Rig Veda 7.86.5: Mandala 7, Sukta 86, Mantra 5
Sukta 7.86
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
अव द्रुग्धानि पित्र्या सृजा नोऽव या वयं चकृमा तनूभिः । अव राजन्पशुतृपं न तायुं सृजा वत्सं न दाम्नो वसिष्ठम् ॥
áva drugdhā́ni pitryā́ sṛjā no 'vá yā́ vayáṃ cakṛmā́ tanū́bhiḥ | áva rā́jan paśu-tṛ́paṃ ná tāyúṃ sṛjá vatsáṃ ná dā́mno vásiṣṭham ||
Lepaskanlah daripada kami kesalahan-kesalahan warisan leluhur, dan kezaliman yang kami sendiri lakukan dengan tubuh kami. Wahai Raja (Varuṇa), lepaskanlah si pencari yang tersasar, seperti orang yang mengenyangkan diri daripada kawanan orang lain; lepaskanlah Vasiṣṭha daripada tali ikatan, sebagaimana anak lembu dilepaskan daripada tambatannya.
Word by Word
- अव
- down, away; (as preverb)Indeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root अव (upasarga)
- द्रुग्धानि
- the wrongs/treacheries, offencesAdjective (used substantively)neuter nominative/accusative plural (PPP of द्रुह्)Role KarmaRoot द्रुह् (धातु) → द्रुग्ध (PPP)
- पित्र्या
- paternal, inherited from the fathersAdjectiveneuter nominative/accusative plural (agreeing with द्रुग्धानि)Role KarmaRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) → पित्र्य (adj.)
- सृज
- release, let goVerbimperative, 2nd person singular, active (परस्मैपद)Root सृज्
- नः
- of us / for usPronoungenitive singular encliticRole Sampradāna (beneficiary) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद्
- अव
- down, awayIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root अव (upasarga)
- याः
- which (sins/deeds)Pronoun (relative)feminine accusative pluralRole KarmaRoot यद्
- वयम्
- wePronounnominative pluralRole KartāRoot अस्मद्
- च
- andIndeclinableconjunctionRoot च
- चकृमा
- we have doneVerbperfect, 1st person plural, active (परस्मैपद)Root कृ
- तनूभिः
- with (our) bodies/personsNounfeminine instrumental pluralRole KaraṇaRoot तनू
- अव
- down, awayIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root अव (upasarga)
- राजन्
- O king (Varuṇa)Noun (vocative)masculine vocative singularRole SambodhanaRoot राजन्
- पशुतृपम्
- the cattle-despoiler / cattle-harming oneAdjective (used substantively)masculine accusative singularRole KarmaRoot पशु + तृप (प्रातिपदिक; ‘cattle-satisfying/greedy for cattle’)
- न
- like, asIndeclinablecomparative particleRoot न
- तायुम्
- thief, robberNounmasculine accusative singularRole Karma (in simile)Root तायु (प्रातिपदिक)
- सृज
- releaseVerbimperative, 2nd person singular, active (परस्मैपद)Root सृज्
- वत्सम्
- a calfNounmasculine accusative singularRole Karma (in simile)Root वत्स
- न
- likeIndeclinablecomparative particleRoot न
- दाम्नः
- from the rope/bondNounneuter ablative singular (Vedic: also gen. possible; here ‘from’)Role ApādānaRoot दामन्
- वसिष्ठम्
- Vasiṣṭha (me/us, the seer)Proper Nounmasculine accusative singularRole KarmaRoot वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolved: नोऽव = नः + अव
- राजन्पशुतृपम् = राजन् + पशुतृपम् (final -न् before p)
- दाम्नो वसिष्ठम् = दाम्नः + वसिष्ठम् (visarga before voiced v becomes o in saṃhitā). Accent marks retained as in saṃhitā
- pada-forms given without accent marking
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet asks Varuṇa to release them from ancestral wrongs and those they have done themselves; he asks the King to release Vasiṣṭha from bondage like a calf from a rope.
Inner meaning
The rishi recognizes layered causality of suffering: inherited formations (pitryā drugdhāni) and self-made distortions (cakṛmā tanūbhiḥ) in embodied nature. Varuṇa’s ‘release’ (sṛja/ava sṛja) is liberation from binding patterns. The ‘seeker gone astray’ (tāyu) and ‘one who fed on another’s herd’ (paśutṛpa) symbolize the vital that takes wrong nourishment—borrowed energies, false satisfactions. The rope (dāmnaḥ) is the bondage of habit, fear, and karmic groove; Vasiṣṭha asks for inner mokṣa so the soul becomes again a free calf—natural, trusting, moving toward the Light.
Universal truth
We carry both inherited conditioning and personal choices; freedom comes by acknowledging both and invoking a higher law that can dissolve the bindings and restore right nourishment.
Themes
Release from bonds, Ancestral burden, Expiation, Self-responsibility
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Other hymns
- RV 7.86.6, RV 7.89.5, RV 1.24 (varuṇa-pāśa motif, different family)
Family tradition
A seer-line deeply concerned with purification and liberation under Varuṇa’s law; Maṇḍala 7 often speaks of bonds (pāśa/dāman) and release.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha gives a psychologically sophisticated confession: he sees transgenerational conditioning and personal agency, and asks for a liberating grace that restores the soul’s native freedom.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- Rājan, Pāśin (binder), Mocayitṛ (releaser, functional epithet), Āditya
- Related deities
- Mitra (reconciliation), Agni (purification), Soma (healing bliss as release)
Cosmic role
Binds the false and releases the truthful; custodian of moral causality and cosmic equilibrium.
Inner power
Power of dissolution of knots (granthi-bheda) in the subconscient-vital; restores right relation to truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Prāyaścitta and Varuṇa-pāśa release prayers; may accompany offerings to Ādityas for forgiveness and well-being.
