Rig Veda 5.82.8: Mandala 5, Sukta 82, Mantra 8
Sukta 5.82
- Devata
- Savitṛ
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
य इमे उभे अहनी पुर एत्यप्रयुच्छन् । स्वाधीर्देवः सविता ॥
yá imé ubhé áhanī purá éty áprayucchan | svādhī́r deváḥ savitā́ ||
Dia yang mendahului kedua-dua Hari ini, tidak letih dan tidak terhalang dalam geraknya—Savitṛ, dewa berakal-budi yang bertata menurut hukum-diri (svādhī).
Word by Word
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (सम्बन्ध-कर्ता; यः = सः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इमे
- these (two)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्Role Karma (एत्य् इत्यस्य कर्म/उद्देश्य-सम्बन्धः)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उभे
- bothAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम् (अहनी इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Karma (इमे अहनी इत्यस्य विशेषणत्वेन)Root उभ (प्रातिपदिक) / उभय
- अहनी
- day and night (the two days: day+night)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्Role Karma (एत्य् इत्यस्य कर्म; ‘दिनं च रात्रिं च’)Root अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरः
- in front; forth; beforeIndeclinable (adverb) / preverbialअव्ययम् (दिशा/स्थानवाचकः)Role Adhikaraṇa (देश/दिशा-निर्देशः: ‘अग्रे/पूर्वम्’)Root पुरस् (अव्ययीभाव/उपसर्गीय-प्रातिपदिक)
- एति
- goes; comes; movesVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (क्रिया) —Root इ (धातु)
- अप्रयुच्छन्
- not slackening; not letting (them) go; unremittingVerb (participle) / verbal adjectiveवर्तमान-कृदन्तः (शतृ/शानच्-समकक्षः वैदिक-रूपः), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; यः (सविता) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्Role Kartā-विशेषणम् (कर्तृगुणः: ‘न शिथिलयन्/न प्रमाद्यन्’)Root युज्/युच्छ्? (वैदिक-रूप: प्र-युच्छ् ‘to slacken/let go’ इत्यर्थे) + नञ्-अ (निषेध)
- स्वाधीः
- self-impelling; of independent power; well-guidingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; देवः सविता इत्यस्य विशेषणम्Role Kartā-विशेषणम्Root स्वाधी (प्रातिपदिक; सु-आ-धा/धी-सम्बद्धः ‘स्वाधीन/स्वाधी’ = ‘स्व-शक्ति/स्व-नियमयुक्तः’)
- देवः
- the godNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- सविता
- Savitar (the impeller, solar deity)Noun (proper/theonym)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम् (ऋ-प्रातिपदिकस्य वैदिक-रूपः; प्रथमा एकवचनम्)Role Kartā (देवः इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन)Root सवितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यः | इमे | उभे | अहनी | पुरः | एति | अप्रयुच्छन् | स्वाधीः | देवः | सविता । 1) ‘एत्यप्रयुच्छन्’ = ‘एति’ + ‘अप्रयुच्छन्’ (इ + अ → य्-सन्धिः: एति + अ… → एत्य…)
- 2) ‘स्वाधीर्देवः’ = ‘स्वाधीः’ + ‘देवः’ (विसर्ग-सन्धिः: ḥ + द → र्: स्वाधीः देवः → स्वाधीर्देवः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Savitṛ goes before the two Days (day and night or two day-halves), advancing tirelessly; he is the god of self-governed intelligence.
Inner meaning
The divine Impeller precedes and leads all dualities of our experience—light and obscurity, activity and rest—moving ahead as the guide of the journey. ‘Svādhīḥ’ indicates an intelligence that follows its own law (the law of Truth), not the mixed law of desire. In yoga, Savitṛ is the forward-leading inner sun that keeps progress unbroken through alternating states.
Universal truth
A higher guiding intelligence can lead life through all polarities without fatigue, maintaining continuity of growth when the human mind alternates between clarity and confusion.
Themes
Savitri as leader of time, unbroken aspiration, inner discipline across states
The seer
- Rishi
- Traditionally within the Atri-associated Maṇḍala 5 milieu; specific rishi not securely identified in the supplied data for 5.82.8.
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 5.82.1, Rig Veda 5.82.5, Rig Veda 5.82.9
Family tradition
Atri line emphasizing solar illumination and right impulsion; Savitṛ hymns often serve as inner-discipline formulas for steady progress.
Significance
The seer presents Savitṛ as the unwavering leader through alternating inner conditions—an experiential key for perseverance in practice.
The deity
- Devata
- Savitṛ
- Epithets
- svādhīḥ (self-lawed intelligence), deva (luminous one), puraḥ-eti (the forerunner, implied)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Uṣas, Mitra, Varuṇa
Cosmic role
Forerunner of the cosmic rhythm of days; initiator and regulator of movements in time.
