Rig Veda 5.78.7: Mandala 5, Sukta 78, Mantra 7
Sukta 5.78
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Ashvins
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यथा वातः पुष्करिणीं समिङ्गयति सर्वतः । एवा ते गर्भ एजतु निरैतु दशमास्यः ॥
yáthā vā́taḥ puṣkaríṇīṃ sam-iṅgáyati sárvataḥ | evā́ te gárbha ejatu nír aitu dáśamāsyaḥ ||
Seperti angin menggetarkan kolam teratai dari segenap sisi, demikianlah semoga janinmu bergerak dan keluar—wahai yang genap sepuluh bulan—ke ruang terbuka.
Word by Word
- यथा
- just as, asIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थक अव्यय (यथा = ‘जैसे/जिस प्रकार’)Root यथा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
- वातः
- the windNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot वात (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुष्करिणीम्
- a lotus-pond, pondNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पुष्करिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
- समिङ्गयति
- shakes, sets in motionVerbलट् (वर्तमान); परस्मैपद; प्रथम पुरुष; एकवचनRoot सम् + इङ्ग्/इङ्गय् (धातु: इङ्ग् ‘चलना/हिलना’ → इङ्गयति ‘हिलाता/डुलाता’)
- सर्वतः
- on all sides, all aroundIndeclinableअव्यय; दिशार्थ/पर्यायार्थ (सर्वतः = ‘सब ओर से/चारों ओर’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तद्धित-अव्यय)
- एव
- just so, indeedIndeclinableअव्यय; अवधारणार्थ (एव = ‘ही/ठीक वैसे ही’)Root एव (निपात)
- ते
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic) ‘ते’ = ‘तव/तेरे’Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- गर्भः
- the embryo, fetusNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
- एजतु
- let it move, let it stirVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; प्रथम पुरुष; एकवचनRoot इज्/एज् (धातु: इज्/एज् ‘कम्पने/चलने’)
- निः
- out, forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (निः = ‘बाहर/निकलकर’)Root निस् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- एतु
- let it go/come forthVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; प्रथम पुरुष; एकवचनRoot इ (धातु: इ ‘जाना’)
- दशमास्यः
- ten-month (full-term)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; गर्भः इति विशेषणम्Role Kartā (गर्भस्य विशेषणम्)Root दश + मास्य (तद्धित/समास-प्रातिपदिक; ‘दश-मास’ + यत्/अण्-प्रत्ययार्थ ‘मास्य’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यथा | वातः | पुष्करिणीम् | समिङ्गयति | सर्वतः | एव | ते | गर्भः | एजतु | निः | एतु | दशमास्यः || 1) ‘एवा’ = ‘एव’ + ‘आ’ (दीर्घ/प्रगृह्य-प्रकारेण संहितायां) — पाठे ‘ए॒वा’ इति दृश्यते, पदे ‘एव’। 2) ‘निरैतु’ = ‘निः’ + ‘एतु’ : विसर्गस्य रेफादेशः (निः + एतु → निरेतु/निरैतु; वैदिके दीर्घ/ऐ-प्रयोगः पाठभेदेन)
The meaning
Outer meaning
As the wind stirs a lotus-pond from every side, so may the embryo move and come out—the ten-month one—into the open.
Inner meaning
Vāta (wind) is the life-breath that initiates movement. The lotus-pond is the subtle field of life where consciousness is held in potential. The prayer is for the inner formation (garbha) to begin its right movement and emerge into manifestation. ‘From every side’ suggests a total mobilisation—prāṇa stirring all sheaths—so the new consciousness is not partial but integrally born.
Universal truth
When the breath of life and spirit moves through the whole system, what is ready within begins to stir and emerges naturally into expression.
Themes
safe-delivery, movement-and-emergence, simile-nature-to-inner, healing
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.78.8 (parallel stirring images)
Family tradition
Atri’s hymn here becomes a practical-spiritual charm: aligning breath (vāta) with right emergence (garbha) at the moment of ripeness.
Significance
The seer applies cosmic analogy (wind and pond) to guide a lawful inner process: emergence through prāṇic harmonisation.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvins (implicit frame)
- Epithets
- Dasrā, Nā́satyā
- Related deities
- Vāyu/Vāta, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Guardians of safe passage and timely emergence; though unnamed here, their field is the transition into dawn/birth.
Inner power
Assistance to prāṇa’s right movement, preventing panic and obstruction at the threshold moment.
