Rig Veda 5.4.9: Mandala 5, Sukta 4, Mantra 9
Sukta 5.4
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
विश्वानि नो दुर्गहा जातवेदः सिन्धुं न नावा दुरिताति पर्षि । अग्ने अत्रिवन्नमसा गृणानोऽस्माकं बोध्यविता तनूनाम् ॥
viśvā́ni no durgáhā jā́tavedāḥ síndhuṃ na nā́vā duritā́ti parṣi | agne atrívann ámasā gṛṇānáḥ asmā́kaṃ bodhy avitā́ tanū́nām ||
Segala laluan sukar kami, wahai Jātavedas, seberangkanlah kami melampaui kesengsaraan, seperti perahu menyeberangi sungai. Wahai Agni, dipuji dengan sujud-hormat seperti Atri, sedarlah sebagai pelindung bagi hayat-jasmani kami.
Word by Word
- विश्वानि
- all (things)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दुर्गहा
- hard-to-grasp, difficult (to overcome)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (विश्वानि इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot दुर्गह (प्रातिपदिक; दु- + ग्रह/गह ‘to seize, grasp’)
- जातवेदः
- O Jātavedas (Agni), knower of birthsNoun (epithet of Agni)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot जातवेदस् (प्रातिपदिक; जात ‘born’ + वेदस् ‘knowing’)
- सिन्धुम्
- the river / sea / streamNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-निपातRoot न (अव्यय)
- नावा
- by a boatNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot नौ (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुरिताति
- across misfortune / beyond sinIndeclinable (compound adverbial form)अव्ययीभाव-प्रायः; ‘दुरितम्’ + ‘अति’ = ‘beyond evil/over misfortune’Root दुरित (प्रातिपदिक) + अति (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ)
- पर्षि
- carry (us) across!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot पॄ (धातु; ‘to carry across, bring over’)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अत्रिवत्
- like (the seer) AtriAdverbial (comparative manner)अव्यय; ‘like Atri / in Atri’s manner’Root अत्रि (ऋषि-नाम, प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
- नमसा
- with reverence, by homageNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृणानः
- praising, singing (your praise)Participle (verbal adjective)वर्तमानकाले, आत्मनेपद-प्रायः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वक्ता/स्तोता)Role कर्ता (स्तुतिकर्ता)Root गृ (धातु; ‘to sing, praise’) → गृणान (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- अस्माकम्
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- बोधि
- be awake! be attentive!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot बुध् (धातु; ‘to awaken, notice, know’)
- अविता
- protector, helperNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ता (भवितव्य-कर्ता)Root अवितृ (प्रातिपदिक; from अव् ‘to protect, help’)
- तनूनाम्
- of (our) bodies / personsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root तनू (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्य): विश्वानि नः दुर्गहा जातवेदः | सिन्धुम् न नावा दुरिताति पर्षि || अग्ने अत्रिवत् नमसा गृणानः | अस्माकं बोधि अविता तनूनाम् || 1) दुर्गहा = दुर्गहाः (नपुं. द्वि. बहु. ‘विश्वानि’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्; छन्दोवशात् दीर्घ/ह्रस्व-रूपभेदः सम्भवः)
- 2) दुरिताति = दुरितम् + अति (अव्ययीभाव/निपातसमास-प्रायः) ‘दुरितम् अतिक्रम्य’
- 3) गृणानोऽस्माकम् = गृणानः अस्माकम् (विसर्ग + अ- आरम्भे ‘ऽ’)
- 4) बोध्यविता = बोधि अविता (इकारान्त-आदेश/यण्-सन्धि: इ + अ → य; संहितायां ‘बोध्यविता’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni Jātavedas is asked to carry the worshippers over all difficult passages and distress like a boat crossing a river; he is praised and asked to awaken as protector of their bodies.
Inner meaning
Jātavedas—knower of all births and movements—guides consciousness across inner crises and knots (durgahā, duritā). The ‘river’ is the rushing stream of life and subconscient habit; the ‘boat’ is the steady flame of will and discernment. Praised ‘like Atri’ (atrivat), Agni is urged to become fully awake as the guardian of the embodied instruments (tanūnām), preventing collapse into inertia, fear, or confusion during transitions.
Universal truth
In passages of difficulty, the awakened inner will—illumined and steadfast—becomes the vehicle that carries one beyond suffering into a safer shore of consciousness.
Themes
crossing metaphor, deliverance from distress, Agni as protector, Atri lineage memory
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.4.7, RV 5.4.8, RV 5.4.10
Family tradition
Ātreya prayers often include protection and safe passage motifs, reflecting an experiential yoga through inner difficulties.
Significance
Atri’s ‘crossing’ imagery aligns with the seer’s role as one who finds the ford from darkness to light by kindling Agni.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (Jātavedas)
- Epithets
- Jātavedas
- Related deities
- Savitṛ (guidance), Varuṇa (order), Indra (breaking obstacles)
Cosmic role
Universal knower and transformer present in all beings; guide across peril; protector of embodied existence.