Inner power
Steady, self-consistent guiding intelligence that maintains continuity of aspiration and right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Solar/daily recitation; contextual praise of Savitṛ as regulator of time and action.
य इ॒मे उ॒भे अह॑नी पु॒र एत्यप्र॑युच्छन् । स्वा॒धीर्दे॒वः स॑वि॒ता ॥
यः । इ॒मे इति॑ । उ॒भे इति॑ । अह॑नी॒ इति॑ । पु॒रः । एति॑ । अप्र॑ऽयुच्छन् । सु॒ऽआ॒धीः । दे॒वः । स॒वि॒ता ॥
yaḥ | ime iti | ubhe iti | ahanī iti | puraḥ | eti | apra-yucchan | su-ādhīḥ | devaḥ | savitā
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4 × ~11 syllables; the line-break in the provided text suggests two half-lines but metrically aligns with Triṣṭubh phrasing.
Forward-moving cadence; consonant clusters (pura ety aprayucchan) create a sense of continuous advance.
Induces steadiness and endurance; helpful when mind oscillates between brightness and dullness.
- ubhe ahanī
- Literal: the two days (day and night / two day-periods). Symbolic: the dual states of consciousness—illumined and obscure; also waking and sleep, clarity and inertia
- puraḥ eti
- Literal: goes in front, precedes. Symbolic: the inner Guide that leads evolution and sādhanā ahead of the surface mind
- aprayucchan
- Literal: not slackening, unwearied, not letting go. Symbolic: unbroken aspiration and steady force of progress through resistance
- svādhīḥ
- Literal: of good/self law, self-directed intelligence. Symbolic: truth-governed discernment; the luminous will-mind that obeys ṛta rather than impulse
Recitable as a characterization of Savitṛ’s perpetual leadership through day and night; supports continuity of practice across waking and sleep.
At transitions—dawn, dusk, beginning of work, or when seeking continuity through changing moods/states.
Japa/recitation facing east at dawn or west at dusk; offering of intention to be led by ‘svādhīḥ’.
Use as a mantra for consistency: repeat during habit-change or long-term projects to stabilize effort across ‘good days and bad days’.
ahanī (dual) marks the archaic pairing of day/night as a single rhythmic unit. puraḥ eti: ‘goes before’—Savitṛ as the leader of time’s procession. aprayucchan: a- (neg.) + pra-yucch (from √yuj/√yucch ‘to slacken/let go’ in this formation), ‘not letting go, not relenting’. svādhī: sva- ‘self’ + dhī ‘intelligence’ (from √dhī ‘to think/see’), ‘self-lawed intelligence’—a key psychological epithet.
continuity of consciousness (aprayucchan), svādhī as self-governed intelligence, time as ordered movement under Ṛta
Savitṛ precedes and orders the alternation of day/night—outer sign of ṛta; inner sign is ordered alternation without loss of direction.
Svādhīḥ indicates satya’s self-law: truth does not borrow its rule from circumstance.
Time as a vehicle of evolution; the divine leads becoming through cycles.
Integral yoga reading: the Guide-Consciousness maintains progress through tamas and rajas into sattva and beyond.
dawn/dusk (thresholds of the two ahanī)
Alternation of states is natural; the inner sun can ‘go before’ them, making practice continuous rather than episodic.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Savitṛ precedes and leads the dual rhythm of day and night, embodying uninterrupted advance. Psychologically, the god is the power that carries the seeker through alternating states without lapse, maintaining the thread of Ṛta in time.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Dual number (ahanī) preserves archaic IE grammar. √i (eti) is a direct continuation of PIE *h₁ey- ‘to go’. sva- is PIE *s(w)e- ‘self’. dhī as ‘vision-thought’ reflects the old Indo-Iranian valuation of inspired intelligence.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi contemplates Savitṛ’s epithet svādhīḥ to internalize it: the human intelligence is invited to become self-lawed by aligning with the god who leads both day and night.
Invoke the ‘forerunner’ in you: a quiet inner directive that stays ahead of mood and circumstance.
ājñā (guidance)
Even-count breathing (e.g., 4-4 or 6-6) while mentally repeating ‘puraḥ eti… aprayucchan’ to build continuity.
Witness-led perseverance; sense of an inner sun preceding thought.
When practice feels broken by fatigue or oscillation, repeat this verse to re-establish the leading thread of aspiration; feel Savitṛ ‘in front’ of the mind, drawing it forward.
Maintain Saṃhitā accent as marked; keep ‘svādhīr’ bright and slightly lifted; avoid flattening the cadence across sandhi.
Give a gentle rise on udātta-marked syllables; keep ‘aprayucchan’ flowing without pause to convey unbroken advance.
ubhe: ‘bh’ aspirate clearly, ahanī: long ī at end, do not shorten, aprayucchan: ‘cch’ aspirated; keep consonant double feel, svādhīḥ: long ā and ī; visarga ḥ lightly released
Steady, forward-leaning, confident; no harshness.
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