अव॑ द्रु॒ग्धानि॒ पित्र्या॑ सृजा॒ नोऽव॒ या व॒यं च॑कृ॒मा त॒नूभि॑: । अव॑ राजन्पशु॒तृपं॒ न ता॒युं सृ॒जा व॒त्सं न दाम्नो॒ वसि॑ष्ठम् ॥
अव॑ । द्रु॒ग्धानि॑ । पित्र्या॑ । सृ॒ज॒ । नः॒ । अव॑ । या । व॒यम् । च॒कृ॒म । त॒नूभिः॑ । अव॑ । रा॒ज॒न् । प॒शु॒ऽतृप॑म् । न । ता॒युम् । सृ॒ज । व॒त्सम् । न । दाम्नः॑ । वसि॑ष्ठम् ॥
ava | drugdhāni | pitryā | sṛja | naḥ | ava | yā | vayam | cakṛma | tanūbhiḥ | ava | rājan | paśu-tṛpam | na | tāyum | sṛja | vatsam | na | dāmnaḥ | vasiṣṭham
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4×11
Supplicatory with repeated ‘ava’ producing a downward, releasing motion; strong cadence for unbinding.
Mantric sense of loosening and letting go; repetition of ‘ava’ can entrain relaxation in the chest and belly.
- drugdhāni
- Literal: wrongs, injuries. Symbolic: distortions in nature; habitual falsities that ‘injure’ the truth-being
- pitryā
- Literal: ancestral. Symbolic: inherited subconscient patterns, collective conditioning
- tanūbhiḥ
- Literal: with our bodies. Symbolic: embodied nature—vital-physical habits that enact error
- rājan
- Literal: king. Symbolic: sovereign truth-power governing the inner realm
- paśutṛpam
- Literal: one who has fed on cattle. Symbolic: vital consciousness feeding on wrong objects/energies
- tāyum
- Literal: thief/strayer. Symbolic: the wandering desire-nature that steals force from truth
- dāmnaḥ
- Literal: from the rope/tether. Symbolic: bondage of habit, guilt, and karmic constraint
- vatsam
- Literal: calf. Symbolic: psychic being’s simplicity and trust when freed
Prayer for release from Varuṇa’s bonds (pāśa) and inherited fault; often cited in discussions of Vedic notions of inherited guilt and expiation.
During expiation, after breaches of vow, or when seeking removal of unseen constraints affecting life/ritual.
Recitation with water libation (āpas) or mental offering of wrong movements into truth; symbolic untying gesture in later devotional practice.
Therapeutic-spiritual use: chant while consciously releasing inherited family patterns and personal habits; visualize the ‘rope’ loosening with each ‘ava’.
√druh ‘harm/deceive’ → drugdhā́ni: not mere ‘sins’ but movements of falsity that injure harmony. pitryā́ indicates inherited patterns (saṃskāra-like) shaping present limitation. √sṛj ‘let loose’ frames liberation as unbinding. dā́man ‘cord’ aligns with Varuṇa’s pāśa imagery (bonds), here explicit as the tether to be undone.
bondage and release (dāman, sṛj), inherited formation (pitryā́), restoration of ṛta through unbinding
Wrongs are departures from ṛta; release restores harmony and protection.
Truth is the force that unties: confession + aspiration invites satya’s cleansing action.
Evolutionary purification: the embodied being sheds inherited and self-made obscurations to return to vast law.
Integral/psychological: subconscient inheritance + conscious choice; grace as transformative power.
cattle/calf imagery (vatsá, paśu) as symbolic of light/energy and its misdirection
unspecified
unspecified
Rope = binding habit; calf = psychic innocence; herd = rays/energies of knowledge that must not be misused; feeding wrongly = vital indulgence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘unbinding from Varuṇa’s cord’ mythologem: the devotee is tethered by the consequences of inherited and self-made distortions, and asks the sovereign to loosen the bond. The calf released from the rope is the emblem of the soul’s young formation freed to grow in ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sṛj ‘let loose’ (release) and the concrete metaphor of binding/cord are widespread IE juridical-religious images (binding oaths, divine fetters). The verse’s parallelism (áva…sṛja… / áva…sṛjá…) is a typical IE poetic intensification through repetition.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi stands as both culpable and aspirant: he admits inherited and embodied wrongdoing yet appeals to Varuṇa as rā́jan—sovereign who can remit and restore. The relationship is remedial: divine law is asked to become divine mercy through release (sṛj) rather than punishment.
Release inherited and embodied patterns; feel the ‘rope’ at belly/solar plexus soften.
Manipura (karmic knot/agency) and Anahata (release into trust)
Exhale-lengthening practice (inhale 4, exhale 6–8) while repeating ‘ava… sṛja’.
Letting-go, forgiveness, restored innocence.
1) Name one ancestral tendency and one personal habit. 2) On each ‘ava’, consciously drop identification. 3) Visualize the tether untying. 4) End by affirming a right nourishment (truthful inputs, sattvic action).
Tri-svara; repeated ‘ava’ should be kept steady and low (anudātta tendency), allowing udātta rises on key verbs sṛja and nouns like dāmnaḥ/vasisṭham where accented.
Mark each ‘ava’ as a deliberate release; slight pause after pitryā and tanūbhiḥ to contemplate layers of conditioning.
drugdhāni: clear ‘drugh-dhā-ni’ (gh + dh)., pitryā: ‘pi-tryā’ with palatal y glide., paśutṛpam: retroflex ṛ; do not drop the ṛ., dāmno: long ā; nasal ‘mn’ cluster gently., vasiṣṭham: retroflex ṣṭh.
Soft, pleading, soothing; emphasize ‘release’ rather than ‘punishment’.
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