Rig Veda 8.13.18: Mandala 8, Sukta 13, Mantra 18
Sukta 8.13
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
त्रिकद्रुकेषु चेतनं देवासो यज्ञमत्नत । तमिद्वर्धन्तु नो गिरः सदावृधम् ॥
tríkadrukeṣu cétanaṃ devā́so yajñám atnata | tám íd vardhantu no gíraḥ sadā́vṛdham ||
Dalam tiga pemerasan (trikadruka) para dewa bersungguh-sungguh pada yajña untuk membangkitkan Yang Sedar; semoga girah (kata ilham) kami menambah-Nya—yang sentiasa bertumbuh—di dalam diri kami.
Word by Word
- त्रिकद्रुकेषु
- in the Trikadrukas (three-pressing/three-cup Soma-places)Nounपुंलिङ्ग (वेदिके बहुधा); सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole अधिकारणRoot त्रिकद्रुक (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + कद्रुक)
- चेतनम्
- the inspirer/animating one (the conscious one)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot चेतन (प्रातिपदिक; √चित् ‘to perceive/notice’ से)
- देवासः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञम्
- the sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अत्नत
- they extended/put forth (they set in motion)Verbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत); परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष; बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √अत्/अत्न् (वेदिक; ‘to go/extend/strive’)
- तम्
- him/thatPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeedIndeclinableनिपात (एव/खलु-अर्थे)Root इत् (निपात)
- वर्धन्तु
- let (them) increaseVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-सदृश); परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष; बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वृध् (to grow/increase)
- नः
- for us / ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (वेदिके ‘नः’ = ‘our/to us’)Role सम्प्रदान (अर्थानुसार)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- गिरः
- songs, hymnsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot गिर् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सदा
- alwaysIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRoot सदा (अव्यय)
- आवृधम्
- ever-increasing (ever-growing)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (तम् इति विशेषणम्)Root आ-वृध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √वृध् with उपसर्ग आ-; ‘ever-growing/ever-increasing’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्रिकद्रुकेषु | चेतनम् | देवासः | यज्ञम् | अत्नत । तम् | इत् | वर्धन्तु | नः | गिरः | सदा | आवृधम् ॥ (तमिद् = तम् + इत्; नो गिरः = नः + गिरः (विसर्ग-लोप/स्वर-सन्धि in saṃhitā)
The meaning
Outer meaning
In the three Soma-pressings the gods exerted themselves in the sacrifice to awaken the Conscious One; may our hymns increase That within us, ever growing.
Inner meaning
The “three pressings” are the triple inner offering—body-life-mind (or waking-dream-sleep) refined into Soma-delight. In that concentrated yogic working, the luminous Powers (devāsaḥ) build the inner yajña to awaken cetanaṃ—Indra/Soma as the conscious Force in us. Our giraḥ (inspired utterances) are not mere praise but mantric formations that amplify this awakened consciousness until it becomes sadāvṛdha, perpetually self-increasing.
Universal truth
Awakening is not a one-time event but a progressive intensification: disciplined inner offering + truthful inspired speech steadily grows the conscious power that leads life beyond inertia and obscurity.
Themes
Soma-ritual innerized, mantric augmentation, awakening
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.13 (surrounding verses 1-22), Rig Veda 8.12 (Indra praise in similar diction), Rig Veda 8.14 (Indra-related sequence)
Family tradition
Likely Kāṇva milieu (Book 8 predominantly Kāṇva collections); emphasis on Indra-Soma and the efficacy of stoma/uktha.
Significance
The anonymity foregrounds the universal yogic process: the mantra speaks as an impersonal seer-voice where the ‘gods’ are inner powers and the true agent is awakened consciousness itself.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (with Soma as the awakened Conscious Power implied by cetanaṃ and the pressings)
- Epithets
- Implicit: Girvaṇaḥ (rejoicing in chant, from the same hymn sequence), Vṛtrahan (slayer of the Coverer, contextual Indra power)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstruction, establisher of luminous order; receives and releases Soma-force through the triple pressing.
Inner power
Illuminated mind-force that awakens the conscious being and increases it through inspired speech and right offering.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and Indra-Soma offerings (trīṇi savanāni)
त्रिक॑द्रुकेषु॒ चेत॑नं दे॒वासो॑ य॒ज्ञम॑त्नत । तमिद्व॑र्धन्तु नो॒ गिर॑: स॒दावृ॑धम् ॥
त्रिऽक॑द्रुकेषु । चेत॑नम् । दे॒वासः॑ । य॒ज्ञम् । अ॒त्न॒त॒ । तम् । इत् । व॒र्ध॒न्तु॒ । नः॒ । गिरः॑ । स॒दाऽवृ॑धम् ॥
tri-kadrukeṣu | cetanam | devāsaḥ | yajñam | atnata | tam | it | vardhantu | naḥ | giraḥ | sadāvṛdham
Gāyatrī (probable; Book 8 Indra verses frequently in gāyatrī/anuṣṭubh; this verse fits a compact 3-pāda cadence)
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3 pādas × ~8 syllables
Quick, bright, incantatory; builds momentum toward ‘increase’ (vardhantu).
