक प्रयोग में नपुंसक बहुवचन कर्मपद (हव्यानि) के अर्थ में आता है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is invoked to bring the gods here near, so the praise may be perfectly offered and the oblations joyfully received.
Inner meaning
Agni, the awakened divine Will in the seeker, becomes the inner Hotṛ and devayāna carrier: he gathers the higher powers (devas) into the field of consciousness so that the soul’s aspiration (praśasti) becomes effective and the offered energies (havyā)—works, breath, attention—are accepted and transmuted into luminous delight.
Universal truth
When the will is purified and made luminous, it naturally draws supportive forces of truth into one’s life; right aspiration brings right powers, and offerings made in clarity return as joy and increase.
Themes
Agni as messenger, Invocation of the gods, Inner sacrifice (self-offering), Rita-aligned praise
The seer
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.74, RV 1.75, RV 1.76 (traditionally connected to Gotamas in this section)
Family tradition
Gautama seers, noted for hymns where Agni is the mediator of ascent and the organizer of the inner rite; the style often emphasizes right praise (stoma) as a force of realization.
Significance
Gotama’s vision frequently presents Agni as the practical yogic power that converts aspiration into a living contact with the devas—an inner technology of invocation and reception.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Hotṛ, Devayāna (carrier on the godward path), Su-candra (fair-radiant)
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas, Savitar
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine; establisher of the sacrifice; opener of the paths; summoner of the gods to the rite.
Inner power
The flame of conscious will and discernment that calls higher states into the mind and heart and ensures the offering is received in truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni invocation within soma-less and soma rites; Hotṛ sections calling devas to the vedi
आ च॒ वहा॑सि॒ ताँ इ॒ह दे॒वाँ उप॒ प्रश॑स्तये । ह॒व्या सु॑श्चन्द्र वी॒तये॑ ॥
आ । च॒ । वहा॑सि । तान् । इ॒ह । दे॒वान् । उप॑ । प्रऽश॑स्तये । ह॒व्या । सु॒ऽच॒न्द्र॒ । वी॒तये॑ ॥
ā | ca | vahāsi | tān | iha | devān | upa | pra-śastaye | havyā | su-candra | vītaye
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (triṣṭubh cadence)
Forward-driving, declarative, with a summoning momentum suited to invocation and arrival.
Builds a sense of ‘drawing near’—the listener feels gathering, concentration, and descent of supportive presence.
- आ वहासि (ā vahāsi)
- Literal: thou bringest / carriest hither. Symbolic: the awakened will draws down higher powers into present awareness
- देवान् (devān)
- Literal: the gods. Symbolic: illumined faculties and cosmic powers (truth, wideness, strength, delight) entering the inner sacrifice
- उप प्रशस्तये (upa praśastaye)
- Literal: near for perfect praise. Symbolic: bringing the powers close to the heart-mind so aspiration becomes exact, effective, and harmonious
- हव्या (havyā)
- Literal: oblations. Symbolic: offered energies—works, breath, sensations, thoughts—given to be refined
- सुचन्द्र (su-candra)
- Literal: fair-radiant, beautiful-mooned. Symbolic: Agni’s clear, cool-luminous aspect: steady light that makes offering pleasant and accepted
- वीतये (vītaye)
- Literal: for enjoyment/acceptance. Symbolic: joyful reception and assimilation of the offering by the higher consciousness
Hotṛ-function: Agni as the conveyor of the gods to the yajña; used in invitatory/praise sequences where the deities are ‘brought near’ to the offering.
At the opening/inviting phase (āvāhana) and during praise before offering acceptance
Kindling/maintaining fire; recitation to invite devas; offering ghee/oblations
Before meditation or any focused work: light a lamp, offer breath and intention inwardly, and invite clarity, strength, and peace to ‘sit near’ in awareness.
vahāsi: √vah ‘to carry, convey’ (PIE *weǵh- ‘carry’; cf. English ‘weigh’ is unrelated; cf. Latin vehō). pra-śastaye: pra- + √śaṃs ‘to praise, recite’ (also ‘proclaim’). candra ‘shining, bright’ from √cand ‘to shine, be pleasing’. vīti: from √vī/√ve ‘to pursue, enjoy, accept’ in ritual idiom ‘acceptance/enjoyment of the offering’.
Descent of powers (avataraṇa motif in Vedic terms: devā āgamanam), Vāc as effective praise (śaṃs), Reciprocity of offering and grace (vīti)
Agni is the executor of ṛta: he aligns aspiration, word, and offering so the descent of the devas is lawful and effective.
True praise is not flattery but exact naming of inner realities; when speech is satya, powers respond.
Invocation as a microcosmic creation: calling the luminous principles into manifestation within the human field.
Proto-Vedāntic and integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): devas as powers of consciousness, yajña as inner transformation.
Fire = will and aspiration; ‘moon-radiance’ = calm luminous mind that can receive and assimilate higher influences.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the psychopomp/messenger who ‘brings the gods’: the ritual mythologem of devayāna (path of the gods) is internalized as the movement of aspiration that invites higher powers to take their seat in the practitioner.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vah ‘carry’ corresponds to a well-attested PIE carrying root (*weǵh-), showing inherited ritual semantics: the ‘carrier’ mediates between realms. The preverb system (ā, upa, pra-) displays the inherited Indo-European capacity to encode fine spatial/psychological directionality.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s praise (pra-śasti) is not descriptive but operative: it creates the conditions for approach (upa) and descent. Agni responds by effecting the bridge—bringing the devāḥ into the ‘here’ of embodied practice.
Invite higher faculties into the present: clarity (light), courage (force), harmony (order), delight (soma-like sweetness).
Anāhata–Maṇipūra axis (heart aspiration + will-fire)
Gentle inhalation as ‘ā-vahana’ (drawing in), exhalation as ‘havis’ (offering); 6–6 count for steadiness.
Collected, receptive, luminous concentration.
Begin with a brief inner offering: name what you give (restlessness, doubt) and what you call (truth, wideness). Feel Agni as a steady flame that brings the devas ‘near’—not as imagination, but as awakened capacities.
Follow śākala accents: primary udatta on marked syllables; svarita on following dependent tones; anudatta in unmarked low tones (requires śikṣā-guided learning).
Keep udatta slightly raised and clear on key verbs/nouns (vahāsi, devān, praśastaye, vītaye); avoid flattening the cadence of triṣṭubh.
tām̐: maintain nasalization (anusvāra with nasal resonance), praśastaye: articulate śa clearly (palatal), avoid ‘sa’, su-candra: keep short u in su, and cluster -ndr- cleanly, vītaye: long ī, and dental t (not retroflex ṭ)
Bright, steady, inviting; not rushed—feel the ‘bringing near’.
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.
