Rig Veda 10.8.7: Mandala 10, Sukta 8, Mantra 7
Sukta 10.8
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अस्य त्रितः क्रतुना वव्रे अन्तरिच्छन्धीतिं पितुरेवैः परस्य । सचस्यमानः पित्रोरुपस्थे जामि ब्रुवाण आयुधानि वेति ॥
asyá tritáḥ krátunā vavré antár icchán dhītíṃ pitúr eváiḥ párasya | sacasyámānaḥ pitór upásthe jā́mi bruvāṇá ā́yudhāni veti ||
Akan kerja ini, Trita, dengan kehendaknya, memilih jalan batin, mencari ilham Bapa Yang Tertinggi melalui langkah-langkahnya. Beriring dalam pangkuan Sang Bapa, berkata sebagai kaum kerabat, ia mara dengan senjata—daya-daya—roh nenek moyang.
Word by Word
- अस्य
- of this (one)Pronounषष्ठी एकवचन (पुं/नपुं)Role सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → अस्य
- त्रितः
- TritaNoun (proper)प्रथमा एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्गRole कर्तृRoot त्रित (प्रातिपदिक; देव-नाम)
- क्रतुना
- by (his) resolve/insightNounतृतीया एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्गRole करणRoot क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- वव्रे
- chose / enclosed (for himself)Verbपरस्मैपद; लिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट) ३ एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वृ (वृञ् वरणे ‘to choose/cover’)
- अन्तरिक्षम्
- the midspace, atmosphereNounद्वितीया एकवचन नपुंसकलिङ्गRole कर्मRoot अन्तरिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- छन्धीतिम्
- a covering/guarding (enclosure)Nounद्वितीया एकवचन स्त्रीलिङ्गRole कर्म (अन्तरिक्षम् के साथ समन्वित)Root छन्धीति (प्रातिपदिक; ‘छन्दस्/छन्द्’ से; ‘आवरण/आच्छादन/रक्षा’ अर्थ-सम्भव)
- पितुः
- of the fatherNounषष्ठी एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्गRole सम्बन्धRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- एव
- indeed, justIndeclinableअव्ययRoot एव (निपात)
- इः
- he (this one)Pronounप्रथमा एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्ग (वैदिक)Role कर्तृ (द्वितीय खण्ड में ‘सचस्यमानः’ के साथ सह-निर्देश)Root इ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; एष/अयम्-समूह का वैदिक रूप)
- परस्य
- of the farther/other (one), of the beyondAdjective (used substantively)षष्ठी एकवचन पुं/नपुंRole सम्बन्धRoot पर (प्रातिपदिक)
- सचस्यमानः
- associating (with), keeping companyParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रकार), प्रथमा एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्गRole कर्तृ (मुख्य क्रिया ‘वेति’ का)Root √सच् (सचँ समवाये/सहचर्ये ‘to accompany, be associated’)
- पित्रोः
- of the two parents / of the two fathersNounषष्ठी/सप्तमी द्विवचन (वैदिक रूप; ‘दो पितरों/माता-पिता’ का द्योतक)Role सम्बन्धRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपस्थे
- in the lap/seatNounसप्तमी एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्गRole अधिकरणRoot उपस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- जामि
- as kin / familiarly / in a kindred wayAdjective/Adverbial nounद्वितीया एकवचन नपुंसक (अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग सम्भव)Role कर्म/प्रकार (ब्रुवाणः के कथन-प्रकार/विषय के रूप में)Root जामि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘निकट/समान/सहोदर’ अर्थ-सम्भव)
- ब्रुवाणः
- speakingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्), प्रथमा एकवचन पुंल्लिङ्गRole कर्तृ (सह-कर्तृ; ‘सचस्यमानः’ के साथ)Root √ब्रू (ब्रूञ् वचने ‘to speak’)
- आयुधानि
- weaponsNounद्वितीया बहुवचन नपुंसकलिङ्गRole कर्मRoot आयुध (प्रातिपदिक)
- वेति
- pursues / seeks / goes afterVerbपरस्मैपद; लट् (वर्तमान) ३ एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वे (वेञ् गतौ/विन्दति-सम्बद्ध; वैदिक ‘to pursue/seek/go after’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): अस्य | त्रितः | क्रतुना | वव्रे | अन्तरिक्षम् | छन्धीतिम् | पितुः | एव | इः | परस्य || सचस्यमानः | पित्रोः | उपस्थे | जामि | ब्रुवाणः | आयुधानि | वेति || 1) पितुः + एव + इः → पितुरेवैः (संहिता-पाठ; ‘एव’ निपात-संयोग, ‘इः’ वैदिक सर्वनाम-रूप)
- 2) अन्तरिक्षम् + छन्धीतिम्: अनुस्वार/व्यञ्जन-सन्धि से संहिता में ‘अन्तरि॒च्छन्धी॒तिम्’ (क् + छ → च्छ)
- 3) पित्रोः उपस्थे: संहिता में ‘पि॒त्रोरु॒पस्थे’ (ः + उ → र् उ; विसर्ग-परिवर्तन)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Trita, by his deliberate will, chooses an inner path, seeking the supreme Father’s thought through his movements; dwelling in the Father’s lap and speaking as one of the kin, he advances with ancestral weapons/powers.
