Rig Veda 4.18.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 18, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.18
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
अवद्यमिव मन्यमाना गुहाकरिन्द्रं माता वीर्येणा न्यृष्टम् । अथोदस्थात्स्वयमत्कं वसान आ रोदसी अपृणाज्जायमानः ॥
avádyam iva mányamānā guhā́ akar índraṃ mātā́ vī́ryeṇā ní-ṛṣṭam | áthod asthāt svayám átkaṃ vásāna ā́ rodasī́ apṛṇāj jā́yamānaḥ ||
Menyangkanya seolah-olah tercela, Sang Ibu menjadikan Indra tempat persembunyian, didorong ke bawah oleh kekuatan-gagahnya sendiri. Lalu ia bangkit dengan sendirinya, mengenakan zirahnya; ketika lahir, ia memenuhi dua dunia.
Word by Word
- अवद्यम्
- a fault / blameNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अवद्य (प्रातिपदिक) < अव-√द्या/√द्यै (निन्दा/दोष) (निःसृत-भावे ‘दोष/निन्द्य’)
- इव
- as if / likeIndeclinableउपमानार्थक अव्ययRoot इव (निपात)
- मन्यमाना
- thinking / deemingVerb (participle)वर्तमानकाले शानच्-कृदन्त, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot √मन् (मन्यते) + शानच्
- गुहाकरि
- the cave-maker / one who makes (a place) hiddenAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (इन्द्रम् विशेषयति)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root गुहा (प्रातिपदिक) + √कृ (करोति) (समास/कृदन्त-प्रयोगः)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- माता
- the motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वीर्येण
- with (her) strength / valorNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot वीर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- न्यृष्टम्
- driven down / pressed downVerb (past participle)क्त-कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (इन्द्रम् अन्वेति)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root नि + √ऋष्/√ऋञ्ज् (आघात/प्रेरण) + क्त (भूतकर्मणि)
- अथ
- thenIndeclinableअनन्तरार्थक अव्ययRoot अथ (निपात)
- उदस्थात्
- he stood up / aroseVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot उद् + √स्था (तिष्ठति)
- स्वयम्
- by himselfIndeclinableस्वतन्त्रार्थक अव्ययRoot स्वयम् (निपात)
- अत्कम्
- a garment / coveringNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अत्क (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वस्त्र/आवरण’ इत्यर्थे वैदिक)
- वसानः
- wearing / clothing himselfVerb (participle)वर्तमानकाले शानच्-कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot √वस् (वसते/वसति ‘परिधान’) + शानच्
- आ
- forth / untoIndeclinableआगमन/व्याप्त्यर्थक निपातRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- रोदसी
- the two worlds (Heaven and Earth)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, द्विवचनRole कर्मRoot रोदसी (द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक; द्यावापृथिव्यौ)
- अपृणात्
- he filledVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot आ + √पॄ (पृणाति ‘पूरयति’)
- जायमानः
- being born / as he was being bornVerb (participle)वर्तमानकाले शानच्-कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot √जन् (जायते) + शानच्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेद): अवद्यम् इव मन्यमाना गुहा-करि इन्द्रम् माता वीर्येण नि-ऋष्टम् । अथ उत्-अस्थात् स्वयम् अत्कम् वसानः आ रोदसी अपृणात् जायमानः । विशेषम्: अथोदस्थात् = अथ + उदस्थात् (उद्+√स्था लुङ्)
- अपृणाज्-जायमानः = अपृणात् + जायमानः (त् + ज → ज्ज)
- गुहाकरि इति इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्
- न्यृष्टम् = नि-उपसर्गयुक्त क्त-कृदन्त (वैदिक रूप)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Mother, thinking Indra as if blameworthy, makes a cave/hiding-place for him, thrust down by his own power. Then he rises by himself, putting on armor; being born, he fills heaven and earth.
Inner meaning
The ‘Mother’ is the universal Nature (Aditi/Prakṛti) or the embodied matrix that initially conceals the emerging divine Mind-force because its intensity appears ‘dangerous’ or ‘unacceptable’ to the established order of the lower nature. Indra is ‘thrust down’ into the subconscient cave (guhā) by the very force of his destined power—compressed in latency. Then, at the right hour, he self-arises (svayam) clothed in ‘atka’ (armor): the protected, invulnerable formation of awakened consciousness. His birth is an expansion: the illumined mind fills the two worlds—inner and outer, subjective and objective—bringing a new largeness of being.
Universal truth
Higher capacities are often first hidden or suppressed by the conservative inertia of nature; yet what is true to the soul’s evolution rises inevitably, self-authorized, and widens life into greater wholeness.
Themes
concealment and revelation, misjudgment of the divine, birth of the hero-force
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1 (Agni in the secret place), RV 4.18 (Indra’s birth and victory context)
Family tradition
The Gautamas often present the gods’ births as inner processes. Vāmadeva’s hymns repeatedly use ‘guhā’ and ‘birth’ imagery to describe emergence of light from concealment.
Significance
Shows the integral yoga motif: concealment (inconscience) → emergence (awakening) → expansion (vastness filling the worlds).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Svayambhū-like (self-arising; implied by svayam), Vīryavān (mighty), Bṛhat (vast)
- Related deities
- Aditi (as Mother principle), Agni (leader of inner sacrifice), Āpaḥ (supporting release)
Cosmic role
Born power of victorious illumination that enlarges the cosmos by opening the two worlds to freer movement.
