Rig Veda 1.39.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 39, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.39
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Maruts
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
प्र वेपयन्ति पर्वतान्वि विञ्चन्ति वनस्पतीन् । प्रो आरत मरुतो दुर्मदा इव देवासः सर्वया विशा ॥
prá vepayanti párvatān ví viñcanti vanaspátīn | pró ārat maruto durmádā iva devā́saḥ sárvayā viśā́ ||
Oni sprawiają, że góry drżą; oni rozrywają panów lasu. Naprzód się rwą, o Marutowie, jak bogowie upojeni mocą, poruszając się przez każdy ród naszej natury.
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- वेपयन्ति
- they cause to trembleVerbPresent, causative; 3rd person plural; parasmaipadaRole Kriyā (of the subject Maruts) / Kartṛ-kriyāRoot √विप्/√वेप् (to tremble; causative)
- पर्वतान्
- mountainsNounMasculine; Accusative pluralRole KarmaRoot पर्वत (prātipadika)
- वि
- apart, asunder, widelyIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root वि (upasarga)
- वि॒ञ्चन्ति
- they cleave/sunderVerbPresent; 3rd person plural; parasmaipadaRole Kriyā (of the subject Maruts) / Kartṛ-kriyāRoot √विच् (to separate, to cleave, to tear apart)
- वनस्पतीन्
- lords of the forest (trees)NounMasculine; Accusative pluralRole KarmaRoot वनस्पति (prātipadika)
- प्र
- forthIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root आ (upasarga)
- रत
- move forth / come onVerbVedic injunctive/aoristic imperative sense; 2nd person plural (addressed); parasmaipadaRole Kriyā (addressed to Maruts)Root √ऋ/√अर् (to go, move; Vedic aorist/imperative-type form)
- मरुतः
- O MarutsNounMasculine; Vocative pluralRole SambodhanaRoot मरुत् (prātipadika)
- दुर्मदाः
- wildly exhilarated, hard to restrainAdjective (used substantively)Masculine; Nominative pluralRole Kartā (of implied action/behavior) / Apposition to देवासःRoot दुर्मद (prātipadika: dur- + mada)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableparticle of comparisonRoot इव
- देवासः
- the godsNounMasculine; Nominative pluralRole Kartā (appositional with दुर्मदाः; subject of the simile) / also referent of MarutsRoot देव (prātipadika)
- सर्वया
- with all, whollyAdjectiveFeminine; Instrumental singularRole Karaṇa (means: ‘with all…’, ‘with the whole…’)Root सर्व (prātipadika)
- विशा
- with the whole clan/people; with all the settlementsNounFeminine; Instrumental singularRole Karaṇa (instrumental with सर्वया) / Adverbial-instrumentalRoot विश् (prātipadika)
Sandhi Notes
- External sandhi resolved as: पर्वतान् + वि → पर्वतान् वि (no change)
- वनस्पतीन् + प्र → वनस्पतीन् प्र (no change). The sequence प्रो आ॑रत reflects प्र + उ (pro) before a following vowel
- thus underlying preverb is प्र, realized as प्रो before आ- in आ॑रत. Accent marks are retained from the Saṃhitā text but do not alter pada segmentation
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Maruts shake the mountains and split the forest-lords (trees). They surge forward like gods drunk with power, moving through every clan/tribe.
Inner meaning
The Maruts are the dynamic storm-powers of the Divine Force in the seeker. They shake the fixed formations of the being (parvatāḥ: hardened mental-vital “mountains”) and break open entrenched life-growths (vanaspatayaḥ: habitual vital-structures). Their “intoxication” is the exultant surge of prāṇa-śakti when it is seized by the Divine and rushes through all parts (“every viś,” every constituency of nature) to clear obstruction and prepare the inner sacrifice for wider Light.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress often begins as a forceful purification: higher energies disturb what is rigid, dismantle what is overgrown, and move through the whole personality to make room for a truer order.
Themes
storm-power, pervasive dynamism, clearing obstacles
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.39, RV 1.36–1.38 (Kāṇva cluster to Agni/Maruts), RV 1.47 (Kāṇva)
Family tradition
Kaṇvas—seer-poets associated with inspired, forceful hymns to Indra, Agni, and the Maruts; emphasis on dynamic spiritual battle and opening of the inner worlds.
Significance
Kaṇva’s voice here is of the practitioner invoking the purifying, energizing powers to break the knots of nature; the hymn portrays yoga as an inner storm that clears the path for illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Maruts (Rudra’s host)
- Epithets
- Rudrāḥ (as a group), devāsaḥ (gods), pracetasaḥ (clear-minded/aware—echoed in 1.39.9), ugrāḥ (fierce—implied by action)
- Related deities
- Rudra, Indra, Agni, Parjanya
Cosmic role
Atmospheric and mid-world powers that drive the storm, release rain, and accompany Indra in the victory over the Coverer; they are movers of the worlds and allies of illumination.
Inner power
Pranic-psychic Force that breaks obstruction, awakens courage, and makes the life-energy a conscious instrument of the Divine Mind.
In ritual
Where it is used
Marut-invocations within Soma/Indra-related śrauta settings; also used as ancillary praise in storm-power hymns.