Inner power
Discerning will that recognizes each movement (birth) and converts distress into progress.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective Agni prayer within soma/household contexts
विश्वा॑नि नो दु॒र्गहा॑ जातवेद॒: सिन्धुं॒ न ना॒वा दु॑रि॒ताति॑ पर्षि । अग्ने॑ अत्रि॒वन्नम॑सा गृणा॒नो॒३॒॑ऽस्माकं॑ बोध्यवि॒ता त॒नूना॑म् ॥
विश्वा॑नि । नः॒ । दुः॒ऽगहा॑ । जा॒त॒ऽवे॒दः॒ । सिन्धु॑म् । न । ना॒वा । दुः॒ऽइ॒ता । अति॑ । प॒र्षि॒ । अग्ने॑ । अ॒त्रि॒ऽवत् । नम॑सा । गृ॒णा॒नः । अ॒स्माक॑म् । बो॒धि॒ । अ॒वि॒ता । त॒नूना॑म् ॥
viśvāni | naḥ | duḥ-gahā | jāta-vedaḥ | sindhum | na | nāvā | duḥ-itā | ati | parṣi | agne | atri-vat | namasā | gṛṇānaḥ | asmākam | bodhi | avitā | tanūnām
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4×11 syllables (approx.)
Flowing, with a ‘crossing’ cadence—first half evokes difficulty, second half resolves into protection.
Soothes anxiety and strengthens endurance; evokes a felt transition from turbulence to safety.
- दुर्गह (durgahā)
- Literal: hard to pass. Symbolic: inner bottlenecks: fear, doubt, resistance, karmic knots
- दुरित (durita)
- Literal: distress, wrong-going. Symbolic: states of suffering born of ignorance and misalignment
- सिन्धु (sindhu)
- Literal: river/ocean. Symbolic: stream of life-force and subconscious currents; the great flow of becoming
- नावा (nāvā)
- Literal: boat. Symbolic: method and support of the inner fire—steady will, mantra, discernment
- पर्षि (parṣi)
- Literal: carry across. Symbolic: lead beyond a limiting state into a higher poise
- जातवेदस् (jātavedas)
- Literal: knower of births/creatures. Symbolic: fire-consciousness that knows all movements of nature and can transform them
- बोधि (bodhi)
- Literal: be awake. Symbolic: active vigilance of the divine Will in the instruments
- अविता तनूनाम् (avitā tanūnām)
- Literal: protector of bodies. Symbolic: guardian of embodied life—mind-life-body integration
Protective ‘crossing’ prayer (tāraka motif) used in rites seeking safe passage through obstacles; thematically aligned with apotropaic recitations.
During rites seeking safe passage, removal of obstacles; also in personal संकट (difficulty) moments.
Recite while offering into fire; mentally place distress into the flame.
Use in times of stress, illness, travel, or major life transitions as a mantra of safe crossing.
jātavedas- ‘knower of births’ (jāta ‘born’ + vedas from √vid ‘know’) → Agni as omniscient in processes of manifestation. nāvā ‘boat’ is a classic crossing metaphor; √pṛ/√pṝ used in sense ‘ferry across’ parallels Indo-Iranian usage (Avestan pərə- ‘cross’). √budh ‘awake/know’ (bodhi) reflects PIE *bheudh- (cf. English bid/forbid? and German bieten; more securely ‘be aware’ cf. Sanskrit budh, Greek peúthomai ‘learn’).
transition across durita (wrongness/distress) into ṛta, awakening of divine aid (bodhi), protection of embodied existence (tanū)
Crossing beyond durita is restoration to ṛta—right movement of life.
Jātavedas as truth-knower within all births; protection of tanū = truth embodied.
Becoming (births) is guided by inner fire toward conscious evolution.
Yoga of transformation: distress as resistance to be crossed, not merely avoided.
River = vital stream/subconscient surge; boat = mantra-will; fire = guiding intelligence-force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘crossing of the river’ (sindhuṃ na nāvā) as a mythic image for passage from peril to safety; inwardly, Agni ferries consciousness beyond durita—states of wrong movement and suffering—into a protected order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid in vedas (jātavedas) reflects PIE *weyd- ‘see/know’ (English wit, Latin vidēre). The crossing verb √pṛ/√pṝ (parṣi) fits an Indo-Iranian ‘ferry/cross’ semantic network; nāu- ‘boat’ is a well-known IE inheritance (Skt nāuḥ, Lat nāvis, Eng navy).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi praises ‘like Atri’ (atrivat), invoking ancestral right-utterance, and asks Agni to ‘wake’ as avitā of the embodied being: the relationship is one of guided passage—human reverence and song calling forth divine conscious protection.
Offer difficulties into the heart-fire; visualize crossing to a calmer shore of consciousness.
Anāhata (heart) with grounding to Mūlādhāra (fear/subconscient)
Lengthen exhale on ‘duritāti parṣi’; feel release of distress; brief pause after each pāda to sense ‘shore’.
Trustful endurance; vigilant calm.
Name the ‘hard passage’ inwardly, then chant once; on the second recitation, feel Agni as a steady boat; on the third, rest in quiet protection around the body.
Triṣṭubh with clear accent on ‘jātavedāḥ’ and imperative ‘parṣi/bodhi’.
Let the first pāda carry weight (difficulty); brighten and lift on ‘sindhuṃ na nāvā’.
: pronounce ‘dur-gahā’ with clear aspiration in ‘hā’., : ‘ve’ long-ish and crisp; avoid ‘jatavedas’ flattening., : keep short ‘a’ and clear ‘tr’ cluster.
Reassuring, steady; slightly softer on the distress words, firmer on ‘parṣi’ and ‘bodhi’.
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