Rig Veda 5.74.2: Mandala 5, Sukta 74, Mantra 2
Sukta 5.74
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Vira (heroism)
कुह त्या कुह नु श्रुता दिवि देवा नासत्या । कस्मिन्ना यतथो जने को वां नदीनां सचा ॥
kúha tyā́ kúha nú śrutā́ diví devā́ nā́satyā | kásminn ā́ yatatho jáne kó vāṃ nadī́nāṃ sácā ||
Di manakah kamu berdua, di manakah kini kamu didengari, wahai Nāsatya yang ilahi, di langit? Kepada kaum yang manakah kamu menuju? Siapakah yang bersama kamu sepanjang arus-arus yang mengalir (kehidupan dan kesedaran)?
Word by Word
- कुह
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (अव्यय, अविकारी)Role Adhikaraṇa (स्थान/प्रश्न)Root कुह (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- त्या
- those two (she/they two)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया द्विवचन (Vedic enclitic form of ते/तौ/ताः; here = ‘those two’)Role Kartā (with implied verb ‘are/stand’)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- कुह
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot कुह (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- नु
- now/indeedIndeclinableनिपात (उपपद/अन्वर्थक, emphasis/now)Root नु (निपात)
- श्रुता
- heard of / famed (the two)Participle (Adjective) / Kṛdantaभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘श्रुत’ + स्त्री प्रथमा/द्वितीया द्विवचन (Vedic: -ā for dual f.)Role Kartā/Viśeṣaṇa (qualifying the dual pair)Root श्रु (धातु) → श्रुत (कृदन्त)
- दिवि
- in heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक: द्यौ/दिव्)
- देवा
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनRole Kartā (of ‘heard/know’ implied)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- नासत्या
- O Nāsatyas (Aśvins)Noun (Proper/Epithet)पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन द्विवचन (addressing the two Aśvins)Role SambodhanaRoot नासत्य (प्रातिपदिक; epithet of the Aśvins)
- कस्मिन्ना
- in what (place/condition), then?Pronoun + particleकस्मिन् = पुं/नपुं सप्तमी एकवचन; ‘-ना’ = Vedic enclitic particle (emphatic/connecting)Role Adhikaraṇa (in/at what?)Root किम् (सर्वनाम) + न (निपात/एन्क्लिटिक)
- यतथो
- where/when then (indeed)Pronoun + particleयत् (neuter/relative, indeclinable use) + अथो ‘then/indeed’ (Vedic connective)Role (discourse connector introducing the clause)Root यत् (सर्वनाम) + अथो (निपात)
- जने
- among people / in mankindNounपुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- को
- who?Pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot किम् (सर्वनाम)
- वाम्
- you two / of you twoPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया द्विवचन (enclitic) = ‘of you two / you two’Role Sampradāna/Śeṣa (context: ‘for you two’ or ‘of you two’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- नदीनाम्
- of the riversNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनRole Śeṣa (genitive relation)Root नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- सचा
- together with / in company withIndeclinableअव्यय (सह/समं अर्थे)Role Karaṇa (association/companionship)Root सच्/सच (अव्यय; ‘with, together’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic): कुह | त्या | कुह | नु | श्रुता | दिवि | देवा | नासत्या || कस्मिन्ना | यतथो | जने | को | वाम् | नदीनाम् | सचा । 1) कस्मिन्ना = कस्मिन् + न (Vedic enclitic particle; written with long ā by saṃhitā convention). 2) यतथो is treated as a saṃhitā cluster with connective particle अथो
- functionally ‘यत् + अथो’. 3) नासत्या is vocative dual of the epithet नासत्य (Aśvins). 4) श्रुता is a Vedic dual feminine form of PPP ‘श्रुत’ agreeing with the addressed dual pair
The meaning
Outer meaning
Where are you two, where are you now heard of, divine Nāsatyas, in heaven? To which people do you go? Who accompanies you along the rivers?
Inner meaning
This is the seeker’s acute moment of absence: the divine helpers seem distant. The questions are not doubt but intensity of aspiration. ‘Rivers’ are the flowing currents of life-energy and thought-streams; the rishi asks: along which channels do the Aśvins move in me? Which part of my nature is presently able to receive them?
Universal truth
When help feels far, refine the call: ask where receptivity truly is. Grace moves along prepared channels; our task is to discover and open them.
Themes
Seeking, Divine concealment, Invocation by questioning, Guidance
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.74.1, RV 5.73.9
Family tradition
Ātreya vision often includes the psychology of calling—intensifying aspiration when the gods seem hidden.
Significance
Atri models the seeker’s honest inquiry: the divine is not assumed mechanically; it is sought, heard, and invited through increasing sincerity.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau (Nāsatyā)
- Epithets
- devā (divine), nāsatyā (true/effective helpers)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Soma, Indra
Cosmic role
They move swiftly across worlds and among beings, responding to calls and restoring right flow.
