Rig Veda 5.52.4: Mandala 5, Sukta 52, Mantra 4
Sukta 5.52
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Maruts
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
मरुत्सु वो दधीमहि स्तोमं यज्ञं च धृष्णुया । विश्वे ये मानुषा युगा पान्ति मर्त्यं रिषः ॥
marútsu vo dadhīmahi stómaṃ yajñáṃ ca dhṛ́ṣṇu-yā́ | víśve ye mā́nuṣā yugā́ pā́nti mártyaṃ ríṣaḥ ||
Dalam kalangan Marut kami letakkan bagimu nyanyian pujian dan yajña kami dengan daya yang berani—mereka yang sepanjang segala zaman manusia melindungi yang fana daripada bahaya.
Word by Word
- मरुत्सु
- among the MarutsNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; बहुवचनRole अधिकारणRoot मरुत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दधीमहि
- we place / we establishVerbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot धा (धातु) < दधा- (परस्मै/आत्मनेपद-प्रयोगः)
- स्तोमम्
- a hymn of praiseNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञम्
- a sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक अव्ययRoot च (निपात)
- धृष्णुया
- with bold/impetuous (power)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन (करणे)Role करणRoot धृष्णु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘धृष्’ धातु-सम्बद्ध)
- विश्वे
- all (those)Adjective (substantive)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- ये
- whoPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मानुषा
- humanAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot मानुष (प्रातिपदिक)
- युगा
- generations/agesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot युग (प्रातिपदिक)
- पान्ति
- protectVerbलट् (वर्तमान); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot पा (धातु) ‘पालने’
- मर्त्यम्
- the mortal (man)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- रिषः
- from harm/injuryNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी; एकवचन (अपादानार्थे) — वैदिके ‘रिषः’ इति रूपम्Role अपादानRoot रिष् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘हानि/क्षति’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: मरुत्सु | वः | दधीमहि | स्तोमम् | यज्ञम् | च | धृष्णुया | विश्वे | ये | मानुषा | युगा | पान्ति | मर्त्यम् | रिषः । Sandhi: (1) मरुत् + सु → मरुत्सु (तकारस्य सत्वम्)
- (2) स्तोमं यज्ञं → स्तोमम् यज्ञम् (अनुस्वारस्य परसवर्ण/पदपाठे म्)
- (3) यज्ञं च → यज्ञम् च
- (4) धृष्णुया विश्वे → धृष्णुया | विश्वे (पदसीमा)
- (5) मर्त्यं रिषः → मर्त्यम् रिषः (अनुस्वारस्य पदपाठे म्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Among the Maruts we place for you our hymn and sacrifice with bold force—those who through all human ages protect the mortal from harm.
Inner meaning
To ‘place’ (dadhīmahi) the hymn and yajña among the Maruts is to entrust our speech and self-offering to the divine life-powers so they may carry it effectively. Across ‘human ages’ (mānuṣā yugā), these energies guard the embodied seeker from ‘riṣaḥ’—injury, breakdown, and hostile forces—especially the inner harms of wrong movement, fear, and dispersion. The verse affirms that a courageous, offered life-force becomes a long-term protection for the evolving human journey.
Universal truth
Consistent self-offering and truthful speech, joined to purified energy, protect human life across time from forces of harm and disintegration.
Themes
Invocation, Protection, Yajña as inner practice, Marut-host
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya tradition)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.44 (Agni and yajña themes), RV 5.52 (Marut sequence)
Family tradition
Atri hymns frequently connect yajña with protection and long continuity—spiritual practice as the guardian of human evolution.
Significance
The Atri vision frames the gods as inner powers safeguarding the mortal’s ascent when the sacrifice is sincerely established.
The deity
- Devata
- Maruts
- Epithets
- viśve (all, universal host), yajñiyāḥ (worthy of sacrifice—contextual continuity), rakṣitāraḥ (protectors—functional epithet)
- Related deities
- Indra (leader in battle against obstruction), Agni (priest of yajña), Mitra-Varuṇa (guardians of order, by implication of protection)
Cosmic role
Collective storm-force that protects and advances the sacrificial work through generations.
Inner power
Collective prāṇic guardianship: disciplined energies that shield the embodied seeker and empower the offering.