In ritual
Where it is used
Childbirth facilitation (encouraging movement and emergence)
यथा॒ वात॑: पुष्क॒रिणीं॑ समि॒ङ्गय॑ति स॒र्वत॑: । ए॒वा ते॒ गर्भ॑ एजतु नि॒रैतु॒ दश॑मास्यः ॥
यथा॑ । वातः॑ । पु॒ष्क॒रिणी॑म् । स॒म्ऽइ॒ङ्गय॑ति । स॒र्वतः॑ । ए॒व । ते॒ । गर्भः॑ । ए॒ज॒तु॒ । निः॒ऽऐतु॑ । दश॑ऽमास्यः ॥
yathā | vātaḥ | puṣkariṇīm | sam-iṅgayati | sarvataḥ | eva | te | garbhaḥ | ejatu | niḥ-aitu | daśa-māsyaḥ
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4 x ~8; simile-driven, soothing charm rhythm.
Rocking, wave-like—mirrors water being stirred.
Encourages gentle movement and release; less ‘urgent’ than triṣṭubh lines.
- वातः (vātaḥ)
- Literal: wind. Symbolic: prāṇa, life-breath; dynamising movement of consciousness-force
- पुष्करिणी (puṣkariṇī)
- Literal: lotus-pond. Symbolic: the subtle vital field; the psychic lake where the lotus of awakening can rise
- समिङ्गयति (samiṅgayati)
- Literal: stirs, sets in motion. Symbolic: awakens dormant energies; initiates the labour of emergence
- सर्वतः (sarvataḥ)
- Literal: from all sides. Symbolic: integral action through the whole being, not one-sided effort
- गर्भः (garbhaḥ)
- Literal: embryo. Symbolic: the new formation of truth-consciousness developing within
- एजतु (ejatu)
- Literal: let it move, tremble, stir. Symbolic: first vibration of awakening; the beginning of manifestation
- दशमास्यः (daśamāsyaḥ)
- Literal: ten-month one (full-term). Symbolic: ripened maturity; the right time for the new state to be born
Obstetric/safe-delivery prayer used ritually as a charm within Vedic healing practice adjunct to Soma-ritual culture.
When labour needs encouragement; at full-term readiness.
Recited as a calming, rhythmic charm to promote movement and safe delivery.
Use for ‘bringing forth’ a project/insight: invite whole-system stirring via calm breathing, letting the new form emerge without forcing.
vā́ta from √vā 'blow' (PIE *h₂weh₁- 'to blow', cf. Lat. ventus). √iṅg 'to move' and √ej 'to tremble/move' express inner stirring. daśa 'ten' PIE *deḱm̥(t). The simile maps natural stirring of waters to the activation required for birth/emergence.
prāṇa as mover (vāta), emergence of new consciousness (garbha as inner formation), timely manifestation (daśamāsya: ripeness)
The ‘ten-month’ sign indicates Ṛta as fulfilled timing—emergence when maturation is complete.
Waters as matrix of creation; movement initiates manifestation.
Symbolic cosmopsychology: waters = life-field; wind = prāṇic force; birth = manifestation of consciousness.
Pre-dawn / dawn-threshold (implied by Aśvin context)
Breath moving through the subtle waters of life awakens the lotus of new consciousness and brings it into expression.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Birth as emergence under divine-natural law: the stirring wind becomes the archetype for the life-force that initiates the child’s movement outward. The mythic pattern is 'stirring → opening → emergence', applied to both physical birth and inner becoming.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vāta (wind) corresponds to PIE wind lexicon (Lat. ventus). daśa reflects PIE *deḱm̥(t). The verbal roots for motion (√ej, √i) reflect the Indo-European preference for dynamic verbs to encode ritual efficacy.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi speaks as a mediator aligning the birth-process with cosmic movement (vāta). The devatā background (Ashvins) is the guaranteeing power; the verse itself functions as a rhythmic directive that harmonizes the embodied process with R̥ta (right timing and right movement).
Let prāṇa stir the ‘inner waters’ evenly; allow the ripe inner formation to emerge.
svādhiṣṭhāna
Sama-vṛtti (equal inhale/exhale) with a soft awareness of ripples spreading through the pelvis and lower abdomen.
Quiet readiness; emergence without strain.
Visualise a lotus-pond in the lower belly; with each breath, gentle ripples arise ‘from every side’; then rest, letting the next step happen by itself.
Keep a gentle rise on the simile opening (yathā …) and a settling cadence on niraitu/daśamāsyaḥ.
Let ‘yathā’ phrases be even and flowing; emphasize ‘ejatu’ with a slight lift to suggest movement.
puṣkariṇīm: retroflex ṛ and long īm., samiṅgayati: nasal ṅ before g., niraitu: articulate niḥ-aitu with a light separation.
Soft, lullaby-like steadiness; avoid sharp consonant attacks.
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