Inner power
The decisive, armored clarity that rises from the subconscient and establishes a stable, fearless wideness in consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra narratives in Soma liturgy; recited as praise to strengthen Indra’s ‘birth’ and presence in the sacrifice.
अ॒व॒द्यमि॑व॒ मन्य॑माना॒ गुहा॑क॒रिन्द्रं॑ मा॒ता वी॒र्ये॑णा॒ न्यृ॑ष्टम् । अथोद॑स्थात्स्व॒यमत्कं॒ वसा॑न॒ आ रोद॑सी अपृणा॒ज्जाय॑मानः ॥
अ॒व॒द्यम्ऽइ॑व । मन्य॑माना । गुहा॑ । अ॒कः॒ । इन्द्र॑म् । मा॒ता । वी॒र्ये॑ण । निऽऋ॑ष्टम् । अथ॑ । उत् । अ॒स्था॒त् । स्व॒यम् । अत्क॑म् । वसा॑नः । आ । रोद॑सी॒ इति॑ । अ॒पृ॒णा॒त् । जाय॑मानः ॥
avadyam-iva | manyamānā | guhā | akaḥ | indram | mātā | vīryeṇa | ni-ṛṣtam | atha | ut | asthāt | svayam | atkam | vasānaḥ | ā | rodasī iti | apṛṇāt | jāyamānaḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Dramatic narrative movement: concealment → uprising → expansion.
Energizes inner courage; the ‘ut asthāt’ moment can be voiced as a clear lift in tone and breath.
- माता (mātā)
- Literal: mother. Symbolic: Nature as the matrix of embodiment; the womb of experience that both conceals and births higher powers
- अवद्यम् (avadyam)
- Literal: blameworthy, faulty. Symbolic: the lower nature’s misreading of higher force as disruptive/forbidden
- गुहा (guhā)
- Literal: cave, hiding-place. Symbolic: the subconscient/secret heart where divine powers are concealed before emergence
- न्यृष्टम् (nyṛṣṭam)
- Literal: thrust down, driven down. Symbolic: involution into latency; compression of force prior to manifestation
- स्वयम् (svayam)
- Literal: by himself. Symbolic: self-existent ascent of the spirit-power; not dependent on outer sanction
- अत्कम् (atkam)
- Literal: armor, mail. Symbolic: protective formation of luminous consciousness; steady poise against hostile forces
- रोदसी (rodasī)
- Literal: the two worlds (heaven and earth). Symbolic: mind and life/body; inner and outer field of experience filled by awakened power
Indra praise emphasizing emergence and world-filling power; used as paradigmatic narrative for overcoming concealment.
During Indra-stotras/śastras, especially where Indra’s heroic emergence is thematically invoked.
Recitation to invoke protective victorious force; symbolic ‘arming’ of the sacrificer’s intent.
For practitioners facing inner suppression: use as affirmation that the higher force will rise in its time; pair with journaling on where one ‘hides’ power.
(a- + √vad/√vadya 'to blame') marks the motif of misrecognition: the higher force appears 'faulty' to the lower nature. 'cave' is a standard RV symbol for hidden consciousness. √sthā is establishment of a new poise. dual is cosmic polarity; 'filling' (√pṝ, ) is expansion of the realized force into both inner and outer fields.
hidden divinity in the subconscient (guhā), self-arising power (svayam), Bṛhat expansion (world-filling)
R̥ta works through concealment and timed emergence; the right hour of manifestation is part of the cosmic order.
Truth-power emerges self-authenticated, not by social/ego approval.
Involution into guhā and evolution into wide worlds; birth as expansion.
Aurobindonian psychology of involution/evolution; also resonates with Sāṃkhya-like Nature birthing powers under Purusha’s pressure (interpretive).
Cave = subconscient; armor = steady luminous formation; heaven/earth = mind/body-life field filled by awakened force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The concealment of the divine child in the cave/womb and his self-arising, world-filling birth. In the inner sense, Nature suppresses the awakening power as ‘unacceptable’, yet that power rises by its own might and expands consciousness to include both heights and earth-life.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sthā (to stand) continues PIE *steh₂- (cf. Latin stō, English stand). √pṝ/√pṛ (to fill) aligns with PIE *pelh₁-/*pl̥h₁- notions of filling/plenty (cf. Greek plḗthō 'fill', English full). The cave motif plus 'rising' is a common Indo-European poetic pattern for epiphany.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The R̥ṣi interprets the Devatā’s action as an inner law: when the higher force is pressed down, it must assume an 'armor'—a stable formation—so it can act in the worlds. The hymn becomes instruction for stabilizing awakened power in both inner realization and outer life.
Track the movement from concealment to emergence: feel the ‘hidden Indra’ in the cave of the heart/subconscient and invite the self-rising clarity.
anāhata to ājñā (heart-cave to illumined mind)
ujjāyī (gentle) or 4-6 breathing to support a ‘rising’ sensation on ‘ut asthāt’
From compressed latency to expansive, protected clarity.
On ‘guhā’, pause inwardly; on ‘ut asthāt svayam’, straighten the spine and sense ascent; end by feeling the two worlds within you filled with luminous steadiness.
Use Vedic accent discipline from an accented text; keep narrative clarity—avoid sing-song flattening.
Mark the pivot: ‘atho ud asthāt’—slight lift and firmness; keep ‘svayam’ clean and centered.
guhā: aspirate h clearly., nyṛṣṭam: pronounce ṛ and the conjunct ṣṭ distinctly., atkam: crisp tk cluster., rodasī: long ī at end.
Heroic, rising, confident
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