Rig Veda 10.32.8: Mandala 10, Sukta 32, Mantra 8
Sukta 10.32
- Devata
- Vasu / Mother-source in a symbolic developmental scene
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Karuna (compassion)
अद्येदु प्राणीदममन्निमाहापीवृतो अधयन्मातुरूधः । एमेनमाप जरिमा युवानमहेळन्वसुः सुमना बभूव ॥
adyéd u prá̄́ṇīd ámaman imā́ áhā́pīvṛto adhayann mātúr ū́dhaḥ | émenam āpa jarímā yúvānam áheḷan vásuḥ sumánā babhūva ||
Hari ini sungguh ia telah menghembuskan nafas dan membentuk hari-hari ini; dilingkupi, ia meminum puting-ambing Sang Ibu. Demikian usia menimpanya, meski ia muda; namun sang pemberi harta (Vasu), tanpa murka, menjadi berhati gembira.
Word by Word
- अद्य
- todayIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्यय (today)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अद्य (अव्यय)
- इदु
- indeedIndeclinableनिपात/एवकारार्थ (indeed, just)Root इदु (निपात)
- प्राणि
- the living being (creature)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KartāRoot प्राणि (प्राणिन्- प्रातिपदिक)
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- अमम्
- ateVerbलुङ् (aorist); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRoot अम् (धातु; अम् = to eat) / अम (प्रातिपदिक as object-form)
- अन्नि
- foodNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (वेदिक रूप)Role KarmaRoot अन्नि (अन्नि- प्रातिपदिक; ‘food’/‘grain’)
- इमम्
- this (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इम (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आह
- saidVerbलिट् (perfect); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRoot अह् (धातु; to say) / आह (परिपूर्ण-रूप)
- अपि
- alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/सम्भावना (also; even)Root अपि (अव्यय)
- आवृतः
- covered, enclosedParticipleभूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot आ-वृत् (धातु; to cover, surround) / आवृत (कृदन्त)
- अधयत्
- sucked/imbibedVerbइम्पर्फेक्ट् (लङ्); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRoot अधि-या (धातु; to go to, approach; in Vedic also ‘to suck/imbibe’ in context) / अधयत्
- मातुः
- of the motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole SambandhaRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊधः
- udderNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot ऊधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- एमे
- went/has goneVerbलिट् (perfect); आत्मनेपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRoot इ (धातु; to go) / एमे
- एनम्
- himPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot एतद्/एन (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आप
- reachedVerbलिट्/लुङ्-सम्भाव्य (वेदिक); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRoot आप् (धातु; to reach, obtain) / आप
- जरिमा
- old ageNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (वेदिक रूप: जरिमा)Role KartāRoot जरिमन् (प्रातिपदिक; old age, decay)
- युवानम्
- the young (man)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अहेळन्
- not hostile, uninjuringAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole Viśeṣaṇa (of वसु:)Root हेल्/हिड् (धातु; to be angry, to injure) / अ-हेळन् (नञ्-समास/विशेषण)
- वसुः
- the good one/benefactor (Vasu)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुमना
- kindly disposedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole Viśeṣaṇa (of वसुः)Root सु-मनस् (प्रातिपदिक; good-minded, gracious)
- बभूव
- becameVerbलिट् (perfect); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; एकवचनRoot भू (धातु; to be) / बभूव
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (major): अद्येदु → अद्य + इदु
- प्राणीदम् → प्राणि + इदम्
- अममन्नि → अमम् + अन्नि
- निमाह → इमम् + आह
- आपीवृतो → अपि + आवृतः
- अधयन्मातुरूधः → अधयत् + मातुः + ऊधः
- एमे॑नमाप → एमे + एनम् + आप
- जरिमा युवा॑नम् (no sandhi)
- अहेळन्वसुः → अहेळन् + वसुः
- सुमना बभूव (no sandhi). Accent marks in the source are Vedic (udātta/svarita) and are not re-applied per pada here
The meaning
Outer meaning
Today he breathed forth and formed these days; encompassed, he drank the Mother’s udder. Age came upon him though he was young; yet the beneficent giver, unangered, became happy-minded.
Inner meaning
A power of becoming ‘breathes forth’ (prāṇīt) and shapes the rhythms of time-experience (‘these days’). Encompassed by the Mother-principle (mātṛ—Aditi/Prakṛti as nurturing infinity), he draws sustaining essence from her ‘udder’—the inexhaustible nourishment of consciousness-force. Though the movement enters time and thus ‘age’ touches it, the inner Vasu (beneficent power) remains unangered (aheḻan), retaining luminous goodwill (sumanā). This describes the soul-force or divine power consenting to evolution: entering limitation without losing its benevolence.
Universal truth
Life in time brings change and aging, yet when rooted in the Mother-source, the inner beneficence can remain serene and generous, turning limitation into a field of growth.
Themes
inner growth and nourishment, time pressure on embodied being, divine goodwill
The seer
Significance
A compact evolutionary psychology: emanation into time, nourishment from the Mother, confrontation with temporality, and preservation of benevolent consciousness—close to the Aurobindonian reading of the Veda as the story of the soul’s unfolding in Nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Vasu (beneficent power) with Mother-source (Aditi/Prakṛti motif)
- Epithets
- Vasu, Sumanā (happy-minded), Aheḻan (unangered)
- Related deities
- Aditi (Mother of the gods), Āpas (nourishing waters), Soma (nourishing delight)
Cosmic role
Sustains and distributes the riches of existence; mediates the Mother’s nourishment into formed life and time.
Inner power
A stable benevolence in evolution—capacity to remain kind, generous, and luminous under pressure of time and change.
