Rig Veda 2.41.20: Mandala 2, Sukta 41, Mantra 20
Sukta 2.41
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Dyāvā-Pṛthivī
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
द्यावा नः पृथिवी इमं सिध्रमद्य दिविस्पृशम् । यज्ञं देवेषु यच्छताम् ॥
dyā́vā naḥ pṛthivī́ imáṁ sídhram adyá divi-spṛ́śam | yajñáṁ devéṣu yacchatām ||
Langit dan Bumi, bagi kami pada hari ini, tegakkan yajña yang telah sempurna ini, yang menyentuh alam-alam bercahaya; tempatkan persembahan kami di kalangan para dewa—agar perbuatan manusia terpaut pada tertib ilahi.
Word by Word
- द्यावा
- the two (Heavens)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; द्विवचन (Vedic nom. du. ‘द्यावा’)Role कर्तृRoot द्याव् (प्रातिपदिक: द्यौ-/द्याव् ‘स्वर्ग’)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी; बहुवचन (enclitic gen. ‘our’)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- पृथिवी
- EarthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- इमम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- सिध्रम्
- successful / effectiveAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (इमम्… यज्ञम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root सिध्र (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सिध्र’)
- अद्य
- today / nowIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole अधिकरण (काल)Root अद्य (अव्यय)
- दिविस्पृशम्
- heaven-touching / reaching the skyAdjective (kṛdanta-based)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (यज्ञम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root दिवि- + स्पृश् (धातु √स्पृश् ‘स्पर्शने’; कृत्: स्पृश् + अच् → स्पृश; समास/कर्मधारय-बहुव्रीहि: ‘दिवि स्पृश्’)
- यज्ञम्
- sacrifice / riteNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक; from √यज् ‘यजने’)
- देवेषु
- among the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (स्थान/विषय)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- यच्छताम्
- let them direct/offer (it) / let them grantVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (Vedic injunctive/imperative sense)Role क्रियाRoot √यम् (यच्छति; ‘to extend, bestow, direct’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: द्यावा | नः | पृथिवी | इमम् | सिध्रम् | अद्य | दिविस्पृशम् | यज्ञम् | देवेषु | यच्छताम् । 1) ‘दिविस्पृशम्’ = ‘दिवि’ (loc. sg. of द्यौ-/दिव्) + ‘स्पृशम्’ (adj. ‘touching’, from √स्पृश्), compounded
- internal sandhi yields -i + s- without change. 2) ‘यज्ञं देवेषु’ shows external sandhi: final -म् before voiced dental d- commonly realized as anusvāra ‘ं’ in saṃhitā. 3) Accent as given: द्यावा॑ (udātta on -वा), पृथि॒वी (svarita/anudātta marking per pada text), सि॒ध्रम॒द्य, दि॑वि॒स्पृश॑म्, दे॒वेषु॑
- accents retained from saṃhitā reading
The meaning
Outer meaning
Heaven and Earth are asked to uphold today the accomplished sacrifice that reaches the heaven; they should set the offering among the gods.
Inner meaning
Dyāvā-Pṛthivī are the two great foundations: the higher mind/vision (Heaven) and the embodied field of life (Earth). The prayer is for a ‘sidhram’ yajña—an effective, accomplished inner work—whose reach touches the luminous planes (divispṛśam). When the higher and lower are harmonized, the offering is ‘placed in the gods’: our human effort becomes received by and integrated with higher powers, not lost in surface struggle.
Universal truth
Real transformation happens when the higher aspiration and the grounded life-nature support one integrated practice; then human action becomes a bridge to the divine order.
Themes
Cosmic pair invocation, Establishing sacrifice, Heaven-touching offering, Rite-to-divine linkage
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada (Bhārgava)
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu/Bhārgava
- Other hymns
- RV 1.159 (Dyāvā-Pṛthivī theme—elsewhere in RV), RV 2.41 (closing integration of powers)
Family tradition
A tradition that seeks the right foundations for the inner rite: aligning the higher and lower worlds within the seeker.
Significance
The seer emphasizes integral support: the sacrifice must be upheld by both the luminous above and the stable below—vision and embodiment together.
The deity
- Devata
- Dyāvā-Pṛthivī (Heaven and Earth)
- Epithets
- divispṛśa (heaven-touching—of the yajña), adruhā (faultless—appears next mantra as seat quality; allied motif)
- Related deities
- Viśve Devāḥ, Agni (mediator between Heaven and Earth), Soma (delight that unites planes)
Cosmic role
The cosmic parents who hold the worlds apart and enable manifestation; they provide the stable field and the luminous height for sacrifice.
Inner power
Dyauḥ: wideness, illumination, higher mentality. Pṛthivī: steadiness, receptivity, endurance, capacity to embody the light.