In ritual
Where it is used
Marut offering/praise as part of larger sacrificial sequences
म॒रुत्सु॑ वो दधीमहि॒ स्तोमं॑ य॒ज्ञं च॑ धृष्णु॒या । विश्वे॒ ये मानु॑षा यु॒गा पान्ति॒ मर्त्यं॑ रि॒षः ॥
म॒रुत्ऽसु॑ । वः॒ । द॒धी॒म॒हि॒ । स्तोम॑म् । य॒ज्ञम् । च॒ । धृ॒ष्णु॒ऽया । विश्वे॑ । ये । मानु॑षा । यु॒गा । पान्ति॑ । मर्त्य॑म् । रि॒षः ॥
marut-su | vaḥ | dadhīmahi | stomam | yajñam | ca | dhṛṣṇu-yā | viśve | ye | mānuṣā | yugā | pānti | martyam | riṣaḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Strong and declarative; suitable for establishing (dadhīmahi) and protection (pānti) themes.
Grounds the practitioner in a sense of supported practice; evokes collective strength and safety.
- marutsu
- Literal: among/with the Maruts. Symbolic: in the field of dynamic divine energies (prāṇa-śakti)
- dadhīmahi
- Literal: we place, we establish. Symbolic: we found our practice firmly in these powers—making them the support of the work
- stomam
- Literal: hymn of praise. Symbolic: mantric formulation that shapes consciousness
- yajñam
- Literal: sacrifice. Symbolic: inner offering of actions, energies, and ego to the Divine
- dhṛṣṇuyā
- Literal: boldly. Symbolic: courage to offer and act without shrinking
- mānuṣā yugā
- Literal: human ages. Symbolic: the long evolutionary process of human consciousness
- pānti
- Literal: they protect. Symbolic: sustaining guardianship of the path
- martyaṃ riṣaḥ
- Literal: the mortal from harm. Symbolic: the embodied being protected from inner disintegration, hostile suggestions, and wrong-force
Protective Marut-stuti in Soma context; supports the sacrificer’s ‘rakṣā’ (guarding) during offerings
When seeking protection of the sacrificer and continuity of the rite; also in communal invocations
Recitation while offering; placing stoma and yajña ‘among’ the Maruts as invited powers
As a protective pre-meditation chant: ‘I establish my practice in purified energy; may it guard me from harm and distraction.’
dadhīmahi: √dhā ‘to place, establish’ (1pl) → founding the hymn/sacrifice in the Marut-field. dhṛṣṇu: from √dhṛṣ ‘to be bold, to dare’ → fearless energy required for inner battle. pānti: √pā ‘to protect’ (3pl). riṣ: √riṣ ‘to be hurt/injured’ → ‘harm’ as breach of integrity (ṛta).
rakṣā (guarding of the sacrifice/being), R̥ta as integrity against riṣ (injury), yajña as inner consecration
Protection across ages suggests right order sustaining evolution when practice is aligned.
Stoma (true word) as the vehicle of protection.
Human evolution (mānuṣā yugā) supported by divine powers through sacrificial transformation.
Evolutionary/integral reading: the gods as powers aiding humanity’s progressive unfolding.
Breath-energy organized into a protective host that carries the offering of life and speech through time.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Maruts as perennial guardians across ‘human ages’—a mythic framing of the storm-host not merely as weather but as a continuous protective power sustaining the sacrifice and the seeker’s journey through time.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The protect-verb √pā corresponds to an inherited semantic field of guarding/pastoral protection (cf. Latin pāstor ‘shepherd’ from *pā- ‘to feed/protect’). The yuga ‘yoke/age’ continues the Indo-European ‘yoke’ metaphor for ordered joining and cyclical time (cf. Latin iugum).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Reciprocity is explicit: the rishi ‘establishes’ hymn and yajña within the Maruts (offering speech and order), and the Maruts repay by guarding the mortal from disruptive forces (riṣ), preserving the inner rite.
Establish the inner yajña: offer thought, breath, and impulse into a disciplined host of energies.
Maṇipūra (offering-force) and Anāhata (protection/faith)
Long exhale chanting; after chanting, 12 slow breaths feeling a ‘protective wind’ around the body.
Collected devotion with confident strength.
Chant once, then inwardly ‘place’ (dadhīmahi) your day’s actions into the offering: name three actions and offer them; ask the Marut-force to guard you from haste, harsh speech, and dispersion (riṣaḥ).
Triṣṭubh: keep udatta emphasis on ‘marutsu’, ‘stomam’, ‘yajñam’, ‘pānti’; resolve softly on pāda endings to convey protection.
Slightly stress ‘dadhīmahi’ (establishing act) and ‘pānti martyaṃ riṣaḥ’ (protective assurance).
marutsu: ‘ts’ cluster; keep short ‘u’, dadhīmahi: aspirate ‘dh’; long ‘ī’, stomam: clear ‘st’ cluster, yajñam: ‘jñ’ conjunct (ny-like, not ‘gy’); nasalization light, riṣaḥ: retroflex ‘ṣ’; visarga audible but soft
Steady, protective, communal; not overly forceful.
1
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