Inner power
Reopening blocked currents; restoring circulation of prāṇa and clarity of perception; re-establishing contact when it is lost.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin call-stanza within a hymn; used when invoking presence and response
कुह॒ त्या कुह॒ नु श्रु॒ता दि॒वि दे॒वा नास॑त्या । कस्मि॒न्ना य॑तथो॒ जने॒ को वां॑ न॒दीनां॒ सचा॑ ॥
कुह॑ । त्या । कुह॑ । नु । श्रु॒ता । दि॒वि । दे॒वा । नास॑त्या । कस्मि॑न् । आ । य॒त॒थः॒ । जने॑ । कः । वा॒म् । न॒दीना॑म् । सचा॑ ॥
kuha | tyā | kuha | nu | śrutā | divi | devā | nāsatyā | kasmin | ā | yatathaḥ | jane | kaḥ | vām | nadīnām | sacā
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4 × ~11 syllables; interrogatives create sharp caesuras.
Urgent, searching, with quick turns—mirrors inquiry.
Concentrates aspiration; stirs inner listening and self-examination of channels.
- कुह (kuha)
- Literal: where?. Symbolic: the soul’s searching inquiry; concentrated aspiration
- श्रुता (śrutā)
- Literal: heard of, famed/heard. Symbolic: perceived presence; inner hearing of the divine
- नासत्या (nāsatyā)
- Literal: the Nāsatyas (true helpers). Symbolic: powers of unfailing aid; truth of effective help
- जने (jane)
- Literal: among people/creatures. Symbolic: in which part of the being (mental/vital/physical) they are active
- नदीनाम् (nadīnām)
- Literal: of rivers. Symbolic: currents of prāṇa, sensation, thought; channels (nāḍī-like intuition) of movement
- सचा (sacā)
- Literal: in company with, along with. Symbolic: what supportive forces accompany grace (discipline, sincerity, right breath)
Interrogative invocatory style: used to draw near the deity by naming their possible stations and asking for their present locus
When seeking the gods’ attendance; especially in moments of perceived distance or delay in aid.
Questioning-call (praśna) as invocation; intensifies the summons.
Use when feeling spiritually ‘dry’: chant, then sit and observe which inner ‘river’ (habit stream) is carrying you away; gently redirect.
nāsatyá: often explained as na-asatya ‘not false’ (truthful helpers); suits the satya/ṛta axis. nadī: ‘river’ from √nad ‘to roar/flow’; symbolically the streaming movements of life and consciousness. √yat: ‘to set in motion/strive’ (cf. yati). The repeated interrogatives (kuha… kasmin… ko…) enact the felt absence of divine help and intensify the call.
Satya (implied by nāsatyā), Divine accessibility vs. human separation, Life-currents as pathways of descent
Rivers symbolize rita as flow; disorder is misdirected current; Aśvins restore right flow.
True help is not random; it is lawful—responding to prepared receptivity.
Worlds connected by currents; gods travel along subtle pathways between planes.
Vedic psychological inquiry anticipating yogic nāḍī/flow symbolism (without forcing later systemization).
dawn-approach (Aśvin context; searching before arrival)
Rivers = prāṇic/thought currents; heaven = higher mind; ‘where’ = locus of receptivity in the being.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘hidden gods’ motif: divine powers are famed in heaven yet seem unlocatable to the human caller. The poet’s questioning is itself the ritual-psychological technique to breach the distance and compel manifestation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √śru (heard/famed) continues PIE *ḱleu̯-; the fame/hearing nexus is a classic Indo-European poetic theme. nadī (stream) relates to inherited hydronymic/flow lexemes; √sac ‘accompany’ has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan haca ‘with’ is a functional cognate in companionship semantics, though not a direct form-match).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi adopts the posture of a seeker tracking the gods’ movement: he acknowledges their heavenly fame but demands their concrete companionship ‘with the rivers’—i.e., within the flowing processes of embodied life. The relationship is one of urgent summons: divine truth-helpers must become present in the human field (jane).
Transform absence into inquiry: ‘Where in me is the channel open for help right now?’
ājñā (inner seeing/hearing)
Listening breath: inhale silently 4, exhale 6; after chanting, pause and ‘listen’ inwardly for 2–3 minutes.
Yearning to receptive clarity.
Chant once slowly, then repeat mentally while scanning the body’s ‘rivers’ (breath, pulse, sensations). Offer the most turbulent current to the Aśvins; ask them to accompany it into harmony.
Interrogative cadence with Rigvedic accents (e.g.,,,, ). Keep accent integrity; do not turn questions into flat prose.
Let each ‘kuha’ rise as a clear call; keep brief pauses after each question to preserve the searching rhythm.
: short ‘ku-ha’ (not ‘koo’)., : ‘nā-sa-tyā’ with clear ‘ty’., : long ī ‘nadī’ and long āṃ at end; keep dental ‘n/d’., : ‘sa-cā’ long ā.
Searching, bright, slightly urgent but controlled; end each pāda with a listening release.
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