Rig Veda 4.55.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 55, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.55
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Aditi and Sindhu
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
प्र पस्त्यामदितिं सिन्धुमर्कैः स्वस्तिमीळे सख्याय देवीम् । उभे यथा नो अहनी निपात उषासानक्ता करतामदब्धे ॥
pra pastyām aditiṃ sindhum arkaiḥ svastim īḷe sakhyāya devīm | ubhe yathā no ahanī ni-pāta uṣasā-naktā karatām adabdhe ||
Dengan madah-madah pujian aku mengangkat Aditi di rumah kediaman, dan Sindhu; aku memuja Sang Dewi demi sejahtera dan demi persahabatan—agar kedua Hari kita, ketika menurun (menjelang), yakni Fajar dan Malam, yang tidak terdaya diperdaya, membentuk bagi kita keadaan yang benar.
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- पस्त्याम्
- dwelling-place, homeNounfeminine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot पस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदितिम्
- AditiNounfeminine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिन्धुम्
- Sindhu; river/oceanNounmasculine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्कैः
- with hymns/songs of praiseNounmasculine, instrumental pluralRole KaraṇaRoot अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वस्तिम्
- well-being, welfareNounfeminine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot स्वस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
- ईळे
- I praise, I invokeVerbpresent indicative (laṭ), 1st person singular, ĀtmanepadaRoot ईळ् (धातु)
- सख्याय
- for friendship, for companionshipNounneuter, dative singularRole SampradānaRoot सख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवीम्
- the goddessNounfeminine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- उभे
- bothAdjective/Pronounfeminine, nominative dualRole KartāRoot उभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- so that, asIndeclinablecomparative/conj. particleRoot यथा (avyaya)
- नः
- for us / of usPronoungenitive/dative plural (enclitic)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अहनी
- the two days (day-pair)Nounneuter, nominative dualRole KartāRoot अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- निपातः
- at the setting/downfall (i.e., at dusk)Nounmasculine, nominative singularRole AdhikaraṇaRoot निपात (प्रातिपदिक)
- उषासा
- Dawn (and)Nounfeminine, nominative dualRole KartāRoot उषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नक्ता
- Night (and)Nounfeminine, nominative dualRole KartāRoot नक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
- कर्ताम्
- let them two make/doVerbimperative (loṭ), 3rd person dual, ParasmaipadaRoot कृ (धातु)
- अदब्धे
- O two uninjurable/unbeguiled onesAdjectivefeminine, vocative dualRole SambodhanaRoot अदब्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): प्र पस्त्याम् अदितिम् सिन्धुम् अर्कैः स्वस्तिम् ईळे सख्याय देवीम् । उभे यथा नः अहनी निपातः उषासा नक्ता कर्ताम् अदब्धे ॥ Notable: (1) स्वस्तिमीळे → स्वस्तिम् + ईळे (final -m before vowel)
- (2) नो अहनी → नः + अहनी (enclitic visarga/ḥ realized as o before vowel in saṃhitā)
- (3) उषासा नक्ता (dual nominatives; saṃhitā often shows उषासानक्ता as a close compound-like junction)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With hymns I uplift Aditi in the home and Sindhu; I adore the goddess for well-being and friendship, so that our two days—Dawn and Night—unbetraying, may shape for us the right condition.
Inner meaning
Aditi is the Infinite Mother-Consciousness—undivided wideness that releases the being from limitation. Sindhu is the great flowing current: the powerful stream of consciousness and life-force that carries the seeker forward. The rishi ‘raises’ these in the inner home (pastyām): he establishes infinity and the true current in the embodied life. ‘Svastí’ is not mere luck but a state of rightness and safe passage; ‘sakhyā’ is the intimate alliance with the divine powers. Dawn and Night together symbolize alternating illumination and assimilation: the bright opening (Uṣas) and the enveloping rest/integration (Naktā). When both are ‘adabdhe’ (unbetraying), the rhythm of practice is protected—no leakage of force, no relapse—so the full cycle of consciousness fashions a stable right state.
Universal truth
Wholeness needs both expansion and flow, both awakening and integration. A protected rhythm—illumination balanced by assimilation—creates enduring well-being and companionship with the deeper Self.
Themes
well-being, daily-cycle, integration-of-opposites, protection-in-transition
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.18, RV 4.19, RV 4.20, RV 4.26, RV 4.30
Family tradition
The Vāmadeva corpus often weaves Āditya-infinity (Aditi), truth-order, and rhythmic illumination (Uṣas) into a practical psychology of steady progress.
Significance
Vāmadeva’s seeing emphasizes wideness (Aditi) and the right alternation of inner states; he teaches that the Infinite must be brought into the ‘home’ of embodied life.
The deity
- Devata
- Aditi; Sindhu; Uṣas-Naktā
- Epithets
- devīm (goddess), adabdhe (unbetraying), ubhe ahanī (the two Days)
- Related deities
- Ādityas (Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Bhaga), Savitṛ (impeller of right movement), Soma (bliss that supports the flow)
Cosmic role
Aditi is the boundless matrix of the Ādityas; Sindhu is the great flow that bears creatures; Dawn and Night regulate the cosmic rhythm of manifestation.
Inner power
Aditi: wideness and release from constriction; Sindhu: forward flow and energetic continuity; Uṣas-Naktā: balanced cycles of opening and assimilation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Prayer for svasti across daily transitions; supports continuity of the inner work through waking and sleep, illumination and integration.