Inner meaning
Trita Āptya is the soul-ascent (a seeker-force) that turns inward (antaḥ) by conscious resolve (kratu) to recover the supramental intention (dhīti) of the transcendent Father (parasya pitā). Established in intimate union (pitror upasthe), the seeker speaks with the voice of lineage (jāmi)—the remembered truth of the forefathers (pitrya)—and proceeds armed with inherited spiritual capacities (āyudhāni) that support the inner yajña led by Agni.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a deliberate inward choice, a seeking of the highest Wisdom, and a reliance on enduring inner powers transmitted by the tradition of realized consciousness; intimacy with the Source converts effort into guided advance.
Themes
inner quest, ancestral powers as weapons, kinship with the divine source, mythic exemplar (Trita)
The seer
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.140, Rig Veda 1.141, Rig Veda 1.142, Rig Veda 1.143, Rig Veda 1.144, Rig Veda 10.8
Significance
Dīrghatamas is a paradigmatic seer of inner vision (dīrgha-tamas: ‘long darkness’ transformed into seeing), often encoding psychological ascents in mythic images; here he frames Trita as the inward-turning seeker within an Agni/ṛta narrative.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (with Trita as inner actor under the Father’s guidance)
- Epithets
- Jātavedas (knower of births), Hotṛ (priest of the sacrifice), Neta (leader), Kavi (seer-poet)
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine; kindles the sacrifice and carries offerings to the gods; establishes Ṛta through the flame of aspiration.
Inner power
The awakened divine Will in the heart that leads the inner yajña and turns the being inward toward the Father’s dhīti.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni-centered recitation within soma/fire rites; narrative verses used to support the mythic-psychological frame of the sacrifice.
अ॒स्य त्रि॒तः क्रतु॑ना व॒व्रे अ॒न्तरि॒च्छन्धी॒तिं पि॒तुरेवै॒: पर॑स्य । स॒च॒स्यमा॑नः पि॒त्रोरु॒पस्थे॑ जा॒मि ब्रु॑वा॒ण आयु॑धानि वेति ॥
अ॒स्य । त्रि॒तः । क्रतु॑ना । व॒व्रे । अ॒न्तः । इ॒च्छन् । धी॒तिम् । पि॒तुः । एवैः॑ । पर॑स्य । स॒च॒स्यमा॑नः । पि॒त्रोः । उ॒पऽस्थे॑ । जा॒मि । ब्रु॒वा॒णः । आयु॑धानि । वे॒ति॒ ॥
asya | tritaḥ | kratunā | vavre | antaḥ | icchan | dhītim | pituḥ | evaiḥ | parasya | sacasyamānaḥ | pitroḥ | upa-sthe | jāmi | bruvāṇaḥ | āyudhāni | veti
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Forward-driving, heroic cadence with room for narrative and inner movement.
Builds a sense of purposeful advance; supports concentration on resolve (kratu) and inward turning (antaḥ).