प्र वे॑पयन्ति॒ पर्व॑ता॒न्वि वि॑ञ्चन्ति॒ वन॒स्पती॑न् । प्रो आ॑रत मरुतो दु॒र्मदा॑ इव॒ देवा॑स॒: सर्व॑या वि॒शा ॥
प्र । वे॒प॒य॒न्ति॒ । पर्व॑तान् । वि । वि॒ञ्च॒न्ति॒ । वन॒स्पती॑न् । प्रो इति॑ । आ॒र॒त॒ । म॒रु॒तः॒ । दु॒र्मदाः॑ऽइव । देवा॑सः । सर्व॑या । वि॒शा ॥
pra | vepayanti | parvatān | vi | viñcanti | vanaspatīn | pro iti | ārata | marutaḥ | durmadāḥ-iva | devāsaḥ | sarvayā | viśā
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables each (triṣṭubh cadence; minor Vedic resolutions possible)
Driving, martial, and forward-thrusting; strong caesura supports the ‘rush’ imagery.
Energizes and mobilizes; suitable for invoking forceful purification and courage.
- मरुतः (marutaḥ)
- Literal: storm-gods, winds. Symbolic: impulsions of divine Force; life-energies uplifted and made instruments of the Spirit
- पर्वतान् (parvatān)
- Literal: mountains. Symbolic: fixed inertias; rigid mental/vital formations; hardened habits
- वनस्पतीन् (vanaspatīn)
- Literal: lords of the forest, trees. Symbolic: dense life-growths; entrenched vital patterns and instincts
- दुर्मदाः (durmadāḥ)
- Literal: wildly exhilarated/intoxicated. Symbolic: ecstatic overforce of awakened energy when seized by the gods; irresistible momentum
- सर्वया विशा (sarvayā viśā)
- Literal: through every clan/tribe. Symbolic: through all parts and sub-personalities of the being (mind, life, body and their groups)
Dynamic praise describing the Maruts’ irresistible movement; supports energizing the rite and invoking forceful clearing and rain-bearing potency.
During stotra/śastra sequences praising Maruts (often alongside Indra) in Soma-yajña contexts; generally in sections invoking protective force and release.
Recitation/chant to invite the Maruts’ presence and power; mental offering of energy and aspiration.
Use as a ‘clearing’ mantra before meditation: invoke inner force to shake rigidity and cut through compulsive patterns.
mada from √mad ‘to be exhilarated, intoxicated’—in Vedic often a divine rapture of power (not moral weakness). viś originally ‘clan/settlement’ (social unit); inner reading extends it to ‘all compartments of our nature’. vanaspati ‘lord of the forest’ is both literal tree and symbol of rooted life-structures; ‘tearing’ indicates breaking entrenched formations.
mada as divine rapture of force, clearing of entrenched formations, pervasion through the whole being (sarvayā viśā)
Maruts enforce ṛta by breaking what resists the true movement and by driving the energies into right channels.
The violent imagery serves Satya: false stability is dismantled so truth can stand.
Re-creation through purification: dismantling old forms so a wider consciousness can be built.
Proto-yogic/psychological Vedānta as read by Sri Aurobindo (inner sacrifice; forces of consciousness).
monsoon/storm season (suggestive)
Storm = awakened prāṇa and divine impulsion; mountain = inertia; forest = dense vital growth; their shaking/splitting = purification and opening.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘cosmic shaking’ mythologem: storm-gods whose passage trembles mountains and rends forests. Inner sense: the descent of divine force produces upheaval in fixed structures (mountains = rigid formations; trees = rooted habits), so that all parts of the being are traversed and transformed.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mad ‘be exhilarated’ reflects an Indo-Iranian religious psychology (Avestan mad- related semantics of exhilaration). The formulaic parallelism (mountains/trees) is an inherited IE poetic pairing of the largest and the rooted as symbols of stability, now shaken.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi witnesses and affirms the Maruts’ pervasion; by naming their action, he invites that same transformative sweep to enter ‘every clan’ of his nature—turning outer storm-description into an inner program of change.
Invoke the ‘storm of transformation’ to break rigidity and clear the field for light.
maṇipūra (transforming fire-force) and anāhata (courage/expansion)
Brisk, controlled bhastrikā-like pulses for 30–60 seconds, then stillness; or strong ujjāyī to ‘ride the wind’. (Avoid if contraindicated.)
Dynamic concentration (tapas) leading into widened quiet after release.
Mentally offer the resisting formations (‘mountains/forests’) into the inner sacrifice; feel the Marut-force moving through all parts; end by resting in a clearer, more open space.
Vedic svara as per śākhā tradition: maintain udātta peaks on accented syllables; svarita falls on marked combinations; anudātta as low baseline (exact notation depends on recensional marking).
Lean into the verbs: prá vepayanti / ví viñcanti / pró ārata—clear stress on the preverbs (pra, vi, pro) to convey forward force.
vepayanti: keep ‘ve’ long enough, and ‘pa’ light, viñcanti: pronounce ñc as palatal nasal + c (nyc), vanaspatīn: dental n; long ī in -tīn, durmadā iva: separate iva slightly; avoid merging into one long cluster
Bright, forceful, slightly aspirated; keep clarity over volume.
11
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