प्र प॒स्त्या॒३॒॑मदि॑तिं॒ सिन्धु॑म॒र्कैः स्व॒स्तिमी॑ळे स॒ख्याय॑ दे॒वीम् । उ॒भे यथा॑ नो॒ अह॑नी नि॒पात॑ उ॒षासा॒नक्ता॑ करता॒मद॑ब्धे ॥
प्र । प॒स्त्या॑म् । अदि॑तिम् । सिन्धु॑म् । अ॒र्कैः । स्व॒स्तिम् । ई॒ळे॒ । स॒ख्याय॑ । दे॒वीम् । उ॒भे इति॑ । यथा॑ । नः॒ । अह॑नी॒ इति॑ । नि॒ऽपातः॑ । उ॒षसा॒नक्ता॑ । क॒र॒ता॒म् । अद॑ब्धे॒ इति॑ ॥
pra | pastyām | aditim | sindhum | arkaiḥ | svastim | īḷe | sakhyāya | devīm | ubhe iti | yathā | naḥ | ahanī iti | ni-pātaḥ | uṣasānaktā | karatām | adabdheiti
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4 × ~11
Balanced and cyclical, fitting the paired theme (Dawn/Night) with a steady forward stride.
Creates a sense of protected rhythm—good for stabilizing practice and invoking wideness and flow.
- अदिति (Aditi)
- Literal: the unbound, infinite. Symbolic: infinite consciousness; the Mother-wideness that frees from limitation
- सिन्धु (Sindhu)
- Literal: river/oceanic stream. Symbolic: great current of consciousness-force; flowing movement toward the Vast
- पस्त्याम् (pastyām)
- Literal: in the home, dwelling. Symbolic: the embodied life as the ‘inner house’ where yoga must be established
- स्वस्ति (svasti)
- Literal: well-being, good going. Symbolic: right state and safe passage in the inner journey
- सख्याय (sakhyāya)
- Literal: for friendship/comradeship. Symbolic: intimacy and alliance with the divine powers; psychic companionship
- उषासा-नक्ता (uṣāsā-naktā)
- Literal: Dawn and Night. Symbolic: illumination and integration; opening and assimilating phases of sadhana
- अदब्धे (adabdhe)
- Literal: not deceived, unbetraying. Symbolic: protected energies; fidelity of the inner rhythm without leakage
Prayer for svasti across daily transitions; supports continuity of the inner work through waking and sleep, illumination and integration.
Suitable at dawn or dusk; also in domestic recitation (gṛha) for svasti and harmony.
Morning/evening japa or brief offering with water (Sindhu) and lamp (Uṣas) as symbolic supports.
Use as a ‘daily rhythm’ mantra: chant at sunrise and before sleep to balance awakening with integration and to invoke wideness (Aditi).
svasti: su- ‘good’ + asti ‘being’ (√as): well-being as ‘good existence’—a stable inner rightness. ni-√pat ‘descend’ marks rhythmic transitions; Dawn/Night are psychological alternations of illumination and assimilation/rest. adabdhe from √dabh ‘injure/deceive’: the pair is ‘unfailing’, ensuring the process is trustworthy.
Aditi (infinite wholeness), svasti (good-being), sakhya (right relation/comradeship)
Implied: the two Days fashion right state when the rhythm is faithful (adabdhe).
Truth as wideness and fidelity—no inner self-betrayal in practice.
Manifestation as rhythmic alternation (light/dark) within an underlying infinity.
Integral psychology of cycles: illumination must be assimilated; infinity must inhabit the embodied home.
dawn and night (explicit)
Dawn = awakening insight; Night = restorative integration; River = continuous movement of consciousness; Home = embodied field of practice.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘paired goddesses of transition’ mythologem: Dawn and Night, unfailing, shape the seeker’s welfare at the daily ‘descent’. Psychologically, illumination (Uṣas) and assimilation/rest (Naktā) together build stable well-being (svasti).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- asti ‘is’ from PIE *h₁es- ‘to be’ (core IE copula). uṣas ‘dawn’ corresponds to PIE *h₂éwsōs (cf. Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurora). √kṛ ‘do/make’ is an inherited high-frequency action verb in Indo-Iranian.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi seeks not only gifts but companionship (sakhya) with the goddess-powers—an intimate alliance. By adoration (īḷe) he invites Aditi’s wholeness and Sindhu’s flow into the ‘home’ (pastya), so that the alternating powers of Dawn and Night may actively craft his well-being.
Establish wideness (Aditi) in the heart-home; feel the steady current (Sindhu) carrying you through alternating phases of clarity and rest.
Anāhata (wideness/heart-space) with support from Ājñā (dawn clarity)
4-4 breathing (inhale 4, exhale 4) at dawn; 4-6 at night for integration.
Widened, held, rhythmically balanced—awake yet restful.
At dawn: open to Aditi—sense boundless space above and around. At night: offer the day into that wideness; let the ‘river’ carry residues away. Keep both phases ‘unbetraying’ by consistency.
Use standard RV accentuation from a svara-text; emphasize the paired names (uṣāsā-naktā) with clear pitch contour.
Keep pāda breaks clean; slightly lengthen long vowels in Aditi, Sindhu, svasti, uṣāsā.
: dental ‘t’, short i at end, : ‘dh’ aspirated, anusvāra ‘m’ audible, (īḻe): long ī; retroflex ḻ (often rendered as ‘ḷ’/‘ḷ’), keep it distinct from plain l, -: uṣā with retroflex ṣ; naktā with clear kt cluster
Soft, widening, devotional; let the sound ‘carry’ like a river.
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