Rig Veda 6.27.5: Mandala 6, Sukta 27, Mantra 5
Sukta 6.27
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
वधीदिन्द्रो वरशिखस्य शेषोऽभ्यावर्तिने चायमानाय शिक्षन् । वृचीवतो यद्धरियूपीयायां हन्पूर्वे अर्धे भियसापरो दर्त् ॥
vadhīd índro varaśikhasya śéṣo 'bhyāvartíne cāyamānā́ya śíkṣan | vṛcī́vato yád dhariyūpī́yāyāṃ hán pū́rve árdhe bhiyásā́paro dart ||
Indra membunuh Śeṣa daripada Varaśikha, mengajar yang berpaling melawannya dan yang mara ke hadapan. Ketika ia menghentam Vṛcīvant di Hariyūpīyā, pada bahagian pertama musuh pecah kerana takut, lalu melarikan diri sesudahnya.
Word by Word
- वधीः
- you slewVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRole (क्रिया)Root वध्
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र
- वरशिखस्य
- of Varśikha (the one with ‘excellent crest/tuft’)Noun (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root वर-शिख
- शेषः
- the remnant/remaining one (i.e., the survivor)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (apposition to इन्द्रः)Root शेष
- अभ्यावर्तिने
- to the one who turns back/returns (attacks again)Adjective (to a person)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अभि-आ-वर्तिन्
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRole (सम्बन्धक)Root च
- आयमानाय
- to the advancing/coming oneParticiple/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot आ-यम् (यमुँ) → आयमान
- शिक्षन्
- instructing/discipliningVerb (participle used predicatively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (agreeing with इन्द्रः)Role कर्तृ (with participial action)Root शिक्ष्
- वृचीवतः
- of Vṛcīvat (a foe/tribal name)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root वृचीवत्
- यत्
- when/thatIndeclinable (relative) / pronounसम्बन्धक (introduces relative clause)Role (सम्बन्धक)Root यद्
- हरियूपीया॑याम्
- at/ in Hariyūpīyā (place/river/region)Noun (place-name/locative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot हरि-यूपीया
- हन्
- smite!/slay!Verb (injunctive/imperative-like)(Vedic) injunctive/imperatival form, 2nd person singularRole (क्रिया)Root हन्
- पूर्वे
- formerly/at firstAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Vedic loc. used adverbially) OR नपुंसक, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (context favors adverbial ‘formerly/at first’)Role अधिकरण (adverbial)Root पूर्व
- अर्धे
- in the half/partNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अर्ध
- भियसा
- with fear / by fearNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot भियस्
- अपरः
- the other (one) / the later oneAdjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अपर
- दर्त्
- split/broke (through)Verb(Vedic) aorist/preterite, 3rd person singularRole (क्रिया)Root दृ (दारयति/दर्) or दॄ (to split) → दर्त् (Vedic aorist/impf. form)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): वधी॒दिन्द्रो॑ → वधीः + इन्द्रः (visarga before vowel)
- शेषो॑ऽभ्याव॒र्तिने॑ → शेषः + अभ्यावर्तिने (o’ = visarga + a)
- चायमा॒नाय॒ → च + आयमानाय
- यद्ध॑रियू॒पीया॑यां॒ → यत् + हरियूपीया॑याम्
- हन्पूर्वे॒ → हन् + पूर्वे
- भि॒यसाप॑रो॒ → भियसा + अपरः
- दर्त् is transmitted as a finite preterite form in Vedic style
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra slays Śeṣa connected with Varaśikha; by this act he “teaches” both the one who turns back and the one who advances. When Indra strikes Vṛcīvant at Hariyūpīyā, the enemy breaks in fear in the first phase and flees afterward.
Inner meaning
Indra (divine illumined Mind) breaks a specific formation of resistance: “Śeṣa” (the remainder/residue) of “Vara-śikha” (the ‘excellent crest’—a proud or seemingly lofty mental-vital formation). The slaying is a psychological victory over the last remnant of egoic obstruction that persists even after earlier conquests. The mantra contrasts two inner movements: the consciousness that recoils (abhyāvartin—turning back under pressure) and the one that presses forward (cāyamāna—advancing/striving). Indra’s action becomes a ‘teaching’ (śikṣan): the seeker learns how to meet relapse and how to sustain aspiration. Vṛcīvant symbolizes a force that ‘twists/crooks’ the movement of truth; when struck, fear first cracks its cohesion, then it retreats—often how subconscious resistance dissolves: first a fracture, then a withdrawal.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress is not linear: advance and recoil both arise. Illumination must strike not only gross darkness but also the subtle, respectable-looking residues of obstruction. When the inner Light acts decisively, resistance first loses confidence (fear/instability) and then departs; the seeker’s task is to persist through the first rupture until the retreat becomes complete.
Themes
Indra as teacher, battle stages, defeat of adversaries, psychological training
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 6.1, RV 6.28, RV 6.45, RV 6.47
Family tradition
Book 6 is predominantly the Bharadvāja family collection, emphasizing Agni and Indra as powers of the inner sacrifice and victorious illumination.
Significance
Bharadvāja’s Indra hymns often narrate battles as inner breakthroughs: the seer maps how illumination overcomes layered resistances (gross, subtle, and residual) and stabilizes the forward movement of the yoga.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Maghavan (bountiful), Puruhūta (much-invoked), Vṛtrahan (slayer of the Coverer), Śatakratu (of a hundred powers)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Uṣas, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstruction; releaser of the waters/cows (truths, energies) and establisher of expansive consciousness.