Energizes aspiration and concentration; supports a felt ‘rising’ of inner power with each repetition.
- त्रिकद्रुकेषु (trikadrukeṣu)
- Literal: in the three pressings/press-stones. Symbolic: triple inner pressing: refinement of nature (body–life–mind) into concentrated delight/force for awakening
- चेतनम् (cetanaṃ)
- Literal: the conscious one / consciousness. Symbolic: the awakened conscious Power (Indra-Soma) established in the seeker
- देवासः (devāsaḥ)
- Literal: the gods. Symbolic: luminous faculties/powers assisting the inner sacrifice
- यज्ञम् (yajñam)
- Literal: sacrifice. Symbolic: integral inner offering and transformation of nature
- गिरः (giraḥ)
- Literal: songs/words. Symbolic: inspired mantric speech that builds and increases consciousness
- सदावृधम् (sadāvṛdham)
- Literal: ever-growing. Symbolic: self-augmenting consciousness once awakened
Soma-yajña: the three daily pressings (trikadruka) and praise (giraḥ) that 'increase' the god’s force.
At the three daily Soma pressings (morning, midday, evening) in Soma-yajña contexts
Pressing/straining Soma; recitation to invoke and increase the divine conscious power
Use as a mantra for ‘awakening’ sessions: before meditation or during a three-part practice (breath–heart–mind) to intensify conscious presence.
cetaná from √cit 'to perceive, notice, awaken' → 'consciousness'. atnata (3pl impf.) from √at/√atn 'to strive, go, exert' suggests tapas-like effort. tríkadruka is a Soma technical term (three pressings), reinterpretable inwardly as triple extraction of essence (body-life-mind). sadā-vṛdha 'ever-growing' intensifies √vṛdh (PIE *werdh-).
awakening of consciousness (cit/cetanā), tapas/effort in yajña, ever-increasing divine force
The gods ‘build’ the yajña as an ṛta-structure; growth (vardhana) follows alignment with ṛta.
Giraḥ become effective when they carry satya—speech that embodies realized truth.
Consciousness awakened through a triple operation; inner creation as progressive manifestation of the ‘ever-growing’ principle.
Proto-Vedāntic/Yogic reading (Aurobindo-Kashyap): yajña as psychological transformation rather than mere ritual exchange.
Linked to the three savanas (dawn–midday–sunset)
Soma = delight-energy distilled from experience; three savanas = repeated cycles of purification and ascent of awareness through the day (and through states of consciousness).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The triple Soma pressing that awakens and increases the divine power: gods labour at yajña to bring forth the awakened Conscious One; human speech (giraḥ) participates by enlarging that power—mythic extraction of soma becomes inner extraction of essence-consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √cit (PIE *ḱeyt-/*ḱei- 'to notice, heed') underlies cetanā; compare Latin 'cieo' (stir) as a distant semantic parallel via 'arouse'. √yaj (PIE *h₁yegʷ- 'to worship/sacrifice' often proposed for Indo-Iranian) marks the inherited ritual lexicon.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi’s speech is not mere praise but a force that 'increases' the devatā in the human vessel; the gods’ labour in yajña is mirrored by the poet’s labour in mantra, jointly awakening consciousness.
Awaken and increase the ‘conscious power’ through a threefold inner offering (body relaxation, vital quieting, mental widening).
Ājñā (illumined mind) with support from Anāhata (devotional offering)
Three rounds: inhale ‘receive Soma-delight’, hold ‘press/condense awareness’, exhale ‘offer into inner fire’; then silent witnessing.
Widened, bright, progressively intensifying attention (from effort to spontaneous growth).
Chant 9 or 27 times; after each set, pause and feel the ‘ever-growing’ presence. Let speech become inward (mantric), not discursive.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita per Rigvedic accent; notable marked accents: -, -, -, :, - (follow pada text).
Keep udatta as the melodic rise; anudatta as low; svarita as falling glide—do not equalize pitch on accented syllables.
trikadrukeṣu: keep retroflex ḍ in -dru- and clear ‘kṣu’ cluster, cetanaṃ: short ‘e’, dental ‘t’, final anusvāra as nasalization, atnata: articulate ‘tn’ cluster lightly without inserting a vowel, vardhantu: aspirate ‘dh’ clearly, sadāvṛdham: long ā in sadā; retroflex ṛ in vṛ-
Clear, bright, slightly upward-moving; end with a sustained calm on sadāvṛdham.
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