- त्रितः (tritaḥ)
- Literal: Trita, ‘the Third’ (a mythic figure). Symbolic: the striving soul-force that advances from divided nature toward a third/higher status of consciousness
- क्रतु (kratu)
- Literal: will, resolve, purposeful intelligence. Symbolic: conscious intentionality that chooses the inner path over outer dispersion
- अन्तः (antaḥ)
- Literal: within, inner. Symbolic: turning from surface life to the inner being where Agni works
- धीति (dhīti)
- Literal: thought, vision, inspired understanding. Symbolic: seer-knowledge / illumined intelligence sought from the Supreme
- पितुः परस्य (pituḥ parasya)
- Literal: of the supreme Father. Symbolic: the transcendent Origin (Satya/Ṛta) whose intention must be recovered
- एवैः (evaiḥ)
- Literal: by goings, courses, movements. Symbolic: disciplined inner movements—practice, aspiration, and progressive steps
- पित्रोः उपस्थे (pitror upasthe)
- Literal: in the lap of the Father. Symbolic: abiding in the supporting Presence; psychic intimacy with the Source
- जामि (jāmi)
- Literal: of kin, familial. Symbolic: identity with the divine lineage; speech from remembered truth
- आयुधानि (āyudhāni)
- Literal: weapons. Symbolic: spiritual powers—discernment, aspiration, endurance, mantra-force
Recitation in contexts where mythic exemplars (Trita) are evoked to support the sacrificer’s inner battle and right performance; ancillary narrative support to Agni’s function.
During Agni invocations and contextual stotras where the seer-myth grounds the rite in Ṛta.
Recitation while tending the fire and offering; contemplation of the ‘inner way’ while performing outer acts.
Use as a pre-meditation sankalpa: choosing the inner path and invoking ancestral strengths before practice.
tritá ‘third’ (from tri ‘three’) becomes a mythic persona (Trita Āptya). krátu ‘will, inspired intelligence’ from √kr (to do/make) in a specialized sense of effective intention. vavre perfect of √vṛ ‘choose’. dhīti from √dhī ‘to think, perceive’ → inspired thought/vision. sacasyamānaḥ from √sac ‘to accompany’. upastha ‘lap, support’ (upa- + √sthā ‘stand’). jāmi ‘related, akin’ (kinship term; semantic extension to ‘intimately’). āyudha from ā- + √yudh ‘to fight’ → instruments for battle; psychologically: force-forms for overcoming obstruction.
kratu (effective will), dhīti (inspired thought), return to the Father/source (para pitā)
The ‘inner way’ is alignment with Ṛta—movement guided by the Father’s dhīti rather than egoic impulse.
Truth as the Father’s intention that must be sought and embodied.
Return to the Origin: the soul’s movement back to the supreme source of order and knowledge.
Proto-Vedāntic / yogic Vedism (psychological symbolism emphasized in Aurobindo-Kashyap line).
The ‘inner way’ is the inward path of consciousness; ‘weapons’ are concentrated faculties that cut through obscurity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘hidden helper’ mythologem: Trita, often situated in concealed or pressured spaces, chooses the inward path to recover the Father’s dhīti (luminous thought). Mythically he is the one who can operate in the inner/secret domain; psychologically he represents a triadic force in the seeker that turns inward to retrieve true seeing.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The verse is built on inherited formulaic roots of action and cognition: √vṛ ‘choose’ (PIE *wel-/*wer- ‘to turn/choose’), √dhī ‘think’ (Indo-Iranian cognitive lexicon), √sac ‘accompany’ (shared Indo-Iranian), √sthā in upastha (PIE *steh₂-). The collocation of ‘choose–seek–think–go’ is typical of archaic Indo-European quest diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer presents Trita as an inner prototype: the human being can, by kratu, choose the inner route and regain dhīti from the supreme source. The gods are not distant; the relationship is ‘jāmi’—kinship—suggesting that the divine powers and the seeker’s deepest nature belong to one family of consciousness.
Choose the inner way: rest attention in the heart-flame and ask for the Father’s dhīti (true guidance).
anahata
nadi_shodhana
Collected inwardness (pratyāhāra leading to dhāraṇā).
Begin with a clear sankalpa (kratu). Feel supported ‘in the lap’ of the Source; then invoke ancestral strengths—patience, sincerity, discernment—before deeper meditation.
Mixed udātta/anudātta/svarita per Ṛgvedic accent; maintain clear udātta peaks on key verbs (vavre, icchan) and nouns (dhītim, pituh).
Keep the udātta syllable raised and steady; let svarita fall-glide immediately after; avoid modern stress accenting.
Retroflex ṭ in tritaḥ; do not dentalize., Hold long vowels: ī in dhītim, ā in āyudhāni., Keep consonant clusters clean: sacasyamānaḥ (sa-ca-sya-).
Steady, inward, resonant; let the cadence ‘advance’ without rush.
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.