In ritual
Where it is used
Reflective verse; can accompany nourishment/abundance symbolism in Soma context; psychologically a teaching on growth, time, and maintaining divine benevolence
अ॒द्येदु॒ प्राणी॒दम॑मन्नि॒माहापी॑वृतो अधयन्मा॒तुरूध॑: । एमे॑नमाप जरि॒मा युवा॑न॒महे॑ळ॒न्वसु॑: सु॒मना॑ बभूव ॥
अ॒द्य । इत् । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । प्र । आ॒णी॒त् । अम॑मन् । इ॒मा । अहा॑ । अपि॑ऽवृतः । अ॒ध॒य॒त् । मा॒तुः । ऊधः॑ । आ । ई॒म् । ए॒न॒म् । आ॒प॒ । ज॒रि॒मा । युवा॑नम् । अहे॑ळन् । वसुः॑ । सु॒ऽमनाः॑ । ब॒भू॒व॒ ॥
adya | it | oṃ iti | pra | āṇīt | amaman | imā | ahā | api-vṛtaḥ | adhayat | mātuḥ | ūdhaḥ | ā | īm | enam | āpa | jarimā | yuvānam | aheḷan | vasuḥ | su-manāḥ | babhūva
48
4 pādas (approx. 12 syllables each)
Flowing, maternal, with a gentle swell; suited to nourishment imagery.
Induces a sense of being held and fed by a larger Presence; softens reactivity (aheḻan).
- प्राणी॑त् (prāṇīt)
- Literal: breathed forth, set in motion by breath. Symbolic: emanation of life-force; awakening of prāṇa as creative impulse
- अममन् (amamann)
- Literal: formed, fashioned. Symbolic: ordering of time-experience and inner rhythms
- अहा (ahā)
- Literal: days. Symbolic: successive states of consciousness in evolution
- अपिवृतः (apīvṛtaḥ)
- Literal: encompassed, surrounded. Symbolic: held within the Mother’s vastness; protected by the greater consciousness
- मातुः ऊधः (mātuḥ ūdhaḥ)
- Literal: mother’s udder. Symbolic: source of nourishment—Ananda/Śakti feeding the growing being
- जरिमा (jarimā)
- Literal: aging, decay. Symbolic: the law of time/limitation touching the embodied process
- वसुः (vasuḥ)
- Literal: good giver, beneficent one. Symbolic: a benign divine power in the being that continues to bestow
Reflective verse; can accompany nourishment/abundance symbolism in Soma context; psychologically a teaching on growth, time, and maintaining divine benevolence
Contemplative recitation for healing, patience with time, and reconnection to the Mother-source
A mantra for those feeling ‘worn by time’: remember the inner youth that drinks from the Mother’s inexhaustible strength.
√man ‘to think, form in mind’ supports a psychological reading: the shaping of ‘days’ as structured consciousness-experience. ū́dha ‘udder’ is a Vedic nourishment-symbol: the Mother as the plenitude-source feeding the growing inner being. jarímā ‘aging’ is not merely bodily old age but the pressure of Time/limitation upon embodied consciousness. aheḷan (a- + heḷ-) marks the divine’s non-reactive benevolence: the power remains su-manāḥ (well-minded) even as limitation touches the evolving being.
formation of experience (man-), Time/limitation (jarimā), benevolence without wrath (aheḷan)
Implied: the forming of ‘days’ suggests ordered succession rather than chaos.
Aheḻan/sumanā: truth of the soul’s unaffected benevolence.
Emanation into time and sustaining by the Mother—creation as nursing of forms by infinite source.
Aditi-centered cosmology; evolutionary theism (inner soul-force consenting to time).
day
Breath = life-force awakening; milk = descending nourishment of consciousness; day = successive inner states; aging = pressure of limitation.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The young one nourished at the Mother’s udder, yet touched by jarimā (Time/aging): a mythic image of the soul-force entering embodied cycles, fed by the primal source but encountering limitation—while the beneficent power remains unangered and supportive.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √man ‘think’ relates to PIE *men- (mind; cf. Latin mens). √bhū ‘become’ relates to PIE *bʰuH- ‘be, grow’ (cf. English be). The nourishment lexicon (ū́dha) participates in inherited pastoral-poetic diction common to IE traditions.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi contemplates and records a developmental law: divine nourishment precedes, and continues through, the encounter with Time. The devatā-function is sustaining harmony (su-manāḥ) in the practitioner despite the pressures of limitation.
Receiving nourishment from the Mother-source; maintaining ‘unangered benevolence’ amid time-pressure.
Anāhata (sumanas—happy heart) with support from Sahasrāra (Mother-source)
Slow coherent breathing (5–6 breaths/min). On inhale: ‘apīvṛtaḥ’ (I am held). On exhale: ‘aheḻan’ (I release irritation).
From fatigue/irritation to held, replenished calm.
Visualize a white-gold stream (milk-light) descending into the heart; let the sense of inner youth remain untouched by external aging; practice kindness as a discipline of truth.
Notated svaras not provided; chant gently with elongated vowels on ‘mātur ūdhaḥ’ to evoke nourishment.
Pause after ‘imāhā’; soften on ‘mātur ūdhaḥ’; firm, calm close on ‘aheḻan vasuḥ sumanā babhūva’.
ūdhaḥ: long ū, aspirated dh, visarga audible, aheḻan: keep ḻ sound distinct if your tradition supports it; otherwise careful ‘ḍ’/‘l’ approximation, jarimā: clear ‘ri’ and long ā
Soft, maternal warmth; minimal force.
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.