Inner power
Illumined intelligence with heroic force—clarity that can act, not merely observe; the power to shatter fixed patterns of ignorance.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra within Soma-yajña sequences (general Indra praise)
वधी॒दिन्द्रो॑ व॒रशि॑खस्य॒ शेषो॑ऽभ्याव॒र्तिने॑ चायमा॒नाय॒ शिक्ष॑न् । वृ॒चीव॑तो॒ यद्ध॑रियू॒पीया॑यां॒ हन्पूर्वे॒ अर्धे॑ भि॒यसाप॑रो॒ दर्त् ॥
वधी॑त् । इन्द्रः॑ । व॒रऽशि॑खस्य । शेषः॑ । अ॒भि॒ऽआ॒व॒र्तिने॑ । चा॒य॒मा॒नाय॑ । शिक्ष॑न् । वृ॒चीव॑तः । यत् । ह॒रि॒यू॒पीया॑याम् । हन् । पूर्वे॑ । अर्धे॑ । भि॒यसा॑ । अप॑रः । दर्त् ॥
vadhīt | indraḥ | vara-śikhasya | śeṣaḥ | abhi-āvartine | cāyamānāya | śikṣan | vṛcīvataḥ | yat | hariyūpīyāyām | han | pūrve | ardhe | bhiyasā | aparaḥ | darta
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Firm, forward-driving cadence suited to heroic narration and decisive turns.
Builds will and confidence; supports a sense of ‘pressing through’ resistance and completing a break-through.
- इन्द्र (indra)
- Literal: Indra, king of the gods. Symbolic: Divine Mind/illumination-power that breaks obstruction and releases truth
- वधीद् (vadhīd)
- Literal: slew, struck down. Symbolic: Decisive inner intervention; cutting through a knot of resistance
- शेष (śeṣa)
- Literal: remainder, residue; name Śeṣa. Symbolic: Residual ego/subconscient remainder that persists after partial victory
- वरशिख (varaśikha)
- Literal: having an excellent crest; a proper name. Symbolic: Proud ‘high’ formation in mind-vital that masks resistance as superiority
- अभ्यावर्तिन् (abhyāvartin)
- Literal: one who turns back. Symbolic: The recoiling part of the seeker; relapse under pressure
- चायमान (cāyamāna)
- Literal: moving forward/advancing. Symbolic: Aspiring will that presses on toward the goal
- शिक्षन् (śikṣan)
- Literal: teaching, training. Symbolic: Inner instruction through experience of victory
- वृचीवत् (vṛcīvant)
- Literal: crooked/twisting; a foe-name. Symbolic: Distorting resistance that bends truth-force into confusion
- भियसा (bhiyasā)
- Literal: from fear. Symbolic: Loss of confidence in the hostile formation when Light strikes
Used to invoke Indra as both slayer of obstruction and trainer of the sacrificer’s energies—stabilizing courage and right movement in the ‘battle’ of the rite and of consciousness.
Recited in Indra-focused offerings and praise sections; also as victory-protection invocations.
Stotra/śastra praise to strengthen Indra’s aid and the sacrificer’s force.
Use as a mantra of perseverance when facing relapse: chant before meditation to re-establish forward aspiration after setbacks.
√śikṣ ‘to train, instruct’ indicates Indra as inner guru-force shaping both retreating and advancing movements (abhi-āvartin / cāyamāna). bhiyás ‘fear’ from √bhī ‘fear’ (PIE *bʰeyh₂-). The verse encodes staged conquest: first-phase rupture then subsequent dispersal.
discipline (śikṣā) as divine guidance, progress vs regression in sādhanā (cāyamāna / āvarta), fear as dissolution of falsehood
Indra’s ‘teaching’ restores right movement (advance aligned to R̥ta) when the psyche oscillates.
Truth becomes stable when residual ‘śeṣa’ formations are removed.
Victory of Light over resistant formations is a continuing creation—ordering chaos into conscious harmony.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent of consciousness through successive purifications.
The ‘battlefield’ is the inner field: lightning-like insight striking the knot; the foe’s fear is the weakening of subconscious habit-energy.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A localized battle-myth: Indra defeats named obstructers (Śeṣa, Vṛcīvant). Distinctive is the pedagogical framing—Indra’s victory ‘teaches’ the movements of forces in the battle, turning myth into a manual of inner strategy.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhī ‘fear’ reflects PIE *bʰeyh₂-; √vṛt ‘turn’ reflects PIE *wert- ‘turn’ (cf. Latin vertere, English ‘ward’). The paired motion-terms encode an inherited Indo-European poetic habit of describing conflict via directional dynamics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Indra is invoked not only to destroy the hostile residue but to educate the aspirant’s energies—how to turn back what attacks and how to advance rightly. The Rishi positions Indra as an inner commander whose victory reorganizes the practitioner’s movements into ṛta.
Observe the ‘recoil’ tendency and re-align it to forward aspiration; invoke illumined mind to cut residual patterns.
ājñā (illumined mind)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 6–12 rounds, then chant on steady exhale.
From rajasic struggle to luminous, decisive clarity.
Before chanting, name the recurring ‘residue’ you want to uproot; during chanting, feel a clean inner strike; after chanting, sit 3–5 minutes watching the recoil impulse dissolve.
Use standard Rigvedic three-tone: udatta (raised), anudatta (lower), svarita (falling); exact svaras require śākhā-specific notation not supplied here.
Keep udatta syllables bright and slightly higher; avoid flattening svarita—let it glide down gently.
Maintain retroflex in ṛ/ḍh sounds where present (e.g., vadhīd), Clearly separate consonant clusters: vṛ-cī-van-taḥ, Lengthen long vowels: ī in vadhīd, ā in cāyamānāya
Clear, firm, ‘heroic’ tone without strain; steady breath support.
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