In ritual
Where it is used
General yajña support-invocation; often used to ‘establish’ the rite and connect it to the gods
द्यावा॑ नः पृथि॒वी इ॒मं सि॒ध्रम॒द्य दि॑वि॒स्पृश॑म् । य॒ज्ञं दे॒वेषु॑ यच्छताम् ॥
द्यावा॑ । नः॒ । पृ॒थि॒वी इति॑ । इ॒मम् । सि॒ध्रम् । अ॒द्य । दि॒वि॒ऽस्पृश॑म् । य॒ज्ञम् । दे॒वेषु॑ । य॒च्छ॒ता॒म् ॥
dyāvā | naḥ | pṛthivī iti | imam | sidhram | adya | divi-spṛśam | yajñam | deveṣu | yacchatām
Triṣṭubh (probable; may verge toward Jagatī depending on syllabic expansions)
44
4 × 11 (with possible Vedic resolutions)
Balanced, supportive cadence; feels like ‘upholding’ and ‘setting’ firmly.
Stabilizes the listener; gives a sense of vertical alignment—grounded yet uplifted.
- द्यावा (dyāvā)
- Literal: Heaven (dual). Symbolic: higher mind, wide luminous consciousness
- पृथिवी (pṛthivī)
- Literal: Earth. Symbolic: embodied nature, stability, the field of practice
- सिध्रम् (sidhram)
- Literal: successful, accomplished, effective. Symbolic: inner sacrifice made coherent and operative
- दिविस्पृशम् (divispṛśam)
- Literal: touching heaven. Symbolic: reaching higher planes of light/illumination
- देवेषु यच्छताम् (deveṣu yacchatām)
- Literal: place/hold it among the gods. Symbolic: establish the work in higher consciousness-powers so it bears divine result
Cosmic validation of the rite: Heaven-and-Earth are invoked to ‘place’ the sacrifice among the gods; a common Śrauta gesture to ensure the offering reaches its divine destination.
At points of consecration/establishment of the offering; transition to inviting gods to partake
Pratiṣṭhā-like setting: asking cosmic supports to uphold and connect the rite to devas
Use as a grounding-and-uplifting invocation before meditation: ‘let my practice be effective and reach the higher light’.
Dyāvā-Pṛthivī is the archaic cosmic pair. pṛthivī from pṛthu ‘broad’ (< √pṛth ‘spread’) → the wide foundation. sidhrá ‘successful’ possibly from √sidh ‘to succeed, be accomplished’ → effective completion. divi-spṛś ‘heaven-touching’ from dyu/div ‘sky, luminous’ + √spṛś ‘touch’ (PIE *spreg-/*spreh₁ ‘touch’ type). yacchatām from √yam ‘to hold, extend, restrain’ → to set in place, to establish.
Bṛhat (the Vast; divi-spṛśam as reaching the higher), R̥ta (cosmic support of right action), Bandhu (linking human rite to cosmic planes)
To ‘set the yajña among the gods’ is to align it with ṛta—so it becomes part of cosmic order.
Effectiveness (sidhram) implies truth in method: sincerity, right alignment, and coherence.
Manifestation depends on the polarities of above and below; their harmony enables divine action in matter.
Integral Vedic cosmology read psychologically: heaven/earth as planes within the seeker.
Sky = wideness and illumination; Earth = stability and embodiment; the ‘heaven-touching’ act = aspiration that remains grounded.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The cosmic-parents mythologem: Heaven and Earth as sustaining powers who authorize and support the sacrifice, enabling it to ‘touch heaven’. Innerly: higher mind (dyu) and widened foundation (pṛthivī) collaborate to establish the offering in the divine consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Dyauṣ (dyu/div) reflects PIE *dyew- ‘sky, day, shining’ (cf. Greek Zeus, Latin Iuppiter via *dyēus). pṛthivī ‘broad’ parallels IE metaphors of ‘broad earth’. The compound divi-spṛś is an archaic poetic formation typical of IE compound style.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi asks the cosmic supports to ‘place’ the yajña among the gods—an appeal for alignment between human effort and universal order. The devatās here are not personal patrons alone but structural principles that make ascent possible.
Establish the ‘two supports’: widen above the head (open sky-mind) and ground in the body (steady earth).
mūlādhāra (earth support) and sahasrāra (heaven-touching aspiration)
on inhale feel widening upward (Dyauḥ); on exhale feel grounding downward (Pṛthivī)
steady vertical alignment; quiet integration
Begin with posture stability (earth), then open attention to vastness (heaven). Offer one intention upward; then bring the received calm back into the body so the yajña becomes ‘sidhram’.
Gentle udatta on ‘dyāvā’ and ‘pṛthivī’; sustain ‘divispṛśam’ with an upward contour; settle on ‘deveṣu yacchatām’.
Make the dual invocation balanced; let ‘sidhram’ be clear and firm; end with a placing gesture in tone on ‘yacchatām’.
(dyā-vā): long ā clear; ‘dy’ conjunct, (pṛ-thi-vī): vocalic ṛ; dental th; long ī, (si-dhram): cluster ‘dhr’ voiced; no extra vowel, (di-vi-spṛ-śam): vocalic ṛ; palatal ś
steady, supportive, spacious; avoid rushing
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